What is the advantage to buying from CarMax? Their prices are sky high! (credit, tires)
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I think the only advantage to the buyer is the no haggle and no pressure sales experience.
Thats not much of an advantage for some people, but for those individuals who hate, fear, or loathe the process at the normal dealers and are apt to be fleeced anyway, then they may feel paying a little more for an "easy" transaction is worth it.
I know but Jesus...don't these people have any friends?
I've bought cars for 2 friends that dread the experience. I just go in and am their "dad" or "uncle" etc. and pretty much do all the negotiating....either that or I talk over the phone with them and arm them with the numbers during negotiations.
It's not that hard....just like when my elbow was acting up I asked my friend for advice on treatment since they know that stuff.
Sheeesh. Save yourself a couple grand, get a friend that knows their crap and gets you deals.
Sometime CarMax is good if one does not want to spend hours buying a car.
Going to a dealer and having someone try to show you what they think you want, then finally getting them to understand that you do not have a penis but do have a brain and want a certain car, going for test drive, then being turned over to the 'closer' who waste more time, and goes back to his imaginary manager and leaves you for 20 minutes, returning with chit chat saying the manager is reviewing the deal, etc. just wasting your time, then giving you a cost that you will not accept so it goes again and again in the negotiations.
Then you go to the financing guy, and they go over all the extras they want to push on you and again you waste time saying no, and no financing I will write a check, then they want to call the bank to see if a check is good and then finally you have the ability to say we are done, close the deal now or I walk...and have a good chance that you will not be walking.
LOVE not having to waste the time.
You know the price and can take it or leave it.
No high pressure anything.
BTW, I have walked out at all phases of the process when the time was not worth the games at dealers and they do call later and want you to come back, but my best answer is "I left your dealership and then bought an hour later at XX. Thanks for taking the time to show me the vehicles it helped a lot to make it go fast at dealer XX because I already knew what I wanted and just had to close a deal on the price."
I am not sure, but we are getting our first CarMax dealer later in the year at a new large shopping plaza and the only one here within a 200 mile radius. I browsed their site and found their cars seem very overpriced. I am not sure if that is the final price, but if they expect to survive here, they better either haggle or come down on the prices, because people will not pay the prices here that they are charging in big cities.
Do people not understand that the only thing haggling with a used car is going to do is get you the car for less? Carmax uses marketing of "no haggling" instead of saying, we're not dropping the price for you and people think this is great?!?!? The warranty and return of vehicle are good things, but their marketing team deserves some giant award for fooling people.
Around here all dealerships have no haggle pricing....
I am not sure, but we are getting our first CarMax dealer later in the year at a new large shopping plaza and the only one here within a 200 mile radius. I browsed their site and found their cars seem very overpriced. I am not sure if that is the final price, but if they expect to survive here, they better either haggle or come down on the prices, because people will not pay the prices here that they are charging in big cities.
So far everywhere Carmax opens they do a ton of business...
But again, why would one just not go to any used car dealer and pay sticker price (without negotiating) which is usually still 1-2k less then CarMax?
Maybe the car dealer down the road doesn't have the particular car they want. CarMax is nationwide. If you covet a particular model or year of car and they don't have it, my understanding is they will find it for you. Picky people usually understand there is a price to be paid for pickiness. And as others have pointed out, many people are loathe to negotiate and/or don't think they are good at it anyway. Finally, there is a segment of society that purchases things on a whim. Doesn't seem to me that's something I would do with a car, but who am I to judge others. I know people who have done it. "I wasn't going to buy yet, but I saw this car and I just had to have it." I'm sure there are other reasons, too.
I was at the dealer a few years ago and they were going to give me x amount of dollars for my trade and the car my wife was looking was negotiated as far as they would go. We sat in the dealer for a couple of hours at least going back and forth to even get to this point. I decided to stop at Carsense and they had a higher optioned car than the one I was looking at at the dealer, they were also going to give me more for my trade in than the dealer was. We were ready to sign the papers and I called the dealer up to give them another chance and they said they could not compete with that offer. I was in and out of Carsense in maybe an hour with a much better deal plus a lifetime engine warranty.
CarMax is ICE COLD FISH. After Sandy I need a car really bad and really quick and could only afford a used one. At CarMax and Enterprise the fixed price was jacked up due to demand from Sandy and they would not haggle. I then liked a car at another location and they said they would deliver it over if I was really interested. Which they did. Car comes it was ok, but looked like someone smoked in it at one point and had that clean fake smell to cover and a few touch up. I told them forget about it. Then they harass me.
