Should You Buy a Car Through CarMax?
Rust buckets, over-sized purses, methods of transportation, and a means of showing worth and status. Maybe it’s needless to say, but there isn’t a topic I detest more. I think about used car salesmen and I think about the gazillion dollars I spent on car repairs last year. I think about the millions of people that believe you shouldn’t drive a car more than 100,000 miles because it’s “cheaper” to buy a NEW one. Sigh.
Well, It’s Time for Us to Buy a “New” Car!
After years of driving dumpsters disguised as old cars, my wife and I recently decided it was time to take the plunge and buy a new-to-us car. If you knew us well, then you’d know that this decision didn’t come lightly (for all of the reasons I stated at the start of this post).
After spending a few thousand dollars (in 2011) on car repairs for our ’99 Nissan Altima (which had 170,000 miles on it), we had been told that there was another $1500-$2000 of work that NEEDED to be done to it.
That was $1500 more than we were willing to spend.
Why We Looked at CarMax first
Truthfully, we didn’t start at CarMax. Instead we spent hours and hours researching the vehicle that was going to give us the best bang for our buck. After searching through Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, and Consumer Reports, we eventually narrowed our selection down to a few cars we felt that would fit our needs (mainly running for the next 10 years and far-surpassing 200,000 miles).
After our research was complete, we visited our local CarMax center and looked through the selection they had available.
The thing that intrigued us most about CarMax was that they have the majority of makes and models that are available (at least the types we’re interested in).
This means that instead of the having to travel to 4 or 5 different dealerships to test-drive cars, we were able to get all of our “shopping” done in one, easy, hassle-free visit!
What are Some of the Pros to Shopping at CarMax?
- No Haggle Pricing: I acknowledge that I’m a stubborn guy, so I didn’t really believe this whole “no haggle pricing” deal…but let me be the first to tell you, it’s true!I spent quite a bit of time trying to beat up our “sales” woman. I got so annoying that my wife got upset with me.I couldn’t believe they really didn’t drop their prices! I mean come on, we were going to pay CASH!!
- No Pressure & No “Used-Car” Salesmen/women: While the no haggle pricing is a little annoying, it also comes with an extremely wonderful upside: they don’t try to pressure you to buy!I mentioned at the start of this post that I dislike used-car salesmen (in-fact, I despise all sales people that act like the typical “salesmen”), so CarMax provided a terrific setting for my wife and I.We were able to test drive each car that we were interested in with absolutely no sales pitches and annoying chatter in my ear!
- Their Cars Have Passed a 125 Point Inspection: The primary reason Carmax is able to stand by their price is because they very-much believe in the products (cars) that they’re selling.Their cars are reliable, well-maintained, and CarMax believes you won’t find any better quality out in the market.
- CarMax offers a 5-Day Money-Back Guarantee: Another benefit that we found intriguing was that CarMax will basically let you test-drive the car for 5 days after you buy it.Of course you have to buy it first, but if you end up not liking it, or if you get it inspected by your mechanic and something proves to be troublesome, then you can take it back without being charged!
Two Things We Didn’t Like About CarMax
Frankly, there simply weren’t many but if I had to list some, here are a few:
- Their Prices are High: I wouldn’t say the prices are completely out of line, but there is little doubt that they’re proud of their cars (and they probably have good reason for that).If you’re looking for the best bargain out there then I would say CarMax isn’t your place (unless you want to test-drive a bunch of cars!), however if you’re looking for quality and don’t want to have to worry if your car is going to break down in 12 months, then you might be okay with the premium.
- Their “Cheaper” Cars Still have 90,000+ Miles: The unfortunate reality of cars (and one of the reasons I hate them) is that if you want something with less than 50,000 miles on it, then you better be ready to spend $15,000 or more!That is true of course unless you want to look at a Kia or an extremely “economical” vehicle. However, we ruled out the compacts early because I’m 6’4″…there is no chance I’m driving in a Nissan Versa, Toyota Corolla, or Honda Civic.So, considering most CarMax cars come at a premium, they really don’t have any good low-mileage cars that are under $10,000.
While we didn’t end up buying our car from CarMax, our experience with them couldn’t have gone better. We were able to drive a myriad of cars that we had preselected, AND we were able to do so without being bothered or hassled.
Depending on your budget, I’d highly encourage you to consider visiting CarMax — regardless of if you’re seriously considering buying it from there!
Picture by M – Pics.
