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Carmax - What's Your Experience?

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Comments

  • greanpea68greanpea68 Member Posts: 1,996
    I don't know how that would work but like you say we don't have a contract to read. I will call my buddy at Carmax and ask him in the morning.

    Joel... I don't know what she paid but imagine she paid $1500 or $2000 for 5 year 60k mile warranty. That will be up in one year.

    Here's my other question does Carmax do their own warranties where you can only bring it to them if something breaks down?
  • rts3rts3 Member Posts: 26
    As I mentioned, my warranty information clearly says that MAXCARE plan starts from date of issue (10/12/2007) and ends after 5 years or 60k additional miles whichever one is earlier. Currently I have 36k miles on my car.

    I paid $1949 for it, and the Carmax salesman showed me on his screen that my warranty will expire on 10/12/2012 or 96k miles, whichever is earlier. The 3 year 36k warranty was $1499, and 4 year 48k was $1749.
  • greanpea68greanpea68 Member Posts: 1,996
    RTS,

    Thanks for the info. It sounds like a warranty that can only be done at carmax. Which is good id that works for you.

    Gp
  • humblecoderhumblecoder Member Posts: 125
    About 7 years ago, I ended up buying a vehicle at CarMax and I got the extended warranty through them (yes, call me a sucker!). Anyway, the warranty was supposedly good at any repair shop. CarMax would reimburse the shop the cost of the repairs. This was an issue for me, since I was about to move to a state where the nearest CarMax was hundreds of miles away!

    Fortunately, I did not have a chance to test this out since I never had any repairs on the vehicle during the warranty period.
  • rts3rts3 Member Posts: 26
    Nope. The warranty is applicable anywhere. The only difference is that you play $50 deductible at CarMax and $75 deductible at BMW dealer.

    Also, the deductible is per visit and not per part/problem. So one can wait to go for the warranty service once you want a few collective items looked at.
  • mackabeemackabee Member Posts: 4,709
    Andrea stop banging your head against the wall! image
    I'm reading your posts and wonder why you are so obsessed with working for a company that does not want you as their employee. image
    Forget about them. Find something else. There are better things out there to do with your life. What else do you like to do?
    :)
    Mackabee
  • andeetandeet Member Posts: 142
    LMAO!!!! Nice emotion icon LOL

    That's all I'm gonna say...

    Then on the other hand, that's how my current employer is. Nothing like telling your employees "Oh we care about your safety but we don't want to spend the money" or I personally like this one. Our managers will say "You should do what we say cause we (as in them as managers) take care of you." Last time I checked; the company's owners were the ones who signs our checks and not our managers also agreeing on our end of the year bonus.' Senior employees believe that those big bonus' are "Hush money" for dealing with alot of BS.

    The whole Carmax situation...
    I'm getting a kick out of this for my personal enjoyment. LOL Even the Carmax employees that I know even think it's funny. We always joke around about this when I see them.
  • kcnightopskcnightops Member Posts: 1
    OK I need some help here I bought a nissan extera 02 with 37000 miles on it on Sept 12 07. The day I bought the car I drove a total of 28 miles and the brakes were grinding. We took the car back and they put new rotors on the car but put the old worn to the metal brake pads back on it. The front end has had problems since day 1 also and the passenger window also. It is now Oct 31 and I have had the car in my possession for a total of 21 days. And it is still not fixed and it also has a really bad ticking noise in the engine. I seem not to be able to get anyone to understand my frustration with them having the car more than me. I get treated like I am a second hand person and talked down to every time I try to talk with a manager. We have also have learned that the car was a really bad wreck with the entire right side being replaced and not a good job at all paint parts not all the way on etc etc. The fools as much as much as told me straight out that they put a additive i the motor to get it to quite down. Now it is louder. When I called to get the same problems addressed they gave me an appt 2 weeks out as two void the 30 day warranty. Please help what can I do to get these people to fix my car. and quit lying to me and treating my like I am some fool.
    maybe I need to post a frustration video on my you tube site that gets about 230,000 hits a day 99,000 being form our city will that get their action LOL I am at my witss end but when they say we strive for word of mouth well I got a big mouth LOL
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,147
    Did you purchase the car at Carmax?

