Actually it’s not “bumper to bumper” but their warranties are usually recommended considering these are used cars, and you don’t know what it’s been through
As a former car salesperson, I will do ANYTHING to avoid setting foot in a dealership, to be humiliated by their deceptive, demeaning "haggling" games. I once bought from Carmax. Very good, reliable car, good price, and no hassles.
Carmax gave me $20k for my 2015 accord. I owed 17K. Other dealerships wanted to give me 15K max. Wasn't planning on buying a vehicle but they gave me way more than I expected so I ended up getting a 2016 Highlander xle. Best 3 Hours spent at a dealership. Everything was easy and zero hassle with paperwork.
S John Consider yourself lucky! They will appraise most cars, a few thousand dollars lower than what the blue book values cars at.. just to make a few extra dollars. It’s a a straight up business, not a trustworthy family member or friend of yours.
HAHA I was 1/2 through reading your comment and thought "probably because the Mini was a shitting car". Sorry he had an issue. Some times used German cars are not a good buy
I understand that BMW supplies them with parts, however, they won't give any warranties. I know a guy who had one. He told me the battery died and the dealer wanted $400 for a new one!
Yes I would love a full review if anyone knows about actually actually using the car max care to get repairs done. They say it’s covered but do they nickel and dime you for other things I might not be aware of. They sell it like it’s the best thing on earth and it sounds fantastic but again I can’t find any reviews about people who’ve actually use the Carmax care taking their car and it would be so helpful thank you
We purchased a 2006 Kia Sedona mini van from CM about 8-9 years ago and had it for a little under a year - one of the wheels had what seemed to be a balance issue and even after replacing wheel bearings and other suspension parts CM was never able to get it perfect (even after they had sent it to a Kia dealer). They bought it back for almost the full amount we paid. Very happy with the experience - I've also sold several cars there and always make a trip to CM for an appraisal especially if my intention is to trade the car for one at a dealership. Always a very positive buying or selling experience - nearest we could tell we spent about $800 more than a very similar van at another dealership but less than if it were purchased at a Kia dealer so your "mileage" or savings may vary - I know that no other dealership would have been as willing to make things right or give options as CM did.
100% agree. I have but nine cars in my lifetime, so far. 3 for 3.. I was ripped off big time at auto dealerships. I hated the negotiations and I knew that I had been taken advantage of. They didn't stand behind their sale, and all three cars had problems. I regretted buying all three of them. My other 6 purchases have been through CarMax. And I will never go anywhere but CarMax again. The purchase of the car was such an enjoyable experience, I have absolutely loved each and every car, and I knew that if there was a problem the CarMax would take it back within the first week or make it right within the first 30 days. But I never really had any problems. I can't say enough about their business model and how much I trust them!
First car i ordered was dropped off the tow truck, but I was given a transfer refund. Chose another car on the lot. Left with a 2005 g 35 in 2012 for $15,500 with 90k miles. With warranty total cost was 21,000 with 9.5 to 10% 6 year intrest. Car broke down at 140k miles, Warranty, sealed all oil leaks and whatever minor works done at dealership was $6000 but I paid $100 detectable. 150k miles motor belts almost ripped and was replaced, both camshaft sensor a and b wore out and i also replaced it myself. Car is paid off now and running like day 1 at 180k miles, no leaks, no cracks, praying to hit 200k +. Not buying another car from carmax too expensive overall, but warrantt saved my ass.
God day HM.this vid hit close to home. a friend bought a 15 Hyundai elantra with 30k on the clock from carmax.they let me inspect it in the lot. short of getting it on a lift I did a thorough inspection. the car looked excellent. the purchase experience was pleasant and she drove off with it. HOWEVER several months later it developed a rod knock. back to Hyundai it went under warranty. as the old saying goes..stuff happens...carmax is way above the standard dealer experience...
My Carmax experience. Carmax significantly over price their vehicles and significantly undervalue the customers trade vehicle. Their 30 day return policy for a full refund is the only reason to do business with them.
My father bought a 2001 Dodge Neon R/T, 5-speed manual from Carmax back in 2006. It's needed a few repairs, but overall it's been a good car. Over 200K miles and it's still on the road. Gets driven fairly regularly.
Really appreciate your input on Carmax, Charles! Everything you touched on is pretty much spot on. Ive owned 4 cars from there and every single one of them were perfect. I did have an a/c compressor clutch go out on one of them, but i also had the warranty and i had it back the same day with zero deductible. Also, as a recon tech and i can tell you that our inspection procedure is the best I have ever seen. Not only mechanically, but every last detail, switch, dial, option.. It all gets checked, verified, and rechecked. Our technicians take great pride in their work and each vehicle goes through no less than at least 4 people before it goes up for sale. There are always one-off occurrences - but that is the nature of vehicles. As you said.. buy the warranty. Cars are nothing more than complex machines and every single one of them can have an issue at any given time. Carmax gets a lot of respect for being one of the only dealerships that have no haggle pricing. However, some people like that aspect of being able to negotiate and are disappointed when they cannot haggle. But the common person really appreciates the ease and friendliness and straightforward approach. And i really respect the fact that they will sell a car fit for the person's needs, not the sales consultant's wallet as you said. That's transparent honesty and integrity and exactly how it should be and one of the company's core principles.
An advantage is they make most of their money from the cars they sell at auction. Why is this good? They're only going to sell the cars at the dealer that are safe and mechanically factory, minus the occasional exhaust or after market wheels. They won't sell you modified vehicles or cars that have been repaired in a way that they think hurts the value. They really don't make much money at all on their cars at the dealership. Sometimes it's literally like $150. They make money on maxcare, financing, and add on things like if you want to add a back up camera or leather seats. Maxcare is awesome but in my opinion it is over priced sometimes. Look very hard at what the factory warranty covers. At the end of they day they've spent a lot of time figuring out all the factors of the money. And they only are going to make the bare minimum and not try and get rich of each car. It's a numbers game. They win buy selling a million cars not 10,000.
Yep, they have been doing it a long time, and have figured it out. It will really boil down to the car. I havent looked at warranty pricing in a long time. But I have seen plenty of VW owners pay for that warranty in 1 or maybe 2 repairs. Cars a insane expensive to fix today. Hell, even I would buy the warranty. LOL
HumbleMechanic I worked there until about a couple years ago. I bought my gti whole sale because it had modified suspension and Carmax wouldn't sell it on the lot. Got a great deal. Was looking at 08 r32s. The maxcare was $5,500. I'll admit it's a higher risk vehicle for them to cover but damn! The engine could blown and you might be able to replace it for less than that cash
tdawg719 I used to be a ops manager and the average profit margin for front lot cars is around 5k per car. They break even at there in house auction because it's a dealer only and dealers won't over pay for cars. They make good money of maxcare and make tons of having in house financing.
4 hours to make a deal???? I usually after test drive have a deal within an hour to hour and a half max. If the sales rep goes to speak to the manager, they better be back in 5 min or less. I do NOT like a manager who takes 20 min to accept or counter the numbers.
when i bought my Golf TDI new, thats how the VW dealer was when I picked up the car. They had a price, they had the addons and discounts ($5000 TDI rebate). It was all black and white, prices were in place and were not negotiated. I did however get a lower price on the extended warranty because I wasn't really sold on how it worked, so he did upsell me on that, and lifetime oil changes. I had a great buying experience. I liked all the people I talked to, especially the service manager who I talked to a few weeks before I bought the car. The car will always go to the dealer for maintenance and work, and I'm happy to pay a bit more for the peace of mind.
7:45 In the $15,000 range, I have found Carmax to be about $1000 higher than KBB, NADA, and Edmunds values for the same cars in the same condition and with similar mileage.
Hey Charles, nice info. I definitely agree with most everything you said. Both my wife and I, and my mother had amazing experiences at CM. we bought a 13 Ford Explorer and we were in and out in 2 hours, including walking the lot, picking the car, test driving, and signing the paperwork. I also work in the repair industry as a former tech and current service manager for a national chain and so I refused to purchase without them bringing the car in allowing me to personally inspect the axles, bearings and brakes personally on the lift. Our vehicle came from up North and I definitely wanted to see what rust had touched underneath. my only complaint was that the tires were at 4/32 and I tried to have them replace them but as you said, no negotiating lol. oh well, my company makes tires so I got to put some 80k high quality rubber on them anyways.
Honda/Acura Certified Pre-Owned is the best deal going. Someone leased the vehicle for a couple years and then you can buy it for about half of the original price; they paid for half of the total depreciation on the vehicle for you. Plus, Honda/Acura has good financing.
I so agree with you on the haggling thing! I have went to dealerships and asked for a price and they wouldn't even give me a firm price.they just kept asking me what I wanted my payments to be every month!I finally just walked away.....
My most recent car, and my daughter's most recent car are both out of CarMax, I'm a 'car guy' I do a lot of my own wrenching and I've also worked in the sales side at a dealership. I think CarMax is a great operation. I liked the experience, I got a great car... My daughter has the same story even though she was buying at a much lower price point. Since I did most of my research online my time in the actual dealership was less than two hours, they shipped in two different cars of the same make and model for me to check out, so it was just a matter of test driving each and picking the right one. Very simple and no complaints. For the specific car I bought, I don't think I could have beaten the price anywhere. For the deal my daughter did (a few months earlier, and without me present) I think she could have beat the price, but her car is rock solid, and like this video explains, the difference in price probably wasn't worth the headache anyhow. She has a car she likes, that has no issues at all. I'll be buying more cars from them in the future.