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At the beginning of 2012, we were in need of another form of transportation as my truck kicked the bucket for good. After much research, I went to carmax and ended up buying a car from them a week later. I never once got any annoying calls to bring me back in (which is why I went back to them 1 week later) as the other 3 lots I spoke with called me two times a day trying to get me back in the store. After purchasing the car, my stomach turned awry when I began to think about the payments and returned it the next day. They were so nice and didn’t try to get me to keep the car or even get another one. I was floored! I highly recommend carmax, if car payments aren’t an issue for you or you already have cash.
That’s great to hear you had a similar experience! I did also ask them about returning the day and that’s when I found about the 5 days return policy. I thought it was awesome and I was extremely impressed with business model and the ease. For me the setting couldn’t have been better and if somebody would have hounded me while I was there, or given me follow-up calls, it would have turned me off. I simply don’t like dealing with that.
My wife and I did the SAME thing! We went to carmax to test drive diffreent cars and get an idea for their feel, but in the end, we wanted a warranty on a car and we wanted to be able to get our salesperson to lower the price (which we did!). So we didn’t end up buying from Carmax either.
I think we would have bought from there if they would have come down on their price a bit. It definitely annoyed me but now I know their process and I won’t really try to haggle next time.
My wife and I tag team. She is an excellent negotiator/haggler (you should have seen her when we lived in Asia). The last used car we bought we talked with the sales guy together, sounded him out, and then I left the room for 5 minutes. When I got back the price was where we needed it to be. And she was grinning.
I will soon be writing about my experience buying a car, too! I’m glad they didn’t haggle on price. I can’t stand the fact that the price isn’t the price isn’t the price…. Car shopping is so expensive that I always feel like I’m getting out-negotiated. I also feel like I have to take food out of someone else’s mouth to put it in my own. The whole idea of haggling gives me nightmares. Just tell me what to pay and I’ll pay it.
The good news is that I found a way to haggle without going through this gut-wrenching beat-down of a salesman. I still don’t love it, but it was far, far better.
I don’t think we have Carmax here, but when I had to buy a new car, I knew exactly what I wanted and what I wanted to pay (I’d been dreaming about a new car for awhile before this). I ended up finding one the day after my old car broke down. I hate car shopping so this was ideal.
You can always find a gem from a 3rd party, but most low-mileage cars are luxury vehicles coming off leases. If someone lists a solid Honda or Toyota or Nissan with under 50,000 miles, they will be snatched up very quickly and not necessarily at that big of a discount. Used car prices have been increasing these past couple of years, and people are holding on to their cars longer. Good luck with your search!
I have not purchased a car from CarMAX, but I appreciate their business model and would not hesitate to do so.
We have had good luck with purchases of “Certified Pre-Owned” vehicles from the used car division of car dealerships.
The one thing I do without fail is look at the Car FAX to see if the history looks suspicious.
Don’t you just love how your height influences these kinds of decisions? I’m also 6’4″ and it affects what cars I’d be willing to buy too. That extra headroom and legroom is crucial.
We don’t have a carmax here, but I’d love to shop somewhere without all the pressure. They’re always trying to bullshit you about how any problems are extremely minor and how good a deal the car is. Like, yeah sure moisture all over the inside of the car isn’t much of a problem. Sure buddy! I want to be dealing with breathing mildew and mold every time I drive.
Any car dealership that is not pushy is a plus in my book.
When I was car shopping years ago, I was looking at CarMax vehicles. CarMax has a great reputation for its wide selection of make and model cars, and it is a convenient one-stop shop. However, I was disappointed by their high prices on low mileage cars. As you stated, you will end up paying $15,000+ on a 50,000 mileage car, unless you buy small. But, I thought CarMax prices would have been a lot less expensive. My guess is that it charges so much, because of its solid name recognition in the auto industry. In the end, I ended getting a better deal at a dealership that was located about 30 miles from where I lived.
Thanks for the honest review! I am like you and I detest dealing with salesmen or anyone who acts like a pushy salesperson. It’s just obnoxious and annoying! The pushier you get, the less I will want to help you by giving you commission.
I love my Toyota Corolla and it is just over 100k miles. My BF’s SUV has over 200k miles and he hasn’t spent too much on repairs, so I will be driving my car to the ground.
I was just thinking of how nice it would be to have a luxury car, but then I start thinking of the monthly payments and how hard it will be to repair it since parts and labor will be more expensive…ahhhh!
