CarMax review: be well prepared to enter a nightmare world! 56

I agree car max is hard to deal with. I purchased Impala with extended warranty. The car is now making a popping noise from steering & braking. Car max will not cover the cost. They aren't sure what it is, could need a lub. kit and then said they couldn't guarantee it would work, but here is the thing I HAVE to PAY 200. to try this to see if it works. that is not covered under extended warranty. Now what am I suppose to do?

Never will I buy from Car Max again.

Your first mistake is buying a used Chevy product. It's not any used car dealership's fault that American made sedans are crap. I know for a fact that Carmax inspects their cars more than ANY used car dealership. I have seen frame damaged Toyota's that were sold certified by a Huge Toyota dealearship! Cars are machines and things will go wrong. You can't peg one dealership over the faults of GM. Do your homework with Consumer Reports or some other respectful magazine and buy a realiable car!

Although Mark has a point, American cars are not as reliable as most imports, if a car dealer is spouting claims that the car has been inspected, advertises it as such, and uses this claim to sell the vehicle, then I would view this as false advertising. Mechanical issues can come up. Cars do break down. However, CV-joints, brake rotors and pads are easily inspected for wear and normal, or not so normal, wear. If CarMax's inspection can't find a simple worn rotor or a CV-Joint that is begining to fail, I would hate to see them trying to find an actual issue under warranty. Oh wait, that falls right in line with the two complaints above.

My wife and I were tying to sell our van. We saw the television advertisments that CarMax will guarantee a purchase price. We went in, went through the car selling process. Within an hour CarMax gave us our paperwork with the purchase price. To our dismay it was below what we were looking for. My wife and I went out side and discussed the offer and decided to take it. We went into the business center, handed them our offer paperwork and told them we accept the $4,000 offer and are willing to sell the van to CarMax.

Keep in mind, CarMax states their offers are good for 7-days because they thoroughly inspect and research the vehicle. 40 minutes later CarMax came to us, they guy, Ryan W. at CarMax in Columbia, SC, came to us and stated that the offer is being reduced. Trying to tell us that becasue one dealership bought the vehicle from another dealership that the mileage of the vehicle is unknown. The offer dropped by at least half and as Ryan stated would probably drop more.

I, loudly, told them is was Bulls*$%^. Explained that they gave us a guaranteed purchase price that they offered, guaranteed for 7-days, and in which my wife and I agreed to accept. The entire showroom with at least 20 customers was completely quiet listening to me tell CarMax about their so called guarantees. I told them that I hope they stand behind their warranties that they are selling to people better than how they stand behind a 7-day guaranteed purchase price when buying a car. I view this as a contract, verbal since they verbally told us how much and written since they put the offer in writting.

I have not bought any car from CarMax. I have three kids in which I will need to buy three cars in 4, 6, and 8 years for them as well as replacing the three vehicles my wife and I have.
Not one will ever be purchased from CarMax. NOT ONE!

This is my first post so please bear with me if I make a gaffo. Also remember this is merely a reporting of my experiences at Carmax, your's may be different (my attorney made me say that... [yes I really have an attorney - this event is not over])

I bought a 2004 Chevy Corvette (C-5) in June of 2007 form the Carmax in Orlando, FL.

The salesman said all the right things (e.g. we're different, we'll fix anything within 30 days etc.) Now bear in mind I'm not a stupid person, I hate buying a new car but my SUV was coughing up blood and I had no choice.

I had my own financing - no prob. They added the warranty, but after the low-key pitch it sound like a good deal (beside my last Vette was one mechanical disaster after another - when it was in shape it was a joy, but that was infrequent - sort of a love-hate relationship)

They offered me $150.00 for my SUV and I was happy. Bluebook was $450 but I was fine with it, one less hassle.

The Vette ran great, a few noises here and there, some pulsation with the brakes - but the overall styling had changed so much since my last Vette (13 years ago) I just figured things had changed.

My wife stared telling me about the brakes pulsating and we both noticed clunking and grinding from the rear with high-angle low speed turns.

Before the 30 day "all inclusive warranty" was up I took it in to be looked at by the Carmax "mechanics" in Orlando. I had five (5) problem areas I wanted them to check:

1. Cosmetic defect in the driver's seat fitting into the seat pan (actually identified by the salesman when I bought it who had said "bring it in and we'll fix it - no problem!"

2. Pulsating brakes that pull to left or right - worse with rapid deceleration.

3. Problem with center console opening

4. Problem with "clunking" noise and "grinding" noise with turns

5. Tire pressure sensors inaccurate need re-calibrating.

When I picked it back up later that day I was told nothing was wrong, everything was “within normal limits” and they had lubricated the center console hinge.

Went home – the read end noise got worse.

Finally, on 27 August, I took it to Courtesy Chevrolet across the street from Carmax, also in Orlando. Turns out t he rear noise was a problem Chevy knew about, a service bulletin HAD been issues, the car was still under Chevy warranty (by one day no less) and they fixed it – FREE.

Went home happy.

Pulsating brakes started getting worse and the rear end noise came back. Took it back to Courtesy Chevrolet. – Then the bad part started.