My sister works there as an interior refurbisher and she likes them and has bought a car from them. Personally when I looked at their prices I thought the prices were a little high, but you are buying some piece of mind.
I know that story . I am staying in a hotel, and the internet is a nightmare. I am uploading tomorrow's show in the lobby. I hope I don't have to sleep down here. :/
Agreed 100%! Bought a 2006 Mini Cooper s, it was only $450 over the dealership next door. Also, when the right side passenger break went out, all I did was bring it in to the carmax location and they did all the break pads and did another full inspection on their dime. This was circa 2011. Only down side was summer tires on the car when bought in late fall.
Great info, thanks! I've never bought from CarMax but I know people who have had good experiences there! My only complaint is that CarMax (at least the one near me in Dallas, TX) insists that a salesperson rides with you on the test drive! They make you follow their little 4 mile route (all on nice smooth streets) and don't even let you get on the highway!
LOL, I understand that. That was the policy when I worked there too. Often if you get a cool sales person, they will let you go off the regular test route.
I explained to my salesman via email that my commute is a 16 mile canyon on poorly maintained roads and that tooling around Burbank wasn't going to give me a good test drive, he completely accommodated and my drive was where I wanted to go and took as long as I wanted... we were away from the dealership for about an hour. Maybe it varies by location, but I got no hassle about needing a different test drive.
Depending on the sales person you can take a different route. I told my salesman that the car I was buying needed to take me on a very curvy mountain road every week and he recommended a few roads near the area that were very curvy and hilly. And at the Knoxville TN location, taking the car on the highway is part of the standard test drive circuit -- probably depends on how far one has to drive from the lot to the nearest highway onramp :)
Buying new or used is a shell game, instead of a ball, there's a turd. While you go back and forth with the sales staff they keep moving that turd between the shells when you're not looking, and when you finally get close to what you want they move the game over to financing, who adds another 3 shells and another turd. Never go to a dealer tired, sick, or in a hurry. Get there well rested, belly full, and ready to argue, and most importantly, be ready to just walk out.
how about walking into dealerships to look around prices without my wallet? so that, that way I dont cave in and make a purchase because I dont have a wallet. lol is this a good strategy?
The two things I hate the most buying at a dealer is the amount of time you spend waiting and those stupid doc fees. Such baloney, why does it take hours to make a transaction? Especially after the deal has been agreed on, what are they doing in that back office with my information for so long? Do they think I'm gonna buy a second vehicle??
Sold my wife’s car there and the experience was great. Made an appointment, appraised, got an offer (way higher than dealer trade), sold the car and walked away with a few grand in my pocket.
I don’t buy cars from dealerships that offer no hassle pricing. In almost all cases, the no hassle pricing works only to the dealership’s advantage. If you’re patient, do your homework you can save thousands by haggling. Yes, I’ve haggled for hours but in the long run, I’ve always got awesome deals. I’ve saved friends and family members negotiating on their behalf and saved the thousands! I’ve also had dealerships want to hire me because of my persistence and knowledge. It’s not hard...and I love getting the better end of the deal
Thanks to Jack and the TSP community for having me on the show. It's crazy to think that my first job in the car business was 18 years ago. Thanks for watching, don't forget to subscribe and check out The Survival Podcast. It's more about designing a life than dooms day preppers LOL
You are correct. I took my wife to Carmax to see if we could pick out a model we both would like before buying new. Was surprised to find at 6'3" that I fit in a Mini and Dodge Dart but not in other larger vehicles. We were primarily looking for a family car to travel in. Ended up with a Forester.
Go Private. Get it inspected. Make sure the title is Clean. See the Records. Save. It is like Saturn. It is for people who hate to Haggle and get a good deal. I am NOT that Guy. I want the good deal. It is so easy to just haggle on line per email. Just contact several dealers nearby with the car you want, options you want, after pre driving one. Stick with standard warranty with a car. Never buy an additional warranty unless you are buying a Fiat, VW, Audi.. cars known to have pricy and common issues.
I bought my '06 Rabbit at CarMax in '08 and it was a great car. Probably paid a little more but the stress free experience was worth it compared to the dealership experience I dealt with in the fall buying myself my Sportwagen then had to buy my wife a car and helped my mom buy a car too. The dealership experience is exhausting. They always act like if you walk in the door you're going to buy a car even though you might just be doing research, test driving, etc.. then there is the negotiating for price, the pressure to buy extended warranties, and the fact that it takes three to four hours to go through the buying process. I would definitely have bought another car from CarMax but couldn't find what I was looking for. I also sold them my Rabbit after buying my Sportwagen. It was weird to sell them a car without buying one from them but everything was seamless, took about an hour and no questions asked. I had mods on the car so they told me it would go to auction and they still gave me $500 more than the dealer was offering on a trade.
Bought my 2003 Mustang GT from Carmax with 71,000 miles on it, and stock for $13,600 I love the car but for a car that is 16 years old now it is going to need some work done, but that's a given when buying an older car. Worst thing I did was not get a cosigner but you live and learn
I haggled and purchased a brand new Grand Caravan for $500 more than CarMax was asking for 30k mile used vans. Of course, that was a 2016 model and we bought it just after the 2017s came out. The key is going in with a “I don’t have to buy a car” attitude and sticking to your guns.
Humble Mechanic - I'm looking at becoming a Sales Consultant at CarMax and researching if this may be a good fit for me as I want to work hard for the customer and do the right thing. Interesting in that it is easy to find negative and disgruntled reviews and comments about CarMax, or many other dealers for that matter. Your video was very informative and helpful to me. Thanks for the good content. You have a new Subscriber too!
It is gratifying to hear you don't like the standard car dealer experience either. Me I hate it so I only swap my car when forced to. The last car was totaled the one before that they had to tow in.
I don't work for Carmax I work at a GM dealership and they do bring cars over all the time for warranty work and recalls. Even for fluid leaks, even if its damp they bring it to get it fixed. Also my dealership has cars at one price, no negotiations. But sometimes they do give customers more money for their trade in so we can't resell it, we just send it to an auction. Our policy is 30 day guarantee or 102% money back...
It seems to work quite well. The owner has 3 franchises the one I work at being the newest she owned and its very successful. The place I work at she bought back in 13 and there has been so much growth in the 4 years that I've worked there. I honestly see her in 10 years taking that spot for number 1 in the nation for both service and sales.
They move cars across the country for a reason. Locals know about the damage from weather events. I had a friend buy a Prius that was covered in rust inside the engine compartment. It had been owned in NY state. I assumed it had went through the hurricane and flooding. This was years ago.
charles I've been a professional tech for over 30 years and a dealer Tech for alot of that time. the one thing I absolutely hate about the auto industry is the lack of a pricing program like fixed pricing. always do your homework we had a dealer try to over price a car by $5,000 dollars on us by trying the old "how much of a payment do you want" my wife works at a bank and we already had the math and financing figured for a car we were thinking about. it was $15,000.total with interest by their payment with supposedly the same interest we would have paid $20,000. so we whipped out our paperwork and showed them. from there on it was just bull and excuses. so I like the idea of how everything else we purchase is priced. this is the price period. would you like for me to write it up for you? I hate hidden prices to me if you can't give me a straight price and it isn't on the window the go pound sand up your ass. don't ask me how I want to pay what I have to trade in just tell me the price as if I'm handing you cash. then we can talk about trade and factory incentives
I went to Carmax once.. I wanted to just walk around and take a look at what was available and for what prices (about ). Gosh, you know, I was not allowed to do that unless I went in and gave them everything including my financial history.. I walked. Lots of dealers nowadays tout the no-haggle thing; reality is that they will bargain if an equivalent vehicle is sold elsewhere in the area for a better price, using something like TrueCar. In the end, dealers are always about tacking on extra warranties and over-priced add-ons. The dealer always will take their time- in an effort to see if they can wear you down with time (end of the day, and hold you there till like 8 or 9 pm.) Then they try to spring the warranties and add-ons & work on your emotional feelings.. I guess my payment of $411 per month wasn't enough; they had plans to take it towards the high $900's per month.. Tried to play on emotions and wearing someone down by consuming their time.. Didn't work.. Go in knowing what you are willing to spend, and stick to it! If you are trading in, don't give up the keys till you have the paperwork signed and keys in hand for the other car. But always stick to what you want to purchase, and don't let them get you to agree to more than what you want to pay for.
I went to a local C-Mx once just to look at a car with no intention of buying. After going through their security was allowed to look. A sale s person asked me question s and are you buying today? Learned more in parking lot talking to random employee s !
I've bought 3 cars at CarMax over the past 20 years. I've never had a bad experience. There was an issue with one of the cars -- which they fixed the very next day, correctly. I still own two of the 3 cars I purchased there, too. And I also agree with the assessment of the warranty situation -- the warranty they sell is actually quite good, and is as hassle-free as a used-car-warranty can be. Quite reasonable.
I watched a lot videos on TH-cam. Most people recommended to buy vehicles from carmax. That is why I bought and paid off one crv from carmax. It has been 52 days but I don’t have license plate and title yet. They told me I need call them to have second temporary plate when my first temporary plate is expired in 60 days. They even don’t know when my Vrc can be registered. I even don’t have title and license plate now. I don’t recommend to buy car from Carmax.
