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Comments
Are you still driving the truck? Doesn't sound like you bought Maxcare andyou did buy a used car. It's a bit premature to start shouting lawsuit. Do you want to spend more in legal fees than you paid for your truck?
No other car dealership will give you 100% of your money back five days after purchase. It just happened to be three days outside of the 5 days you started having a concern.
I recommend you contact the Carmax General Manager at the store you purchased it from and explain what has been going on. You're almost outside of your initial 30 days, they will not refund your money outside of their 5 day return; however, depending on the severity of the problem you may be having, Carmax may allow you to exchange your truck for another vehicle.
I hate shady, dishonest dealerships more. There is NO way this problem just started right after I bought the truck. I worked as a mechanic when I got out of high school, so I well aware that you can jerry-rig a vehicle to pass a test drive. I am feeling more and more like this is the case. Especially when I was unable to get a name or contact information for the transmission shop where they sent my vehicle.
"Are you still driving the truck?"
Nope. They gave me a loaner, Mercury Mariner, which is clearly NOT comparable to a half-ton pickup.
"Doesn't sound like you bought Maxcare "
Yep...sure did.
"andyou did buy a used car. "
Yea...from a dealer who allegedly runs their vehicles through the ringer and puts them through a 12 hours minimum reconditioning (not true, by the way)
"It's a bit premature to start shouting lawsuit"
I am not shouting lawsuit. I am, however, looking into Lemon Laws and the, apparently numerous, class action lawsuits involving Carmax. I am looking into all of my options. I am also more than irritated by the fact that the dealer initially claimed the problem was nothing to be concerned about and now it is going back and forth between shops.
"Do you want to spend more in legal fees than you paid for your truck?"
FYI: it only costs a few hundred bucks to handle a Lemon Law suit here in TX if it comes to that.
"No other car dealership will give you 100% of your money back five days after purchase."
Do me a favor and don't make patently false statements.
"It just happened to be three days outside of the 5 days you started having a concern. "
Check the dates. It "just happened" over a federal holiday weekend. There was nothing I could have done about it anyway. How convenient for them. I must also note that the entire time the truck was driven in that period was less than 50 miles. I was at home preparing to move, so I wasn't really going anywhere.
"I recommend you contact the Carmax General Manager at the store you purchased it from and explain what has been going on. "
They have been contacted and have not returned messages. Not surprising, really.
"You're almost outside of your initial 30 days, they will not refund your money outside of their 5 day return; however, depending on the severity of the problem you may be having, Carmax may allow you to exchange your truck for another vehicle."
I am sure there are ways around that 5 day thing. That is what I am looking into. Plainly stated, the vehicle had a pre-existing condition that they weaseled around and now it is being a problem and I am without my vehicle that I am still paying for and insuring.
Honestly, I am half-tempted to wait until the truck is repaired and then sell it just to get out from under this nonsense. I am not willing to do business with them any further. This is ridiculous.
I am not sure what "grinding in the accelerato pedal" could mean, but if the problem is in the pedal then it seems like something you could live with or have fixed cheap. I am not sure how Carmax could have rigged something up to fool you into buying the truck - have it work for days and then fail. Carmax auctions and has dealer sales for vehicles they can't sell and something with a problem they knew about would likely be sold wholesale to a dealer and not retailed to a buyer.
As far as I know there are no used car lemon laws, by their very nature used cars will fail without warning or usually warranty. Most used car dealers don't offer a buy back program either. At best, you could swap for something on the lot. Many would offer no help at all for buyer's remorse or problems post sale.
In hindsight, if offered a buy back guarantee then I would make sure I did a lot of driving under varied conditions to wring out any problems and make sure I would be happy. Driven enough, there would be no way to "rig something up" to pass a short test drive.
You state you purchased Carmax's extended warranty "MaxCare" which might help, but then you complain because you moved to a location where a trip to the nearest Carmax with 3 hours one way?
