CarMax

Reviews 3

DO

Dominique Charron

I visited Carmax twice before actually purchasing my car. I am young and this was my first real car buying experience. (my first car i bought from family). Before I had even found the car I wanted I had decided to purchase through them for their "no-haggle" pricing. As a 21-year old negotiating is quite intimidating. Although the dealership doesnt necessarily have all the fancy accommodations that others will (snacks and waiting rooms and comfy seats), the price I ended up paying for my car in the long run was well worth the visit. After several weeks of generally narrowing down the car I was interested in, I had several choices at Carmax in different years, trim-styles, colors, and obviously price. I reserved a test-drive appointment for a Monday and they held it for me all the way through the weekend which I thought was great. My first trip to Carmax I met with a salesman Francisco. He was an older gentlemen and although he was very pleasant I feel like he didnt actually know much about the vehicle I selected. He sent me an email about 24 hours prior telling me what a great car I chose and how great of condition it was in, and then when I was walking with him to see the car that actual day he told me he hadnt even seen it before. During the test drive I told him that I was not prepared to put any money down that day. I needed to round up cash and also wanted a family member with me to help with the final paperwork, as I have never done this before. I also said that I understood there was no way to hold the vehicle and that was OK. Even though I loved the car, if it sold I would still plan on returning. After that he was not very pleasant. The welcoming smile disappeared and it was all about numbers. Regardless, I still planned on returning because of my love for the car. The second time I went in I brought my mother with me who has worked in business her whole life. I dont know much about car-buying but she told me that everything they went over was pretty standard, no real surprises during the actual buying process, and because I had already reviewed the numbers once before the buying process was actually pretty quick. In the end I bought a 2014 Nissan Versa Note SV for $11,900. The price was just below both KBB and Edmunds value and I love it. My final purchase was made with the salesman ALEX. He was GREAT! He was super friendly, smiley, and actually knew small tid-bits about the car I choose. It made me a lot more comfortable in the end to have someone who communicates super well and has a great attitude. In the end, I will return to Carmax for future purchases. Their prices are great and the no-haggle environment is simple and friendly. Thanks for my new car Carmax!

SC

Scott Ford

CarMax, Youve been hitting me up for a review of my recent vehicle purchase. Here you go..... The Bad : Could not use my Salesman from the Glenwood Ave store (Where I test drove a similar vehicle), he deserved my commission. My on-line vehicle transfer from Florida only gave me the option for delivery to the store off Capital Blvd. The vehicle title didnt arrive with the vehicle and had to be shipped (delayed purchase). Got bounced between (3) Salesmen when I arrived to inspect and purchase the vehicle at the Capital Blvd store. The transferred vehicle needed cleaning there were markings on the leather seats and driver side mirror was nasty, Carmax refused to clean them when I pointed this out. They gave my cell phone information to XM Sirius during my free 3 month trial, their Salesman called my cell phone asked me who I was and then hung up on me (Really pissed me off). I called the # listed on my caller-ID and was connected to a customer service rep in the Philippines, what a pain in the @$$ these folks are, they had no idea who or why I was being called, I hung up. Ive been avoiding their calls every day for about the 1st week. When I got tired of their phone calls and called them back. I pressed the options to be routed to an agent to remove me from their calling list. When that agent answered they had no clue why I was calling and then wanted all kinds of non-related personal information to remove me from their calling list, I suspect they wanted to complete a customer profile on me, I hung up. This was complete BS!! The Good: My 3rd Salesperson was great! Carmax has really improved their sales process making it surprising fast and stress free. My wife and I have bought many vehicles from Carmax over the years and always had wonderful Vehicles. Ive had the vehicle now for approx 3 weeks and its been a wonderful vehicle so far. Conclusion: This could have been a 5 Star Review. Carmax needs to work out their kinks with vehicle transfers and I should have been able to keep my original Sales person. If a customer asks you to do some minor cleaning to a vehicle before the purchase, dont tell them the cleaning guys in the back are pulling minimum wage and dont typically do a very good job (unacceptable !!) Dont give XM Sirius customer information, If we want to extend our trial subscription, we can call them.

BR

Bradley Vandeventer

Not ideal. Traded in an quality car for a newer more reliable vehicle . The car I first inquired about was a 2015 Subaru wrx limited. When i went to go test drive the car again and make the purchase they said the car was transferred away due to a registration issue, but they had an even newer wrx just rolling on the lot. I test drove this car but it felt a little different and had less features. I ended up being talked into it since it was a newer car and had less miles. I purchase the vehicle and started having issues almost immediately with the clutch/transmission. The clutch/trans would release a burning smell and wouldnt go into gear after reaching operating temperature on medium length trips. They told me to take it back to Carmax and that they would look at it, but they ended up finding nothing wrong. The car once cooled would operate but the issue still remained and occurred again 3 days later. They insisted it was user error (which it wasnt) and offered to have the Subaru dealer look at it. Towed the car myself to Subaru and they were just authorized to test drive the car for 20 miles and perform a 5 point inspection. They said theyre could be an issue but there was no way of knowing without taking apart portions of the drivetrain. Carmax offered to put me in another car so I complied and went with a low mileage Honda. The transmission felt odd but the salesman assured me it was from the cold weather. My mistake to buy but i needed to get back to work and needed a reliable car, so I settled. Now this car has a horrible clunking sound coming from the transmission and grabs on downshifts and also has an intensely loud power steering mechanism. Long story short, Carmax has sold me 2 junk cars. I trusted Carmax bc they used to perform high quality inspections. Now they take pride in a lot full of fleet vehicles and worn down trade ins. I did purchase the 125,000 mile warranty but we will see if they honor that when the transmission falls out of this car and skips down the road. The salesman were pleasant and really nice people, but management is cold and extremely condescending. I am not happy with this experience and feel stuck and defeated. Carmax has changed, their brand has changed. Shop elsewhere.