My mom & boyfriend have bought two cars over the years from CarMax. My dad got a car a couple of years ago from there. They all swear by CarMax. I’m still in my research phase but it looks like I’ll be going to CarMax in the next couple of months for my car purchase. But we will see... 🤷🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️
i'll be checking out carmax,sounds like just the experience i'd like to have buying a car,and driving a bunch of different makes and models is just what i wanted to do as well,there's one close to me now that opened recently ,hope it's all we are wishing for in finding a used vehicle without a bunch of repair headaches that we've had in the past...bahhhhh
I was deciding whether to purchase the extended warranty, but since you've suggested it and given your recommendation, then it will be worth the peace of mind to get the CarMax extended warranty. I still want to go over the exclusion list to be sure.
check your fluids. i bought a lancer from carmax and the oil was 2 quarts overfull. could've been an honest mistake....could've been just waiting for it to blow a seal and have me come back and spend more money with them. won't ever know for sure. but just to be safe I'd check.
true Ive wrenched at a couple dealerships and got to know a few salesmen pretty good and yeah it depends just in general any car that can be financed has more than a little mark up unlike on the new side where they go for volume instead of gross profit cause the gov regulates the mark up on new cars/ trucks being an informed buyer is the best way. but like you said if someone doesn't like haggling over price then yeah the carmax would be the way to go Dig your videos man! from a mechanic i like the topics you cover
I went to buy a Subaru & drove away in a VW. Base Impreza was the most boring thing to drive. Jumped across the street & was in & out of the VW dealer in under an hour with my new Golf.
I went through two vehicles in a few weeks with a local Carmax here in NC. The first one had a horrible vibration at idle that showed up after I drove off with it amongst other things and they just could not fix it and after complaining enough they let me pick something else. I picked a Toyota after that which was relatively new and everything was great until the next day when I tried backing out of my driveway and the suspension made an awful groaning and clunking noise whenever the wheel was turned while reversing. At this point I had enough and just returned the car and gave up with Carmax. What should have been the first nail in the coffin was the fact that I wasn't allowed to take either car elsewhere for a pre-purchase inspection as Carmax had gone over the car and there was no reason for anybody else to look at it. I've also found that at least here a good number of their cars I sit in just absolutely stink from either cigarettes or whatever cleaner they use. I also find that many are absolutely filthy and look like they haven't been gone over. For example a Mazda 2 I sat in had what looked like blood stains on the headliner. I've actually had better luck with the local dealerships.
I got a new car from carmax, good experience & a good price.. all I would recommend to future buyers, get your own finance loan for the reason that carmax only gives you 3 options, and the lowest one was more than 6% interest. I went and got my own for around 4%
I hope this info is still valid in 2020. I have to get a car for my wife and myself in the very near future. We are relocating to central Florida and I DREAD the buying experience. Frankly, because I have had the same Toyota for over 20 years I was not even aware that Carmax existed until a few weeks ago. The sales guy I bought my car from is still around here in Honolulu and we have socialized some over the years. So when my wife needed a car he was very trustworthy and excellent to deal with. I think, based on this video I will look into Carmax, I don’t want a former rental car or fleet car though.
Last 2 cars (2005 Montana, 2011 Tiguan) were bought from CarMax. Unless they change how they deal with customers I will keep going there. So much easier to deal with. Thanks for the video :)
+SquirrelPope ugh it shouldn't take all day to buy a damn car. Especially because the important parts for a buyer take 30min like looking at the car, test drives and what not.
I also was an employee at CarMax, however I was on the Information Technology team at the Corporate Headquarters. However my wife bought a car from them and I had many friends in the store. I always felt CarMax had a great system, it is all a formula and a big part of the formula is to make the customer happy. Happy customers give good referrals and become return customers. Now any system that requires a human can be flawed, an inspector had a bad, the car had parts that failed after purchase sitting in the lot, gremlins invaded. In these cases I have never known CarMax not to make every effort to "make it right".
about two years ago at a really good experience with CarMax I just hate the run around with dealerships and with all the extra fees they had on top of the price like administrative fees are ridiculous
Carmax was good for me cause I have poor credit rating score so I had no problem buying a 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid and traded my Model 3 Performance 2 months ago for the Plaid, Carmax made sure the car was in great shape before I picked it up so I’m happy with them they treated me good, had I went to a regular dealer it’s possible with my credit score they would demand a co-sign which is always what’s happened when I went in to those dealerships but at Carmax in the last 5 years I’ve bought 4 cars and not once did I need a co-sign and that’s huge since my credit score is well under 700 so anytime I need a car it’s always gonna be Carmax for me 🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽
Here in the UK, we don't even have CarMax - but I still found all Charles' car buying advice really interesting. Possibly the most key point he makes is the advantage of CarMax sales advisers not caring about which make/model they sell you. Far too many dealerships are on commission to push certain models over others, which makes a complete mockery of the whole car-buying experience. Listen to The Humble Mechanic - buy sensibly.
FYI, all cars are required to have all recalls done before sale, my wife bought her car there. Oddly enough I bought my truck through Carvana, mostly due to the fact they had the truck I wanted, same set up more or less as Carmax, except they deliver the car to you.
Flatrate Master I was checking out Subaru's that had a recall out for the Takata airbags. They claimed it was up to me, after purchase, to go to the dealer and have it done. I asked about discounts for the inconvenience (Subaru claims there is a wait list until 2018 now), but they basically said 'not our problem' and left it at that.
i bought a 2012 civic si from a carmax 2 years ago ..... had a terrible time with them . car had a messed up title and i was never able to register it . after a year and a half they paid my finance company off and said keep the car ..... so i was then stuck with a car i couldn't sell .... due to no title . ended up trading it into a dealer for a new truck few months ago . never again will i buy from a carmax
Carmax has very high markups. I stopped at one to check out a few 07-08 Subaru's they had. They had high mileage for the years, were involved in the Takata recall, had mechanical issues that i pointed out, but they still wanted twice the KBB. They wouldn't take offers, wouldn't take care of the recall, etc. On the drive home, I spotted a 1999 Legacy Outback SUS (one of the rarest Subaru's in the USA). Less miles than the 07-08's at Carmax (106k vs 110-125k), this one had a glovebox full of reciepts from previous owners vs no reciepts at all. When i asked if the 07/08's had timing belts changed, they basically said to drive it till they snap and they will fix it. For $2300, I bought the '99. It is loaded with much more features than any of the 07/08's that Carmax had, and I saved 10k cash.
FCFordLord Bruh. You bought a car 10 years older. No shit you got it a lot cheaper. And with cars like Subaru's, they can easily charge a premium because there is a demand for them. KBB is not the end all be all for pricing. Congrats on your car.
thescoolestkyline You completely missed the point. It wasn't that I bought an older car and saved money, it was that Carmax highly overpriced their vehicles for the issues, mileage, etc. and pushed me away as a result. KBB was spot on with what most private parties and a lot of dealers ask in my area. Carmax was one of the few asking much more. My area has a very low demand for Subaru's (hot climate, no snow, most don't want AWD). All of the Subaru's I looked at sat at their lot for nearly 6 months, before being transfered somewhere else. The bottom line is, do your research before going to Carmax. Every single car I checked out had mechanical issues, needed timing belts (they would cover, after it left you stranded), and was well above KBB+ the pricing of others in my area.
@@FCFordLord If a timing belt breaks on a car with an "interference engine" (like all Hondas do) the engine will be destroyed. I don't know how CarMax will handle that situation as it is a huge financial loss. Most used cars from dealers are not inspected and are sold "as is" after the warranty has expired. Timing belt issues are primarily with rubber belts. Chain timing belts are more durable.
Yeah I like your comment on the Big Dealership haggle in which they either give you more for you trade in and jack up or don't budge on the price of the car you want to buy or vise versa.
Carmax just opened down the street from us and we do their warranty/repair work for most GM cars. A few times stuff wasn't under warranty we gave them the estimate and they didn't question anything, they just wanted it repaired. I suppose though when you are that big of a company you can lose a few bucks instead of a customer unlike the joke where I work.
You will pay $2k-$3k on average at Carmax, I'm currently looking for the source and I will edit my post. There was study done and they found that Carmax was always much higher.
I currently work there, and I will agree with you. Quite often the a large quantity of the cars are overpriced by 2-3k...and then as time passes, the car is slowly lowered by 500-1000 to the market price of that vehicle. You definitely pay 2-3k for the "no hassle" experience. The warranty there is definitely decent though. A cool trick to utilize is to purchase the 10yr old mercedes, bmw, audi flagship car for 25-30. Put the Maxcare warranty on it and everything that goes wrong is taken care of for the deductible amount you choose.
Either everyone here is full of crap or I'm crazy because I just found out through my own research that CarMax charges 30% markup. I almost got cheated. This guy sounds like a Salesman
Same. 17k for a 2014 Kia Forte with 10,000 miles. KBB was 10.3k from a dealer. Needless to say, I didn’t buy it and was actually offended. When I confronted the salesman, he said kbb was for Craigslist. Private owner on kbb was 9k.
