CarMax Reviews

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About CarMax

Pros
  • Quick process
  • Transparent pricing
  • Positive vehicle performance
Cons
  • Frequent mechanical issues
  • Poor communication from staff
  • Warranty coverage disputes

CarMax Reviews

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    Page 10 Reviews 1436 - 1636
    Contract & TermsStaffFinancing

    Reviewed July 28, 2014

    My husband and I went to the Woodbridge location of CarMax to purchase a truck on 6/14/14. We got 100% financing through CarMax at 5.9%. We told CarMax that we would be refinancing using Bank of America. They assured us this is no problem. We secured a loan with Bank of America and went to CarMax to resign the paperwork. After 4 hours we were done. Now, 4 weeks later, I am contacted by CarMax that they messed up the paperwork and we owe them an additional $700, that they forgot to put on there. They say we are responsible to pay it. We do not have $700 and our financing through Bank of America has went through underwriting and is completed. Where is the protection to the consumer in this situation. We signed legal documents. I cannot come back to them 1 month later and say that I am not happy with the terms. Are we expected to go through the grueling financing process again? Can we just give back the truck?

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    Reviewed July 28, 2014

    I think that it is a little ridiculous to purchase an extended warranty from CarMax that basically covers very little. This is my second car purchased from CarMax. I have never used an extended warranty but I purchased two and the first time but I need the warranty, I discover that it does not cover my repairs. The problem with my car I am sure is a manufacturer's problem but I have received no assistance in getting this problem addressed.

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    Staff

    Reviewed July 26, 2014

    I am so disappointed in my first experience with Carmax at the Brandywine, MD location. They did not meet my expectations at all. When I first arrived, no salesmen came to help me so that I can check out the vehicle that I found online prior to arriving. They just sent me over to the appraisal section and told me the person that I spoke to over the phone would be with me shortly. That person never came over to help. I waited an hour and a half to get car appraised by the way. I had to actually go over back to the front desk to ask if someone could help me so that I could check out the car that I was interested in.

    When someone did, then we walked around for about 10 min. to discover the car was no longer there. Then we had to go back inside to check the stock # and actually find where the vehicle was. The salesman assisting had issues getting into computer, left the station for about 20 minutes and during that time he had been chatting w/ co-workers, while I sat there waiting. He finally came back, got into system and found that car had already been sold. Then my car finally got appraised and the gentleman appraising it informed me that they do not offer Kelley Blue Book value. He appraised my car for $2500 less than what the Kelley Blue Book value was in poor condition. That was huge disappointment.

    After that, I went back to speak w/ person assisting me with trade in, and basically he became very short and unhelpful with trying to continue with process of trading in my vehicle. I decided it wasn't the time to continue w/ process. The salesman said okay and didn't seem concerned at all with helping me stay there and make the trade. I was there a total of two and half hours and it was a complete disappointing waste of my time.

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    Price

    Reviewed July 24, 2014

    Their no haggle price is a joke. They wanted the same price for a used 2013 Hyundai Sonata with 33k miles as I was able to get for a brand new 2014 Sonata from a dealer. My advice is look at the CarMax price, assume you can beat it by 10% and then start shopping. CarMax should be renamed Car-Min!

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    Reviewed July 22, 2014

    Purchased a lexus truck with the extended warranty. After 30 days, ABS lights, check engine lights both came on. Took it back for service and they said it was the gas cap sensor. Carmax turned the lights off to ease my complaining long enough. The next day the lights were back on. Long story short, my engine light constantly came on and the problem was major, wasn't cover under my warranty, it wouldn't pass inspection. Well they agree to fix catalytic conversion after a year of going back and forth and made the vehicle drive worse than before. The Lexus dealership said in order to repair I have to pay 1026.00 just to repair.

