Good Luck with Carmax? (2015, manual transmission, unlimited, mileage)

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by wamer27

Lol, just on his Range Rover alone. He's the only reason I ever knew about Carmax warranty.

You’d think they’d learn not to sell certain brands, like Range Rover.

[wamer27]

Carmax cannot sell a CPO car, thus they have to be under what dealers who sell them are. Why anyone would buy 1-4 yr old car without one is beyond me. My fathers 2014 CPO MB had small parking brake warranty fix a month ago.

[stan4]

Originally Posted by ferraris

They offered me $1,000 on the spot for my old car after test driving and inspecting it for about 30 minutes. Dealerships were offering like $400 over the phone, sight unseen. I ultimately sold it for $1,700 private sale.

Not a bad place to sell in my opinion, if you are in a hurry or don't want the hassle of a private sale.

Our experience as well.
Offered us what KBB said.
Then the folks next door to the CarMax gave us $250 more.
Apparently they siphon off their business by offering a couple hundred more for peeps who take luxury models to CarMax.

[papilgee4evaeva]

Bought my wife a car from Carmax as it was exactly what she wanted (make, model, colors, options) and was the only such one around in my area. That's the only purchase I've made from there.



I've sold several old cars to them though. No complaints, especially because other places weren't trying to pay even half of what Carmax was offering.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

You’d think they’d learn not to sell certain brands, like Range Rover.

A big part of their branding is that they'll buy any car. I guess they could sell some of them at wholesale auctions instead of their lots, though.

[ddm2k]

Originally Posted by wamer27

Carmax cannot sell a CPO car, thus they have to be under what dealers who sell them are. Why anyone would buy 1-4 yr old car without one is beyond me. My fathers 2014 CPO MB had small parking brake warranty fix a month ago.

Or, you could have an experience similar to mine where you ask the dealer "hey, this vehicle is only 2 years old with xx,xxx miles, is it CPO?" and their response is "we can certify it for $1500"

[ddm2k]

Something I promised myself long ago is that I would never finance a used car - there is plenty of selection out there of HIGHLY depreciating vehicles that can have a combination of low miles and low price.

- Dodge Durango up to 2009 model year
- Jeep Grand Cherokee up to 2004
- Cadillac cars coupes/sedans pre-CTS (late 90's, early 00's)
- Former police vehicles

For the import market, although more risky based on what I hear from owners of pre-owned German cars and pre-owned Range Rovers...

- 3 year old, one owner, freshly off-lease Mercedes-Benz non-AMG, BMW non-M, Land Rover


There are cases where DaimlerChrysler vehicles have gotten a bad rap for transmission issues, ball joints, and oil pumps failing just after warranty. Having owned several, I can provide the following advice:

The older Jeep GC (1993-1998) and Durango (1998-2000) have the old 42RE/46RH transmissions that require not only REGULAR fluid changes and band adjustments every 60K *minimum*, so if you're not into maintenance beyond oil changes I suggest you opt for newer models. Older model years above do NOT like to run on the same fluid for 200,000 miles.

The newer Jeeps (1999+) and Durangos (2001+) have the 45RFE/545RFE used in the Mercedes-Benz platform, that contain TWO filters. I ran my 2004 Durango 202k (owned since new) without a transmission fluid change - just recently had it changed - and the service advisor said "everything looked good, no excess of metal shavings were found in the pan".

--------------------------------------

Most people today are obsessed with Ford Superduty and Chevy Tahoe/Suburban and the used market in my state reflects it. 10y/200k mile Tahoes going for upper teens and 13y/250k Superduty trucks going for about the same.

I don't really care how long a diesel engine will last - the interior is SHOT at that point, that's also time for tie rod ends, ball joints, wheel bearings... and certain things tend to happen over 250k miles, like light bars get added, really cheap HID retrofits and aftermarket accessories, custom metal bumpers start rusting... I'm not dealing with it.

[High_Plains_Retired]

My family bought three cars from CarMax this past year (one F150 4x4 and two RAV4s) and have found the company to be fair on their pricing and on their warranty repairs. They absolutely have some of the cleanest used vehicles around New Mexico and Texas and, in the case of my 2014 F150 Platinum, a much better price.

However, I can always beat CarMax's interest rates with my own credit union or banks if financing is needed. And since I've never used a vehicle for a trade-in in my over fifty years of driving, I can't say how that would go with CarMax as compared to other dealers.

In regard to the question about private owners versus dealers, I have found the dealers with whom I have dealt with in the past 20 years to be more trustworthy than private owners since they have much more to lose by lying to you. Additionally, I have found the best deals from dealers who more often seem to need less money for their vehicle than private owners.

And no, I am not a car salesman or a dealer nor have I ever been.

[Stripes17]

No thanks!

I just bought a used 2018 model in October of 2018. Had 15K miles on the clock.

Car Max wanted a couple thousand dollars more for a similar model with a lesser trim package.

That is typical of the previous shopping we've done there as well.

I refuse to buy a vehicle at the published price. So, we'll probably never buy a vehicle from Car Max.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by High_Plains_Retired

They absolutely have some of the cleanest used vehicles around New Mexico and Texas and, in the case of my 2014 F150 Platinum, a much better price.

This is a really good point. Carmax operates as a clean and professional business. It's a lot more pleasant than pulling into a gravel used car lot, looking at barely cleaned and barely running cars, while a guard dog barks, and then negotiating with a greasy and condescending salesman in a small, hot, cigarette scented trailer.

In regard to the question about private owners versus dealers, I have found the dealers with whom I have dealt with in the past 20 years to be more trustworthy than private owners since they have much more to lose by lying to you. Additionally, I have found the best deals from dealers who more often seem to need less money for their vehicle than private owners.

It really just depends on the situation. Private sales of a paid off car can often be motivated by "just get it out of my driveway" as much as price.