Rear end – under warranty from previous repair – taken care of.

Brakes – disc rotors AND calipers shot x 4 – uneven wear. So bad it would have been clearly visible during the “under warranty” inspection at Carmax earlier when they had written “…checked front brakes for uneven wear – ok… checked front brake pistons and caliper slides for binding – none. No repair required at this time.(sic)”

The icing on the cake was rotors, calipers etc. are not covered by the Carmax warranty.

Contacted the local Carmax head of maintenance department (whose name I cannot mention but if you were to call Carmax Orlando and ask for the direct of maintenance, it would be him. To do him justice, he DID call back and proceeded to try to ream ME for everything being MY fault. I took his verbal harassment and humiliation as I figured it would be a small price to pay for them to pay for the repairs UNTIL I told him I was concerned about my wife driving a unsafe care for two months that should have been fixed when I first brought it in to Carmax. This “gentleman” began to laugh, yes LAUGHED at my concern for my wife’s safety.

I that point I lost my “turn the other cheek” attitude and told him basically to shove Carmax up an opening in his lower body.

Two days later I went to pick up my car (Chevy had to get certain parts mailed in).

The Chevy repair person, God bless his naiveté,, had still been talking with this director of maintenance at Carmax and gleefully informed me Carmax WAS going to pay the bill. The bill was $1053.19 plus the cost of a rent a car for two days. He said he wasn’t sure if Carmax was going to send Courtesy Chevrolet the check or have me pay and then refund me.

The next day, the Chevy repair person, called to say Carmax would be sending me a check and Chevy would charge my credit card.

That was fine. I was happy. I was even reconsidering my evaluation of Carmax – i.e. maybe I had been wrong and they were stepping up to the bat to “do the right thing.”

Today, Saturday, it has been thirteen (13) days since I took my car in for the repairs. Still no check (there never will be) still no apologies, in fact no communication except from the Carmax salesman who apparently naively believes Carmax will “do the right thing”.

Again my experiences may be different from yours, (as my attorney reminded me to write) you might get treated right. The message is BE CAREFUL! Carmax is still just another used car dealership; packed differently, owned by Circuit City (really – look it up) but it’s still the scorpion and frog story.

My suggestion, if you didn’t read the above and still choose to buy a car at Carmax. Choose the car, skip the extended warranty, and – no matter how hard it might be to do this – when you drive the car off the Carmax lot drive it directly to your prearranged service checkup with a local dealership. It may cost a dollar or two but you will know right away what’s wrong and be able to return the car to Carmax within 5 days and get your money back or at least force them to fix your car.

Be careful, don’t make my mistakes. Personally speaking, based solely on my experiences (my attorney talking again) I would/will NEVER buy a car from Carmax again, in fact I would not buy a $10 bill from them if they only wanted $5.

Final Scorecard:

Courtesy Chevrolet Orlando = A+
Carmax Orlando = F-

Of course your experiences my be different from mine . . .

So what are your experiences?

Michael

I agree that carmax is full of nothing but lies. My wife and i went to the carmax in oklahoma city to buy her first car. She fell in love with a 2002 ford focus. The salesman was great and the whole process was quick. We were in and out, i really liked that about them.

Then on the 6th day the check engine light came on and the transmission was acting up and the radio was shorting in and out. So we took the car in. My first reaction was shocked. There was 8 people in the waiting room waiting on there cars to be fixed, all of which were in their 30 day warranty.

They gave me a rental and told me they would call. the first phone call they said they think the problem is a loose bracket, i told them to double check and call me back. you see one of my renters is a mechanic and he told me the focus has had numerous problems with the transmission. on the second day carmax called and said that it is indeed the transmission so they did an overhaul on it. this fixed the problem for a month.

When the problem came back , i called carmax and told them i was bringing the car in to be serviced. carmax told me the car wasnt under warranty. they denied that i had an extended warranty. so i went up to the store to prove them wrong. i had the extended warranty paper in my hand proving had i it, and they apologized and said it was a gliche in the computer. they checked the car out and said nothing was wrong. liars they are

Luckily my car got in a wreck and was counted as a total of loss by my insurance company. but now my problems are worse.

Farmers insurance has valued the car 2800 dollars less than what i paid for it 6 months ago, and we only put 3000 miles on it and the car had no hits on it to lower its value.

Second problem is carmax hasnt returned the settlement package to farmers ins. its been over a 10 days since farmers sent the settlement to carmax. so i called carmax and asked to speak to who is handling my case. they transfer me to george in carmax's insurance department. at first he is acting confused and saying he hasnt heard of my case or seen any papers from farmers, so he tells me he will find out who is handling my case. after being on hold for 20 minutes george comes back and says he is in charge of my case and puts all the blame on farmers saying he has sent farmers a package and is not waiting on them. now this guy at first said he didnt know anything about my case and now he is all knowledgable and is blaming other people. so i ask for his last name for future reference and he tells me his last name is not necessary and doesnt give it to me.

Well my car has been wrecked for almost a month and im still waiting on carmax to get the paperwork signed.

