OT Carmax

[mk1984]

I am looking to buy a new car and was looking at carmax. Does anyone have any experience with them? good? bad? ugly? Thanks in advance for the help.

[Fred Garvin]

I bought my daughter's car there 6 yrs ago. It has run like a top ever since. The no-haggle is nice.

[Boodawg]

No haggle but imho they run the price up. U could get a new vehicle for just about what they are asking for a vehicle that's @ a year old. Just my thoughts. I just bought a new car and checked them out and was surprised at how high they were.

[blacklistedbully]

if you do nothing else, go get the book, "Don't get Taken Every Time" by Remar Sutton. Former top car salesman-turned consumer advocate.

Easy to read, entertaining, and WILL SAVE YOU THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS! I am not kidding.

[blacklistedbully]

Also, do not, DO NOT use KBB as a guide to determine car value. Go to edmunds.com. Far and away the most accurate. The others cater to the dealers. There is a reason car dealers seem to love having, "Kelley Blue Book Sales" so often. Easy money for them.

[Aces High]

Carmax is simple and easy

[Dawgtini]

I have bought my last two cars from them. Simple and easy.

[Dawgface]

I bought my last new car through Truecar.com. I was very pleased with the discounts given and it was simple and easy. No games played. Carmax should be the same way way when buying used.

[archdog]

One of the better indicators about Carfax is their car buying protocol. They will only offer slightly lower than what they could get your car at an auto auction. The car I was selling was worth around 22k, they offered 16500. I decided to list it on car.com instead. Sold it for 21500 cash a week later direct to someone.

The way I look at it is that they make their money. The have built up this no haggle price bs and marketed it well. Most of their cars are baseline models with few exceptions, but you end up paying for the upper level models. Just do your due diligence no matter who you guy your car from.

Also, I would look locally, take notes, and search regionally. Usually you can haggle with dealerships across the SE, find a deal and spend a Friday picking it up from say Dallas or Atlanta. Could save thousands by never going into the dealer, and make them negotiate over the phone. Just search reddit.com for car buying advice. Those guys have figured it out.

[rbdog82]

Carmax (Jackson) seems to have much higher prices than other dealerships around the southeast. If you're willing to travel, look at cars in Atlanta and Dallas. Most of the time you can save thousands if you'll do your homework. Regarding a new car purchase, TrueCar is the way to go.

[SignalToNoise]

No haggle but imho they run the price up. U could get a new vehicle for just about what they are asking for a vehicle that's @ a year old. Just my thoughts. I just bought a new car and checked them out and was surprised at how high they were.

They way I see it is you are paying for the no-haggle pricing and such. I have no experience with Carmax but the inlaws purchased one through carmax and said it was really convenient not having the whole negotiation process.

[BiscuitEater]

I am looking to buy a new car and was looking at carmax. Does anyone have any experience with them? good? bad? ugly? Thanks in advance for the help.

CARVANA (http://www.carvana.com/) was a great place to get a used car but have not tried myself. You view / order online and they put vehicle on a truck and drive it to your door.

You then have 7 days to test drive and if you don't like it, they come and pick it up with no cost or obligation. They advertise $1500 - 2000 below KBB and they don't purchase any car that has been in an accident. Think the nearest one is in Atlanta. Don't think they have showrooms, salesmen, and other overhead = lower costs.

If I was looking to purchase a civic, accord, camry, etc type car, I would try this out.

[Dawgtini]

They way I see it is you are paying for the no-haggle pricing and such. I have no experience with Carmax but the inlaws purchased one through carmax and said it was really convenient not having the whole negotiation process.

To add to my previous post, this above is what I found to be true. The first car I bought from carmax I did the whole routine that archdog outlined. I shopped dealers, lots, on-line, etc. in and out of state. I drove a bunch of cars and bought one at carmax. I figured if I had kept up the full-press at all the other places I could have saved ~$500. When I bought the next car, I just priced them around on-line and went to carmax and bought one. The ease of the purchase was worth the little bit of savings for a tremendous amount of effort. I am gone from home about 14 hrs a day during the week and work a second job every other weekend - the no hassle was worth it. Also, another big benefit is that you can test drive several "comparable" models across manufacturers on one lot at one visit. Allows you to really be sure you are selecting the vehicle/options/mileage that you want.