I wish it was $300 more than other dealers. They’re priced about 2 to 3 grand over what you Can find at CarGurus PLUS what you can negotiate. Don’t think the hassle free is worth $4000 to me
I end up to have a worst experience in my life .got a car from Car Max and guess what ?: check engine turned on ones ,air bag light was on for few days after 7 days policy ,and the whole time I heard a loud voice of tires but I didn't know it's dangerous .I took it back to see what's wrong ! They just said oops sorry both front tires wear loose ! And I don't know who's is fault if I got accident on high way ????? I don't think loose tires it's so hard to inspect with their guarantee certified cars . Yes the fixed it .but I'm not happy at all with how they rip off people with high interest on top of highest price on each car . Stupid place or stupid people in their . Lost thousands of dollars ... .
I have not found that to be the case. I've been looking for a Lexus NX 200t with a certain option set that CarMax has been very competitive with. I've looked on TrueCar, CarGurus, Carvana, etc. and CarMax is always right in the mix with pricing.
Chris Kelly same here. I have been looking at CarMax for Lexus RX, I found it pretty competitive too. I looked at CarMax before for a Subaru, I ended up buying a new one. So I think it really depends on a car.
I had haggled with a VW dealer over the price of a '14 TDI wagon. Guy wouldn't budge , not even come up with some floor mats from one of the 10 others they had on the lot. Left me at his desk multiple times for 15-20m a time. Didnt want me to use my 3.09 financing I had pre approved for a used vehicle with my own credit union. He acted like these fixed TDIs were gold. I thought, no they've been sitting on a lot fort 2 years I'm taking a risk. I said screw it, walked out. Going to buy a 1.8 wagon at carmax way better deal, no negotiations and no worrying about a clogged DPF down the road .
Got a price from the local Audi dealer on my 2016 TT. They offered $34,000. The next day I went to Carmax. They offered $33,000. The avg trade-in price from Kelly Blue Book on my car is $37,000. Will be selling my car privately with a target price of $38,000. $5,000 gross profit is too much.
Ehh I still buy my cars at dealers because of negotiation I always get very good trade in or excellent trade in and pay around private party for the car.
EVERY dealer in America is profit driven- every angle is covered as to each dealership to make profit. Apples to apples, CARMax is the most transparent agency. Period! No hidden fees, no b s back room paperwork. I have family and friends in the car sales arena since the 50’s , and have probably heard almost everything about the bull about car buying. No dealer fees, no add on sales gimmicks. I am in no way connected to CARMax , but have bought from them AFTER about 5 months and many headaches and bull crap from many many dealers. We got our own financing , and I’ve been a technician for 40 years. Go back and look at the car 3 or 4 times before you buy. Most often, the mistakes of buying a vehicle is squarely on the buyer.
Great video Charles definitely agree with you on the gotta physically touch, sit in and drive a car before you buy it. I don't get how so many people could preordered the Tesla Model 3 especially before the prototype was even shown (not even a production version) not picking on Tesla same could be said about the Focus RS ect. Guess it's just me
Man I didn’t even know they have been around that long. So I found a car and I needed to have it transferred to my local store. Before doing that they did a walk around and assured me there were no issues, especially odors. I went to test drive the car and I loved it, BUT there was a major cigarette smoke odor. I’m going to purchase the car and try and remove the odor… but that was a bit of a letdown.
A lot of interior parts are glued and smoke is not good for them. Headliners are a good example. If you are a non smoker I would think long and hard before buying a smoker's car. It is probably best to keep on looking.
I bought a Ford F150 from CarMax in Rosewood Ca. I did NOT know at the time it had a recall and salesman stated ALL the cars have been checked out thoroughly. The Truck that I bought from CarMax Caught on Fire after several years of ownership and Caught my House on Fire too. Long story short- The Ford F150 had a recall 2 years prior to me buying the vehicle from CarMax which states that the Cruise control Switch overheats and may cause a fire and to return it to the dealership and have the recall performed. CarMax does NOT do ANY Recall as it is NOT certified to do it. YOU are Responsible for that problem from the time you buy it on site. IF IT NEEDED A RECALL BEFORE YOU BUY IT THE SALESMAN WONT TELL YOU AS IT IS UP TO YOU TO DO THE RECALL OR HAVE IT SEARCHED ONLINE IF IT NEEDS A RECALL AS CARMAX SELLS CAR NOT CARING IF IT NEEDED ANY RECALL.
FYI, car max makes about double what oem dealerships make. most dealerships make between 5 and 8 %, carmax around 12. all you need to do is look up there stock filing reports.
The warranty is the best part. I say, if you're looking at notoriously (potentially) unreliable car, buy from carmax and get the warranty. If you're buying a camry or accord just buy it anywhere.
Two of my cars were bought from CarMax wholesale lot. My son worked there at the time. One was 1/4 retail due to minor hail damage. The other was 1/2 retail due some issues that looked bad but turned out to be minor.
I have never bought a car from CarMax but have been close a few times. I have scanned the local internet listings and even those as far as 500 miles from me, partly to see what was available and partly like someone who owns stock or investment real estate holdings. In my 20 years of looking at the listings and visiting the lots I can say that there are times you can get a very good deal at CarMax and times when other dealers MIGHT be competitive on price. I am still kicking myself for not buying a Toyota I had shipped especially to my local CarMax. I have 2 possible trade-in vehicles and couldn't decide which one to trade for a very sweet, low mileage, 1 owner Avalon. As commentors here (inadvertently) point out, you probably won't get a killer deal at CarMax for most Hondas, Toyotas, or pickup trucks. However, if you are in the market for a sedan, for example, NOW would be the time to buy (spring 2021). And if you are reasonably flexible on brand, those manufacturers that have recently switched to SUVs exclusively (Buick and Lincoln spring to mind) are real bargains and not just at CarMax.
Extended warranty is very expensive. You pay $3,000 plus you pay 3 to 5 hundred dollars deductible every time it needs a repair! Any repairs that cost under 3 or 5 hundred dollars you pay out of your pocket....
I've heard their bumper to bumper warranties come in handy,especially when buying a car with a lot of interisting quirks and features.
Puff the Magic Dragon ok Doug..lol
clark hodges Would you like to read my articles on autotrader?
/oversteer
Puff the Magic Dragon I’m thinking of getting on a German car
Actually it’s not “bumper to bumper” but their warranties are usually recommended considering these are used cars, and you don’t know what it’s been through
As a former car salesperson, I will do ANYTHING to avoid setting foot in a dealership, to be humiliated by their deceptive, demeaning "haggling" games. I once bought from Carmax. Very good, reliable car, good price, and no hassles.
Carmax gave me $20k for my 2015 accord. I owed 17K. Other dealerships wanted to give me 15K max. Wasn't planning on buying a vehicle but they gave me way more than I expected so I ended up getting a 2016 Highlander xle. Best 3 Hours spent at a dealership. Everything was easy and zero hassle with paperwork.
S John Consider yourself lucky! They will appraise most cars, a few thousand dollars lower than what the blue book values cars at.. just to make a few extra dollars. It’s a a straight up business, not a trustworthy family member or friend of yours.
@@realitymegabites4816 blue book is a rough estimate, carmax gives you an actual offer, sometimes its higher.
You work at CarMax.
Carmax gave me 2k more for my ML63AMG than the other dealerships around me.
How is the car that you bought at CarMax? They must of had a lot of mark up on the car you bought. They buy cars from auctions
My dad bought a Mini Cooper from Carmax and it was the worst car my family ever had, but that's not Carmax's fault. It's just a shit car.
HAHA I was 1/2 through reading your comment and thought "probably because the Mini was a shitting car". Sorry he had an issue. Some times used German cars are not a good buy
Mini cooper are horrible and not long lasting at all
I used to work at Carmax and Minis were the worst cars in reliability and what most customers didn't know was how expensive the upkeep was
I understand that BMW supplies them with parts, however, they won't give any warranties. I know a guy who had one. He told me the battery died and the dealer wanted $400 for a new one!
It's a Fiat.
Love Carmax and the extended warranty its worth it. We bought two cars and from now on will only buy cars from them.
Nice. I have met a lot of people that were very happy with their carman purchase
Mary Armitage Lol 😂
Mary Armitage what models did you get how easy have the warrantys worked? Thanks
Yes I would love a full review if anyone knows about actually actually using the car max care to get repairs done. They say it’s covered but do they nickel and dime you for other things I might not be aware of. They sell it like it’s the best thing on earth and it sounds fantastic but again I can’t find any reviews about people who’ve actually use the Carmax care taking their car and it would be so helpful thank you
Is it a good or bad one?
Try returning a car a few days later at a regular dealer and see what happens. lol.
There are few things in life that are guaranteed but this is one of them.
We purchased a 2006 Kia Sedona mini van from CM about 8-9 years ago and had it for a little under a year - one of the wheels had what seemed to be a balance issue and even after replacing wheel bearings and other suspension parts CM was never able to get it perfect (even after they had sent it to a Kia dealer). They bought it back for almost the full amount we paid. Very happy with the experience - I've also sold several cars there and always make a trip to CM for an appraisal especially if my intention is to trade the car for one at a dealership. Always a very positive buying or selling experience - nearest we could tell we spent about $800 more than a very similar van at another dealership but less than if it were purchased at a Kia dealer so your "mileage" or savings may vary - I know that no other dealership would have been as willing to make things right or give options as CM did.
Yep, two cars purchased from CarMax. Very pleasant experience.