    Your best bet is to document every step in writing, including dates on which you called them to report the issues. You reported them within the 30 day warranty period, so you should still be covered. However, you need to keep written records.

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  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Don't they have some type of guarantee that there cars have not been wrecked or something?
  • mfletou1mfletou1 Member Posts: 508
    Yeah, I just looked at a 2007 Odyssey EX-L with 11k miles. They wanted $28998.

    I'm close to buying a new one for around $25500, maybe even a little better.

    Absurd. Anybody who pays their prices for 'near-new' cars deserves to get taken. And you will---like Grant took Richmond.
  • kaosfive2005kaosfive2005 Member Posts: 1
    Actually you being a customer has nothing to do to whether to hire you or not, the buyers assistant job is particularly tough to find an opening for depending on the size of the store. I work at a smaller carmax store we have about 1 or i think 2 buyers assistants, they're currently attending school and once completed they will move into the buyer in training position. buyers assistant gets to see first hand and gets a good feel for what kind of job the buyers do so once you decide to move on to the next step you'll be more prepared and it'll be easier for you to know what's going on.
  • andeetandeet Member Posts: 142
    I think I officially gave up on Carmax as future employer. Due to many factors like I currently work for more of a professional company, they will not compete to match my current hourly wage, Carmax's so called 2,500 reimbursement for school is some what pretty low compared to my current employer's 5,000 for a year. Face it, they won't be able to match my profit sharing, end of the year bonus, week goal sales bonus.

    I may work for privately owned corporation but we just our billion dollar mark back in November. But there's company rumor going around that we are planning on buying out another company that is public owned which happens to be a international known company, I will not say which company due to company privacy. But they are in the same company category as Carmax meaning retail.

    Lets just say my current pay is somewhere near what a 5 year experienced Service Consultant probably makes. And if I took at position I'll probably start off at 10.50. No way.
  • egkoregkor Member Posts: 24
    Where do Carmax sale vehicles come from?

    I understand some of them may come from vehicles sold to them by "walk-ins", I have walked in and sold 2 vehicles to them in past years. I also understand Carmax may choose to sell the vehicles (bought from walk-ins) at "auction" and not spend the money to sell them on the Carmax lot.

    So other than "walk-in" type vehicle purchases, I understand Carmax purchases their sale vehicles (inventory) from "auction". Can anyone share more info about this auction process? Where do the vehicles come from that get sold at the auction that Carmax buys from? For example, are the vehicles lease-returns, ex-car rental fleet, corporate fleet, ???

    I did a search on the Carmax web site for model year 2006 Honda Odyssey minivan, within 500 miles of my zip code. The search returned approx. 10 '06 Odysseys, with mileage from approx 20k to 50k. Some of these still with factory warranty remaining. Where did these vans come from?

    Thanks for any enlightenment on this.

    -Gary K
  • cccompsoncccompson Member Posts: 2,382
    "Auction" vehicles are vehicles acquired by dealers through the trade-in process as well as various types of fleet, program, or rental vehicles. The Odysseys likely were new car trades. I doubt that Carmax auctions many vehicles purchased from a "walk-in" because doing so defeats the purpose of having bought them in the first place (to make money).
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    They get them at the same place every other dealer in the country does. They are not pickier in the process, they buy truck loads at a time here at the Auction.
  • andeetandeet Member Posts: 142
    To be honest with you....

    I don't think Carmax is the problem. I sucked during my interviews; the more I did them the worst I did. I show them how nervous I am by stumbling on my words, I do very long answers to avoid the proper answer. My interview with my current company; I made jokes and the HR recruiter laughed out loud. She straight out said I was pleasure to interview...these Carmax interviewers never said that. I wore business suit each time except my first time (for detailing) and with resumes. Again, I didn't turn one in the first time. I made the second interview on the first ever interview.

    Another factor is...
    My current employer. It's been proven that people have lost a better job offer and they WILL fight to get you back. Several months ago, I put in my two weeks notice and week later our corporate warehouse manager (The big guy who is just below the company owners) pulled me aside and asked me "What will it take for you to stay?" My older brother works at the company too but he wants to move to Atlanta to be with his friends. He put his resume onto Monster.com and somehow the 1st shift warehouse manager found out (probably HR.) He went to my brother and asked him in a very unprofessional tone "So Georgia huh?" When my brother told me about that, I actually wonder if Carmax did call my employer. Maybe something like this happened? "I'm from Carmax. (My name here) has applied with our store is she lying about current employment? How good of employee she is?" My company's reply hang up the phone or "She's terrible worker: Always late and never wanting to work" Just so they can keep me cause I am always at work, always early, always working.