    They sold me a lemon vehicle which they knew the problem beforehand. Never purchase a vehicle from Woodbridge, VA carmax and never never have repairs done. This place is a joke at your expense and the president doesn't care or give a hoot about his customers like us.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed July 15, 2014

    Went to purchase car for my daughter; tested a few vehicles. Explained to salesman that Bluetooth was important for safety, etc. Was interested in Camry, but that car didn't have Bluetooth. Changed selection to a Hyundai Elantra Limited, which was told by salesman included Bluetooth. Purchased vehicle, and attempted to pair phone, which failed, due to no Bluetooth being installed. According to Hyundai, the limited definitely comes with Bluetooth stereo head.

    Returned the vehicle to Carmax, since their manager said they were not responsible for their car not to have Bluetooth, and that regardless that their employee assured us there was Bluetooth, they weren't going to make it right. Thankfully, Carmax has a 5-day return policy, so they lost not only this sale, but another sale for my other daughter in 4 months. Had they been accountable for their salesman and their product, they would have sold 2 vehicles!

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    Staff

    Reviewed July 10, 2014

    I purchased a 2011 Nissan Titan Pickup Truck a little over a year and a half ago and it has been nothing but problems from day one. While test driving the vehicle myself and the sales rep. noticed light smoke coming out of the tailpipe, front end alignment issues, air condition, ticking under the hood and crazy ants inside the truck. Because of the good deal, I thought I was getting along with the 6 months 3000 miles warranty I decided to make the purchase. THAT TURNED OUT TO BE THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE. CARMAX never honored the warranty work and never fixed the issues. Once my warranty time had passed, they never looked at my vehicle again. Not only did they lie about taking care of my car for me on at least six occasion from the day of purchase. Til this day all issues are still present. Carmax also falsify my visits to the service center to minimize the damage but they also never address the issues at hand.

    Later on as I own the vehicle, I was told by reputable body shops (4) and ASE mechanic shops (3) that the Truck has been in a major accident on the front end (this is why it cannot hold an alignment and I have photos to prove it) but the engine had previous engine problems that turned out to be a bad motor (that was the ticking under the hood in the beginning of the purchase). CARMAX IN SOUTHWEST HOUSTON TEXAS IS A LIAR AND THEY SALE BAD CARS. The general manager Dave ** and the sales manager DARREN ** are not honest and good businessmen. NEVER go to CARMAX especially the store on Southwest freeway in Houston Texas.

    My truck now has a crack block, smoke coming out of the tailpipe and no AC. In Houston Texas that is a big issue. Needless to say, I need to find me another truck which is virtually impossible since I'm $11,000 dollars upside down due to engine and front end problems. I called the corporate office in Richmond Virginia with no luck as well. I had to give the one star rating because you cannot give a no star rating like I want to give. Please let me know about my options if you can respond to this post. Thanks for the ear.

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    Price

    Reviewed July 5, 2014

    I took my car (BMW 528i) in for an appraisal... and they provided me with the written appraisal and offer of $11,000. I took it home to think about it, and the next day decided to move forward. When I took a second look at the appraisal I noticed they had the MODEL WRONG... and had identified the car as a 535, NOT 528. So I called the rep I was dealing with to discuss... and she said she'd call me back. When she did... she said the appraiser had keyed in the wrong model, and the offer was based on the 535, and that my offer should have been $2000 LESS, or $9,000. She said they would go ahead and offer me $10,500... and take a hit on the other $1500.

    PERSONALLY... I think it's a game they are playing... Offer you one price... and then "discover" they made a mistake and offer you less. You can't convince me that a trained appraiser, that probably looks at 100s of cars a week, doesn't know the difference between a 528 and 535... The appraiser and REP should have reviewed the paperwork BEFORE making the offer!! I am glad I noticed the mistake BEFORE going back to their location!! BUT, I won't be back!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed June 27, 2014

    On June 12th, 2014 I left work early to go to the DMV to register a vehicle that I had purchased from a private seller. After waiting an hour, I am told by the DMV that they cannot register this vehicle because I have a lien on my record from February 2014. They printed out a form that showed I owed $305.00 to a Stepps Towing Company located in Tampa, Florida. The problem with this lien is that it was for a 2006 VW Beetle that I sold to CarMax back in December of 2012. When I tried to show my Bill of Sale to the DMV, they said they need to either have a receipt of the payment made or I will have to get into contact with CarMax in order to have this settled. I left and immediately called CarMax Customer Relations (located in Virginia). I spoke with a Wendy who said she would research the issue for me and call me back.