My advice is dont trust carmax on anything, they even lied about who picked up my loan for the car. first they told me bank of america did, and then when i got the title it said carmax is my lien holder.

Ok, you guys have some good points, and some of what you have described is just plain wrong if what you say is true. However, for those of you that bought an American vehicle, (especially you who bought the focus) its might as well be your fault.

Donna, your breaks are not covered under the extended warranty because they are wear and tear items and need to be replaced every so often. If they give you breaks that are fine when you buy the car, then after the 30 day warranty period expires, why should the CarMax warranty cover it?

Robert, your vehicle had what is called a ROLLEDBACK ODOMETER. Someone screwed you when you bought your car, or you tampered with the odometer yourself. I feel bad that you had to find out that way, but when CarMax tries to sell that vehicle, they have to report that by law. They are a company conducting business and need to make money not lose it by selling a vehicle with the true miles unknown. Yes, I feel they should have valued the vehicle AT FIRST with the rollback accounted for, but people make mistakes. If anything I think you own them an apology.

Michael, yea that sucks my friend... about the check it probably has to be processed by some sort of central office somewhere, and just takes a while. Just call the store, and ask for the headquarters or something, they may be able to tell you.

Joe, the bias of your statements makes it useless to read your statements. I just don’t believe you; in the customer services industry, if you ask for a name and they refuse, then you take it to their supervisor. Did you? You don’t mention it so I don’t think you did either your stupid or your lying. Also, why would they lie about who financed your car, and how? YOU SIGNED PAPERWORK WITH THE NAME OF THE BANK ON IT, THE LENGTH OF THE LOAN, PAYMENTS, ETC... IF THEY CAN LIE TO YOU ABOUT THAT, THEN MAYBE YOU DISERVED IT.

I purchased a 2007 PT Crusier from the Local Car Max store. I had temporary tags on the car and they were to mail the permanent ones when they came in...WELL ! I bought the car in Oct 2007 and I am not sitting here in JAN 2008 and still have NO TAGS...I am so angry ! I have complained and called everyone and then some and can NO ONE to call me back...I told the Manager of the local store to take the car back and swap me one that is the same money. I should have NEVER EVER been sold this car until they new there was a CLEAR TITLE on this car. I have been told not to worry...If I get a ticket to bring it to them and they will pay for it...WELL excuse me, but it still shows on the driving record...And then they tell me they work on it every day...LIE LIE LIE...

We told them we are always pulled over because of the tags..THEY DO NOT CARE...My daughter drives the car to work. She is a POLICE OFFICER and the dept she is with is frowing on this tag mess...DOES CAR MAX CARE ? NO THEY DO NOT !

So if Anyone KNOWS WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO, WE ARE OPEN FOR SUGGESTIONS !

We have tried everything...Next is an attorney to take the car back and dump it in their laps...They sold me a car illegally...And now do not want to correct the problem...

My name is Jason, and I am currently working for a fairly reputable Toyota dealership in the Milwaukee area. I recently got a call from Carmax saying that they would like me to come in for an interview for a technician position they have available. I'm not overly unhappy with where I work, but I spent a lot of money on college to be certified to work on automobiles, and the dealership I'm at doesn't pay its employees s#$t. Also, the insurance they offer is garbage. VERY EXPENSIVE garbage. I'm concerned about the reputation Carmax has picked up, and I'm wondering if anyone has ever worked for them, and if I should even waste my time with the interview. If anyone has any experience working for Carmaxl, please email me with your experiences. My email address is jpfist25@gmail.com Thanks

I just took a car in for an appraisal. I did some home work before I went. (The adds seemed to good to be true.) I was glad I did. They sighted that the vehicle came from Canada, so they could not verify that the odometer readings were correct. “It would have had a metric odometer if it was the original.” But I did a title search before I went and found out the original Purchaser was in Detroit. It had to have the original odometer when I purchased it as the second owner. If they did a title search they would have known that. There were no gaps in time that the vehicle may have mysteriously been foreign and the converted to make a quick sell. It has always been in the US. Since its initial purchase. I also found the Black Book Auction price for the vehicle. It was $800. It would have cost an average of $1,200 - $3,000 to purchase a vehicle Just like it on line. Same condition and mileage. I would have been OK with them offering $500. But they came back with an appraisal of $250. So it seems like they try to get you from both ends. The scrap is worth more than $250.

Look! I do believe that you all have had some type of problem or else you would never take the time to post it here - HOWEVER - what about the 100's of thousands of Happy and Satisfied Carmax Customers that have no need to post anything..

Carmax from what I know does a HUGE volume of sales- it's to be expected there will be a small number of problem situations - but it's not the Norm...

I totally agree with the poster that advised to take the car to your personal mechanic you do business with for their own - unbiased check up--You have 5 days to return it if the vehicle gets a bad report --It's not a hassel because you are making a BIG purchase for the next 5-10 years, so a little inconvenience and a check up fee is a VERY SMALL price to pay for piece of mind...