    What they don't know is: I hate my job completely! It's boring, dead end, and sexist (many men believe warehousing isn't for females and they shouldn't be on forklifts.) In fact if they ever fired me on the spot; I'll probably yell back "Thanks I think you just my worst year of my life, more better for the good!"

    Who knows what could happened? ;)
  • cccompsoncccompson Member Posts: 2,382
    What not just call the people you dealt with at Carmax and find out what actually happened? You could phrase the contact in terms that you're merely trying to learn what, if anything, you did wrong during their hiring process. It certainly can't hurt to try.

    I will tell you that at least in my experience when I've selected a new hire that person usually is a pretty clear choice after narrowing 100 applications to 4-6 interviews.
  • andeetandeet Member Posts: 142
    It's not that I'm terrible worker.

    I hate to admit this to people since I am from a generation that is known to be slackers.

    I LOVE to work...more work for me the more happier I am. I'm naturally active and I hate to stand or sit around doing nothing. If I do something incorrect; next time I know how it's done and follow it forever. I am the type that I describe "You want me to jump. Okay how high and how far?"

    Right now, my job requires me to sit on a forklift. I pick my orders and stack them the way we're trained. Every five-15 minutes; I get off the forklift and tag each single product for any pick errors. Then I throw all the stacks into a 53 footer trailer. When I first started; took me about 15 minutes to pick one page of six lines. About three and half hours to load up double stacks. Now, I pick about four to six pages in 15 minutes, hour and 10 minutes to load up trailers. Talking about zzzzzzzz

    I'm suppose to have only five errors for 30,000+ lines for the year but somehow I got 30 (I think the whole don't care about my job is the answer.)

    What do I have to do to get back to days and to a job that I enjoy doing??? Also challenges me at the same time?
  • egkoregkor Member Posts: 24
    I doubt that Carmax auctions many vehicles purchased from a "walk-in" because doing so defeats the purpose of having bought them in the first place (to make money).

    If Carmax takes a car in poor condition in trade to help sell one of their inventory cars, or buys a walk-in car in poor condition, wouldn't the car be a "reject" for sale at Carmax and therefore go to Auction?

    "Auction" vehicles are vehicles acquired by dealers through the trade-in process as well as various types of fleet, program, or rental vehicles.

    Is there a place here or elsewhere I can go to read and learn more about the Auction? For example, is there one big Auction or several small ones? How often do they happen?

    If I go to a dealership (or Carmax) in southeast Texas to shop for a used vehicle, I'd like to fully understand how and where the vehicle came from. I'd like to know (or deduce) if it was a lease-return, rental, program, trade-in, corporate fleet, etc. vehicle. And, I'd like to know if it came from a harsh-winter (salty) area of the country.

    Bottom-line is, I would like to get a better understanding of the "big picture" of where Carmax cars come from.

    -Gary K
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    If I go to a dealership (or Carmax) in southeast Texas to shop for a used vehicle, I'd like to fully understand how and where the vehicle came from. I'd like to know (or deduce) if it was a lease-return, rental, program, trade-in, corporate fleet, etc. vehicle. And, I'd like to know if it came from a harsh-winter (salty) area of the country.

    Ask to see the title

    "Imports are superior"
  • cccompsoncccompson Member Posts: 2,382
    A better bet is to have 'em run a Carfax for you or get a subscription yourself (30 days unlimited service is about 30 bucks). Some states, Ohio is an example, offer free online title history by VIN.

    Not quite sure what you want to know about auctions. They're dealer only affairs. The reasons cars are taken to auction by dealers vary - some because they won't sell well at a particular stores, others because they haven't sold in X days, and still others because of quality issues.
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    Carfax is a great tool with allot of good information in it. The only problem is the info is only as good as the person putting the info in.

    There is no better source of info then having the title in your hand to the car you are considering buying. It tells the true tale as to weather you are dealing with a clean title..