    I then called the towing company and spoke with a woman named Jamie. I explained to her the situation and that the car was not in my possession at the time of the incident because I had sold the vehicle to CarMax (Orlando, FL location) nearly a year and a half prior. She told me to fax over the Bill of Sale and she would see what she could do. I sent it to her and called her back and she then informed me that even though I sold it CarMax, it was never taken out of my name. And because Stepps Towing is now at a loss, they cannot do anything about it. She said CarMax would have to pay the lien in order for this to be removed. I then called Customer Relations again because I had not heard back from Wendy. I spoke with Sharon who said that she would further investigate as well. She also told me that she would contact the dealership that I sold the car to because it was their responsibility. Then she proceeded to tell me how it is not their fault and that it was whoever they auctioned to car off to fault. (this became the blame game). She said that someone from the Business Offices of the dealership would get into contact with me.

    The next day I had not heard anything, so I called Customer Relations again and spoke with Dan. Dan then got into contact with Business Offices at the Orlando dealership and had Swaline call me. She said that she was going to investigate what happened and get back in touch with me but if I could bring in the paperwork that the DMV printed out for me with the lien information. I told her I would be in shortly. About 30 minutes later I came in and she was on break conveniently. So one of the staff members made a copy and took down my information, but not before he whispered to three of the employees working in the office making me feel like I was being discussed since they all started staring and talking to one another.

    I wrote a note asking for Swaline to call me back when she gets back from break to confirm she received my paperwork. I never got a call on Friday. I did not hear back on Monday, so I called. I got the run around again on the phone about someone will get back in touch with me. Swaline told me her manager Espy would get in touch with me. Tuesday, I had not heard back and I started to get upset. I tried calling to speak with Swaline or Espy but the employees of the business offices hung up on me. So I called back and then they kept me on hold. I started to get very upset now so I stopped in the location where I sold my vehicle. I was still on hold as I walked into the Business Offices. Of course, again, Espy and Swaline were on break. The whispers and staring continued amongst the very young staff of the Business Offices. Finally Crystal , the Assistant Business Office Manager came to talk to me. She said that they sent over all the paperwork to Corporate to have this taken care of. I expressed my concern as when I spoke with Sharon from Corporate, she informed me that the Branch had to handle it. Crystal said that they gathered the paperwork and have to send it Corporate for them to continue handling. She informed me that she would be off the next two days but would contact me on Thursday to let me know that hopefully the lien was off my record.

    The next day, I decided to call Corporate myself to get some more answers or to see where I was in this horrible process. I asked for Dan, but of course got his voice mail now. Then I started to get really upset. I felt like I was getting the run around on this situation. A situation I should not be in because it was an error on CarMax. Dan calls back leaving me a message about how he is working with Accounting department to get a hold of Stepps Towing. He told me he would call me first thing on Thursday morning. Thursday morning comes and goes so I called him around noon. Again, I get sent to voice mail. Finally, he calls me back to let me know they have reached out to Stepps Towing but no one has responded so we would have to go through a lengthy process with Tallahassee which could take 7-10 additional business days.