Just five months ago I purchased a Mazda CX 7 Turbo from CarMax, Orlando Fl. The vehicle only had 8k miles and after a few days on the road the check engine light came on. When I took it for service, the vehicle had a recall which I was never told about. Parts of the engine were replaced and there was something wrong with the transmission. Three check engine lights later, the vehicle still has it's problems and it even stalls after reaching over 45 mph. I have owned over 23 cars in my life and this has thruly been the worst investment I have ever made on a vehicle. Bottom line is, wether is a chevy a corvette or a mazda, if it's from CarMax it's a LEMON!

If you think about it, carmax DID attempt to resolve the issue, you try doing that at any other used car lot and they'll just laugh at you, you signed and drove away, goodbye and good riddance. Carmax does sell hundreds of thousands of cars a year, not every single one is expected to be pristine. Think about that one

CarMax sold me a lemon. If they had done even a 5 point inspection, they might have noted that the exhaust system was under recall from the manufacturer. When they tell you "we have a great service center, " do not believe them. The mechanics might be great, but you will never get an appointment. You will probably be told (like I was), "go ahead and take it to a dealer." Really? the salesman said I could bring it here... hm? Funny how that works.
I bought a car with about 36k miles from them that, in one year, I had to sink 3000 of repairs. I made the repairs and decided I wanted out from under the car before anything else happened to it. They offered me about 1/2 of what the Kelly blue book trade-in value for the automobile was. I still have the car, still paying on it, and every so often the engine light likes to pop on just to get my bloodpressure high.
I will never shop at CarMax again and I will gladly explain to all my friends why that is the case.

It's interesting how you have these people come in and defend CarMax. They sound like a bunch of the usual car dealer types. Running a car dealership is having a license to steal, and I've deal with many that are entirely dishonest. I believe every negative experience is valid, and every attempt to defend them ridiculous.

I've had my best car buying experience on e-bay, I recommend you do the same, make sure you don't buy from a dealer, though.

With that said... the best bet on any car, is to get nowhere near the service center, and that means you need a reliable car. For all the garbage that one guy spewed, he gave you good advice not to buy american. Get yourself a toyota.

Let me explain further, why this logic of '100, 000' satisfied customers, and only a few lemons, is complete garbage and intended to deceive you.

If you were making money on 100, 000 good vehicles, and only had one bad one, you could very easily afford to fix the bad one.

It's only the one, after all... best to keep your good reputation.

The fact is many car dealers, make money by buying low and selling high, they don't want to find problems and don't want to fix them either. The fact that CarMax has these complaints is absolutely something you better consider. Don't assume its rare. In the army they had 'sled sheds' all around.

Its not so rare in the car industry to have auto dealers that will defend their reputation with strong words and not STRONG ACTIONS. STRONG WORDS COST NOTHING, FIXING THE CAR COSTS.

In May 2007 my mother and I purchased a Dodge Intrepid from Carmax in Charlotte, NC. The vehicle came with only 35, 000 miles. The first week of driving the vehicle problems started. The first problem started with squeaky breaks. After contacting Carmax and taking it in they checked it stating that the breaks pads were brand new and the squeaking would eventually stop. About a week later, when putting the vehicle in reverse it would not go into gear. I had to put it in park for the transmission to work properly. We called Carmax and informed them of this issue, resulting in the Service Department assuring me that their vehicles go through a thorough inspection prior to putting them on the market. This was truly an inconvenience because I just started a new job and could not keep going back and forth to Carmax. They assured that nothing was wrong with the transmission. In April 2008 this vehicle was 11 months old with only 60, 000 miles on it. Currently the transmission gets stuck when I come to a complete stop and will not shift gears. Sometimes my mother and I have to actually turn the vehicle off at a red light or stop sign to get the gears to shift correctly. This is very dangerous and unsafe because I have children. Just recently I contacted the Sales Rep which was very helpful, the only one in Carmax to show any empathy. Of course he did not want to admit that I was sold a “LEMON” but requested that I bring the vehicle in to see about getting it traded. He stated on the phone that he may be able to work a deal for me. What a nightmare! My mother and I took this vehicle to Carmax and the staff was very rude. They appraised the vehicle for 3500.00, the person that performed my appraisal was extra rude. The appraiser stated that there was nothing wrong with the transmission, Being sarcastic I said “Of course not, that’s why you are saying that its only worth 3500.00. When we got this vehicle we bought in a “90” model Ford Mustang in poor condition (muffler was hanging off) and they gave me 2000.00 for it. The Mustang had over 100, 000 miles on it. Now if nothing is wrong with the Intrepid why are they only offering 3500.00 and it only has 60, 000 miles on it and is in “great condition” as they say. Carmax has turned me against ever buying another Dodge, and ever recommending or buying again from Carmax. (I'm in the processing now of contacting the local news and newspaper to inform everyone how crooked Carmax is)

I agree that Carmax is founded on false adversiting.
When I walked into showroom last Spring the first thing I saw was a beautiful car with before and after pictures of it crashed.
I was impressed and reassured by salesthing (person) that Carmax does not sell cars like "that". so I trusted them and purchased an Acura. About a month later we noticed that the
bumpers had been repainted. The SRS malfunction light
began to stay on so I took it to Acura dealer and they confirmed
car had been hit (front and back). When I called and emailed Carmax they ignored me and I never heard from them.