Then I found a dealer ship in Scarlsdale that had a mint car sitting on lot and float was about to expire. I got the internet price. I told them I would come up with cashiers check take car that day and it was year end off the lot. Car was amazing. Used with 5k miles always garaged. Guy donated trucks to Long Beach after Sandy great guy. Got it for like 5K less than car max in better condition.
For instance when a car in turned in at GM dealer, GM gives deal a free float usually 30-90 days meaning, lets say they buy back car for 25k they pay no interest on that 25k for the time of float. After that they pay interest. So once they hit float they cut price, or send it to auction pretty soon. Also end of month or year they want to inflate sales records as GM gives dealer bonuses based on Sales.
My friend the dealer gives me the float info. I come in with cash usually end of month and work them over usually starting with internet only price on a car. You can beat carfax by 3-6k every time.
Sometime CarMax is good if one does not want to spend hours buying a car.
Going to a dealer and having someone try to show you what they think you want, then finally getting them to understand that you do not have a penis but do have a brain and want a certain car, going for test drive, then being turned over to the 'closer' who waste more time, and goes back to his imaginary manager and leaves you for 20 minutes, returning with chit chat saying the manager is reviewing the deal, etc. just wasting your time, then giving you a cost that you will not accept so it goes again and again in the negotiations.
Then you go to the financing guy, and they go over all the extras they want to push on you and again you waste time saying no, and no financing I will write a check, then they want to call the bank to see if a check is good and then finally you have the ability to say we are done, close the deal now or I walk...and have a good chance that you will not be walking.
LOVE not having to waste the time.
You know the price and can take it or leave it.
No high pressure anything.
BTW, I have walked out at all phases of the process when the time was not worth the games at dealers and they do call later and want you to come back, but my best answer is "I left your dealership and then bought an hour later at XX. Thanks for taking the time to show me the vehicles it helped a lot to make it go fast at dealer XX because I already knew what I wanted and just had to close a deal on the price."
Exactly. Let's assume Carmax is more expensive, (which I know for a fact isn't always true). I hate buying cars. Why? Because I'm a woman, and every dealership assumes I will put up with endless BS because I'm a spineless, brainless female who will just swallow anything they tell me hook, line, and sinker just because I have good creadit and big boobs. Negative. It's such a waste of my time, because car salesmen will do everything they can to delay you as much as possible in the psychological attempt to make you invest your time and energy so you will buy from them.
Carmax does have the great advantage of having many different makes and models of nice used cars and I love not being pressured and not having to wait an endless amount of time for a salesman to show me a car I don't even know for sure I'm interested in. At so many car dealerships, the price isn't immediately apparent on the vehicles, and I have to repeatedly ask how much X, Y, and Z car is, and the salesman goes back inside a million times to check the price of a car. Then if I want to test drive, there's another wait while the saleman gets the keys for the first car. And the next. And the next. Then he tries to sell me on whichever car that I'm not interested in or I have to think about. My time is worth money too. Paying more can be worth it just to avoid all that aggravation.
Exactly. Let's assume Carmax is more expensive, (which I know for a fact isn't always true). I hate buying cars. Why? Because I'm a woman, and every dealership assumes I will put up with endless BS because I'm a spineless, brainless female who will just swallow anything they tell me hook, line, and sinker just because I have good creadit and big boobs. Negative. It's such a waste of my time, because car salesman will do everything they can to delay you as much as possible in the psychological attempt to make you invest your time and energy so you will buy from them.
Carmax does have the great advantage of having many different makes and models of nice used cars and I love not being pressured and not having to wait and endless amount of time for a salesman to show me a car I don't even know for sure I'm interested in. At so many car dealerships, the price isn't immediately apparent on the vehicles, and I have to repeatedly ask how much X, Y, and Z car is, and the salesman goes back inside a million times to check the price of a car. Then if I want to test drive, there's another wait while the saleman gets the keys for the first car. And the next. And the next. Then he tries to sell me on whichever car that I'm not interested in or I have to think about. My time is worth money too. Paying more can be worth it just to avoid all that aggravation.
This is exactly the type of negative buying experience people avoid with CarMax and the reason why they are successful - along with that huge inventory.
However, they are NOT that much cheaper than a new car if you bargain hard (a negative I know) but now a days you can do this over the Internet. I recently bought the very popular Accord Hybrid sight unseen. It took a month - but with patience it works out and some dealerships are on board with this.
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Carmax uses marketing of "no haggling" instead of saying, we're not dropping the price for you and people think this is great?!?!? The warranty and return of vehicle are good things, but their marketing team deserves some giant award for fooling people.