I am no Carmax fan boy, I think their no haggle price is way too high compared to working a deal with another dealer. "In theory" they have nice vehicles that are inspected, but like you I am not sure how much extra value should be placed on that inspection (or those by any other dealer). I think they get the bulk of their vehicles from auctions so they don't get to inspect them completely pre-purchase. Like any dealer with any used vehicle they can have issues after purchase no matter how much or how little they were inspected.
What *I* would do is find a quality local shop and get the problem diagnosed and an estimate for the repairs - this may cost you a little out of pocket. Once you know what the problem is and the repair, then work with Carmax to make sure it is covered and repaired. I would then ask for my up front money back. It might be cheaper and easier than making 6 hour round trips.
Good luck!
Please, show me where I expected the vehicle to be perfect. Just one line that indicated that. Ok...now that we've covered just making things up, let's see what I did expect. What I expected was that Carmax would thoroughly inspect their vehicles to ensure these kinds of issues would be addressed. I forgot to mention, the truck only has about 55k on it. Also, don't insult my intelligence with statements about the truck having potential for problems. I am well aware of that. Thus my reasons for going to a dealer that claims to do all kinds of reconditioning prior to sale.
"I am not sure what "grinding in the accelerato pedal" could mean, but if the problem is in the pedal then it seems like something you could live with or have fixed cheap. I am not sure how Carmax could have rigged something up to fool you into buying the truck - have it work for days and then fail. Carmax auctions and has dealer sales for vehicles they can't sell and something with a problem they knew about would likely be sold wholesale to a dealer and not retailed to a buyer."
Let me explain: This model of truck is "drive by wire," meaning there is no longer a physical connection between the gas pedal and the throttle body assembly. Such a grinding is evidence of any number of things, including a bad transmission/torque convertor, bad driveshaft/spider gears/u-joints, bad throttle valve motor, etc. In my shop experience, none of these "just happen" and there would have been evidence of damage or defect. As far as rigging it to work, that isn't hard to accomplish either, especially considering how far the truck actually drove during that time.
"As far as I know there are no used car lemon laws, by their very nature used cars will fail without warning or usually warranty. Most used car dealers don't offer a buy back program either. At best, you could swap for something on the lot. Many would offer no help at all for buyer's remorse or problems post sale."
Lemon Laws, apparently, also apply to Breach of Representation, which is what this looks like. As I said, now three times, I am looking into these options if they do not rectify this situation.
"You state you purchased Carmax's extended warranty "MaxCare" which might help, but then you complain because you moved to a location where a trip to the nearest Carmax with 3 hours one way?"
Not complaining, just stating a fact that it is a waste of gas to have to make that drive.
"What *I* would do is find a quality local shop and get the problem diagnosed and an estimate for the repairs - this may cost you a little out of pocket. Once you know what the problem is and the repair, then work with Carmax to make sure it is covered and repaired. I would then ask for my up front money back. It might be cheaper and easier than making 6 hour round trips."
I asked if that was an option an was told it is not. The ONLY reason it is at Carmax is because I purchased their coverage. Now, if they can't fix it, I am looking into a replacement because I don't have time to be in and out of a vehicle.
I am about to call a lawyer. Maybe I can file a lien against the dealership and their inventory until I get paid! That should motivate them!
This is the third car we have purchased from Carmax. It is going to the the last. A business is only as good as their word and right now, their word is worthless.
- Sung
Folks, use your brains and do not bu from CarSux!
The Sandman :sick: :shades:
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
And, since Carmax sells all brands, I would question the ability of their mechanics to work on all brands.
Now here it is April and my credit union just called to tell me they are releasing their lienholder status on my car because I never had a loan through them to begin with.
But I am TRULY thrilled that Carmax gave my bank the legal authority to lay claim to a car i ultimately paid cash for. There was NO disclosure that by paying with a cashier's check I would be essentially granting the issuer of the cashier's check a legal claim to my car.
YET my bank is the entity that has had the pink slip to my car in their hands for over 3 months now.
Thanks Carmax for shooting to hell what had been a good experience.
Given a normal car purchase I wouldn't go near them, I can haggle 3-5k our of a carmax price.
The test drive went well. Our associate knew the car quite well, gave us plenty of time to drive and look it over. We liked that.