dont even no were to begin. first off the l.g.m manager(supposebly the main honcho total loozer! by da way) is horrible with no people or social skills treats every1 like a child, but when u insult him back he gets offended, he's no team player! most of the errors he causes and blames managers and of course since very1 is afraid of him no1 talks sh** but hey! it's da O.C wat else would u expect from a self-indulgent wiener who hangs out @ starbucks drinking caramel frappachinos during work time, since ive been working there for about 4 years ive have never heard a positive voice from him...if u guys would really know what carmax is about behind doors, is enough to make u work at another dealer and probably work longer than a carmax location. now im not going 2 lie, the only thing good about carmax is the people u work with which are sales associates, business office and the other departments except sales mngmt. i heard managers say "how can u continue life without carmax?" my question is, how can u not? pssshh a geat place to work my a**! anyplace is better n did i say the managers suck too? favor-tism is heavyly looked upon in this enviroment, if ur not top sales ur always on the temination list the managers keep, only they call it something diffrent. in an overal thought, im happy without cmax and did i say im making more money now than i was there hahahah...now thats a joke i can run all da way to bank with hahaha...wat really saddens me is that im seeing more postings and bulletin on why carmax suxs, jeeezz i though i was da only 1. i really though it was a good place to work...but i guess not.

LMAOROTFL, IF YOU GUYS ONLY HAD A BRAIN...

The man drove 15 months with a bad steering pump ?!
That's worse than ignorance, it's negligence !
Get real out there folks. These gripes are the same,
franchised dealers get thru their manufacturer's
CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) B.S. ! The most idiotic
concept this Automotive Industry ever came up with.
Because, and I bet ya, that that man never used those harsh
words in front of the personell of the Carmax store.
It's easy to be frustated and go home and have a climax on the
keybord while saying, "Let's go and show them".
He had his extended warranty, well, yes of course you pay for
that extra, ...daaaaah! So what? He got his loaner cars,
paid his deductible and got the work done.
Yours truly,
Independent Automotive Inspector. S.H.

This company really has a problem but it's up higher thier GMs brag about having little or no educaton above high school corporate same way so you have to look at the main people running the company zero education this company will go the same way as it's parent Cricuit City

Yep, Joe and Sig you guys work for CarMax, Thats the only excuse you have to be standing up for them, You've been brainwashed. The place is as shady as it gets. CarMax sold us a Infinity, when it fell apart 6 months later they bought it back because they agreed it didnt pass their test and fell thru the cracks, Hail damage, tranny, transfercase, missing the engine shield, and leaking fluids from the head gaskets. How do you miss these things? The car they sold us to replace the Infinity, fell apart the night we drove it home. I must say it is a GM car, and it is a 2006 so... But now I am driving their loaner because they must have the messed up car on their lot befor they can trade it in. They sent it to GM becasue they didnt know how to fix it after their technician erased the codes from the computer. Two cars in 6 months, thats a record I do believe. I better shut up cause it might be three, the loaner is leaking rusty water from the radiator. WOW.

I purchased a nice BMW recently from my local car max. I had a couple of issues with the car since purchase which has been resolved fairly quickly. The process of purchasing the car was to say the least... very long and drawn out. The first time my wife and me walk into carmax we wanted to see their lot and look over the cars. We were told by the salesman that he must escort us around due to security concerns, which meant he wanted to bug into buying something for the next 25 minutes or so. We test drive a nice import car but we're still undecided. We leave and the next couple of days we do some more research and find a certified used Honda at another dealership that we purchased for my wife. I decided I wanted to trade in my car so we go back to carmax and look for more imports. This time the same salesman hears we recently purchased a car somewhere else and figures he's not going to waste his time due to thinking that we're young and have no more credit to purchase another car. I find a nice BMW within my price range that appears to have been well cared for and get a offer on my old car. They ended up offering about 1500 less than bluebook, but I figure it would need about that much to recondition the car. I accept their offer but I'm being handled by another sale's person. From my accepting their offer to me finally driving the car off the lot takes around 6 calendar days. I'm surprised I was that patient. I guess they reinspected the car presale and found out it someone had scratched the paint and it wasn't detailed good enough. So after waiting for it to pass their inspection it takes, around 5-6 HOURS! total to complete all the paper work! There were times when I had to direct the sales lady on how to run THEIR software, and had bouts of anger where I took over their computer to complete some of the computer pages. These people are completely unorganized and appear very untrained. You would think their sales people push out car after car they'd have the process streamlined. There were no major complications on me or my wife's part, we had all the paper work they requested, had no problems getting financing, no problems with the trade in title, they just couldn't get the ball rolling. My wife's face told me to not sign on the dotted line and just walk out and never return. The kicker is when it came to my questions concerning the arbitration part of the contract. They had no clue what arbitration was or the pitfalls for the consumer. Their only response was "it's a good thing for the customer". No it's not, it strips the customer of some major protections. In retrospect, if the sales staff hadn't been so "clumsy" with the paper work, I would have had a positive experience. Now I'm just left with a dry feeling in my mouth.

