Carmax vs. Dealers when buying used car

[Sayantsi]

CarMax is very easy to deal with, but you generally are paying a price premium. You pay more, but don't have to haggle or argue on price. If you are willing to look around, you can find a better deal from some dealers and private owners, but in general anymore, slightly used cars sold at dealers with "certified pre-owned" badges generally cost more than Carmax now. Every once in a while you will see CarMax cars selling at low prices without the premium - I'm not sure how that works.

Fwiw, in general, all auto dealerships and CarMax-type places all base used car trade in values on auction values, they don't use KBB. The auction values show real time what a model is selling for nationally so they know what to give you for the car and get their profit margin. If they know they can safely sell a car at $14k for example, CarMax (or any other place) will typically offer you around $10-11k so they have a few thousand to spend on tires, cosmetic makeup, and still have a profit.

Where I live, CarMax sells models for less than the make-specific dealers so its a good option for a quality used car, but you don't get the extended warranties without paying for them in addition to the car. In the end, it always pays to shop around.

[getmeoutofhere]

CarMax is easier. If you're good at negotiation and don't mind it, you can often get a better deal at a dealership, but if you just want to walk in, pick something out, and buy it, go to CarMax.

[CMH-1]

I purchased a 2014 Honda Civic that has 7500 miles on it from Carmax. Any comments will be appreciated. Im having second thoughts because it listed as $15998 and at end was $20k.

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by CMH-1

I purchased a 2014 Honda Civic that has 7500 miles on it from Carmax. Any comments will be appreciated. Im having second thoughts because it listed as $15998 and at end was $20k.

What did you get talked into “needing” for the car?

[GatorDude]

Originally Posted by sueinge

I am shopping for a used vehicle...I have heard good and bad about Carmax, and know they are no haggle...is it better to deal with a dealership than Carmax? Thanks!!

We've found that regular car dealer sales people lie and use deceptive tactics constantly. If you go to a regular dealer, you have to haggle, walk out, wait for them to "talk to the manager", etc. At a regular dealer, you have to be prepared to play the game--even if they say they don't play games. At Carmax, the buying and selling experience is very straight forward. Prices are fair. We've had very good experiences with several locations and have bought several cars from them over the years.



On the downside, you might be able to get a local dealer to undercut the Carmax price. There can also sometimes be little niggling problems with a Carmax car. Nothing serious--trim pieces or an odd gizmo. It is easy to bring it back in for a quick free service. For anything complex that crops up later down the road, I usually switch back to dealers or other service places for more complicated work.


Overall, I recommend CarMax unless you like to go fight with people about stuff.

[J Baustian]

Buying cars from private owners, typically through Craigslist, can be a bigger hassle and it may take weeks or months to find the exact car you want (unless you want a Corolla or Civic).

But it can be worth it because 1) you won't pay as much as from a dealer, and 2) you can ask for all service and repair documents. If a private owner won't provide these documents, then don't even bother looking at or test-driving the car, no matter how cheap it may be.

Of course when the right car pops up on Craigslist you need to be ready to act quickly; the good ones that are well-priced typically sell fast, and then there are the ones that are still unsold weeks later (for good reason).