77.3K views
289 comments

Ok I have read a lot of the complaints that are on here about CarMax and well after a month of working there I can truly say that they are a complete rip off! First they offer you a so called fair price on your vehicle. The reality is that they offer you way less than what they sell it for at a ratio on the dollar, basically if they offer you 5 grand theyโ€™ll sell it for 8,000. If they buy it for 11,000 theyโ€™ll sell it for 16,000, its a huge joke really. The other day an older gentleman came in with a 2007 Silverado with only 27k miles on it and he got an actual good deal getting 17k dollars for it because the car truly was immaculate. Six days later we turned around and sold it for 25,900. Ridiculous margin, this is just icing on the cake though. Then there are the auctions. The day after they bought that Silverado they went to an auction and bought 20 cars, mostly fleet vehicles. With an average price tag of 3-5k, they got a good deal. Once they hit the lot the average price selling was 12-15k! Ridiculous margins...

Now they say they spend 12 hrs with a 125point inspection examining there cars and reconditioning them for sale before they will even put them on the lot, this is the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard and is a 100% falsity. In the service area they have rotations, once they have a dozen or so cars in the incoming inventory area they have a cleaning party, literally. To bad this party only lasts a few hours, the cars run through a gas station style car wash and comes out at the end with a line of people waiting for it. Each person in the services area rotates each time they clean to a new item to clean on the car, so one person wipes the windows and another vacuums, and then another picks up trash out of the vehicle. One person wipes off the hoods, one for one side of the car and one for the other side of the car. The reality is that not a single person gives any one vehicle any undivided attention. Notice I did not mention at any point any diagnostic checks or functional maintenance. There is absolutely no reconditioning going on here! The resulting level of cleaning is comparable to my 5year old son detailing the car. When a car comes in, it may be marked for new tires/oil change or to have a huge scratch fixed but otherwise there is no service done at all. As a salesman It is downright embarrassing, you lie to the customer and tell them how well refurbished the car is, and then you open up the door and the seats need shampooing and there are french fries in the center counsel on a 27k dollar vehicle. This happened to me today, and I cant do it anymore. Absolutely ridiculous....

Now something that they donโ€™t want you to know is that 65% yes 65% of vehicles that they sell have issues within 90 days! And when customers bring them in for "extended service plans" the customer always ends up paying for a portion of the work going well beyond there MaxCare deductible. I was working with the Service Manager the other day and was told that the sales people needed to quit selling it, and that the deductibles should be completely removed because they were very misleading. He told me that 80% of his job was to deal with customers that were pissed because they were lied too! Absolutely ridiculous...,.

Its a scary thought to know that they sell 450K+ cars a year nationally and there customers are do discontent with there purchases. I will say though that as the market dictates and as consumers become aware, that the bull will give CarMax the horns. There parent company was a little company that we all know as Circuit City! If you remember there story, they went bankrupt after a huge expansion in 2009 and closed there doors. CarMax has just set out on the same mission, there planning on opening a new location every month for the next few years.. You think they would have learned there lesson the first time, lol.

To sum it all up, CarMax is a joke, stay away, far far away!

Do You Have Something To Say ?
Write a review

Comments

chat-icon

Please avoid publishing any personal information and promotional content

You will be automatically registered on our site. Username and password will be sent to you via email.
Post Comment
Guest

Thanks for the info. I was considering CarMax, but, now I will keep my money in my pocket.

Guest

I feel the same way as this man. They do lie to the customer, the Salesman told me to "go home an empty my car", and that my car looked great.

(6900.00) I go home and the JERK sends me a TEXT. "your offer is ready". $3000.00 dollars!! are you for real.

then they proceed to tell me that,: I changed the mileage", because the mileage did not match some auto software they use. I was prepared to write a "statement of facts", but they wouldn't. The DMV gave me the number to call and after 4 days of trying to reach these people from the DMV to help me correct it, no one answers the phone and says " that because they are receiving to many calls they cant take anymore" and they hang up.

WTF people dont want to work or help- take care of the customers anymore. Everyone thi9nks CARMAX is so wonderful, THEY ARE NOT AND THEIR SALES POEPLE LIE.

Guest

join the new employee sub reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/CarMax_Employees_live/

Guest

looks like more complaints than anything else

Guest

Yep! The Carwax dealershit where we bought our car was a scam.

The sales"people" were nice enough, but they have no idea about the actual vehicles that they are selling. They also seem to have drank some kool-aid that makes them impervious to the truth. So, we actually brought the car back that we purchased.

There were some issued that were not revealed to us regarding the actual history of the ride. Bottom line "Don't buy a vehicle at Carwax."

Emiliano Xho

Yep and they screw with pricing as the hits on a car are made thanks for the heads up saved me a huge mistake will go somewhere else

Billy Tyy

I bought a 2013 Hyundai Veloster Remix Edition from them a few months ago that had 14k miles on it. I paid $13k for the car.