No payments! Start saving now and pay in cash!
You can do it!
When we bought our new-to-us car, we went to a luxury dealership and looked at their trade-ins. We got a great deal there! I’m thinking because we were looking at the lower end cars whereas most people who go to that place want a BMW or Lexus. Our older Toyota is luxury enough for us!
That’s a pretty good idea! We looked online at pretty much every dealership in sight but I never thought about intentionally targeting the high-end ones.
Pretty interesting stuff. I, too, am skeptical about no haggle pricing. It turns me off a bit. Fortunately we (well, I) hope to not be in the market for a car for a while… we have a 2009 CR-V with 29,000 miles on it.
Yeah…I think you’re going to be good for a few months (or decades). The pricing thing definitely bothered me. It was almost psychological: I have CASH! Show that you’re willing to work with me and give me a deal!
When I bought my car I used USAA’s car buying service. At the time I got the best USAA car price on my Honda Civic in the nation according to their database of dealers! It was an insane deal, but you can at least use it for a starting point if you are a USAA member. I had the advantage of living in the Washington DC Metro area at the time so I was dealing with volume dealers who got kickbacks for reaching their volume targets. Normally I would try to buy used, but at the time the price difference was so low it was worth buying new.
Lance, I NEVER knew that USAA had such a service. I will check into it because everything they seem to do is top-notch and I’ve never seen any company beat their service/prices on their other products.
The no pressure to buy appeals to me. I would probably give them a chance just for the fact that I have no patience for pushy sales people.
Agreed!
Have you looked at buying a rental car like Hertz, Avis, etc…? But I have found the best value and price is from a private party.
Brad, there are way too many people like me who beat on rental cars. I would never buy one of those!
You stole my thunder Brad.
I appreciate you throwing out the recommendation though! We actually bought our car from Hertz. I’ll have a post about the process here in a few weeks.
My hubby bought a vehicle at our CarMax here, and I have to agree, it was a very pleasant experience. We paid cash too, and the whole thing was just no muss, no fuss, out in an afternoon.
It’s nice to see that all experiences with CarMax seem to be the same. I love when companies make it easy to buy from them.
I like CarMax for all the reasons you’ve stated. But, I normally buy directly from a seller as it saves you a great deal of money. I tend to buy few years old car or brand new Honda. Since used cars are expensive, it’s not a bad idea to buy a new car and keep it till it dies. I have Honda CR-V with 415,000 miles and still running fine.
415?!?! That is A LOT! We’re going to try to get our Accord to go that long but we’ll settle with 300k.
One of my friends is a used car dealer. I was always under the same impression that cash gets you a better deal. It is the OPPOSITE. Used car dealerships get kickbacks from financing your car, so they make more if you are financing the car than if you are paying cash.
Cheap or frugal? There is a difference.
I must have been out of the market for too long… I haven’t even heard of CarMax!
After reading this post though, I ‘ll have to keep them in mind for my next car.
Thanks for sharing!
My car came from car max. I agree with all your pros. I’d even say my car was a steal. It was well below the bluebook value for it’s age/make/model and mileage (4k on a car and they call it used!) I don’t feel like I could have gotten it cheaper anywhere else. I looked. Unfortunately they don’t have any where I live now. But I’ve starting seeing their ads. Maybe they’re priming the market.
I don’t know about Carmax as such, but as far as buying new cars goes there are definite advantages, not least the prospect of not having to shell out for repairs for several years. That’s some peace of mind. I’ve bought several pre-registered cars in the past here in the UK where the dealer registers a brand new car, and then sells it a few weeks later, only having done delivery mileage or just a little over. Because it was not brand new there was a nice reduction on the price new
Sounds like a great place to learn more about which car you like at the very least.
Have you bought the “new” car yet? If so, what kind of car did you get?
We have bought the new car…we’ve had it for about 3-4 weeks now! We ended up going with a 2011 Camry. It had about 39,000 miles on it. I’m doing to do a follow-up post next week about the place we bought it from (Hertz Car Sales/Rent a Car). It was an interesting experience and they had some great prices!
I’ve never heard of CarMax before, as we don’t have them where I live. I wouldn’t like the no haggle pricing – especially since you said their prices are high. People think that no haggling is a good thing and it is, for the dealer. They can set their price and still make a healthy profit per vehicle. I’m not a huge fan of negotiating, but will do so when I know I can save a good bit of money