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This is from a current CarMax employee who has worked in several of their used car departments.

Sales - The sales people are actually pretty well trained, but there are still those that don't have a clue to what they are doing. The longer they go in training, the better for them. $12.00 an hour isn't bad for 40 hours a week for training. Oh, and unless the new person sells 4 cars within a two week period, the "mentor" who trained them gets nothing extra. An actual sales person gets paid per unit - not commission! $150.00 flat rate per car they sell. An extra $50 if they get you to buy the warranty and an extra $50 if they buy your car (only depends on the spiff of the month). Any accessories that you purchase, they get part of that. Sales persons have been paid that amount since the inception of CarMax.

Business Office - These are the people who do all your paperwork (the $149 processing charge). They, too, are pretty well trained. But when it comes to what is on the paper work, most don't have a clue. You ask them questions and they end up with the deer in the headlights stare.

Sales Managers - The people you really love! 95% of the sales managers are promoted via the "good old boy" network. They don't have to have been a good sales person, just have friends higher up. Training? Yeah, right. They follow another sales manager around for a few weeks and they are cut loose. Most have ZERO people skills. Their pay is a flat rate salary - usually about $50k, with bonuses paid IF the budget for the day/week/month is made.

Mechanics - These people, for the most, are pretty good. They actually get paid to find problems with your car! That's right - they get paid when they find "problems" with your vehicle!

Buyers - Odd name, but these people are the ones who will appraise your vehicle. They are graded on how many vehicle they buy. Regardless the price they give you. 1 - do NOT expect to get Kelly Blue Book for your car, it isn't worth it according to them. 2 - Do NOT expect your appraiser to be knowledgeable about your vehicle. Most are taught just what to look for and nothing more. 3 - Unless your vehicle is bought as a wholesale car, you WILL see it put on the front lot for $5-6,000 more than they gave you! Sorry!

Service Personnel - When you drop your car off for service, these are the people who you talk with. They are some of the "best"! The more work that they can have done to your car, the more money THEY can make! Something as simple as a "diagnosis" puts some sweet money in both CarMax's and the service personnel's pocket! $70 for a diagnostic to tell you your battery is dead!

Paint/Detailers - Some of the lower class of CarMax. Can you operate a vacuum cleaner? Can you wash a window? You are hired! Get those cars prepped and out on the lot NOW! It's OK if the paint isn't completely dry or there is overspray, just get that car to the lot!

Upper Management - This would be the Service Manager, Assistant General Manager and Location General Manager (aka LGM) - Real cream of the crop! These people make life miserable for everyone! If budgets are not made, they don't make money, and if they don't make money, no body is happy! Human defication makes sudden impact with the rotating oscelator! Everyone below them will feel the raith! I am not kidding when I tell you that you WILL be threatened with termination if your sales are not up!

Don't get me wrong, I love my job here, we are not as slimy as regular used car salesmen, but we have a lot of faults within our own company.

Location: Alpharetta, Georgia

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Guest

Lol do your research on the lower class it's actually more opportunity to move up and it pays better then a lot of other positions ***

Guest

LOL! at the lower class of carmax.

You obviously are whats wrong with carmax in your disgusting way of thinking. Most people in the "lower class" make more then actual salesmen. Yes the first detail position is a mostly entry level but does offer steps in progression of responsibility and pay. A lot of the people that boss people like you around started as reconditioning associates.

With the cost of living being higher and lower for everyone some of these lower class painters make 30 an hr.

But hey how about you turn down the classical music in your 2014 c300 that was prepped for you way to fast for your liking and walk your wealthy *** to inventory and the line and talk the lower class lol. I mean get actual facts before you make such insulting statements, service and the business office make no where near what mostly all of the positions in the lower class do.

SIDENOTE:The carmax in Lancaster, Pennsylvania is racist!

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-842171

In remote flow store locations most RAs and MAs will years to advance up far enough to a lead or MIT position. Best thing is, the few that work their way up will NEVER survive in the auto industry outside the max as they have no actual technical skills, just ASE patches and a title at a dead end job.

fact

Frankie S Ync

I just heard a story from a client of mine about a carmax experience his wife had. So, his wife goes in for an appraisal and the sales person ends up telling her that her vehicle was in an accident and has frame damage.

She had no idea her used car was in an accident. The sales guy tells her that he would not feel safe in her situation because she did have a child seat in the car. Now this S.O.B scared this woman because she feared her car was not safe! This S.O.B sales person did not know the extent of frame damage, and used a selling tactic on a woman to get rid of her car!

Long story short, this woman traded her car in, but not at carmax. Point of story is these sales people can be very ruthless slime balls that are money hungry because they dont make enough commission at carmax, in my opinion. The way this sales person handled this customer is down right unethical.

It would be ok if her mechanic recommended to trade her vehicle in depending on the severity of the damage, not a sales person from carmax! This sales person will be fired in time, and I hope the worst for him.

Frankie S Ync

A post from 2008, but a great post by CarMax Person! Ok, so I quote "They actually get paid to find problems with your car"!

Wow, if thats not downright slimey, I dont know what else is! People, please stay away from any company that pays their employees to find problems with YOUR vehicle.

You have to be a real slime ball (tom folliard), because the message you are sending is downright unethical. I will do everything neccessary to expose the truth about this company.