    This was unacceptable to me, so I called Stepps Towing directly. Jamie put me in touch with her Manager, Mike. He said whenever he talks to CarMax, they give him the run around, but would be willing to help me. He gave me his cell phone number and told me to give it to whoever I was dealing with at CarMax and have them call him directly. I called Dan back and he said he would have Accounting call Mike first thing in the morning. Friday, I hear nothing. Monday, all day I hear nothing so I call back that evening. Dan tells me that Mike from Stepps Towing flat out said he would go after whoever name the vehicle was in. So Dan let me know that he started the process to get this resolved through Tallahassee. Espy then called me on Tuesday and said the same information that Dan told me on Monday. She said that hopefully by Wednesday the lien would be off. Wednesday I finally got the call from both Dan and Espy that the lien was off. Espy wanted me to come into the branch and pick up the paperwork that showed I no longer had the lien. When I went in and said who I was, again the staff stared and whispered. It was very uncomfortable and embarrassing for me.

    This was such a horrific experience for me. The pure lack of urgency, unprofessionalism, and lack of sympathy was disgusting. The length of time it took to get this resolved was appalling (almost 2 weeks). The run around on the phone and the not calling me back when they said they would was infuriating. I cannot believe that I sold a car to CarMax in 2012 and they never took it out of my name, and in 2014 I have to deal with a lien on my name.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed June 21, 2014

    I just left Carmax, Hartford, CT. I have a 2014 Range Rover Evoque, fully loaded, which is a replacement vehicle for a 2012 that turned out to be a Lemon. When I went in 6 weeks ago, they were very nice and said they would LOVE to have this car, but it takes ~ 2 months for the state of CT to process all the registration paperwork. SO, I waited ~ 2.5 months and went back. When I walked in and explained what I had to sell (and why), the FIRST thing the "gentleman" who I spoke to said, "you do know you are going to take a bath on that car. It's pretty stupid to try to sell it so quickly". I explained that I had already replace it with a new vehicle and wasn't looking to make a profit. Rather, I needed to sell it as, in the state of CT, one pays property tax on vehicles, and that I had done my research, knew about what they could sell it for and that they needed to make a profit. He was rude, disrespectful and all around unprofessional.

    A different salesman stepped in and started the process to have my car evaluated. However, as I sat the there, I realized that this was NOT a company with whom I wanted to do business and since there are MANY options available, the convenience in NO WAY makes up for being treated like an idiot. WHEN is the auto sales industry going to realize that (a) the internet allows everyone to be educated/fully informed regarding car purchases - there are NO more secrets, and (b) WOMEN ARE NOT IDIOTS when it comes to purchasing or selling cars????? I did speak to the manager on duty - while he clearly was not supportive of his employee's actions, his response did NOTHING to encourage me to stay.

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    Reviewed June 21, 2014

    Here is the letter I sent: In regards to this ongoing matter. I am providing your office with documentation showing the car is unsafe. #2 Has been addressed by a local mechanic shop. 1) Accelerator: Sometimes accelerates unexpected. *2) Steering: Upon acceleration car will begin to pull different directions dangerously going out of control. Pulling left then right. (Major concern). 3) Breaking: On occasion the brake pedal will go to the floor while car will accelerate. I have placed the car in neutral and turned it off. 4) Engine remains cold or not to operating temperature staying at the bottom of the temp gauge or below 1/4 of the temp gauge for 20-30 minutes of operation.

    5) At or during start up a loud engine knocking noise. 6) A knocking noise inside the dashboard of the interior of the vehicle. 7) Transmission: Sometimes shifts hard, then doesn't downshift or up shift without a struggle to do so. Shift sometimes will not go into gear. 8) Rear Bumper: Was address but still coming apart. 9) Tailpipe vibration: Loud vibration noise. 10) Interior: Dirty as when purchased. Can't remove the stains.

