CarMax

Reviews 3

DA

Danielle D. Minerva

I recently bought my second car from Carmax and they are just top-notch! I definitely do not know what any of the bad reviews are about because I am the most critical person in the world and like I said, this is my second car with them. I had a car that I got from them from another state that had almost $5,000 of negative equity, but I needed to get into a much cheaper car to ultimately have a much lower loan and a much lower monthly payment so I can pay off debt and then pay off the car faster. Carmax gave me the absolute highest amount for my car and I literally went to about seven other dealerships! And it was very true to Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds value! With them giving me so much I was able to roll over a lot less negative equity into the new loan than I would have if I went with anybody else. I got a really good car that was actually newer (2014), but it was less features and not a luxury vehicle anymore but I knew I was sacrificing a little. It is a really good car and I did have one issue with the tire pressure sensors about two weeks after I had the car. I was still under their 30 day service guarantee and they literally treated me like VIP and even though there was nothing wrong with the tires, just because I said that the car ran a little rough they replaced the tires anyway even though they were pretty new and the car rides a lot better and they even replaced the back sensors even though the front sensors were the only ones that needed to be replaced because they just werent registering tire pressure. The service guy John said it was because they didnt want me to have to deal with those sensors down the line. So they did all of that, gave me a loaner vehicle and literally treated me like royalty. I was even surprised because with my last car I never had a problem with it until almost 2 years in and it was a basic break issue which again was covered under my Carmax warranty. My salesman at the Gilbert location was Dean Rothstein and he was wonderful. A really down-to-earth guy that I could relate to and he did not try to chase me down or act slimy. He got me into a really good reliable vehicle that works for my needs and I felt like I had a big brother or a father guiding me. Even though I am pretty smart when it comes to cars. I would highly recommend Carmax and quite honestly I dont think I will ever buy a vehicle anywhere else. I am on a plan where I no longer want to pay car payments once this loan is paid, so I will always buy used vehicles at Carmax from now on! Oh, and because I had their extended warranty and their GAP coverage with my last car I was sent two refund checks for almost the entire amount that I originally paid for both the warranty and GAP coverage. That was a wonderful surprise and much needed to get me started paying down my debt! Blessings all around! I know I made a great decision! Thank you again Carmax!!

CH

Chad Taylor

16 months ago my wife and I bought a 2007 John Cooper Works Mini Type S from CarMax. It was a very pretty car with great mileage. The sales guy gave us this whole pitch about how the John Cooper Works edition was very rare. This car had low mileage because typically people dont drive these. They collect them. He told us typically this edition costs $1000s more but because they got it at a good deal, they were passing the savings onto us. He told us the John Cooper Works addition could cost an extra $8,000.00. We were only paying slightly more than the base price, because CarMax got it for such a good deal. We bought the car. Fast forward 16 months. I am getting my John Cooper Works edition serviced at Mini Of Tempe. I am talking to the tech about my car. He looks at me stone-cold and says "This isnt a John Cooper works....this is a base type S that someone put a kit on." I argue with him...until he walks me over to how a real John Cooper Works should look on the inside...and how mine looks. Clearly. Mine was not a John Cooper Works. It has all the markings...and a kit to make it look like one....but its not. I was absolutely mislead at CarMax. I dont have a rare John Cooper Works...I have a base type S they dressed up to make look like one. I called CarMax. They told me to bring my car in. I did. They looked at it and said they arent perfect...that when people sell them cars they try to verify all the information is correct but sometimes they are wrong. They the purchasing manager shows me on my paperwork where John Cooper Works is listed under "options" not as a "trim." I have got to tell you. I am not a car expert. When the sales guy tells you its a John Cooper Works...and when it has John Cooper works listed on the paper work....regardless of where it is....most people would assume they are telling you....its a John Cooper Works. I certainly did not know someone could buy a kit to make a regular Mini look like a special edition Mini. I did not know CarMax would lie about what the car is. I told the purchasing manager exactly what the sales guy told me and you know what he said "I understand why your mad. I sympathize with you. Unfortunately we cant help you." I said your sales guy lied and he said "Yea. Unfortunately we cant do anything about that." He said its listed as just an option not a trim...I explained there is no way anyone would know that...and he said "I understand that." Here is what I learned: At CarMax if you think your getting a "really good deal" look into it...chances are you really arent getting that good of a deal, and whatever you do....dont just trust the sales guys. They will lie to make a sale. Ours certainly did. The other thing that really stuck out is how fast each division of CarMax will try and cover their own butt. It is truly shocking.

KR

krm bnks

I walked into this dealership to purchase a car several months ago. I had two months pay to put towards my car and a fico score well in a range to buy. The only reason I wanted to buy a car was to help improved my credit since it had been years since my last purchase. Be careful when you deal with this place, they will run your credit to the moon and back. Initially, they got me approved with my FICO and down payment, but since I worked on commission they asked for me to wait three months before they would send my application over for approval, complete bs, but I obliged. Upon returning after their recommended thirty days, I discover my application had expired, but didnt tell me until I showed up. The salesman and manager tried to explain the deal, and how they graciously held the car for me. Thanks, but the deal was sinking at this point. Mind you I had saved up a lot of money, when I returned my down payment was 2k higher and my monthly jumped from the high 3s to nearly 500 a month. Personally, I felt like they saw my income and tried to milk me for more money. Now its 5k down on a 15k unit and my fico was north of 630. Now any sane person, would say no thanks and walk away, which did kindly and told them they would have had a deal with the original offer. I felt that my scores, income and 5k would land me in a new car of my choice. I walked out of Carmax in February and returned in March. In April, I received letter after letter from creditors, banks, lenders, missions, unions etc. you name it. After I told them thanks, we dont have a deal, they just ran my credit to be spiteful. Now I have 15 inquiries on my credit, 10 of these are from visiting Carmax. Thats 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 times from one dealership. Id like to think the best, but we know how it all works by now. If I didnt buy there, they made sure I didnt buy at all anywhere. This didnt affect my car buying decision though, bc I went out and paid for one with the cash I saved. It takes 2 years for a hard hit to come off of your reports. It still blows my mind one dealership would stoop so low. The crazy part is this was the second car my family would have purchased from them. I ended up losing some 50 plus pts and have to live and be denied for simple things. Whenever I apply or have my credit pull, they all say the same thing, who pull your credit that many times. Buyer beware, if its not in their favor, they will throw stones for making a sound decision for my family. My recommendation is to avoid this place, and dont believe their were not like other dealerships propaganda, well then they werent, turns out they were far worse.