    Yes there may be the rare instance when the title is screwed up but no where near the amount of mistakes you will find on Carfax.

    "Imports are superior"
  • egkoregkor Member Posts: 24
    Not quite sure what you want to know about auctions. They're dealer only affairs.

    Exactly why I'd like to understand this better.

    Example scenario: Here in warm climate SE Texas I go to a Carmax or dealer used car lot, see a used car, and consider purchasing it. Now first thought is, someone traded this car in locally. However, Surprise! The car really came from Auction, is a 25K mile Lease-return, and originated from a rust-belt cold climate salty road state.

    If I knew the car came from the local no-snow no-salt climate I would be more inclined to buy it. If it came from snow/salt climate I may very well pass on it, or at least insist on more undercarriage inspections.

    The "Auction" makes this scenario possible. The Auction can make what appears to be an attractive used car with low miles and an easy previous life turn out to be something different, and could have come from anywhere and from any numder of sources.

    I still don't know, is there one big Auction, or are there several around the country, and how often do they happen?

    -Gary K
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    They are all over the place. The main reason that a traded in car goes to auction is if the dealer that takes the tradein doesn't feel he can make a good enough profit on the car. They then "wholesale" the car and it goes off to the auction. So really cars from the auction can be real good or real bad, it's a mixed bag of chips.

    -mike
  • egkoregkor Member Posts: 24
    Thanks paisan (Mike)!

    -Gary K
  • sinecuresinecure Member Posts: 6
    I enjoyed my carmax car buying experience. (2006 Lincoln Town Car with less than 20,000 miles). I need to talk to them about a few issues and will repost with the results.

    First, the Lincoln Town Car I purchased was a lease car from Hawaii. I looked at and purchased the car in the evening and did not notice until the next day that the exterior glass had what appear to be water stains. The stains have not diminished despite numerous applications of various products. One product's website mentioned Hawaii's volcanic vog - I wonder.

    A little thing, but as I left carmax I heard a little ticking sound coming from my left front tire. The next morning I took the car to NTB and learned that a large nail was in the tire, too close to the edge for repair. I bought a new tire.

    The night I drove the vehicle home I also noticed that the seltbelt chimes sounded (5 sets of 5) even though the seat belt was fastened. I also occasionally got a new set of 5 chimes when I hit a bump. I took the car to the local Lincoln dealer who told me that the car key provided by carmax is an aftermarket key that apparently did not have a proper computer chip. I paid $350 for two new keys with the proper chips and remotes.

    Now, the car has an intermittent problem with an engine surge when I come to a full stop.
  • jlawrence01jlawrence01 Member Posts: 1,757
    The main reason that a traded in car goes to auction is if the dealer that takes the trade in doesn't feel he can make a good enough profit on the car.

    That is just part of the story.

    A dealer may send a car to auction because the car model does NOT sell well on his lot. An economy car at a high-end dealership or a Saturn on a Ford lot in many cases is a boat anchor for that dealership.

    Also, many of the vehicles that go through auctions are fleet returns - corporate, rental car, etc. Each year, I send 5-10 cars to various Mannheim auctions as selling cars through the auctions is very convenient. For example, I am in Chicagoland and my sales guy in California has a vehicle in LA. It is a lot easier to sell the vehicle through Mannheim than to try to sell the car from Chicago.
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    We make a profit on allot of the cars we take to auction.

    Think about it, there are not going to be 1000 cars running on two lanes in one day and all sold at a loss to the seller. Someone other then the auction has to be turning a profit on the cars or they all would not be there.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,207
    Everyone thinks that a car a dealer took on trade is better than an auction car, but that really has nothing to do with it..

    Look at it from the other side.. Assume that when you sell your car, the only car you can have to replace it is the trade-in from your buyer. What are the chances that will be the car you want? Almost less than zero... that's why individuals rarely trade cars with each other.

    But, if you could go to the auction, and pick from over 1000 cars... every week? You can choose the colors, options, condition that you actually want.

    That's what a dealer does, if he is serious about selling used cars. He picks the exact cars that he thinks he can sell.. That is the main reason that a dealer might give you even less than auction value for your car. Because, he can go to the auction, and get a more desirable car.

    When you are done with your current car, and trade it in? Most likely, it will be an auction car..