All the above problems are SERIOUS, mine is different, they are billing me for a car I never bought. They supply an 800 number but it has a lock out.What kind of a rinky dink place is this? I live in New Zealand and even if I lived in the US I would never in a 1000 years buy from these bludgers. Sure hope I can get this problem solved, I think this company is on its way OUT. Rev David A Brett New Zealand

I am so discusted with CarMax its not even funny! On May 27, 2009 I purchased a car from CarMax south that I paid CASH for (just under $10, 000!). Since that time, the car has been in the shop about 5 times for repairs. On May 28th, I noticed it was shaking while I was idoling at stop signs, red lights, etc. So I called the tech at the store, named Scott, and he told me this was a normal problem and not to worry about it. After speaking with my step dad, whom used to be a mechanic, about this he told me to take it in. So after the car had been there twice and they "fixed" two different things on the car, they told me it was fine to drive. NOT TRUE! After about 3 days of getting the car back the second time, it started shaking not only while idoling, but while driving as well, and I mean VIOLENTLY SHAKING. It also will stall out on you while your at stop signs, backing out of parking spaces, etc. (It's an automatic...should NOT be stalling!) It even turned off on me while I was driving down Mopac at 60mph! I have spoken with the manager of the store, Zach, the mechanic's manager, Russ, and the cooperate office, and have no solution. It is going on FIVE WEEKS that they have been fixing my car. I called to complain about it this morning, and this afternoon my car is MAGICALLY FIXED! Yeah right! We contacted the head mechanic at the Dodge dealership that actually worked on it, and he said he was NOT confidant that it was fixed and that he wouldn't put his daughter in it! CarMax told me it was fixed, but I dont think so! I refuse to put my life or my childs life at risk for this car! I think CarMax should replace my car for me! Keep getting the run around, I am so sick of them lying after they sold me a DEATH TRAP!

i just bought a car from carmax two weeks ago and now the transmission and the doom light didnt work so they tow my to back to carmax and trying to fix it so far a week later im still waiting for it

I am very disappointed with Carmax and will let everyone I know how poor your service is. My Mother (Janice Jones) is actively serving this country in Afghanistan but yet we are constantly battling Carmax to receive decent treatment! We bought a car spring of last year. The car was in the service center for a total of more than 2 months. Repairs (Clutch, rear differential, transmission, wrong part shipped, etc). My mother was deployed and gave me military power of attorney over the car. I had to fight to get a loaner car from Carmax. I was given a rental at first from Enterprise back in the summer. Well in December (Before Christmas)! I was charged by Enterprise $160.00 from my checking account. When I called Enterprise I was told that Carmax gave a wrong authorization code and therefore I was charged for the rental. Carmax finally sent a check but it's in my mother’s name. She is DEPLOYED! I tried to take the check to the bank but was told that I could not cash the check. The local dealership seem to care less about my woes. I am sick and tired of dealing with Carmax and plan on telling as many people as possible how you all treat Military families!

Very Disappointed,
Tasha

I thought buying a car at CARMAX was supposed to be easy. The kids were mislead and misunderstood. A salesman named Ben and the other guy they had today didn't bother to be sure that they understood the sales tax not being able to be included in the financing. He assumed that they understood that because they had a Cali address, (even though they only had it because he is USMC), they would have to pay Cali taxes and that those taxes wouldn't be included in the loan. They only had $3000 and they put all of that down on the car never dreaming that Cali taxes could not be included in the financing...even the finance guy RJ didn't bother to explain, it was a total cluster. We were there for 7 hours (yes, SEVEN HOURS) trying to get things right. If I would have had my way, I would have cancelled the deal and gone elsewhere. Thanks to his grandparents, everything was taken care of. I WILL NEVER BUY A CAR FROM CARMAX AND I RECOMMEND THAT EVERYONE STAY AWAY AS WELL. I can't say it enough; NEVER, NEVER, EVER GO TO CARMAX.

Haha - if the coffee boy makes more at Starbucks than he did at Carmax, then he was not in sales, sucked at sales, or had no other marketable skills so they had him washing and/or prepping cars.

To the owners of the PT Cruiser - Carmax would (should) not have sold the vehicle without a clear title. The computer system doesn't allow it. If there was a hold up with the tags, then they are related to something going on with your local DMV - ie, problems you may have had with a previous vehicle. Unfortunately, we all know how dealing with the DMV can be, even for a big corporation like Carmax.

Lauri - nowhere in the literature does Carmax state they will not sell you an accident damaged vehicle, but rather they will not sell anything with frame or flood damage. The never-sell display you mention has an * towards the bottom which said something along the lines of "see Sales Consultant for details". Many people forget the conversations they have with their SCs. I made a point to go over absolutely everything with my customers, but my CSI surveys would come back indicating I skipped steps. Funny, considering I was constantly praised by managers for being one of the SCs who actually did the entire spiel. Selective memory helps when you need to break out the pitchforks and torches.