100% agree. I have but nine cars in my lifetime, so far. 3 for 3.. I was ripped off big time at auto dealerships. I hated the negotiations and I knew that I had been taken advantage of. They didn't stand behind their sale, and all three cars had problems. I regretted buying all three of them. My other 6 purchases have been through CarMax. And I will never go anywhere but CarMax again. The purchase of the car was such an enjoyable experience, I have absolutely loved each and every car, and I knew that if there was a problem the CarMax would take it back within the first week or make it right within the first 30 days. But I never really had any problems. I can't say enough about their business model and how much I trust them!
ALWAYS have your own inspection done.
I don't haggle to save $50. a couple hours of emails and a little time at the dealer saved me $4k at Mazda.
Hell yes.
I hope that I made the point that as buyers we still need to do our part in getting good deal, and finding what we want.
E150GT Haggling saved me 10K at a Infiniti dealer.
Yep, no haggle dealerships. Be careful what you ask for. Now, everyone pays too much vs just lazy or uninformed consumers.
First car i ordered was dropped off the tow truck, but I was given a transfer refund. Chose another car on the lot. Left with a 2005 g 35 in 2012 for $15,500 with 90k miles. With warranty total cost was 21,000 with 9.5 to 10% 6 year intrest.
Car broke down at 140k miles,
Warranty, sealed all oil leaks and whatever minor works done at dealership was $6000 but I paid $100 detectable. 150k miles motor belts almost ripped and was replaced, both camshaft sensor a and b wore out and i also replaced it myself. Car is paid off now and running like day 1 at 180k miles, no leaks, no cracks, praying to hit 200k +. Not buying another car from carmax too expensive overall, but warrantt saved my ass.
Thank goodness for that warranty!!!
God day HM.this vid hit close to home. a friend bought a 15 Hyundai elantra with 30k on the clock from carmax.they let me inspect it in the lot. short of getting it on a lift I did a thorough inspection. the car looked excellent. the purchase experience was pleasant and she drove off with it. HOWEVER several months later it developed a rod knock. back to Hyundai it went under warranty. as the old saying goes..stuff happens...carmax is way above the standard dealer experience...
My Carmax experience. Carmax significantly over price their vehicles and significantly undervalue the customers trade vehicle. Their 30 day return policy for a full refund is the only reason to do business with them.
Scotty Kilmer fans incoming!
Oh boy. LOL
I watched a couple of his videos and I don't understand why he has fans. Just a rambling clickbaiting moron!
@@tomkelly00 too much weed, that's why. And true about clickbaiting
My father bought a 2001 Dodge Neon R/T, 5-speed manual from Carmax back in 2006.
It's needed a few repairs, but overall it's been a good car.
Over 200K miles and it's still on the road. Gets driven fairly regularly.
Really appreciate your input on Carmax, Charles! Everything you touched on is pretty much spot on. Ive owned 4 cars from there and every single one of them were perfect. I did have an a/c compressor clutch go out on one of them, but i also had the warranty and i had it back the same day with zero deductible.
Also, as a recon tech and i can tell you that our inspection procedure is the best I have ever seen. Not only mechanically, but every last detail, switch, dial, option.. It all gets checked, verified, and rechecked. Our technicians take great pride in their work and each vehicle goes through no less than at least 4 people before it goes up for sale. There are always one-off occurrences - but that is the nature of vehicles. As you said.. buy the warranty. Cars are nothing more than complex machines and every single one of them can have an issue at any given time.
Carmax gets a lot of respect for being one of the only dealerships that have no haggle pricing. However, some people like that aspect of being able to negotiate and are disappointed when they cannot haggle. But the common person really appreciates the ease and friendliness and straightforward approach. And i really respect the fact that they will sell a car fit for the person's needs, not the sales consultant's wallet as you said. That's transparent honesty and integrity and exactly how it should be and one of the company's core principles.
I just want to say thank you so much for making this helpful video I hope people can take advantage by listening you.
No bs ^_^👍 i would rather buy at a premium versus haggling
An advantage is they make most of their money from the cars they sell at auction. Why is this good? They're only going to sell the cars at the dealer that are safe and mechanically factory, minus the occasional exhaust or after market wheels. They won't sell you modified vehicles or cars that have been repaired in a way that they think hurts the value. They really don't make much money at all on their cars at the dealership. Sometimes it's literally like $150.
They make money on maxcare, financing, and add on things like if you want to add a back up camera or leather seats.
Maxcare is awesome but in my opinion it is over priced sometimes. Look very hard at what the factory warranty covers.
At the end of they day they've spent a lot of time figuring out all the factors of the money. And they only are going to make the bare minimum and not try and get rich of each car. It's a numbers game. They win buy selling a million cars not 10,000.
Yep, they have been doing it a long time, and have figured it out. It will really boil down to the car.
I havent looked at warranty pricing in a long time. But I have seen plenty of VW owners pay for that warranty in 1 or maybe 2 repairs. Cars a insane expensive to fix today. Hell, even I would buy the warranty. LOL
HumbleMechanic I worked there until about a couple years ago. I bought my gti whole sale because it had modified suspension and Carmax wouldn't sell it on the lot. Got a great deal.
Was looking at 08 r32s. The maxcare was $5,500. I'll admit it's a higher risk vehicle for them to cover but damn! The engine could blown and you might be able to replace it for less than that cash
tdawg719 I used to be a ops manager and the average profit margin for front lot cars is around 5k per car. They break even at there in house auction because it's a dealer only and dealers won't over pay for cars. They make good money of maxcare and make tons of having in house financing.
tdawg719 CarMax is the Kmart and circuit city of cars today
carmax originated from circuit city, they started carmax before it broke off into its own company
4 hours to make a deal???? I usually after test drive have a deal within an hour to hour and a half max. If the sales rep goes to speak to the manager, they better be back in 5 min or less. I do NOT like a manager who takes 20 min to accept or counter the numbers.
when i bought my Golf TDI new, thats how the VW dealer was when I picked up the car. They had a price, they had the addons and discounts ($5000 TDI rebate). It was all black and white, prices were in place and were not negotiated. I did however get a lower price on the extended warranty because I wasn't really sold on how it worked, so he did upsell me on that, and lifetime oil changes. I had a great buying experience. I liked all the people I talked to, especially the service manager who I talked to a few weeks before I bought the car. The car will always go to the dealer for maintenance and work, and I'm happy to pay a bit more for the peace of mind.
+Leif Burrell nice. Glad it went so well. I wish more people had that same experience
7:45 In the $15,000 range, I have found Carmax to be about $1000 higher than KBB, NADA, and Edmunds values for the same cars in the same condition and with similar mileage.
Hey Charles, nice info. I definitely agree with most everything you said. Both my wife and I, and my mother had amazing experiences at CM. we bought a 13 Ford Explorer and we were in and out in 2 hours, including walking the lot, picking the car, test driving, and signing the paperwork. I also work in the repair industry as a former tech and current service manager for a national chain and so I refused to purchase without them bringing the car in allowing me to personally inspect the axles, bearings and brakes personally on the lift. Our vehicle came from up North and I definitely wanted to see what rust had touched underneath. my only complaint was that the tires were at 4/32 and I tried to have them replace them but as you said, no negotiating lol. oh well, my company makes tires so I got to put some 80k high quality rubber on them anyways.
Honda/Acura Certified Pre-Owned is the best deal going. Someone leased the vehicle for a couple years and then you can buy it for about half of the original price; they paid for half of the total depreciation on the vehicle for you. Plus, Honda/Acura has good financing.
Plus a great warranty!!!
I just bought a tundra with true car pricing and it was easy. I would avoid trade ins as you won't get much generally
Joe At Carmax? Yeah, they're notorious for low balling on trade ins.
KentB27 at the yota dealer
I so agree with you on the haggling thing! I have went to dealerships and asked for a price and they wouldn't even give me a firm price.they just kept asking me what I wanted my payments to be every month!I finally just walked away.....
My most recent car, and my daughter's most recent car are both out of CarMax, I'm a 'car guy' I do a lot of my own wrenching and I've also worked in the sales side at a dealership.
I think CarMax is a great operation. I liked the experience, I got a great car... My daughter has the same story even though she was buying at a much lower price point.
Since I did most of my research online my time in the actual dealership was less than two hours, they shipped in two different cars of the same make and model for me to check out, so it was just a matter of test driving each and picking the right one. Very simple and no complaints.
For the specific car I bought, I don't think I could have beaten the price anywhere.
For the deal my daughter did (a few months earlier, and without me present) I think she could have beat the price, but her car is rock solid, and like this video explains, the difference in price probably wasn't worth the headache anyhow. She has a car she likes, that has no issues at all.
I'll be buying more cars from them in the future.
My sister works there as an interior refurbisher and she likes them and has bought a car from them. Personally when I looked at their prices I thought the prices were a little high, but you are buying some piece of mind.
Jason Birzer Peace. PEACE of mind. You aren't buying a piece of a brain lol.
Sorry, wrote that while struggling with my phone's Internet connection.
I know that story . I am staying in a hotel, and the internet is a nightmare. I am uploading tomorrow's show in the lobby. I hope I don't have to sleep down here. :/
Jason Birzer They are a bit high. They were asking 3-4k more than other dealers in the area for identical cars.
Agreed 100%! Bought a 2006 Mini Cooper s, it was only $450 over the dealership next door. Also, when the right side passenger break went out, all I did was bring it in to the carmax location and they did all the break pads and did another full inspection on their dime. This was circa 2011. Only down side was summer tires on the car when bought in late fall.
