CarMax

Reviews 3

NA

Nathan Paddock

I disliked my experience at Carmax for multiple reasons. I liked it for only a few. First, I wanted to purchase an Impreza, and they had a 2015 with only 8k miles. The low tire pressure light was on, and when I asked the sales guy why that was, he guessed and said it was nothing, probably just needed air. Turned out there was a nail in the sidewall, causing the low pressure. Not cool. Carmax mechanics caught it right before I bought it, but told me they were only gonna replace the one tire, not all four. So now I dropped $23k on a barely used car with uneven tread on the tires. I had to hold the wheel crooked to keep it straight on the way to work. Again, not cool. When I petitioned for them to change all 4 tires, they refused (albeit politely, as Carmax always is. Just because theyre being polite doesnt mean they wont try to short-sale you.) I was hesitant to buy the car, but Carmax told me about their policy of buying the car and getting 5 days after buying to decide if I really wanted it. When I asked how quickly I could get my money back, they said it would be the day of, because they hold the check for 5 days. Turns out the business woman had NO idea what she was talking about. When I went in to return it after 4 days, they said with a smile, "Youre money will be reimbursed in a week." Well, I had no car at this point for transportation, as I had just sold my old 94 Honda. My mouth dropped, and I told her what I had been told when I bought the car about getting my money back pronto. She then got her manager, who told me a different story on top of that. The manager said it would be 10-15 DAYS to get my $23k back! When I asked if theyd reimburse me for a rental while I waited, they refused. Wasnt part of company policy, they said. I had to haggle and wheel and deal with them, but finally the manager agreed to expedite my order and get the money back to me in 4 days. Im still out of pocket $125 for the rental covering me while I wait, but at least its not 2 weeks. Carmax also got my drivers license # wrong on a vehicle form even though they copied it, and the car came without a manual (they said theyd reimburse me if I purchased one, but come on Carmax! Thats not professional up front. I just dropped $23k, go out of your way a little and get me one.) The engine had also been sprayed with some sort of chemical to shine it, and the chemical was all over everything under the hood. In summary, I disliked way more than I liked about Carmax. Mostly in the reimbursement process, but I also just felt like "cattle" to them in a sense. Rush me along, get to the next customer. This was evident in the way they did not take the time or resources to get me all new tires. Dont get me wrong, they are very polite and want to work with you, but they dont always know their stuff. The business woman should have never told me Id get my money back so fast, she should have gone and consulted a manager. Guess thats what I get for listening to a newbie. I am glad that they agreed to expedite my reimbursement, but I had to haggle for it, they just didnt offer it. Because of my experience, I dont trust Carmax as much as Id hoped to coming in. Your experience may be different, but mine honestly sucked. Also, I went to Heuberger Subaru down I25 and found a brand NEW subaru 2016 Sport Impreza, nicer everything and for only $500 more dollars. Cant beat that.

DA

DAJEAD

We had purchased 2 cars from this dealership in the last couple of years, one was transferred in, the other was on the lot. With a few minor exceptions, both transactions went great! Based on that, I decided to buy a 3rd car from them. Initially, it went pretty well. The car was transferred in, but there was a problem with the title. I was told it would take 3 or 4 weeks to resolve. It is inexcusable for Carmax to ship a car with an incorrect title they know will not meet Colorado requirements. Fortunately, I was reimbursed the transfer fee. I was able to test drive the car and the only issue noted by the sales agent was a minor scrape on the hood which she assured me would be fixed by their "expert" body repair shop. I contacted the dealership several times during the 3 to 4 weeks while waiting, and on one occasion asked the sales agent to make sure the hood was repaired while the title issue was being resolved so I would not have to wait longer while the repair was being done or bring it back later. She assured me once again it would be done before the title was corrected. As you have probably guessed by now, the hood was not repaired when the car was ready for delivery. Now the sales agent tells me that it would be too expensive to fix and that they could have just used some spot paint to cover it up but because of the special paint and the car was so nice she would not let them do that. Her manager refused to repair the damage. Granted the scrape is hardly noticeable, but Carmax made a promise to fix it, then reneged on it at the last moment. I was under a little pressure to get a car since my previous car had been totaled by hail and the rental car insurance benefit had long been exhausted. I took the car after having been in the dealership for a couple hours after a long day of work. The car had been washed, but not thoroughly cleaned. There was dust on the visors and seats from when it had been sitting in the overflow parking area while waiting for the title to clear. As soon as I left the dealership, the "check washer fluid" message came on. It leads me to believe that the car did not really go through any kind of inspection prior to sale in spite of Carmaxs claim of a 125 point inspection for every car. I have had the car for a couple of weeks and I just had an opportunity to give it a good cleaning this weekend. As I was drying it off, I noticed a small section of chrome from the passenger side front quarter panel was missing. I will attempt to resolve that issue with Carmax this week. All in all, it has been a horrible experience and I have definitely changed my mind about using them for future car purchases, specifically the Colorado Springs store. I am very disappointed and angry at having to spend so much on a car and not get the basic courtesy of having the fluids topped off and a good cleaning.

CH

Chris Thomas

i live almost 80miles from CarMax in the springs.. and I had not even planned on purchasing a newer vehicle; as I already had multiple vehicles owned.. in jan. of 2015 I just happened to use their website (great to be able to shop by price, type, models, and view all the nations inventory.. and their in Utah was a one of a kind GMC hybrid 4x4 Sierra pickup, with less than 68k miles. I put in my email and phone info, and they brought it to me; free! no commitment to purchase, but I was already sold with the truck; their customer service just made it a bonus. I had the benefit of dealing with Michelle Eaton and Steve Brite at CarMax. Steve started the free shipping process and getting me a car report when it was not available online. Michelle allowed me to pre-qualify, and do most of the credit app over the phone, so when the vehicle arrived in town; I took a day off to travel into the springs, but it was less than a 2hr in/out process; and that included the greet, the test drive; after walk around inspection, the paperwork, and the quick wash and wax, and full top off tank of fuel... Michelle also had assistance in the finance/purchasing/paperwork dept. from Stephanie Mutchler; an absolute delight and pleasure to deal with. she made all the "form"alities of the read/initial/sign bearable. prior to the vehicle even being shipped from salt lake, when I wanted additional on the truck, one of sales associates in Utah found the truck, and took a pic of the RPO codes decal in the vehicle, and emailed me; so I knew almost every detail prior to it arriving in Colorado for me; --save what to name her. within two days after purchase I had already ran the vehicle through a 200+ point inspection, checked all the bells and whistles, and driving it back into the mountains behind pikes peak (where I reside), got 22.6-23.7mpg from a full size automatic truck! by the weeks end I was ready to write this review; however, I wanted to pilot the vehicle for a few months, and also run it through a gamut of duties that normal people would not expect of their car... I have done so, and am still proud to say that I am very happy with my purchase; and the mileage is steady in the 19-25mpg range.. my family has purchased from CarMax in the past (not the springs location), and the other facility was just as accommodating, friendly, and professional as the people in Colorado Springs. I will happily refer friends and family to CarMax, and would definitely purchase from them again (after this ones paid for). thanks again Michelle for coming in on your day off with your mom to insure this is where I will tell everyone to shop.