    Caveats: If a used car dealer has a late-model Euro import with low-miles? I'd wonder what was wrong with it, that the new car dealer didn't want it for his lot.. Previous body damage, MBB/NW, etc..

    regards,
    kyfdx

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  • egkoregkor Member Posts: 24
    This is all great info about Auctions, thanks for sharing it!

    -Gary K
  • andeetandeet Member Posts: 142
    My '06 Scion xA with 33k was traded in at Carmax for $10 grand for a brand new '07 Scion tC.

    Kenosha Carmax threw the xA back on the lot within one week. It had sticker price of 13,700 then no one would buy it at that price. So it went down to 12,700 and someone bought it or they threw it into their auction.
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    If you are interested in the auctions themselves then do a google search for
    "Manheim auto auctions" and you can read about them and see all of there different locations or do a search for "ADT Auto Auctions" and you can read about how they used to be the big dogs until manheim bought them out.

    "Imports are superior"
  • myobmyob Member Posts: 53
    Lots of interesting debate and information on this thread over the years, but I'm still not clear on a few things.

    1. Which source do people report being the most accurate in terms of what carmax paid them for a straight sale of their vehicle? KBB, NADA blackbook, edmunds, etc? I've heard various ones mentioned as what carmax pays. I know it varies by demand and location and other factors, but why do they mention KBB if they know they won't match that price on trades? Seems self-defeating.

    2. Is a 2003 near luxury class car with 73,000 miles too old or high mileage for carmax to sell on the lot? If so, am I correct to assume it will bring less if they have to wholesale it?

    3. Has anyone discerned a particular percentage spread or dollar spread between carmax's advertised price and what they paid for the vehicle? I'm assuming at least $3-4K to cover their overhead, direct and sales costs, and profit margin.

    I am clear on one thing after checking their prices periodically for a few years. At least on nearly new (1-2 year old) vehicles they are often disturbingly close on used cars to the price of just buying the car new. I wouldn't mind buying used in some cases but the long term value just hasn't been there when I checked. Carmax does go a long way toward eliminating the risk of a disaster purchase, for which they deserve a higher price. But it seems too high for me.

    I also noticed that sometimes their no-haggle price is about what a dealer would advertise a car for. I guess you could get the same "no haggle" experience at a traditional dealership if you were willing to pay that much!

    I also note that many dealers I've dealt with were so annoying to deal with that people gladly pay more to avoid that experience. The good is that dealers will gradually improve business practices due to this phenomenon. I've found in recent years that new car purchases were much more pleasant at dealers, since you can compare prices and simply buy elsewhere. Carmax should help keep used car dealers on their toes too.
  • joel0622joel0622 Member Posts: 3,299
    I also noticed that sometimes their no-haggle price is about what a dealer would advertise a car for. I guess you could get the same "no haggle" experience at a traditional dealership if you were willing to pay that much!

    Exactly, I have said it 100 times here. If you are willing to pay above retail then we are all no haggle. Just walk in and say I will pay sticker on any used car and the haggling is over. Its what you do when you go to Carmax.

    If a customer comes to our lot and says they have been to Carmax already it is almost a guaranteed sale with a good gross.

    "imports are superior"
  • andeetandeet Member Posts: 142
    I'm aware about the whole Carmax "Director's Choice" & "President's Choice" awards for sales consultants. Does anyone know how many deals it takes for a sales consultant to get on President's Choice list?

    I'm just wondering cause some consultants brag and some are humble.
  • dwynnedwynne Member Posts: 4,018
    Everyone thinks that a car a dealer took on trade is better than an auction car, but that really has nothing to do with it..



    That is the main reason that a dealer might give you even less than auction value for your car. Because, he can go to the auction, and get a more desirable car.


    I agree, I would only pay more for a private party sale than any dealer sold car - and then not by much - if you could see the owner had the car since new, had all the maintenance records, and perhaps even an extended warranty you could transfer for a modest fee. Easy enough to check the seller's story with CarFax, AutoCheck, or just looking at the title before you purchase. Once the car has gone through any dealer, I would assign no more value to a traded car than I would to an auction car. As you say, most of the auction cars were just trades at another dealership. Lots of folks seem to shy away from lease cars as if they have the plague, while it could be true that some folks might not care for a lease as much as they would a purchased car, the lease banks still require that they do proper maintenance on them. Besides, most lease cars a low mileage so not much of a risk. I would worry more about rental cars, since we all know we abuse those when we have them :D . Of course, a lot of the rental companies take better care (fluid changes, etc) than any owner ever does. So in the end, where it comes from should not matter.

