CarMax Consumer Reviews - Page 5

MODESTO, CALIFORNIA -- We all hear stories about friends, or just plain out strangers buying cars and a few short months down the line, their dream vehicle is sitting in the driveway collecting dust, unable to drive it but still have to pay for it. Well unfortunately that's my 'car' story and I'm sticking to it. Well pretty much, I don't have a choice but to stick with it.

About six months ago I bought a car from Carmax, the sales associate was very nice, helpful.. Actually the whole entire staff was, so I never thought negative about the whole situation. I test drove a 2005 Chevy Aveo. I fell in love with the car, my very own car I bought and saved up for. They showed me a report on the vehicle said it was inspected up and down, sideways back and forth you name it they inspected it. The car even came with a certificate stating it has been through various tests and protocols. I couldn't afford the warranty but didn't think it would be a big deal since the car was inspected by numerous mechanics that work at Carmax.

Six months later.. my car is sitting.. collecting dust... I'm unable to fix it because I still got to make the payments and the repairs to my car are equivalent to buying a whole another car. The timing belt broke after just six months of having the car. I'm just thankful nothing happened to my family and I because I was on the freeway when the car broke down.

ROSWELL, GEORGIA -- We bought a 2007 Nissan Sentra in Aug, 2009 with only 7000 miles on it. I bought the MaxCare Warranty on the car and the salesman said it covered everything except for normal wear and tear like wipers, brake pads, alignment, etc. Now the car has 11,000 mile on it. This past week, we rolled down the driver's side windshield and the window was off track and wouldn't roll up. So, we first took it to our local Nissan dealer. They diagnosed that the window clips and track were broken and it would be $450 to replace the window. This would not be covered under Nissan warranty because it WAS NOT a NISSAN window.

This of course, was news to us because when we bought the car, who would think to check and see if all the windows were Nissan authorized? Anyway, we then took the car over to CarMax because we had purchased the extended warranty. After checking out the broken window, CarMax told us that the warranty did not cover "windows", but that they would pay for the part if we would pay for the $129 labor. How frustrating!!! The sales pitch about the warranty covering everything except for normal wear and tear, etc is a NOT TRUE! This was our 2nd CARMAX car and next car (which we will purchase in 6 months) WILL NOT be from CARMAX!

Good and Bad feelings For CarMax: At Carmax my sales guy was helpful and pleasant. I had met with him three times and called him with plenty of questions. HOWEVER: This poor nice young man helped me over three days, picked up the phone every time I called and they only pay him 150 for the sale. By the time he finished with me he must have been on minimum wage by calculation. I really felt bad for him.

When I told my menopausal/hormonal friend to ask for him, she took six visits!!! I was once in sales and told his manager my feelings on their pay structure. He got upset with my sales guy. I guess the fact they so underpay their staff is supposed to be some corporate secret.

RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA -- When I started the process I told the sales person Antonio that I was out on disability and will return to work 7/19. He stated that that would not be an issue. All he needed was an up-to-date check stub. I bring the check stub in, the transaction happens, I buy the car.

A few days later Darryl calls and says the bank is having an issue with the checks stub because they're all zeros on the check stub due to my leave. Several days past and I get a message that the bank is not able to process the loan due to inability to verify employment. The last call from Darryl stated to bring the car back. So I called up there and I said, "When I bring the car back? Will I get my money back?" He stated "That is besides the point. Just bring the car." At that point I was upset. That was rude. He also threatened to repo car because I asked about my refund. I am very upset with manager Darryl and the entire experience there. I would not recommend Carmax.

MODESTO, CALIFORNIA -- Worst place to work for. I got hired on thinking that they were equal opportunity employer. I have half sleeves and knowing this I keep them covered when it comes to work. When I was offered the job, I let CarMax know and they didn't have problem with that at the time. I reviewed the company handbook and nothing. But two weeks into my new job, I had the LGM ask how many tattoos in total I have. I let her know the amount. I also had been wearing long sleeves till my uniform came and they gave me short sleeve shirts.