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    Reviewed June 17, 2014

    I bought a 2010 VW Jetta Limited, in 02/2013. After about 2 weeks my issues began. Sunroof problems. Car Max Davie, FL repaired the sun roof. In the process they took the head liner down. In today's cars, the parts of the interior snap together like a jigsaw puzzle. So now I still have a broken sunroof but since they put my car back together wrong, I now have no interior lights, no blinkers, no sunroof, no power locks and a transmission issue. The Valve body went bad. I've only paid $5,500 down + $325.00 every month for 17 months. A big multimillion dollar company like CarMax refusing to honor the warranty that they sold to me on the car that they inspected and put on their lot. My entire car is falling apart. I'm a single mom with cancer. It took me 18 months to save my down payment. My boys and I were so excited with our used (new to us) Volkswagen. They would point them out in our old car and say, hey mom can't wait until we get our new car.

    Car Max has had the car 9 days now. Excluding weekends of course. And they are still trying to determine if the car is eligible for the repairs. So now this single mom is going to save up again and get out of this CarMax car asap!! I will never purchase a vehicle from CarMax and I'll never use their service department either. $2300 for the warranty for them to refuse me for service. 63000 miles and since I did not service the trans. My valve body is not covered. This Single mom is so mad. Buyers beware. CarMax cars are not more reliable than any other dealer. So why pay more?? Multimillion dollar company made it's money screwing millions of single moms and dads and normal regular people. That saved for the $$ to buy that new/used car. To having a car that everything has broken. We are gluing my sunroof shut. I paid $1700 more for a glued ** sunroof. Getting rid of my CarMax car ASAP.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed June 6, 2014

    I purchased an Infiniti EX with almost 30k miles. It should have had all of the required maintenance and was told it did. It did not. After complaining they finally offered to provide the service. Once I came to the dealer I was told it would be two hours based on what they needed to do. Then two hours later I was told 3 more hours then I was told another hour. I asked if I could be given a loaner car, no. Dropped off. No. I purchased the extended warranty too. No one has an answer about the time delays nor do they care it had eaten up 6 hours of my day. You pay a certain amount of money for a luxury car and you expect a certain level of service. CarMax cannot deliver. They have unskilled and trained employees with poor customer service. To make matters worse they don't care. As soon as I can get out of this car with CarMax I will. Don't ever purchase via CarMax, you will be disappointed and frustrated... that is a promise!

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    Staff

    Reviewed May 28, 2014

    I recently purchased a car through CarMax and received phenomenal service. The staff was extremely friendly and went out of their way to make my experience a positive one. During the final stages of purchasing my car, I was unable to find a ride to CarMax to pick it up. My sales representative went above and beyond when she offered to pick me up using the the car I was about to purchase and drive me to CarMax so I could make the final payment. My sales representative took all the stress out of buying a car. If you are in the market to buy a car, I would highly recommend going through CarMax!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed May 25, 2014

    I had a car transferred from Riverside to Burbank and test drive it Wednesday. I told the 2 sales guys, Alex and Angel, that my husband was working late hours till Saturday and I didn't think we would be able to get it until the weekend. I told them both Thursday and Friday that my husband wasn't available and unless I could bring a check made out to Carmax from my husband's account, they had to wait until the weekend. They said he needed to be there. Friday night, I told them that on Saturday at 8 pm after I get off work, I would be there with my husband to write a check for the whole amount. They said that was fine, no problem. On Saturday morning, they called me while I was with customers so I couldn't answer the phone so they decided to sell it to someone else. Then texted me and said I should have been there sooner.

    So now I am working all day until 7 pm and I am mad. I am so pissed that they couldn't just wait until both my husband and I could be there on Saturday night at 8 pm. Not cool. They are just out for a quick buck, not a neighborhood relationship. I had the car transferred for Christ sake! So now my trade-in car offer from them expires in 24 hours and I have to start over looking for another car on a weekend that I am working every day until 7 pm. Really, really messed up.

