CarMax
reviews and complaints

On May 29, 2006, I purchased a 1999 Volkswagen Passat from CarMax for $13, 011.85. The exterior of the car appeared in excellent condition and the interior was appealing as well. The mileage on the vehicle at the time of purchase was 85, 221. I was concerned with the mileage being so high, but the salesman assured me Carmax thoroughly checked this vehicle before placing it on the lot for sale. He suggested I purchase the extended warranty and I did for $1, 169.00. What I wasn't prepared for, was the insurmountable repairs and return visits for service that began on July 21, 2006, just 2 months after purchasing the car. There were a dozen subsequent visits within a year and a half totaling over $5, 000.00 in repairs that were not covered under the warranty. Today, there are still repairs pending on this vehicle with an approximate cost of over $3, 000.00 and it cannot pass emmissions testing. Essentially, this vehicle was never reliable or dependable and never served its purpose. Soon, it will be of no use to us because the granted extension on the emissions service will run out in May, 2009. I have been widowed for 11 years and have raised 4 sons on teachers salary. This car was intended to get my sons back and forth to sporting practices and games, school events, their part-time jobs, and college. I still owe approximately $7, 000.00 on this car and basically, the car is only worth $3, 500.00. I met with the manager of the Carmax Service Department on March 21, 2008. We went through the file I accumulated; discussing the date of service for each item, the mileage at the time of service, the necessary repairs, the expense of the service, and the pending repairs. He mentioned, 'Carmax would give me an estimate to buy the car, but indicated since it was over 100, 000 miles, it wouldn't be much and certainly wouldn't be enough to pay off the balance owed.' He stated also, 'he did not think Carmax would buy me out from under this car.' I told him I saw negative feedback on the internet about Carmax and I would do the same. He didn't seem concerned. I told him I got the Carmax Corporate Headquarters information off the internet and was going to contact them next. He said, 'they will only tell you to talk to the service center where you purchased the car.' He said, 'he would discuss my concerns with the other service manager and get back to me.' I never heard from him. One week later, I filed a complaint against Carmax with the State of Maryland, Office of The Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division. Unfortunately, they were not able to help because the vehicle was over five years old when purchased and over 60, 000 miles. However, they did contact Carmax's Legal Department, who felt they met their obligation to me under the Limited Warranty and declined any relief related to the vehicle. I filed a small claims lawsuit against Carmax in the District Court of Maryland. Judgement was granted in favor of Carmax on October 24, 2008. The judge said, 'I failed to provide an expert witness to claim the repairs rendered to the vehicle were most likely there at the time of purchase.' I have appealed this judges decision. My advise to anyone who has read my story, is to avoid purchasing a used vehicle from Carmax. They spend millions in advertising. How could they not offer assistance to a widowed mom and teacher; a mother, raising 4 children on her own on a single salary? I will NEVER patronize CARMAX.

Disclaimer: I was laid off in April 2009 and anyone else that has been knows that when you lose your job your credit goes with it.

After 6 trips to the dealership trying to obtain financing, paying $200 to have a vehicle shipped & submitting all required paperwork, I was approved for financing on 1/31/11. I was working for a tax office (temporarily as I do every year) making $150/day before taxes, 6 days a week. THEY WERE MORE THAN AWARE THAT I WAS A FULL-TIME TEMPORARY EMPLOYEE THERE. My initial salesperson was an *** cluster### named Chas Keithan. He was working a 2 weeks notice & had no problem telling me so. The person that ultimately sold me the vehicle, after hours might I add, was Steve Young (decent guy).

On 2/9/11, Bill Stevenson (the rude, *** sales manager) called me to advise that my financing was not approved & I needed to return the vehicle. From the date of purchase to the day I received this call, I had taken the vehicle back twice for minor repairs & no one said a word. The very same day I received a job offer making 40k/year and had an offer letter as proof. I explained this to Bill the ***, faxed him a copy of the letter, along with proof that I had already purchased a tag & insurance for the vehicle. APPARENTLY, I wanted the car if I paid $200 to have it sent to me. He rudely told me I had to bring the car back anyway. I paid a $3000 down payment by the way. I said fine & asked when I would get my down payment back. His response was that he was not sure. CarMax took the down payment money from my account less than 12 hours after I wrote the check (the money was gone when I woke up on 2/1/11 & remember I wrote the check at about 10 pm) so I had a problem with the I don't know ***.