Great info, thanks! I've never bought from CarMax but I know people who have had good experiences there! My only complaint is that CarMax (at least the one near me in Dallas, TX) insists that a salesperson rides with you on the test drive! They make you follow their little 4 mile route (all on nice smooth streets) and don't even let you get on the highway!
LOL, I understand that. That was the policy when I worked there too. Often if you get a cool sales person, they will let you go off the regular test route.
I explained to my salesman via email that my commute is a 16 mile canyon on poorly maintained roads and that tooling around Burbank wasn't going to give me a good test drive, he completely accommodated and my drive was where I wanted to go and took as long as I wanted... we were away from the dealership for about an hour.
Maybe it varies by location, but I got no hassle about needing a different test drive.
Depending on the sales person you can take a different route. I told my salesman that the car I was buying needed to take me on a very curvy mountain road every week and he recommended a few roads near the area that were very curvy and hilly. And at the Knoxville TN location, taking the car on the highway is part of the standard test drive circuit -- probably depends on how far one has to drive from the lot to the nearest highway onramp :)
I test drove a car at CarMax the salesman said we close at six be back by 5:30, It was 2pm.
I went to Camax helping my daughter get her first car. Didn't have the car we wanted but liked the experience. Little pricey is my only complaint.
Jesse Sanders pricey?
They are. Typical premium I could see was $1500 over dealership.
Buying new or used is a shell game, instead of a ball, there's a turd. While you go back and forth with the sales staff they keep moving that turd between the shells when you're not looking, and when you finally get close to what you want they move the game over to financing, who adds another 3 shells and another turd. Never go to a dealer tired, sick, or in a hurry. Get there well rested, belly full, and ready to argue, and most importantly, be ready to just walk out.
Cheezy Dee Yup. People always go in too afraid to walk out. Or they don't feel like they even have the option.
how about walking into dealerships to look around prices without my wallet? so that, that way I dont cave in and make a purchase because I dont have a wallet. lol is this a good strategy?
The two things I hate the most buying at a dealer is the amount of time you spend waiting and those stupid doc fees. Such baloney, why does it take hours to make a transaction? Especially after the deal has been agreed on, what are they doing in that back office with my information for so long? Do they think I'm gonna buy a second vehicle??
Sold my wife’s car there and the experience was great. Made an appointment, appraised, got an offer (way higher than dealer trade), sold the car and walked away with a few grand in my pocket.
I agree. I hate haggling.
Bonno460xvr Really? I love it
CarMax uses this special yellow OBD adapter that reads out exactly what parts the car needs 😂
I don’t buy cars from dealerships that offer no hassle pricing. In almost all cases, the no hassle pricing works only to the dealership’s advantage. If you’re patient, do your homework you can save thousands by haggling. Yes, I’ve haggled for hours but in the long run, I’ve always got awesome deals. I’ve saved friends and family members negotiating on their behalf and saved the thousands! I’ve also had dealerships want to hire me because of my persistence and knowledge. It’s not hard...and I love getting the better end of the deal
Well that work for someone with bad credit
Thanks to Jack and the TSP community for having me on the show.
It's crazy to think that my first job in the car business was 18 years ago. Thanks for watching, don't forget to subscribe and check out The Survival Podcast. It's more about designing a life than dooms day preppers LOL
Awesome advice. Bought a truck from car max years ago and the experience was great.
You are correct. I took my wife to Carmax to see if we could pick out a model we both would like before buying new. Was surprised to find at 6'3" that I fit in a Mini and Dodge Dart but not in other larger vehicles. We were primarily looking for a family car to travel in. Ended up with a Forester.
You can do a 24 hour test drive and take it to a mechanic. You need to have full coverage insurance though, collision, comprehensive etc.
Go Private. Get it inspected. Make sure the title is Clean. See the Records. Save. It is like Saturn. It is for people who hate to Haggle and get a good deal. I am NOT that Guy. I want the good deal. It is so easy to just haggle on line per email. Just contact several dealers nearby with the car you want, options you want, after pre driving one. Stick with standard warranty with a car. Never buy an additional warranty unless you are buying a Fiat, VW, Audi.. cars known to have pricy and common issues.
I bought my '06 Rabbit at CarMax in '08 and it was a great car. Probably paid a little more but the stress free experience was worth it compared to the dealership experience I dealt with in the fall buying myself my Sportwagen then had to buy my wife a car and helped my mom buy a car too. The dealership experience is exhausting. They always act like if you walk in the door you're going to buy a car even though you might just be doing research, test driving, etc.. then there is the negotiating for price, the pressure to buy extended warranties, and the fact that it takes three to four hours to go through the buying process. I would definitely have bought another car from CarMax but couldn't find what I was looking for. I also sold them my Rabbit after buying my Sportwagen. It was weird to sell them a car without buying one from them but everything was seamless, took about an hour and no questions asked. I had mods on the car so they told me it would go to auction and they still gave me $500 more than the dealer was offering on a trade.
Thank you. I am looking for a car and considering CARMAX. I appreciate everything you said.
Bought my 2003 Mustang GT from Carmax with 71,000 miles on it, and stock for $13,600 I love the car but for a car that is 16 years old now it is going to need some work done, but that's a given when buying an older car. Worst thing I did was not get a cosigner but you live and learn
I haggled and purchased a brand new Grand Caravan for $500 more than CarMax was asking for 30k mile used vans. Of course, that was a 2016 model and we bought it just after the 2017s came out. The key is going in with a “I don’t have to buy a car” attitude and sticking to your guns.
Any regardless of any price the dealer gives you, leave to think about it, leaving your phone number. You'll get a call with a better price.
Humble Mechanic - I'm looking at becoming a Sales Consultant at CarMax and researching if this may be a good fit for me as I want to work hard for the customer and do the right thing. Interesting in that it is easy to find negative and disgruntled reviews and comments about CarMax, or many other dealers for that matter. Your video was very informative and helpful to me. Thanks for the good content. You have a new Subscriber too!
Recently bought a 2014 Scion FR-S from carmax. Best car buying experience I've had.
It is gratifying to hear you don't like the standard car dealer experience either. Me I hate it so I only swap my car when forced to. The last car was totaled the one before that they had to tow in.
I don't work for Carmax I work at a GM dealership and they do bring cars over all the time for warranty work and recalls. Even for fluid leaks, even if its damp they bring it to get it fixed.
Also my dealership has cars at one price, no negotiations. But sometimes they do give customers more money for their trade in so we can't resell it, we just send it to an auction. Our policy is 30 day guarantee or 102% money back...
How does that seem to work for your dealer?
It seems to work quite well. The owner has 3 franchises the one I work at being the newest she owned and its very successful. The place I work at she bought back in 13 and there has been so much growth in the 4 years that I've worked there. I honestly see her in 10 years taking that spot for number 1 in the nation for both service and sales.
daveyio87 that's impressive what state is this?
They move cars across the country for a reason. Locals know about the damage from weather events. I had a friend buy a Prius that was covered in rust inside the engine compartment. It had been owned in NY state. I assumed it had went through the hurricane and flooding. This was years ago.
charles I've been a professional tech for over 30 years and a dealer Tech for alot of that time. the one thing I absolutely hate about the auto industry is the lack of a pricing program like fixed pricing. always do your homework we had a dealer try to over price a car by $5,000 dollars on us by trying the old "how much of a payment do you want" my wife works at a bank and we already had the math and financing figured for a car we were thinking about. it was $15,000.total with interest by their payment with supposedly the same interest we would have paid $20,000.
so we whipped out our paperwork and showed them. from there on it was just bull and excuses.
so I like the idea of how everything else we purchase is priced. this is the price period. would you like for me to write it up for you? I hate hidden prices to me if you can't give me a straight price and it isn't on the window the go pound sand up your ass.
don't ask me how I want to pay what I have to trade in just tell me the price as if I'm handing you cash. then we can talk about trade and factory incentives
Yep! There is so much back end bullshit.
I went to Carmax once.. I wanted to just walk around and take a look at what was available and for what prices (about ). Gosh, you know, I was not allowed to do that unless I went in and gave them everything including my financial history.. I walked.
Lots of dealers nowadays tout the no-haggle thing; reality is that they will bargain if an equivalent vehicle is sold elsewhere in the area for a better price, using something like TrueCar. In the end, dealers are always about tacking on extra warranties and over-priced add-ons. The dealer always will take their time- in an effort to see if they can wear you down with time (end of the day, and hold you there till like 8 or 9 pm.) Then they try to spring the warranties and add-ons & work on your emotional feelings.. I guess my payment of $411 per month wasn't enough; they had plans to take it towards the high $900's per month.. Tried to play on emotions and wearing someone down by consuming their time.. Didn't work.. Go in knowing what you are willing to spend, and stick to it! If you are trading in, don't give up the keys till you have the paperwork signed and keys in hand for the other car. But always stick to what you want to purchase, and don't let them get you to agree to more than what you want to pay for.
You have to give up your keys. They have to check your car out or else how will they know how much to offer you for your trade in?
Creditable response, thanks for review!
Thank you :)
I went to a local C-Mx once just to look at a car with no intention of buying. After going through their security was allowed to look. A sale s person asked me question s and are you buying today? Learned more in parking lot talking to random employee s !