Not a terrible deal considering the low miles and the previous owner barely driver the thing. You almost never see that low of miles on a car this old. This is the second car Iโ€™ve bought from them and my first was a complete dud. The transmission went out 4 times in the first 2 months.

They recognized that they sold me a lemon and got me out of the car and refunded me all the money I spent paying on my deductible for the MaxCare plan. They took care of me and I would recommend them to anyone. I have since taken my brother and mom there to help them pick out a car and Iโ€™m taking my girlfriend today. Iโ€™m assuming that the guy above that started this post doesnโ€™t understand how buying and selling cars works.

Naturally someone is going to try and buy something cheaper than they are going to sell it for.

Otherwise how would you make any profit. Hopefully this jaded clown has figured out over the last 6-7 years how car buying and selling works.

Guest

I bought my car there in July this year.I am absolutely thrilled with it. The purchase was smooth.

My favorite car lot purchase ever. I got a great deal on it and it is fully loaded. I have had no problems with it and I am taking it in for routine maintenance this week. They also purchased my car for greater than blue book value.

So what if they sell it for more?! Everyone does.

I didn't want to bother with it myself. I will recommend them to every one.

Guest

Feedback about Carmax on the internet is overwhelmingly negative. Do they deserve it?

Who knows, but they didn't become the largest used car retailer by doing everything wrong or *** everyone off.

But the absolute, undisputed truth is there is definitely a better option and a better way to beat any Carmax offer every time. Take 3 minutes to check out this short article and get more money for your vehicle: https://www.retailmyride.com/articles/oNVLloVp-how-to-beat-carmax-offer-every-time

Guest

Because of this post, I didn't go there today! Thank you.

Guest

Why would people pay way above nada guides for vehicles being sold at Car Max???????????

Guest

That information is just not true.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1708157

Itโ€™s true!

Guest

*Their

Bertram Mbl

Im sure carmax isnโ€™t perfect... but do you honestly think that a used ford , Chrysler, dodge going to last you for ever...

carmax is a used car Lot!!! If you people canโ€™t afford a new car stop complaining and roll the dice on a used vehicle plain and simple... I bought a used Mercedes took it to the Mercedes dealership and got a oil change and topped off fluids..

they didnโ€™t report anything wrong with it ..my car sits in my garage I only use it on the weekends ... I have yet to use my โ€œextended warrantyโ€ only got it for long term piece of mind ...

Sharda Dlf

I can not comment on other individuals experiences, but I have purschased my last two cars from CarMax and will most definitely buy my thrid from them as well. My first purchase was a 2010 BMW, purchased in 2012.

I bought the car with 50k on it and was in teh middle of nowhere when the water pump broke. I drove, like an idiot, 20 miles to a random BMW dealership and turns out I craked a head by driving on a bad water pump. Car needed a whole new engine, which my Max Crae replaced no problem. I think I paid 250 bucks for a new BMW engine.

After that I drove that BMW til it had 186k miles on it and never fixed anything aside from routine maintenance like oil changes and spark plugs. I t was a great Car. Bought a 2015 Acura ILX in 2017, car had 11k miles on it, and now has close to 50k miles and I have not had a single problem with it.

When you buy a Mercedes or BMW with 80k miles on it, you ahve to know that it will require fixing, especially at around 100k. All cars do.

Guest

Just had a bad experience with Car Max- They sold a car to my step son , who has a 5 month old baby. 6 months later he decides he needs to get something less expensive and turns out car was in an accident, which Car Max did not disclose.

Value of car is now $8,000 less, money he can't afford to loose. They claim no responsibility. Unbelievable in this day and age. I went on line and found many similar claims.

There should be a major class action suit and shut these guys down. Car Max-the worst....

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1627150

you could have called the manufacturer and reported that.

Guest

Yep today the offered me 4k less than retail.

Guest

I worked for Carmax for over 11 years as a Technician. I can also tell you that Carmax is a total joke.

They are the most dishonest people I ever worked for. After you have been there over 10 years, they look for a reason to fire you...... they fired me just before I turned 60 and I saw them fire many, many other older techs with over 10 years. They set you up thru the years and then they can can get rid of you for anything.

Carmax is a horrible place to work and an even worse place to buy a car. They don't do anything to the cars unless they have to and then they put cheap parts on them. Their techs are not qualified to do a lot of the repairs either - the techs have no training. They put garbage 30 dollar tires on the cars.

Don't trust them!! Go to a real dealership - New Car! I never bought a car from them in the whole 11 years I worked there - their prices are ridiculous!!!

If you buy a car from them, you will pay a new car price for a used car. Carmax is a miserable place to work!!!

View more comments (269)

CarMax Reviews

  1. 258 reviews
  2. 129 reviews
  3. 69 reviews
  4. 30 reviews
  5. 19 reviews
CarMax reviews