After many attempts to work out a deal with CarMax to avoid returning a car I loved & not having a way to a job I JUST STARTED (on 2/21/11) I said I would return the car if (AND ONLY IF), they returned my down payment just as fast as they took it from me. The general manager Oscar Kummerlowe began calling me at this point to work out a deal. The terms were to bring the car back, get a loaner car, & they would run my financing again when I received my first paycheck (on 2/28/11). I agreed IF AND ONLY IF, he would give me the agreement in writing. He would not so I refused to take the car back. Someone named Sharon from the corporate office, alongwith other CarMax employees kept calling me asking when I would bring the car back. Not once did anyone call to try & help me or even make the sale. All these vultures wanted was their car back. CarMax sent a letter to my home FedEx demanding the car back or they would repossess it & threatened to report to the credit bureaus on me. I got an attorney.

After CarMax received the letter from my attorney, they called me on 3/11/11 to advise that they had cash in the store & would give me my money back in cash if I bring the car back that day. Luckily, by that date, I had already obtained financing at another dealership for a better car, better terms, a lower payment, AND I picked this vehicle up on the same day. I returned their piece of *** car, got my money back and drove into the sunset in my new car.

My problem is this.. Why wasn't financing cleared before I left on 1/31? Why was I told initially I would have to wait 10 days to get my money back? Why wouldn't they give me the terms about the loaner agreement in writing? Why was the solution so simple after I got an attorney? But you know what? It all worked out in MY favor. I will scream to the blue skies to NEVER deal with CarMax. I won't.

I purchased a car in december from the charlotte nc carmax. you have 5 days to return it. day 6 the car started having issues. carmax then told me "the market has changed" and we can offer you 7 grand less than what you paid SIX DAYS AGO.

i contacted carmax care to find out what could be done... couldn't ever reach a person who could tell me anything about my policy. they did not respond to my emails at any point.

when i traded in my car, it needed new tires. they deducted that from what they were willing to pay for my car... reasonable. today i went to a tire dealer b/c one of the tires had a slow leak. turns out THERE ARE USED TIRES ON THE CAR.

the tire employee showed me exactly how bad they were and said the tires were dangerous and there was no way they didn't see it 3 months ago. and of course it isn't the dealerships problem and they could care less.

don't buy from them unless u want to get a POS car and enjoy getting screwed.

Took a SL500 to Carmax in Plano, TX to sell. Got $25, 000.00 for it. Took the deal. Went through all the paperwork, signed in all the places told, got a check (they call draft)and left. I deposit the check a couple days later, and a week after that, I get a call from my bank that the check was returned.

I ask if its stamped NSF. Bank officer says strange, it doesn't have anything stamped on it. So off to call Carmax. Of course this all occurs during the snow storm that hit during Super Bowl. The Plano office is closed due to weather. I call corporate. They are worthless. Finally after I threaten to call the local DA's office and State Attorney Generals office I get a call back from the finance manager at the Plano Carmax.

He goes on to tell me how he saw the mistake, but had no way to contact me. (BS). Long story short, they put a stop payment on my check because where he says that where I was directed to sign the title, was in the wrong spot. So after me telling him what I thought and it was all BS, he could have called or tried, he said he'd see if the Houston Carmax could overnite me a check. I get my bank officer on the phone (3 way) and have the bank officer give the Carmax manager the banks address to deposit the check to rather than to me and then to the bank. The bank is pissed I have a bad check of $25, 000.00 that got returned, so I want them to know it isn't my fault. Everything I did was in good faith.

So ask the manager, why are you overnighting me a new check if my title is still incorrect. His response, "I hope you'll work with us".

I'm still waiting on that check.