Frankie S Ync

Hey CarMax person, just some added information to the paint/detail part, when they bring the vehicle to the lot they screech the tires! I have seen it myself.

It's not their vehicle so they beat on it when they can.

That says a lot about a company. Managers know they do this, but they don't give a *** either.

Frankie S Ync

These posts about people's experience at carmax are priceless. The reply from Erich pretty much sums it up, "this corporation has instead focused on Wall Street earnings & not focusing on customer satisfaction."

Frankie S Ync

EXCELLENT POST Carmax person!!!!! The mechanics get paid more, the more problems they find!

Now if this is not a sign of a sleezy company, I don't know what else is. The LGM's WILL make everyone unhappy for sure with their Jekyl and Hyde personality. Whenever you run a business where commission is rewarded, you will have dishonesty.

Dishonesty then turns to greed, and greed turns to failure. This post will be appreciated on more social media sites.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Frankie S Ync

I've managed both hourly and commissioned Carmax stores. Both are equally incompetent in their own regard.

Guest

Very true! Could not have said it better myself! I worked there and service charged me $50 to tell me I did not need brakes!!

pickeral

Carmax sells unsafe vehicles. Technicians are honest to managers about what repairs are needed.

Managers who were fry cooks a week ago now make the decision as to whether a vehicle gets safety related repairs depending on cost per vehicle reports. If the numbers are too high they throw the dice and hope the customer does not return in 30 days. SAD SAD SAD company especially Naperville IL location.

Jacob Janowski is the service OPS manager and is clueless about cars just managing numbers on a report. Beware....you dont know what they decided not to fix to save money.

Guest

Sad to say the good days of carmax quality are long gone... This corporation has instead focused on wall street earnings & not focusing on the customer satisfaction.

Once upon a time, you could purchase a "carmax" car off the lot & be rest assured that quality was involved in their end product. Make sure any vehicle purchased from this place involves a second party verification before you sign on the dotted line.

Guest

Wow. Stumbled up on this thread when I was reading some stock news.

Can't tell you how disappointed I am to read all this negative news about Ed and the company. I worked for KMX for 6 years and helped open two stores. Worked with some great people there during the glory days when there was little in the way of a playbook and they counted on people that could think on their feet. Wally, Terell Downing, Mark, Jeff(s), Mickey King, Chris Tilly, Paul Patrowski, A.J.

Luckett, Susan, Dena Roesler, Rob Mitchell and many others I can't remember where simply awesome people that cared about us all and work really hard to make the company a success. It appears most of them have moved on as the company became more rigid and did not fit their aggressive, entrpreneur skill sets. I missed them all when I left and still think fondly of all the associates there.

I hate things are not fun there anymore. We had a lot of great times selling cars the "CarMax" way!

Frankie S Ync
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-428236

Way back manager, like someone said a long time ago "all good things come to an end" and that saying came out after someone else said "money is the root to all evil" So very true.

Guest

All of you guys are mad because Ed Ragsdale had to lay you off... Well he was told that he had to lay people off during that time due to the economy and the company told him to do so.

All Edwin Ragsdale did was tell the people that they would no longer be working for Carmax it wasn't his choice. And if anybody saw him at Carmax the next couple of weeks you could easily see that he felt terrible about what had to happen. So get over your selves. Also he did not talk down to people of any race or sex so don't try to say that he did.

Get over it and get on with your life... We Miss You ED.

Frankie S Ync
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-309305

So it's ok for carmax to layoff people due to a bad economy, BUT, when sales are down because of the economy, managers don't want to hear it from associates. The managers still expect 10% and this sounds like a double standard to me.

Guest

I am all too familiar with the discriminatory practices at carmax. I am a female who was placed in the "SMIT" or (*** program) as it was once called.

Don't know what it's called now.I was treated like *** the entire time by my woman hating LGM, and his *** kissing ASM. Even though my #'s were good, and I worked my *** off, they couldn't find enough ways to humiliate me on a daily basis. The male "SMIT" that I was training with wasn't given any of the *** to do that I was. The LGM even asked me to cover for my training partner one night, so he could take him to a sports event!

I didn't mind, but it was clear to even senior management that I was getting *** treatment, but no one could talk about it, or risk getting fired themselves. I was told I was getting promoted, and then a month later, for no good reason, was told I had to go back to the sales floor. I loved all the people I worked with,, and in that respect it was an awesome place to work. But Karma is a ***!

The LGM got fired for making a racist comment, what a surprise. I hope he rots in ***!!

Guest

ANon; don't lie to us, to ur self. We all know that u re un educated, errorgant,and a lier...

First of all, in carmax salesmen are crying, only some of them have that chance. Sales mgrs make around 40-50 K if they are lucky.

when it comes to Ed Ragsdale firing him was a big challenge for the company, and they kept that sick, racist, sociopath, uneducated, completely retarded person that needed to be isolated from the community for long time because of the expense of firing him. Carmax is ok, still a coorporate...

Guest

I can feel the love! Nothing changes!

Guest

Any body out there thinking of taking a class action law suit against carmax as a result of Ed Ragsdales ill treatments of minorities, gays, and women???? Let us get togethere for we have a strong case against the company especially the firing of Ed,the monster is an indication that he was doing something wrong and we all know it. LET US BRING THEM DOWN.

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