    In the case of buying a used car from CarMax it really should not matter since their price is SO HIGH compared to what you can buy the same car for elsewhere. I am sure the no haggle draws lots of folks, but I don't mind a little work to make a better price and it would take almost no work to get below a CarMax price.

    And you are right on the purchase by CarMax of your car as well, when they first opened here they gave KBB numbers for buying cars and though they still use that for reference they quickly figured out that the same car they offered you $10k for could be had at the auction for $9k so they offer you $9k or even $8,5k. So you really ended up being better off to get ripped on a trade than to get ripped at Carmax.

    They must make oodles of money, since if you know what they offer for used cars and see auction prices, then see what they sell them for (with no discounting of haggling allowed) there is a LOT of profit it would appear - as much as selling a new car?

    Dennis
  • dwynnedwynne Member Posts: 4,018
    Has anyone discerned a particular percentage spread or dollar spread between carmax's advertised price and what they paid for the vehicle? I'm assuming at least $3-4K to cover their overhead, direct and sales costs, and profit margin.

    Since you asked, 2005 Honda Accord LX I4 AT sedan with 45k in like new shape with new tires and service records.

    Carmax offer: $11,000

    Dealer offers (when offered as trade toward a new vehicle purchased near invoice less all incentives): $11,500 - $12,500.

    When you check the Carmax inventory nationwide they have many (35) 2005 Accord LX sedans in stock ranging in price from $14,998 up to $19,149 with mileage ranges of 5k to 77k miles.

    Quite a nice mark up, one I would think any new car dealer would love to make on each sale.

    Dennis
  • irismgirismg Member Posts: 345
    I wanted to suggest the free AutoCheck will tell you if the car came from a fleet or a lease. It also traces all the places the car has been registered.
  • mackabeemackabee Member Posts: 4,709
    That's a big misconception. New cars don't make much of a profit. With most selling close to or at invoice it doesn't leave much. Profits are realized on used cars sales and service and parts.
    Mack

    "Nissan is a superior product"
  • dwynnedwynne Member Posts: 4,018
    I mis-typed, I should have said "much more than selling a new car". I know that no dealer has every made as much selling me a new car as CarMax could have made on sales based on the numbers I have seen. Heck, even at full MSRP most new car dealers could not make that much per unit - and CarMax is no haggle so the price they set is what the suckers, I mean customers pay.

    Dennis
  • jipsterjipster Member Posts: 6,244
    Profits are realized on used cars sales and service and parts

    Loaded question for you mac. What would a consumer have to do to get the thin profit margin on a used car as they do on new cars?
    2020 Honda Accord EX-L, 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, 2010 Mercury Milan Premiere, 2007 Kia Optima
  • dwynnedwynne Member Posts: 4,018
    Know someone who has a dealer license and buy your used cars at the local Manheim or other auto auction.

    In some states, getting your dealer license could be quite simple and not very expensive. With the license and cash you could buy your own cars at auction.

    Failing that, there are usually some "dealers" that have "lots" near the auction site. For a fee they will find your car at the auction and buy it for you, since they have no inventory and only buy the car you want and sell it to you immediately they should be able to offer a very attractive price.

    Dennis
  • davidgrace73davidgrace73 Member Posts: 4
    I worked at CarMax for some time and can tell you about everything. Please know there's alot of great info here please read on past just the Selling your car to Carmax paragraph.

    Many Interesting things about CarMax:

    Selling your Car to CarMax?
    Well if someone wants a super great offer on his car he should put it in the paper test drive with strangers, have odd people at his home and awnser lots of phone calls at his house. The true irony comes when me as the CarMax (former) guy says "Oh yeah hmm you've said lots of info about Kelley Blue Book/NADA and so on and that you think 12k for your car would be fair...What may I ask is your payoff to the Bank on this loan" and watch people sheepishly say " My loan payoff is 12k"......(This isnt always the case but 9 out of 10 times it is.) Your payoff has nothing to do with your cars true value. Note at the bottom of every Kelley Blue Book estimate is clearly said: this is not an actual value this is an estimate and should not be used in transactions, true value of your car should be determined by a physical appraisal.