I've bought 3 cars at CarMax over the past 20 years. I've never had a bad experience. There was an issue with one of the cars -- which they fixed the very next day, correctly. I still own two of the 3 cars I purchased there, too.
And I also agree with the assessment of the warranty situation -- the warranty they sell is actually quite good, and is as hassle-free as a used-car-warranty can be. Quite reasonable.
I watched a lot videos on TH-cam. Most people recommended to buy vehicles from carmax. That is why I bought and paid off one crv from carmax. It has been 52 days but I don’t have license plate and title yet. They told me I need call them to have second temporary plate when my first temporary plate is expired in 60 days. They even don’t know when my Vrc can be registered. I even don’t have title and license plate now. I don’t recommend to buy car from Carmax.
@@BinhTran-pn3tm Reach out to your Secretary of State. They might be able to help.
My mom & boyfriend have bought two cars over the years from CarMax. My dad got a car a couple of years ago from there. They all swear by CarMax.
I’m still in my research phase but it looks like I’ll be going to CarMax in the next couple of months for my car purchase. But we will see... 🤷🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️
i'll be checking out carmax,sounds like just the experience i'd like to have buying a car,and driving a bunch of different makes and models is just what i wanted to do as well,there's one close to me now that opened recently ,hope it's all we are wishing for in finding a used vehicle without a bunch of repair headaches that we've had in the past...bahhhhh
I was deciding whether to purchase the extended warranty, but since you've suggested it and given your recommendation, then it will be worth the peace of mind to get the CarMax extended warranty. I still want to go over the exclusion list to be sure.
I’ve seen so many high dollar repairs covered.
check your fluids. i bought a lancer from carmax and the oil was 2 quarts overfull. could've been an honest mistake....could've been just waiting for it to blow a seal and have me come back and spend more money with them. won't ever know for sure. but just to be safe I'd check.
+andrew good that's good advice on buying any car. Even new. Lol
andrew good I was looking at Subaru's there, all of them were about 1qt overfull. Not sure if it's on purpose or what
no dont buy if you dont want to pay too much
used cars always have about 5-6000 mark up at almost any dealership
+bigbigjohnlee666 maybe. I've seen that plenty of times. And I've seen little mark up.
It really just depends
true Ive wrenched at a couple dealerships and got to know a few salesmen pretty good and yeah it depends just in general any car that can be financed has more than a little mark up unlike on the new side where they go for volume instead of gross profit cause the gov regulates the mark up on new cars/ trucks
being an informed buyer is the best way. but like you said if someone doesn't like haggling over price then yeah the carmax would be the way to go Dig your videos man! from a mechanic i like the topics you cover
"being an informed buyer is the best way" This is VITAL and spot on....
Thank you for the kind words. :)
I went to buy a Subaru & drove away in a VW. Base Impreza was the most boring thing to drive. Jumped across the street & was in & out of the VW dealer in under an hour with my new Golf.
That is a record buying time. I love it!
I went through two vehicles in a few weeks with a local Carmax here in NC. The first one had a horrible vibration at idle that showed up after I drove off with it amongst other things and they just could not fix it and after complaining enough they let me pick something else. I picked a Toyota after that which was relatively new and everything was great until the next day when I tried backing out of my driveway and the suspension made an awful groaning and clunking noise whenever the wheel was turned while reversing. At this point I had enough and just returned the car and gave up with Carmax.
What should have been the first nail in the coffin was the fact that I wasn't allowed to take either car elsewhere for a pre-purchase inspection as Carmax had gone over the car and there was no reason for anybody else to look at it. I've also found that at least here a good number of their cars I sit in just absolutely stink from either cigarettes or whatever cleaner they use. I also find that many are absolutely filthy and look like they haven't been gone over. For example a Mazda 2 I sat in had what looked like blood stains on the headliner. I've actually had better luck with the local dealerships.
I got a new car from carmax, good experience & a good price.. all I would recommend to future buyers, get your own finance loan for the reason that carmax only gives you 3 options, and the lowest one was more than 6% interest. I went and got my own for around 4%
Yeah often you can get better % especially today.
@@HumbleMechanic for me today they had the lowest that i could find.
I hope this info is still valid in 2020. I have to get a car for my wife and myself in the very near future. We are relocating to central Florida and I DREAD the buying experience. Frankly, because I have had the same Toyota for over 20 years I was not even aware that Carmax existed until a few weeks ago. The sales guy I bought my car from is still around here in Honolulu and we have socialized some over the years. So when my wife needed a car he was very trustworthy and excellent to deal with. I think, based on this video I will look into Carmax, I don’t want a former rental car or fleet car though.
It’s worth looking at I think. Maybe not for everyone and every car is different but worth a check
Last 2 cars (2005 Montana, 2011 Tiguan) were bought from CarMax. Unless they change how they deal with customers I will keep going there. So much easier to deal with. Thanks for the video :)
+SquirrelPope nice! It makes buying so much less annoying for sure.
HumbleMechanic yep. earlier in 2005 we got a malibu at the dealership. It took 8 hours and a massive head ache to buy that car. Never again
+SquirrelPope ugh it shouldn't take all day to buy a damn car. Especially because the important parts for a buyer take 30min like looking at the car, test drives and what not.
Their extended warranty is great if you plan on buying a car with expensive repair bills like a Land Rover or BMW or even Chrysler products now days.
I also was an employee at CarMax, however I was on the Information Technology team at the Corporate Headquarters. However my wife bought a car from them and I had many friends in the store. I always felt CarMax had a great system, it is all a formula and a big part of the formula is to make the customer happy. Happy customers give good referrals and become return customers. Now any system that requires a human can be flawed, an inspector had a bad, the car had parts that failed after purchase sitting in the lot, gremlins invaded. In these cases I have never known CarMax not to make every effort to "make it right".
Michael McFearin Carmax is over priced.
about two years ago at a really good experience with CarMax I just hate the run around with dealerships and with all the extra fees they had on top of the price like administrative fees are ridiculous
+Jacob Bessey nice!
I had some wonderful experiences with customers when I worked there.
Carmax was good for me cause I have poor credit rating score so I had no problem buying a 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid and traded my Model 3 Performance 2 months ago for the Plaid, Carmax made sure the car was in great shape before I picked it up so I’m happy with them they treated me good, had I went to a regular dealer it’s possible with my credit score they would demand a co-sign which is always what’s happened when I went in to those dealerships but at Carmax in the last 5 years I’ve bought 4 cars and not once did I need a co-sign and that’s huge since my credit score is well under 700 so anytime I need a car it’s always gonna be Carmax for me 🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽
Here in the UK, we don't even have CarMax - but I still found all Charles' car buying advice really interesting. Possibly the most key point he makes is the advantage of CarMax sales advisers not caring about which make/model they sell you. Far too many dealerships are on commission to push certain models over others, which makes a complete mockery of the whole car-buying experience. Listen to The Humble Mechanic - buy sensibly.
+Labrador McGraw thank you so much. Also cute pup in the picture
Thanks. We wanted to get a Saint Bernard... but they sold us a Labrador. Should've gone to 'DogMax', I guess. lol
HAHAHAHAHAH
FYI, all cars are required to have all recalls done before sale, my wife bought her car there. Oddly enough I bought my truck through Carvana, mostly due to the fact they had the truck I wanted, same set up more or less as Carmax, except they deliver the car to you.
+Flatrate Master i love that model. So much more customer friendly
HumbleMechanic i almost did a video on the purchase, but it really doesn't fit into my channel
LOL
Flatrate Master I was checking out Subaru's that had a recall out for the Takata airbags. They claimed it was up to me, after purchase, to go to the dealer and have it done.
I asked about discounts for the inconvenience (Subaru claims there is a wait list until 2018 now), but they basically said 'not our problem' and left it at that.
i bought a 2012 civic si from a carmax 2 years ago ..... had a terrible time with them . car had a messed up title and i was never able to register it . after a year and a half they paid my finance company off and said keep the car ..... so i was then stuck with a car i couldn't sell .... due to no title . ended up trading it into a dealer for a new truck few months ago . never again will i buy from a carmax
Carmax has very high markups.
I stopped at one to check out a few 07-08 Subaru's they had. They had high mileage for the years, were involved in the Takata recall, had mechanical issues that i pointed out, but they still wanted twice the KBB.
They wouldn't take offers, wouldn't take care of the recall, etc.
On the drive home, I spotted a 1999 Legacy Outback SUS (one of the rarest Subaru's in the USA).
Less miles than the 07-08's at Carmax (106k vs 110-125k), this one had a glovebox full of reciepts from previous owners vs no reciepts at all.
When i asked if the 07/08's had timing belts changed, they basically said to drive it till they snap and they will fix it.
For $2300, I bought the '99. It is loaded with much more features than any of the 07/08's that Carmax had, and I saved 10k cash.
FCFordLord Bruh. You bought a car 10 years older. No shit you got it a lot cheaper. And with cars like Subaru's, they can easily charge a premium because there is a demand for them. KBB is not the end all be all for pricing. Congrats on your car.
thescoolestkyline
You completely missed the point.
It wasn't that I bought an older car and saved money, it was that Carmax highly overpriced their vehicles for the issues, mileage, etc. and pushed me away as a result.
KBB was spot on with what most private parties and a lot of dealers ask in my area. Carmax was one of the few asking much more.