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    Reviewed May 23, 2014

    Carmax 2006 Chevy Trailblazer Mileage purchased: 41,251: 4/30/2009, current: 57,435 since 3/31/2014. Most mileage was put on just to get service. While Every time they were supposed to work on my vehicle, I had to spend the night in the Oak Lawn area with my EX-mother-in-law. Gas, food, clothing, extra expenses, lack of medication (without my heart medication for 3 days could have put me into cardiac arrest), and intense pain caused so much suffering I shouldn't have, and STILL AM experiencing CURRENTLY with NO TRANSPORTATION. I've missed doctor appointments. The stress of not knowing what else could have been taken off my vehicle in exchange for their benefit, and/or and exchanged from someone's vehicle for their financial benefit. It's like once repaired, the next visit, same repairs needed to be repaired all over again!! SEE MILEAGE!!! PLEASE?

    This feeling had happened after NO JUSTIFICATION WAS MADE. I've been experiencing depression caused from this whole situation. Since I'm a prisoner in my own body being disabled, "Why has CarMax neglected my vehicle putting me in immediate DANGER"? I NEVER had to leave my car OVERNIGHT during EVERY SERVICE while having service done with my prior vehicles. I have all written/typed documents on all rental vehicles, and Loaner car information. I have all conversations written contacts, times, dates, repairs, labor, parts receipts, etc. My last repairs were done with NO LOANER!! I was lied to all 10 days. I was even supposed to go on a test ride while having to spend the night with my ex-mother-in-law. It was a NIGHTMARE!! Nicks transmission, nor CarMax sent ANYONE FOR A TEST DRIVE at which I was told. It's like they were testing me.

    I had written on the records before signing them the promises and who told me on the receipts. Oak Lawn Carmax's associate in service was very ignorant when I wrote comments. After getting vehicle back after my transmission was rebuilt the 1st time, my radiator fluid was dried all over the hood filter attached to the hood, and engine. I wondered what to do, so I mentioned it, but all they did was open and close the hood. I still wonder if my Blazer was in a accident during Labor Day, or after. I went to get stuff out of my vehicle when my seats were down in the back. Why would they do this? My son was my witness. We looked at each other because I could have brought it back after Labor Day. Why did I have to rent a car? Now I'm really suspicious. I've been really upset. Plus all this because of my tires being stolen and NEVER compensated plus, repeat repairs not corrected. Had I known Carmax was going to do this, I would of NEVER purchased ANY vehicle from them.

    I was told if faulty stabilizer link(s) caused ANY damage to my vehicle that parts that ALL REPAIRS AND PARTS WOULD BE done and replaced at NO cost to me. Since I'm permanently disabled and 49, I've been taken advantage of to where my life has been in DANGER from Carmax. The repairs have NOT been completed appropriately. I have names, dates, times, discussions word for word, receipts, and folders in a thick 3-ring binder. I stopped driving it, and doing without food, medical care, prescriptions, and needing a vehicle to go to the ER, and other family parties, including my biggest church, Mother's Day, and soon Memorial Day festivities. As long as I can lay down, stand, walk when my pain gets bad, I try to deal... I need a re-surgical procedure on my Cervical Fusion that was done on 4/29/11.

    If I had, or even NOW get into a vehicle accident, it could jeopardize my LIFE!! My front left brake has stuck and hasn't worked properly since 12/2009. When it gets cold, it sticks which has caused me to go into the intersection, and I have avoided MANY accidents. Since THAT DAY, my tires had been stolen. I also flow into other lanes when I hit ANY BUMPS!! Since I barely drive it because I'm EXTREMELY PETRIFIED, I ONLY drive when I needed to when NO RIDE. I was told since my tires were switched there at the Tinley Park location, I had to take my vehicle BACK to OAK LAWN Sales Associate whom was my Salesmen, Bill **. All I was told was they will look into it! I had postponed my fusion because of it. I was suffering chronically and intensely. The surgeon finally did the surgery in April of 2011.