    Working there;
    What about the Various Departments?
    The Buyer Position pays well and is a good job. The Business Office Clerk is OK too. Service Guys love working in a lovely service bay that has A/C and is clean and the pay is good. CarMax really underpays its SALES STAFF and is in no way competative with the field of Auto Sales whatsoever. No Joke, the Wash and Vacuum kids make more than the majority of the Sales Staff.

    How are the Benifits?
    Fair overall, the Dental is good the Vision is so-so. The Medical has a high Co-Pay and you have to pay for it monthly...its not cheep either. The corporate geeks are always negotiating with the providers so the Benifits tend to change.

    What of the Hours?
    The SALES GUYS seem to think the schedule is good but end up having to work alot because the pay is so bad i.e. commision only (tiny small commision on each sale.) SERVICE GUYS love it and say its the best garage they have ever been at. BUSINESS OFFICE clerks could be there finishing up paper til midnight. The BUYERS DEPT seems content and happy with their hrs.

    Business Practices?
    Truthful and Honast. Im still puzzled though as to how they buy cars at 500 below Kelley and sell them at 700 (usually) below Kelley Retail. With a clear profit of about 3-7k but tell everyone they only try to make $1600 on each sale. They say that they put thousands into reconditioning each car...thats a joke and soon to be an inditement for money laundering/false tax right offs. Or then again maybe thats why the Wash and Vacuum kids make more than their Sales Staff.

    Would I buy a Car there?
    Yes.

    Would I work there again?
    Someone really needs to sit with the CEO of CarMax about the way they pay their Sales Staff. But yes pehaps as a Buyers position. Or the guy that fixes dents and scratches he makes like 4-5k per month!

    ***Best Insight***
    CarMax was and is an affliate of Circuit City: the company that replaced your Electronics Saleman with the kid from McDonalds to be your helpful advisor.LOL.
    Thats why everyone goes to Best Buy now. Their menatility on how to pay and treat sales people carries on in CarMax.

    Dave
  • andeetandeet Member Posts: 142
    That is well said. Someone posted a question about Carmax on edmunds' Question and Answer section. He said it sucks that SCs get only paid 150.00s for the whole deal. I agree. I've bought two cars from Carmax and had the same sales consultant for both. She made both deals quite unique and yet she only made 300.00 bucks for both???? We became good business friends and when we usually run into each other; we'll talk for couple of minutes.

    One day, she had the courage to ask me about my employer about possible employment. She knew how much I was making and I know her Carmax skills she would make good warehouse clerk. We have reference hiring process and I actually offered her that process. But I think what scares her is the fact she might have to operate a forklift because she said "I rather drive any car over a forklift anyday." She could be making $20.00 hour and all the overtime she wants. Including full insurance benefits, 401k, profit sharing bonus (was $1,200 last year), end of the year bonus, weekly sales bonus, six month employment sign on bonus (about $2,000)...she said "No." All she has to do is attend the safety warehouse equipment course (kind of like Driver's Ed) on the first day and stand or sit behind a desk all day while doing data entry stuff like warehouse stock in and outs forms that dock workers fill out, reply & send to e-mails about vendor problems to the head manager, and talk with truck drivers by stating what dock they should back in their trailers to. All that for least 38,000-40,000 grand a year at private owned multi-billion dollar shipping supplies company and she still said "No." lol

    Anyway please tell me they least get some type of bonus for hitting certain sales mark???? If they don't; I'm going to say this "That's screwed up!"
  • dwynnedwynne Member Posts: 4,018
    Given the no haggle prices (way too high) and the source of most of their cars (the auction) I fail to see why anyone as smart as you seem would buy from CarMax.

    I have friends and co-workers that buy from them, and pay as much for some used car as they could a new one on a deal. I offer to help them negotiate and steer them to dealers I have worked with in the past, but they just find the concept of dealing beyond them, I guess. No kidding, when the run an ad in the newspaper quite often they list a 1 or 2 year old car and the price CarMax has is nearly the same or even higher than a new car dealer's ad for a NEW car of the same model.