Bought a truck on Jan 20, 2011. 4 days later, tie rods replaced and alignment needed. One week later rear axle leak. All supposedly checked during 125 point CQI inspection. Service mngr tells me they actually don't check everything unless technician feels the need. How do you check tie rods or alignment without lifting vehicle up or putting on alignment machine? Had these things been done, they also would have noticed rear axle leak. Talked to Service manager and he tells me I aggrevated the axle leak by towing a 1000 lb trailer 3 miles. Called Customer no service. No help. Will be talking to attorney next

STAY AWAY FROM CARMAX !

In 2009 i baught a 2004 chrysler sebring from carmax. Sice iv had it carmax has spent over $10, 000 in repairs on my warranty.Its been in the shop 3 times in the last three weeks, I have begged them to get me out of it. The best they can do is give me $4000 trade in I owe $8, 500, and with there high interest rates i cant afford the payment.Also I really dont want to buy any thing from them again. So far corporate wont even call me back.This car is absolute junk, from elect, to mechanical. Carmax is the worst company iv ever seen, run for your life dont buy from them! This car is unsafe, and i think they know it.They should its been in there shop enough times.

I bought a 2008 Infiniti G37S on Friday, on Saturady the car is completely dead, does not start, doors do not unlock, trunk does not open. Called on Carmax on Saturday, said to call a tow company to bring car in and would give me a loaner. Tow company does not arrive for three hours, get to Carmax and my Sales Asssociate is too busy to see me, Sales Manager is too busy is at lunch. I go to Business Office and no one there who can help me, so I tell them I want to return the car. I ask for my down payment, and they refuse to return the check I wrote less than 18 hours ago, and say it will take 10 business days to return my money, so I have to stop payment on the check. I sign return paperwork, and, then, the sales associate and manager have time for me, but then it is too late. I was treated poorly with little concern for selling me a car for $27, 000 that does not start.

My wife was looking for a vehicle and found a Toyota she liked online at our local CarMax. We went to look at it one evening and everything looked good. We viewed the carfax and were happy to see there were only two owners and no accidents. I like the car but wanted to take some time to think about it.

The next day we decided to purchase the vehicle and the salesperson said we could come down that evening to pick up the car. We chose to use the CarMax financing since we would only be financing half of the cost. We went through the application process and were easily approve for the amount. We asked the salesperson if we could use a personal check for the down payment and they assured us this would be no problem. We made out the check and we presented it to the salesperson.

The next thing that happen really caught me by surprise. The salesperson asked us to log-on to our personal online bank account so we could prove to the manager that we had the money in the bank to cover the check! Unbelievable! I asked them if this was normal procedure and they indicated that since the banks were closed this was the only way to confirm the funds. I was not insulted by questioning if we had the funds but asking me to log on to my bank account using THEIR computer was very concerning. Not only did I NOT want some stranger looking at my bank account, I also didn't feel it was safe to use a "public" computer to log into my online account. I would be putting my trust not only in the salesperson and manager but also any other person or IT personnel that has access to the that computer and network. I told them I was not comfortable doing this and asked if I could use a credit card. The answer was no. I asked if they could just hold on to the check and call the bank in the morning and then I could pick up the car the following evening. The answer was no. I wished the sales person would have let me know about this before inviting me down. Frustrated I left without the vehicle.

The next evening I returned with a cashier's check. CarMax happily took the check and we left with the vehicle. The very next day - and the first time we saw the vehicle in the daylight, my wife and I noticed some paint abnormalities on the passenger side of the vehicle. Upon closer inspection it became obvious the entire passenger side, from the front fender, both doors and the rear quarter panel had been re-painted; and quite poorly I might add. This is when I got pissed. Using CarMax was supposed to be an easy, honest up front way to buy a vehicle. There is absolutely no way these car sales experts didn't know this car had been painted from front to back on the passenger side. They just chose not to inform us of this. I took the vehicle back that evening and made use of the 5 day return policy. Of course this process took almost as long as buying the car. Very sad.

I'm not saying don't use CarMax. I'm just sayin - don't treat them any different than what they are; Used Car Salesmen.