In hindsight, we wish we our current car was being appraised while we were test driving. We had to kill time when we got back from the test drive while it was appraised. We suggest you get that going before your test drive. Our appraisal was more than fair. We liked that.
Your financing was 1/2% under our best one from our Credit Union. We liked that.
Maxcare (their extended warranty) was offered to us. Our associate went over the benefits. At first glance we thought it was a good deal, especially since it was included in the financing. But since we never buy at the moment we see something, we told him we'd do some more research on the car and everything and then come back that afternoon.
After some research, we thought they had a good deal on the vehicle but not on Maxcare and came back to buy the car. After hearing we didn't want Maxcare, our associate wouldn't let up on it over the next 45 minutes of closing on the car. Over and over again he wanted to get us to buy it, even stating at one point, "I guess you don't want to take care of your car."
The more he went on and on about it, the more we knew Maxcare was not a good deal. He must have been losing out on a commission, which means it costs too much because they have the commission built into it. This is the only downside to Carmax: their associates are on commission, just like a dealership.
The last disappointing thing that happened (in an otherwise good experience) is that the money they were paying us for my car wasn't put into bringing our new car price down, but was post financing to bringing down my payments, like a pre-payment. The later did bring my final financing down but was more than me insisting they move it to bring my car's final cost down, thus lowering my principle and thus lowering even more my monthly payments. I guess this is another way Carmax makes money.
So all in all, it's not 100% "the way car buying should be" but it certainly better than buying used from a dealership or Joe Shmoo.
I had to re-read this part a couple of times.. That seems really shady. I would worry that they would renege on the trade-in part of the deal, after you'd closed, and you would end up with two cars... and, a bigger payment.
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Like all extended service contracts, particularly those not from the OEM, an extended service contract from Carmax seems best avoided.
I have very little patience, or time, for selling cars so I was willing to except a lower offer for the sake of convenience but I was astounded by the low appraisal from CarMax. The car I was selling was three years old with low mileage, the top trim level of a popular model and in perfect condition. The offer from the small lot where I bought my new, used, car, while still low in comparison to the Edmund’s values, was $1000 higher than the CarMax offer.
They were professional and efficient and I can appreciate their business model, but you really are paying a lot more for the convenience they provide and, despite the advertising, they are not paying a fair price for used cars.
Almost bought from here this month but decided that the used vehicle was just too expensive for what I was getting. They lowballed my pristine trade in but at least I had a low price where I could base everything else on. I also liked the sales guy I dealt with even though he was leaving for a better position somewhere else.
All in all, they have a good wide selection but am glad I bought a new vehicle where I did.
The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
I purchased a car from Carmax this past Saturday. I had it transferred and when they called to say it was in, I went immediately to look at it. Had I known before I went that once I stepped on the lot, I either had to buy the car or they would re-list it, I would have waited to go see it until I had my financing and own mechanic lined up. I drove the car and loved it. Knowing that they had a 5 day return policy and that I could switch my loan after purchase, I went ahead and bought it. On Monday I took it to my own mechanic for a once over and he said that the car was in rough shape. It only had 28,000 miles on it and already needed a new clutch. It also was out of alignment and that there was evidence that the car had been run hard. He suggested that I return the car because he saw nothing but problems with it. Carmax was wonderful regarding the return. I will give them that, but I don't understand how someplace that claims to be so picky about every car they put on their lot missing something as basic as needing a new clutch and the alignment being out. I informed them of everything that my mechanic found wrong with the car. To my surprise, the next day, there was the car re-listed on the internet. I don't believe for one minute that they fixed anything with the car. They put a car back on the website fully aware that it had issues. The buying/return of the car was simple and straightforward. I was even considering looking for another car through them, as long as I had an independent mechanic check the car over, but after I saw that car re-listed, I don't trust them at all.
I am not one to leave reviews on forums but my last purchase through Carmax has completely changed their image and brand I was loyal to. I purchased a 2008 Porsche Carrera from their Las Vegas location this past April. The car was beautiful but had minor items that needed to be fixed, to be exact
the headlights needed to be adjusted, the rear bumper was lose, and the passenger seat rail was not functional.