To everyone using the term "lemon" - this typically only applies to new vehicles, and I am unaware of any legislation which covers used vehicles under any lemon law. Most states have variations of lemon laws which state the same problem must be duplicated X times (usually 3+) during a set mileage or time interval to receive coverage under the lemon laws. Used vehicles are used, and have no such protection. Unfortunately, many of the vehicles you guys are complaining.

Robert - cars on eBay are great only if you know exactly what to look for, and most people do not. I am currently in the market for a Ferrari or Porsche, and one of the warnings given on almost any owners' forum is to avoid those vehicles because eBay is used as a last resort for vehicles which could not sell through traditional channels. Also, your awesome advice to "buy Toyota" is just brand perception, and we all know the troubles Toyota is going through these days. Even before the UA problems, they had issues with engine sludge, and I would see low mileage examples which were kicked into the wholesale lot because of the sludge problem. Doesn't matter how often you change the oil if the vehicle isn't designed correctly.

Lastly, stop spelling "brakes" as "breaks" - one is a noun and the other a verb with a totally different meaning.

Upon a recent purchase of a 2008 Town and Country Mini Van from the Glencoe Carmax, I had my own mechanic look the vehicle over. He commented that the air filter was dirty and that the brakes were down to 4 mm and would need replacement sooner than I would like. He suggested asking Carmax to take care of these 2 items especially considering the cost of the vehicle.
I spoke to Carmax within the 5 day purchase period and explained what my mechanic had stated.
I was told (or at least given the impression) that they would make good on both the brakes and the air filter.

An appointment was set and I assumed all was well until I arrived this morning for my appointment.
The mechanic informed me that the brakes were fine as far as he was concerned and that they didn't have the air filter in stock.
Why didn't they call me and save me the 40 minute trip to their facility. I told the head of service that this had been arranged over a week ago. Why didn't they have filter ready?
I spoke with the corporate office and the customer service representative agreed that I was definitely mislead into thinking that the brakes would be covered. However, he would not honor the service.
I asked what happened to the good old days of the customer being right and honoring one's word. I was simply given a lame response of "I'm sorry and I understand how you would have assumed the brakes would be done". Also, I was told that the filter was to be sent to another location and that I could pick it up there.
Thanks Carmax. This is the second and last vehicle I will purchase from your company and the last time I will refer colleagues and friends to your dealerships.
That $190.00 brake job that you promised but later refused will cost much more to you in the long run in lost sales.
Too bad customer service has gone by the wayside.

You stated: "The service dept has inconvient hours"

That's your problem, not theirs. Finding out if the service hours work for you is something you do prior to a purchase.

And never buy a used car without having it inspected first.

Well I must be one of the few that had no problems at carmax, maybe my secret was to get preapproved financing and running my own carfax report. After all, what's $30 and a buy back garantee going to hurt me in the long run. Well it's been 2 years almost, I bought a 2007 Volkswagon Jetta Wolfberg edition with only 16500 miles on it, and its still running great with almost 45000 miles on it. As for any product or service given there will be people that like what they got and others that hate, but it's mostly the ones that hate that sit down to write a review but it's good because that will help more people scrutinize before they buy. Do your research, don't let people pressure you and it's amazing what you can find on any car lot.

Wow...I've never seen such bunch of whiners in my life. Guess what folks? Used cars break down, probably 9 times out of 10! Carmax doesn't have magic pixie dust that they sprinkle on cars to make them perfect! Ugh! Make sure you buy the daggum MaxCare plan if you don't want to pay for expensive repairs. If you buy new...you may as well get a roll of 100 dollar bills and throw them out the window as you drive off the lot, because you just did the same thing by BUYING a brand new car...DUHHH!

Carmax has bought and sold MILLIONS of cars since its been around...do you idiots HONESTLY think they can ALL be perfect? If you're not happy with how your complaints are handled...go up the freakin' chain of COMMAND! Call Dan Johnston (VP of Sales) in Richmond if you have to, fools! They are a policy driven CORPORATION running an auto superstore, NOT a g.d. dealership! Dealerships are franchise operations that rip people off for the big manufacturers...got it?! If you want their dealerships to service your car instead of Carmax..FINE, go ahead! The Maxcare Extended Service Protection plan is honored there as well, but BUY the g.d. thing or don't freakin' complain. They are the best place in the world to buy a used car, cuz they are more than willing to do a heeluvalot more than any other used car seller to get and keep your business.

Sheesh! Put a bib on and suck your bottles if you're going to whine so much!