I took my car to CarMax for an appraisal and they offered me almost $3000 less than 3 other dealerships. I didn't care that much at first b/c they didn't have the car I wanted in their inventory. Now they do. I called back and asked to speak with a manager, they refused and only gave me BS reasons to why their appraisals are so low. I can't get a car from another dealership here b/c they don't offer AWD. Now I have to wait till I move up north. Which I would rather do than purchase a car from those thieves!

Both my husband and I have purchased a car there in the past. This was about 5 years ago. Everything was smooth. Now, if you look at their prices they are much higher than other dealerships, and obviously their appraisals much lower!

Not a good experience!

These people want top dollar on the vehicles they sell and use this "no haggle" price crap to make you feel like they are helping you by overcharging you. I recently went to the Henderson NV location and looked at trading two cars in for a nearly new one. I was told my 2002 Mercury Cougar was worth $1500, they sell online all day long for $3-4K. Then my 2002 Lincoln Navigator fully loaded 4X4 with $1200 tires was worth $3500, I found them listed online here in Vegas for $8-10K and all had over the 75K miles mine did. So then I was told they couldn't deal with the price of the 2007 Mazda 6 I looked at...$16, 000 really was the best they could do. Later I found out it was a former rental car too. I looked at a value package Mazda 6 in 08 at the dealer and they were $18, 000 new. This is not the first but most recent time I went to Carmax and left asking myself why I bothered to waste my time. It is easy to buy here but trust me you are getting ripped off. In my opinion if they ask for high perfect condition retail value they better at least give me close to private party on my trades. I was told that KBB is estimating high to get people to want to buy cars and into dealers. Yet when the price for their car was over KBB retail they could not explain that one. You have been warned.

I purcharsed a 2003 Nissan Altima at Carmax August, 2009. Right after I got it, the check engine light went on and we took it in. They said it was an O-2 sensor and a vacuum cylinder leak. They never checked the catalytic converter when they replaced the sensor. October, 2010, the check engine light went back on. I took it in and it's been hell since. The warranty company refuses to fix the car and Carmax refuses to take responsibility for selling me a car with problems. The catalytic converter apparently broke apart and sent pices into the engine. So I need a new engine. Even as the tow truck was taking my car off to the Nissan dealership, the jerk at Carmax actually had the nerve to tell us that they stand behind their cars the entire time a customer owns it. Oh please. If they stand behind it, it's to help you push it onto the tow truck. To add insult to injury, the front tire is now flat too. It was fine when I took the car to Carmax.
Needless to say, I will see them in court.

I PURCHASED A VEHICLE FROM CARMAX IN OCTOBER AND WHEN PURCHASING THE SALES REP KEPT PUSHING ME INTO BUYING AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR $5, 000, AFTER SEVERAL PERSUASIVE REQUESTS, I ACCEPTED. A MONTH LATER, I VISITED WITH MY FATHER ABOUT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY AND SEARCHED THE INTERNET THAT INFACT MY CAR STILL HAD THE MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY, WHICH COVERED MORE THAN THE WARRANTY I PURCHASED. THE NEXT DAY I WENT IN TO CARMAX AND ASKED HOW I CXL THE WARRANTY. I WAITED AN HOUR AND FINALLY SOMEONE ASSISTED ME. SHE SAID SHE COULD NOT WRITE A CHECK TO ME BUT WOULD WRITE A CHECK TO THE LEINHOLDER FOR THE REMAINING 1200. IN THREE MONTHS FOR A 3 YEAR WARRANTY IT HAD DROPPED FROM $5000 TO $1200? I TOOK MY PAPERWORK AND LEFT AND ASSUMED THAT A CHECK WOULD BE WRITTEN TO MY LEINHOLDER. A YEAR LATER I CONTACTED MY LEINHOLDER FOR A PRINTOUT OF PAYMENTS MADE ON MY VEHICLE. LOOKED AT THE PRINT OUT AND THERE WAS NO PAYMENT EVER MADE BY CARMAX OR ANY SUBSIDARY. CONTACTED MY ARLINGTON CARMAX STORE AND WAS TOLD TO CALL CORPORATE. I CONTACTED CORPORATE AND LADY WAS VERY RUDE AND SAID I WOULD NEED TO FAX DOCUMENTS AND DID SO. I CALLED HER BACK NEXT DAY AND SHE SAID THEY SHOWED NO RECORD THAT I HAD MADE ANY ATTEMPT TO CXL. THE PAPERWORK I SENT HER WAS IRRELEVENT BECAUSE ALL IT SHOWED WAS THAT I MAY HAVE CHANGED MY MIND BEFORE FINAL DOCUMENTS WERE SUBMITTED. MY PAPERWORK SAYS CXL WITH MY SIGNATURE AND STORE FINANCIAL REP SIGNATURE AND ONE OTHER PERSONS SIGNATURE. DO NOT PURCHASE VEHICLE OR WARRANTIES FROM CARMAX-COMPANY IS A FRAUD!