Then shortly after that they informed me that they had changed the policy, now if you had any tattoos exceeding 4 inches they had to be covered. I couldn't believe it. They changed their policy just so I could cover my tattoos. Needless to say I no longer work for CarMax in Modesto, CA or will I recommend anybody who has tattoos or piercings to apply there.

ROSEVILLE, CALIFORNIA -- We purchased a used Honda Odyssey from CarMax and had a good enough experience that we bought another car a short time later. In 2008 we began experiencing problems getting the van out of park and were stuck several time for minutes trying to get the car to move. We took the van in under warranty and the CarMax service department said they could not get the van to recreate what we were experiencing and sent us on our way with a very poor customer service attitude.

We continued to experience the problem and was something we feared we could not recreate at any given time due to a 40 minute drive to the closest CarMax location. The problem recently has gotten so bad that we are afraid to drive anywhere for fear of being stuck. We took the van back to CarMax today and they said there is in fact a defect but that the warranty expired not because of mileage but by date. When we said we had taken this up with them under the warranty they said they were unable to do anything about it.

Once again their smug and unprofessional customer service came shining through. They are great at selling cars and warranties but couldn't care less about the customers after the sell. I will never take business there again and vow to tell as many people as possible.

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI -- I accompanied a friend to buy a car from Carmax in Independence, Mo. His credit was not so good, so I was needed as a co-signer. The sales rep we dealt with was great, but his manager was less than honest. The best loan rate he quoted was 21%. He also failed to disclose numerous hidden fees. My friend wisely rejected the offer and went elsewhere, where he was able to secure a far better rate at 6%. I recently did some research and found that Carmax only does business with a select core group of banks -- e.g., Wells Fargo -- all of whom charge outrageous fees and banks.

After purchasing a vehicle through them, maybe a year later, I finally noticed the very poor welding job done to my back end. I asked four different auto body businesses to examine this vehicle, all offering a mutual opinion that it had been rear ended badly and repaired. CarMax provided a Carfax.com report with the purchase, but as it turns out both companies are unaccountable. Carfax is not reachable and Carmax doesn't even have record of the sale anymore.

Both companies offer bogus guarantees. One has assurance for the fulfillment of a condition and the other an assurance of the quality of a product offered for sale with a promise of reimbursement if their information is inaccurate.

LAUREL, MINNESOTA -- We've purchase a number of vehicles at Carmax. However, our last experience was a rude awakening. Carmax says they will buy your car. This is true. You would expect a fair deal for the vehicle that you are trading in. (a previous Carmax purchase) The dealership of course makes a profit on the vehicle when they re-sell it. My problem was the amount of profit to trade-in that was given. This vehicle was in excellent condition although it had 101K on it. When Carmax said $5,500, I thought that was a fair deal. We have dealt with Carmax in the past and had trusted them to do the right thing.

A week after we traded in our Solara, it was listed for $11,900. The following week it was sold for $11,500. Perhaps I should be held to blame for expecting Carmax to be fair. The next time we buy a vehicle, IT WON'T be from Carmax. Their prices are good for purchase, but they will rip you off on your trade-in. It would be more cost effective to go to another dealer and receive more for your trade-in. This would more than offset the "lower prices" at Carmax! I deal extensively with the public as an instructor and will be sure to pass this along!

OAKLAWN, ILLINOIS -- I bought a Lincoln from CarMax in Oak Lawn in the summer of 2006. When you buy a car from CarMax they say the cars are in perfect condition they passed a 110 point inspection. 10 days after I bought the car it kept stopping on me while I was driving so I took the car in to CarMax then 20 days after that I had the same problem then it was every 10 days I had to take the car in. I must have taken the car in 20 times in the last year and a half. I would've taken it in more but I don't drive the car as much in the winter.

2 months after I bought the car after taking it back 4 times I decided to try to sell it back to CarMax. They wanted me to pay them $3000 to take the car back knowing they had the car in their possession for almost a month and me making a payment of $460 a month they still wanted more money even though every time I took it in there was a $50 charge just to look at the car to see if the problem was covered under warranty. Never again.