If you find the exact model you want, but they don't have a car at your local carmax, you can have one brought in from another location. This is often at no cost to you and no obligation if it doesn't measure up to your expectations when it arrives.

They also have a 5 day "no questions asked" return policy. I have used it too and they didn't give me a bit of grief - canceled the deal within 20 mins.

[RoverDog]

Also, do not, DO NOT use KBB as a guide to determine car value. Go to edmunds.com. Far and away the most accurate. The others cater to the dealers. There is a reason car dealers seem to love having, "Kelley Blue Book Sales" so often. Easy money for them.

I've been in the auto business for a decade now and I couldn't disagree about KBB more. In my experience, KBB was used much more often by the customer for leverage. I always told them that it is a consumer driven site because that's how I saw it. In reality, KBB used to hit trades and retail pricing high, which gave ammo to both sides. Edmunds has always been consistently accurate, but I think you will find KBB much more accurate and fair since they recently updated their site. People shop so far out of their area now, that pricing on used cars across the board has become much more consistent. The dealer that wins is usually the one that has the vehicle in the best condition. More than 80% of shoppers start with the internet, which means if you aren't priced right, you're not getting seen. Ultimately, those sites are a good reference, but the market changes daily and it is hard for them to stay up to date.

[blacklistedbully]

From Carsdirect.com:

The Kelley Blue Book also gathers its data from a number of different sources. Unlike Edmunds, however, Kelley values generally cater more toward the dealer. Many dealers utilize the Kelley Blue Book guide prices for used vehicles, and dealers and customers negotiate the actual price of a vehicle downward from that level. For this reason, the Kelley value tends to be higher than the Edmunds value and also quite a bit higher than what a private seller would charge for a car. Likewise, you should not expect to pay the full Kelley Blue Book value for a car in most cases.

Ultimately, neither the Edmunds nor the Kelley value of a vehicle is entirely accurate for any particular car. The quality of the car and the various depreciation costs play a much greater role in the overall price than either of these two values do. However, the Edmunds value generally provides a more accurate price for the customer than the Kelley value does. Consult a specialist for more assistance.

[RoverDog]

From Carsdirect.com:

The Kelley Blue Book also gathers its data from a number of different sources. Unlike Edmunds, however, Kelley values generally cater more toward the dealer. Many dealers utilize the Kelley Blue Book guide prices for used vehicles, and dealers and customers negotiate the actual price of a vehicle downward from that level. For this reason, the Kelley value tends to be higher than the Edmunds value and also quite a bit higher than what a private seller would charge for a car. Likewise, you should not expect to pay the full Kelley Blue Book value for a car in most cases.

Ultimately, neither the Edmunds nor the Kelley value of a vehicle is entirely accurate for any particular car. The quality of the car and the various depreciation costs play a much greater role in the overall price than either of these two values do. However, the Edmunds value generally provides a more accurate price for the customer than the Kelley value does. Consult a specialist for more assistance.

I don't care if people use KBB or not. All I'm saying is that it is more accurate than it used to be, and while it was high on retail prices (which supports your post) it was equally high on trade-ins, which gave argument to the customer. I know because I've had many people over the years ask why KBB is so much higher on their trade-in and my response in most cases was "I'll give you KBB for yours if you pay KBB for mine" which no-one took me up on. This stuff doesn't happen much anymore because of the reasons I stated above. If I want to know what to pay for a vehicle, I go to Manheim auction data, find out what buyers are actually paying for it, and add $2-3k for recon and minimal markup. Eveything else is guesswork.

[Maroonthirteen]

I shopped there but never bought. Because their prices are high. Their offers on trade in are low.

I walked in. I said I like that truck. He drew up the sales contract with a ridiculously low offer on my trade-in. I walked out. They called me for weeks after but would not negotiate on my trade in. So, I bought elsewhere.

[archdog]

They lowball every trade in. Trying to find a sucker.

[Dawgtini]

They lowball every trade in. Trying to find a sucker.
I disagree. I have sold them 2 cars and got above Edmunds "Trade in" value for both. Got the "private party" price for one.

[MidTNDawg]

My daughter and son-in-law only buy from CarMax. FWIW, they own a large motorcycle dealer so they know the game. As already said, do your due diligence then talk to them. You should know what a fair price is before going.