It took me two weeks to be able book an appointment for the items to be repaired under their "30 day warranty" period. Once I had the appointment, I was promised my car back within one week. Two weeks and four days went by and I was still waiting for them to return my vehicle. I reached out to my service advisor but she advised me Porsche needed to complete their repairs. Out of frustration I called Porsche my self to come to find out the car had been finished three days prior to my call.
When I received my car back and had driven home, I noticed a dent caused by a vehicle door that was not there when I initilly dropped my car off. I immediately contacted my service advisor to discuss this and left her over five voicemails in a span of 5 days but have not heard back from her. I tried contacting their corporate office via email several times and completed two customer satisfaction surveys that were emailed to me and I still have not heard from anyone at Carmax.
It is very unfortunate that a company that has such a great edge in the auto industry has such a bad level of customer service and focus.
J. Ramos
I have bought 4 cars from CarMax, and had good experiences with the people and they made it pretty easy. They charge too much for the licensing fees, but it is convenient for them to get your tags. My biggest complaint is with the Service Dept., they are not open on weekends and are actually very limited in their knowledge of various vehicles. They are not quick to get back to you, and if it's under their warranty they think they can keep it for two weeks.
"Used car sales company CarMax is under intense scrutiny over the safety of cars it sells, as auto safety and consumer organizations have filed a petition to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). If supported, the petition would compel CarMax to cease advertising its cars as quality inspected and certified as long as recalled cars are sold unrepaired."
Groups Attack CarMax Over Selling Recalled Cars (automobilemag.com)
All in all, this has been the absolute worst car buying experience in my 30 years of buying cars.
Folks needing a late model used vehicle would, in most cases, be more likely to receive a better overall experience buying a CPO vehicle from a dealer. Better service, most likely better condition, and very often a lower price, assuming one can negotiate even just a bit.
My limited experience with Carmax is their prices are very high. Example, a few years ago I bought a new Corolla. Carmax had a Corolla, current model year, with less options and 12K miles. Carmax's no haggle price was actually several hundred dollars more than what I paid for the brand new Corolla.
A good axiom is a purchase from any car dealer, particualry used car dealers, that attempts to sell at a set price will result in a price which is considerably higher than prices obtained via negotiation.
Good luck!!
The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
Every time I buy a new vehicle I check Carmax to see what set price they are selling my trade vehicle, usually only a couple of years old. I am never disappointed in that they always set a price ridiculously high.
Both companies explained the Carmax has a vehicle wholesale organization set up, so they can sell cars cheaper than smaller companies. The guys who buy your car have to ship it, float the money and then pay high fees at the auto auction. One company told me that it cost them $1500 - $2000 in expenses just to get the car to auction. This seems high, but that was his explanation for the extremely low quote.
I went to a couple other local dealers. They low balled me. When I showed them the Carmax offer, they offered to match it. So, basically, they put no effort into my appraisal,.
The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
A few years ago, I got a real lowball quote there and didn't hesitate to complain about it on these forums.
The resr of the experience was ok.
This time, I got quoted a good number and ended up selling them the car, and the process was pretty easy.
My wife is pregnant and will soon give birth to our first child. Before this we were a one car family with a Fiat 500 and my wife was very concerned about not having a car to bring baby boy home from the hospital in, not to mention to make it to all of the Doctor appointments for wellness checks in. So, I decided why not make the purchase a Christmas present/surprise since we needed one anyways! Only problem was I had this revelation on Wednesday December 21, 2016 and Carmax was to be closed on the 24th and 25th for Christmas. The real issue was that the perfect car (She had been wanting a white Patriot for a few years now) was all the way in Clearwater, FL... some 250 miles away.
I was told by the sales rep at Pompano Beach that while it was possible the car may be there by Friday, in time for me to pick up prior to Christmas, it was in no way a certainty. I then contacted the Clearwater store to speak with someone who handles the outgoing shipments and he basically told me that it was not going to happen.
From my understanding, the way it works with Carmax is when the car you want is at a location less than 200 miles Carmax will do the shipping itself and it usually takes 1-3 days. But when it is further than that they outsource to carrier companies. In that case they have to wait until they have enough cars to send to make it economical for them to do so and also deal with bidding/price hunting etc... which complicates the who thing and makes everything take much longer.