I think you are really going over the top with your complaint about Carmax. The company is not going to be able to check every square inch of the car during their inspections (no one can do this). The thing that confuses me is that Carmax spent a lot of money and did a lot of work to meet their quality expectations to the custom (you). Tell me what used car dealer would do that? Thats what I thought. Sure you could by new and pay a ridiculous over cost plus dealer fees. I thought it was interesting how you did not mention the make and model of the car you purchased. Many cars are prone to problems especially American made cars such as Chevys, Ford and Dodges. Just like the storys above, these people purchased used chevy malibus and dodge pickups...these are some of the most unreliable vehicles on the market. You did this to yourself, not carmax

CarMax is horrible! I shopped for a car for a long time and looking for a BMW 750LI with all the options. I found one at CarMax and took it for a test drive. One of the options I wanted was the “Sport Package” which is a $3, 300 option. I was told that the car had the option. I then went to other dealers to look at comparable cars. After two days of looking and comparing, I decided to go back to CarMax to buy the one I looked at. However, while at other dealerships, they told me that the car should have a different steering wheel if it has the Sports Package. Once again, CarMax told me that their car had the Sports Package and that year they didn’t change the steering wheel. I went to get the car and once again asked them to confirm it had the Sports Package. They came back and said that it didn’t have it and they wouldn’t change the price. Now, this is after I turned other cars down because of this. The dealership manager, Bill, was supper condescending and rude.

I really liked my sales guy who just got out of the military and I wanted him to get the sale so I purchased the car.

BTW: after looking on the CarMax website it looks like they are making the same misrepresentations about other cars. They keep advertising that their cars have the Sports Package when they don’t!

After a week, I had to bring the car back for repairs and warranty work. They have had the car over 3 weeks and I’m still waiting to get it back. Great that it comes with a 30 day warranty but they have had it 3 of the 4 weeks.

I’ve asked repeatedly for Bill to call me back and have still not gotten a call from him.

CarMax does not care about their customers!

DO NOT BUY from CARMAX.

I agree Carmax is a rip off, long story short my 05 Landrover Free after 2 years ---bill $5260.00! Class Action Suit Is Fine With Me...to be cont'd.

Lauri, CarMax doesn't guarantee that a vehicle has never had an accident. No one can possibly make that guarantee. But what they DO guarantee is no frame or flood damage. The car you were shown as an example of 'not CarMax worthy' was a frame damaged vehicle. You need to learn to pay attention when people are talking. If you had, you would have understood what CarMax was actually saying.

Of course they aren't perfect. No one is. But the standards are higher than anywhere else, that's for sure. And while there are occasional mistakes, CarMax wouldn't sell 1200+ cars a day if they were always screwing up.

We bought a 2010 Nissan Altima from CarMax of Winston Salem, NC. The very first day after I drove it home, I called the sales rep-I will call him Jeff St.-I commented on how noisy the lifters were. His response was that Nissan engines are typically noisy. I explained that I knew the difference between a noisy engine and one that had a problem-and that this one in mind had a problem-
he said the same thing again-and also two more times later that week.
He called a week later saying that he had to resubmit our paperwork and would I please come in to take care of this. I did.
In his office I literally screamed that the motor had a serious problem-he turned red and said to take it to service-I did.
Service could not decide what it was so sent it to the nearest Nissan dealer. The dealer determined that the #3 cylinder was
sticking and was going to have to replace the shortblock.
It is the fourth loaner car later (8 days/car is the max they will go), the first car had a loose muffler, the second car's brake light
was stuck on no matter what one did, the third car has a wheel imbalance and the alert signal on the dash was on when I got it.
I still don't have in my possession the car I bought, Carmax reps call me almost daily about updates and paperwork concerning
the loaners they assign to me. There aren't any updates and the loaners are all need of something to be fixed on them-these
'loaner' cars are all part of their inventory. I have left several managers' messages asking that messages be left on my cell phone
only and still these calls come to my work place. I have contacted a lawyer and if he is correct we're going ahead with a lawsuit
that includes fraud and customer harrassment.
Unfortuneatly this is a true story. Thanx for reading it.

I am buying a car from Carmax already have a bad taste in my mouth but paper work done and car is coming from LA. So I just want it here I live in phoenix. They lied about how long it will take and charged me up front to ship the car. I work for a car dealer also in the service department and after my divorce don't want them to know my credit and all the drama that my divorce got me in. Any ways. All the anti Chevy comments are bull crap every car make has a service drive and gm hands down is building great cars trucks SUVs. I see it every day what p trade in Toyotas and Hondas all day they get tired of all the maintenance tires brakes ect u have to do on the imports. And FYI alot of the cars from Carmax are x rentals and we all know how ppl drive those cars so don't blame gm or Chevy it's funny how ppl bash what other ppl drive I hate that u drive what u like or can afford plain and simple stupid comments like that's what u get for buying a Chevy. Stupid. And to that person That has the Toyota how is it knowing that ur gas pedal might get stuck and ram a building or a wall loll. Or Honda owners when Hondas don't have a orfece filter for the a/c system so when the compressor goes out u have to replace every part a out 3, 000 out of pocket cost gm don't have that problem becuz they do have that filter. So before u bash a car make remember every car make has a service department and ppl drive what they want and what they can afford.

I would never recommend CarMax. If we hadn't bough an extended warranty we would have had to pay over $3, 000 for repairs. They well lemons. Maybe some people had a good experience but it's like playing the lottery. Never again. The dealer that finally fixed our Corolla (a Toyota dealer) and took the extended warranty over said that CarMax should be called CarMinimum because they do minimum work on the cars before they sell them.