My area has a very low demand for Subaru's (hot climate, no snow, most don't want AWD). All of the Subaru's I looked at sat at their lot for nearly 6 months, before being transfered somewhere else.
The bottom line is, do your research before going to Carmax. Every single car I checked out had mechanical issues, needed timing belts (they would cover, after it left you stranded), and was well above KBB+ the pricing of others in my area.
thescoolestkyline You're right, there's pretty much no such thing as getting a discount on a used Subaru at a dealer because EVERYONE wants one.
@@FCFordLord If a timing belt breaks on a car with an "interference engine" (like all Hondas do) the engine will be destroyed. I don't know how CarMax will handle that situation as it is a huge financial loss. Most used cars from dealers are not inspected and are sold "as is" after the warranty has expired. Timing belt issues are primarily with rubber belts. Chain timing belts are more durable.
Yeah I like your comment on the Big Dealership haggle in which they either give you more for you trade in and jack up or don't budge on the price of the car you want to buy or vise versa.
Sell your car to Carmax and simplify the negotiation with a dealer.
Carmax just opened down the street from us and we do their warranty/repair work for most GM cars. A few times stuff wasn't under warranty we gave them the estimate and they didn't question anything, they just wanted it repaired. I suppose though when you are that big of a company you can lose a few bucks instead of a customer unlike the joke where I work.
You will pay $2k-$3k on average at Carmax, I'm currently looking for the source and I will edit my post. There was study done and they found that Carmax was always much higher.
+M Daley I think it's important in that space to be sure an apples to apples comparison. That is really easy on new cars, much much harder on used.
I currently work there, and I will agree with you. Quite often the a large quantity of the cars are overpriced by 2-3k...and then as time passes, the car is slowly lowered by 500-1000 to the market price of that vehicle.
You definitely pay 2-3k for the "no hassle" experience. The warranty there is definitely decent though.
A cool trick to utilize is to purchase the 10yr old mercedes, bmw, audi flagship car for 25-30. Put the Maxcare warranty on it and everything that goes wrong is taken care of for the deductible amount you choose.
Either everyone here is full of crap or I'm crazy because I just found out through my own research that CarMax charges 30% markup. I almost got cheated. This guy sounds like a Salesman
Same. 17k for a 2014 Kia Forte with 10,000 miles. KBB was 10.3k from a dealer. Needless to say, I didn’t buy it and was actually offended.
When I confronted the salesman, he said kbb was for Craigslist. Private owner on kbb was 9k.
I think it depends on the make
great vid. thanks for the opinion piece... definitely taken to heart.
You become friends with someone who works there and get a wholesale car. Car Max is a ripoff.
kegrv Greyd True
I wish it was $300 more than other dealers. They’re priced about 2 to 3 grand over what you Can find at CarGurus PLUS what you can negotiate. Don’t think the hassle free is worth $4000 to me
I end up to have a worst experience in my life .got a car from Car Max and guess what ?: check engine turned on ones ,air bag light was on for few days after 7 days policy ,and the whole time I heard a loud voice of tires but I didn't know it's dangerous .I took it back to see what's wrong ! They just said oops sorry both front tires wear loose ! And I don't know who's is fault if I got accident on high way ????? I don't think loose tires it's so hard to inspect with their guarantee certified cars . Yes the fixed it .but I'm not happy at all with how they rip off people with high interest on top of highest price on each car . Stupid place or stupid people in their . Lost thousands of dollars ... .
I have not found that to be the case. I've been looking for a Lexus NX 200t with a certain option set that CarMax has been very competitive with. I've looked on TrueCar, CarGurus, Carvana, etc. and CarMax is always right in the mix with pricing.
Chris Kelly same here. I have been looking at CarMax for Lexus RX, I found it pretty competitive too. I looked at CarMax before for a Subaru, I ended up buying a new one. So I think it really depends on a car.
my mom and sister bought there cars at CarMax they glued plastic pieces together after saying they would replace the parts
I had haggled with a VW dealer over the price of a '14 TDI wagon. Guy wouldn't budge , not even come up with some floor mats from one of the 10 others they had on the lot. Left me at his desk multiple times for 15-20m a time. Didnt want me to use my 3.09 financing I had pre approved for a used vehicle with my own credit union. He acted like these fixed TDIs were gold. I thought, no they've been sitting on a lot fort 2 years I'm taking a risk. I said screw it, walked out. Going to buy a 1.8 wagon at carmax way better deal, no negotiations and no worrying about a clogged DPF down the road .
I love your beard!!! But man... Whats up with the sideburns?
Got a price from the local Audi dealer on my 2016 TT. They offered $34,000. The next day I went to Carmax. They offered $33,000. The avg trade-in price from Kelly Blue Book on my car is $37,000. Will be selling my car privately with a target price of $38,000. $5,000 gross profit is too much.
Ehh I still buy my cars at dealers because of negotiation I always get very good trade in or excellent trade in and pay around private party for the car.
DustinB855 Same
Great video I have bought 2 cars from CarMax and sold them 3.. Always pleased with the amount they offer me.
+Keith Jackson nice!!
EVERY dealer in America is profit driven- every angle is covered as to each dealership to make profit. Apples to apples, CARMax is the most transparent agency. Period! No hidden fees, no b s back room paperwork. I have family and friends in the car sales arena since the 50’s , and have probably heard almost everything about the bull about car buying. No dealer fees, no add on sales gimmicks. I am in no way connected to CARMax , but have bought from them AFTER about 5 months and many headaches and bull crap from many many dealers. We got our own financing , and I’ve been a technician for 40 years. Go back and look at the car 3 or 4 times before you buy. Most often, the mistakes of buying a vehicle is squarely on the buyer.
Great video Charles definitely agree with you on the gotta physically touch, sit in and drive a car before you buy it. I don't get how so many people could preordered the Tesla Model 3 especially before the prototype was even shown (not even a production version) not picking on Tesla same could be said about the Focus RS ect. Guess it's just me
Man, I am with ya. I most likely wouldn't but one that way either, but some people don't mind.
Man I didn’t even know they have been around that long. So I found a car and I needed to have it transferred to my local store. Before doing that they did a walk around and assured me there were no issues, especially odors. I went to test drive the car and I loved it, BUT there was a major cigarette smoke odor. I’m going to purchase the car and try and remove the odor… but that was a bit of a letdown.
A lot of interior parts are glued and smoke is not good for them. Headliners are a good example. If you are a non smoker I would think long and hard before buying a smoker's car. It is probably best to keep on looking.
I bought a Ford F150 from CarMax in Rosewood Ca. I did NOT know at the time it had a recall and salesman stated ALL the cars have been checked out thoroughly. The Truck that I bought from CarMax Caught on Fire after several years of ownership and Caught my House on Fire too. Long story short- The Ford F150 had a recall 2 years prior to me buying the vehicle from CarMax which states that the Cruise control Switch overheats and may cause a fire and to return it to the dealership and have the recall performed. CarMax does NOT do ANY Recall as it is NOT certified to do it. YOU are Responsible for that problem from the time you buy it on site. IF IT NEEDED A RECALL BEFORE YOU BUY IT THE SALESMAN WONT TELL YOU AS IT IS UP TO YOU TO DO THE RECALL OR HAVE IT SEARCHED ONLINE IF IT NEEDS A RECALL AS CARMAX SELLS CAR NOT CARING IF IT NEEDED ANY RECALL.
This may vary by state but in Illinois a car cannot be sold by a dealer unless the recalls have been fixed.
FYI, car max makes about double what oem dealerships make. most dealerships make between 5 and 8 %, carmax around 12. all you need to do is look up there stock filing reports.
The warranty is the best part. I say, if you're looking at notoriously (potentially) unreliable car, buy from carmax and get the warranty. If you're buying a camry or accord just buy it anywhere.
A lot of these private warranties are crap. They often refuse to honor the claim.
great video and good info.
Thank you
Two of my cars were bought from CarMax wholesale lot. My son worked there at the time. One was 1/4 retail due to minor hail damage. The other was 1/2 retail due some issues that looked bad but turned out to be minor.
I have never bought a car from CarMax but have been close a few times. I have scanned the local internet listings and even those as far as 500 miles from me, partly to see what was available and partly like someone who owns stock or investment real estate holdings. In my 20 years of looking at the listings and visiting the lots I can say that there are times you can get a very good deal at CarMax and times when other dealers MIGHT be competitive on price. I am still kicking myself for not buying a Toyota I had shipped especially to my local CarMax. I have 2 possible trade-in vehicles and couldn't decide which one to trade for a very sweet, low mileage, 1 owner Avalon.
As commentors here (inadvertently) point out, you probably won't get a killer deal at CarMax for most Hondas, Toyotas, or pickup trucks. However, if you are in the market for a sedan, for example, NOW would be the time to buy (spring 2021). And if you are reasonably flexible on brand, those manufacturers that have recently switched to SUVs exclusively (Buick and Lincoln spring to mind) are real bargains and not just at CarMax.
For every complaint about Carmax (or Carvana), there are thousands of nasty experiences with "haggling" dealerships.
Extended warranty is very expensive. You pay $3,000 plus you pay 3 to 5 hundred dollars deductible every time it needs a repair! Any repairs that cost under 3 or 5 hundred dollars you pay out of your pocket....
Buying a car is more difficult these days with Covid 19