After learning all of this I gave the corporate office a call and got in touch with a Emilee, an analyst from the Carmax Customer Care Team. I explained my situation and how much it would mean to my wife and I (both in the form of glee for her and reduced anxiety for the both of us) if they could somehow get the car to Pompano Beach in time for me to pick up on Friday.
Before the end of the week Emilee had gotten a whole team of people in the corporate office working on getting the car to us in time. I received telephone updates from her all along the way. By Thursday afternoon I received an email informing me that the car was in transit, followed by a call from Emilee letting me know that everything worked out and the car should be there Thursday evening or Friday morning and a call from the Sales Manager at the Pompano Beach store letting me know that he had spoken to Emilee and once the car arrived they were going to expedite the "unpacking" and everything that that entails.
The real cherry on top came on January 3rd when my wife received a FedEx package while I was at work. Inside she found a set of very nice swaddling blankets and a card that read: "Chris, Thank you so much for letting our Pompano Beach Team help you find your new-to-you Jeep Patriot for your growing family! Here's a small token from CarMax to welcome your new addition. We hope your Jeep Patriot takes you on incredible new adventures! Sincerely, Emilee, Your CarMax Customer Care Team"
Everyone was super amazing and I could not be more grateful for the professional and caring people at both the local Sample Road Pompano Beach Store and the Corporate office. Thanks to Cristy (Pompano Beach sales rep) as well for making the whole process and painless as possible.
As a side note: The Patriot was absolutely immaculate inside and out despite having 27k miles on it, my wife would have sworn it was new before she saw the odemeter... She was happy I saved us some money
Luckily, I live very close to the Sample Rd. CarMax and not to far from either their Ft. Lauderdale and Boynton Beach locations. It's fun to see what they have in stock because they move their inventory quickly.
The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
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I screamed bloody murder to CARFAX and they sent me the stock reply: "we are constantly updating our database and are not responsible for new information that comes in from public records, blah blah blah".
So yeah, information "updated" from 8 years prior was put on my car's CARFAX.
Of course, my car is now practically worthless so it doesn't matter very much.
Apparently, this can happen to anyone. So relying 100% on a vehicle history report doesn't bring peace of mind.
The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
Haven't heard that they tack on anything else, other than what is required by the state (DMV fees)
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Four years ago, I purchased my third vehicle from CarMax, an Audi Q5, along with a MaxCare warranty. On July 24th of this year, my wife and son got stuck on the side of Afton Mounting going to Harrisonburg, VA because the engine of the Audi Q5 blew up. Luckily, despite being stuck on the shoulder of a mountain road, neither she nor our son was hurt. After spending the weekend picking up my family, I had the car towed to the nearest dealer to be repaired. I assumed that this was the end of our harrowing experience.
However, I had not started dealing with MaxCare, yet.
The dealer called MaxCare the following week with the repair information and was told MaxCare denied the claim. When I purchased my car from CarMax, the sales associate told me that “people love the MaxCare warranty.” Well, I certainly don’t. Dealing with MaxCare has been nothing short of a catastrophic failure, exactly the kind of failure that our car experienced, and exactly the kind of failure I expect a warranty to cover.
My claim was denied twice by MaxCare. On top of the fact that CarMax sold a car that blew up after only being driven 45,000 miles, I have now spent three weeks trying to get the car repaired. This is completely unacceptable. I bought the MaxCare warranty for “peace of mind” not for “added stress and aggravation.”
The Audi clearly experienced an engine failure that should be covered by the “comprehensive” warranty. The car had been serviced by Audi of Richmond and Delta V Auto and was up to date on all scheduled maintenance. I understand that the repairs will be expensive. But if CarMax doesn’t want to cover repairs for an Audi, then either 1) don’t sell the vehicle or 2) don’t sell insurance.
Weaseling out of your responsibility is a horrible way to treat your loyal customers.
Again, don't bother with the MaxCare insurance. It won't be there when you need it.
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)