    There is something to be said about loathing to haggle and the constant worry some folks have that they over paid, got ripped, or could have asked for a lower price - but EVERYONE that buys from CarMax overpays.

    Dennis
  • andeetandeet Member Posts: 142
    It's quite funny how you said "No kidding, when the run an ad in the newspaper quite often they list a 1 or 2 year old car and the price CarMax has is nearly the same or even higher than a new car dealer's ad for a NEW car of the same model." My car was getting serviced for CEL problem (Remember my Carmax is also Toyota dealer) and I went to used car lot to waste some waiting time. And I had this rookie Carmax sales consultant come up to me. He stated "As you can tell we are more prone to haggle more on the used side than the new side." I couldn't believe he actually told me this. Then he said "It's amazing how many people come in looking at used Toyota and see the huge 3 grand difference then they go on the new side and buy the new one for less."

    I bought both Scions new xA for 14,500 and tC for 17,780. xA had step above basic radio and floormats other than that it was basic. I was told by my sales consultant that they can go below the 2.00 difference and if they did Toyota will yell at them. She explained that couple of costumers have gotten the price tag below it and Toyota yelled at them. Which means Carmax got busted few times for selling Scions below the invoice by Toyota.
  • davidgrace73davidgrace73 Member Posts: 4
    There are so many hidden dealer incentives and programs that even the most covert/007 Edmunds researcher may never discover them all (even Managers at the Manufacturers Dealer dont know of some sales incentives that only payout only to Dealership Owners).What this means to you and me consumer is INVOICE really has no meaning anymore in the car biz. Also take caution in comparing Newspaper ads for price...the empty AD car usually has no options and is in some retarded color when you attend the Dealer, if it even exists "Oh that one sold Sir but we have....."

    If there is one dealer that would put the CarMax business plan to the real test Youre right it would be Scion. Ironically they disclosed in Forbes Magazine they are attemting to copy the CarMax buying experience.

    Ya know a car these days is estimated overall to have 5-8% retail markup/profit margin...Your furniture has a 200-400% retail mark up, your bed you sleep on 300-400% retail and the clothes we wear wins at least with 100% retail profit margin. LOL However You and Me included both become Businessman Good-Deal experts when it come to cars. Where we get really huff and puffy is when we see how our cars have depreciated over two years. Overall if anything Id pay a little more to get some great service and have a fun experience in my purchase...CarMax offers that to many people.
  • dwynnedwynne Member Posts: 4,018
    I always just settle for known invoice less known dealer incentives, if I can get a deal at that price or a little below I am usually happy. If they make 100% mark up on my shirt, no big deal since it don't pay much for clothes. Ditto on furniture, food, or other items. When you talk about big money, things are different. I sold and purchased houses without agents to avoid paying their 6% commissions - and those transactions worked out just fine. A real estate lawyer charged my $150 a pop to handle the contracts and paperwork each time - and saved a ton compared to commission even considering the "Advertising" budget. Same with cars, big money equals more concern on the profit. I can understand the dealer's side, though. No one marches into the retail store and shows the manager what they paid for every shirt, shoe, and kitchen appliance in the store - but they do that with a car dealer.

    I drive an xB as my snow day car, but I didn't play that full price game with them. I purchased one of their loaner cars with 3k or so on it and lots of free add ons (upgraded stereo, spoiler, mats, fog lights, etc) and even had them toss in the cruise for $150 as well. They had just dropped the price when I snatched mine up and it was a nice price.

    I avoid the depreciation blues by leasing most of what we drive around here. Let the lease bank take the risk and no trade in hassles.

    My dealership experiences are almost always first rate - I just don't deal with dumb dealers. I have purchased from dealers all over the place - going where the deal is right on the right car. Never have to argue or fuss, get the prices worked out in advance, then just show up, check the paper work, sign, and drive off. The Scion dealer was no different - better or worse - than my other recent experiences.

    Dennis
  • blkbr0thablkbr0tha Member Posts: 25
    Was curious- who else provides the same services (guaranteed price for your used car) as Carmax? Just curious if anyone has seen tv commercials or seen any other provider of the same "Buy my car" setup as the CARMAX'ers.
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