We purchased 2 cars from Carmax in the last year and one was a lemon and Carmax won't even return my phone calls. The 2007 Hyundai Veracruz seemed to be a great car that would accommodate our large family. I purchased a 12, 000 warranty from Carmax with the car and while it was still under warranty the transmission was slipping - making an occasional knocking sound. We brought it in, they claimed to have done something to correct the problem but soon after it came back again. This time though we had exceeded the 12, 000 mile warranty, so they set us up directly with Hyundai to have them take a look at it. They found and corrected it, but this time we had to pay the bill even though Hyundai never corrected the problem previously. The worst part though, is what Hyundai told us about the car. It had 5 outstanding factory warranties. I guess this is not the biggest deal since they were able to apply them, but why didn't Carmax do this when they owned the car? But the biggest issue they found is that the electrical system in the car has a different VIN number than the car - it's not a Hyundai electrical system! So we have unexplainable problems with the car, like the driver's seat will lay back but then it won't go back up again. I discovered this when driving to an airport to pick someone up. I laid the seat down to rest since I was early and then could not raise it up again. Imagine the safety issues if someone has to drive a car without the support of the seat back. I'm just livid with Carmax for selling us a car that had a major issue with the electrical system and they won't even talk to us. I will never shop with Carmax again and will discourage anyone I know from doing so. They sell this trust and no hassle thing, but you don't know what kind of trash they are selling you. And if you do discover something, don't expect them to even talk to you!

During the first week the car (2008 Hyundai Accent sedan) we bought from Carmax developed a ticking noise. We were concerned and brought it back, because - according th Carmax's advertising - you can return it during that first week. The service manager told my husband it was the fly wheel on the AC compressor going bad, no big deal. So my husband unwisely chose to keep the vehicle and didn't demand that it be fixed immediately. I pointed out to him that it has a 30-day fix-it guarantee and we took it back in - sadly, too late to just tell the keep the car and give us back our money - they're now telling us it's fine, just cope with the increasing noise, and bring it back when the AC has failed - after the 30 days are up, of course, so they can charge us for it.

I worked for carmax for a few years as a sales manager, In 2009 when things got tought they first told us we would not get our raise and that we would have to work more hours. Then I had a customer that attacked me while I worked, To defend myself I pushed the man back and got fired for touching the customer, The store manager was a ### and called me on the phone and fired me. I filed a lawsute with a attorny who later said that fed judge ruled in favor of carmax with out my day in court.can you smell a dead rat! CARMAX IS NOT SMART!

Carmax started out with a vision to change the way cars were sold and repaired. Company motos like " Happy associate make happy customers and happy customers make happy stock holders" and " accept no defect, create no defect, pass on no defect" were words to live by.

Now under new management and reacting to a poor economy, Carmax has resorted to the same cost cutting tactics that give all used car lots bad reputations. Quality used cars are a thing of the past at carmax.

Please do not expect to get the best quality used vehicle. Do not expect to get a fair price for your trade in. Shop around to major new car dealerships for your next used car. With all of the dealerships building cerified used cars these days, the products they are producing are of a much higher standard then Carmax vehicles. Parts used during the recon process with be OEM vs cheapest part available.

Corporate america has destroyed an upstart company that had the potential to be something special.