    My Stabilizer Links went bad, and had to argue just to insist the loud noise was happening. "The WORSE THE STRESS, the WORSE THE PAIN!!" Because someone at the transmission company whom test drove the vehicle and heard the rattling, Carmax couldn't charge me a separate deductible. They TRIED! Because they felt bad, I was told ANYTHING that has been damaged, parts, anything caused to go bad because of the bad Stabilizer Links it would be covered! I have all records. It was to my amazement after going over ALL written records, receipts, I was shocked for what they've done that my pain has become even more bearable! I fight myself to stay away from stress because of ALL THE PAIN!! I just pray to our Lord, justice, for once in my life, does Prevail! I thank you for your time and consideration....

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingPriceStaff

    Reviewed May 22, 2014

    In June 2012 I bought a 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe with 56,000 miles on it. I also bought the MaxCare policy. I was told that "nearly everything" was covered. I'd also seen and heard the advertising about how they make sure the car is in top condition before it goes on the lot. In June 2013 there were some signs of trouble, including no AC. I took it in and got such a runaround that I left without making an appointment. I took the car to an independent tried-and-true mechanic. He came up with an estimated $4000 worth of repairs. He said that it was clear to him that the previous owner drove it until it needed the standard 50,000 miles service and then sold it to CarMax.

    CarMax had not done any of that servicing. Also, there were leaks in both AC hoses. I took the car back to CarMax for diagnosis. Nothing that needed to be repaired was covered. They said that they couldn't find anything wrong with the AC. I went to see a manager and repeated what I had been told when I bought MaxCare. She called in someone from Service. He told me that often when women buy a car they get "all excited" and don't really hear what is said. I told him that I had been listening very carefully. His reply, "Let's not get emotional." I had the repairs done elsewhere except for the AC. I bought time by having the system charged a couple of times. Each time it lasted for a few months. It was obviously leaking.

    In May 2014, it would no longer accept a charge. The diagnosis was (again) leaks in both hoses, and now the compressor as well. I went back to CarMax, with paperwork showing the location of the leaks, to try one more time. They diagnosed only the compressor, submitted it, and were denied. They reworded it and this time it passed. No mention of hoses. The diagnosis was supposed to take a couple of hours. They didn't call when they said they would, leaving me hanging and waiting. They did not give me any indication that I wouldn't get it back for two days. Had I known, I would have made other arrangements, but by the time they finally called, it was nearly 6:30 and I was stuck.

    I think there is something very wrong with having to shell out $$ to diagnose problems, only to find out that they aren't covered. It should be upfront whether something is covered or not. I don't appreciate the way I've been treated, ignored, and - I suspect - taken advantage of. There has been little regard for my time. I've gotten almost nothing from the expensive MaxCare insurance. I would never again buy a car from CarMax, and I would not recommend them to anyone.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed May 9, 2014

    I would like the 2 hours of my life wasted at this CarMax back. I went with a buddy to get an appraisal for his 2009 Mini Cooper S. We were told it would be 30min. It actually took over an hour to see a sales consultant, then another hour with him. He was shown a super clean car in excellent condition. The sales consultant was excited about the car and mentioned several times they would like to purchase it that night. After an hour of the sales consultant going back and forth in the room asking us questions then talking to the buyer, they provided a ridiculously low offer of $13,000, which was well below the blue book price for a dealer trade-in and way below market value.

    The same car with more miles and less features was on their own lot for $16,998. Previously I had asked him how much CarMax tries to profit per vehicle... $3-4,000? He avoided the question because it's more. They have a very transparent methodology: invite you into office, sales consultant gathers info then leaves to talk to buyer, comes back and says we should have an offer soon though no offer comes through system. He fishes for more info, then a coworker pulls him out of room for "something else", makes you wait even longer as he fills in buyer with additional info, come backs and we stare together at his computer screen with "anticipation" as the offer transmits complete with silly countdown and lame "drum roll" sound from the sales consultant.

    What a joke! Only the most unsophisticated or desperate people would fall for these tactics. We politely told him the offer was ridiculous and left. I was so annoyed that I called back that night and spoke to the actual buyer to question his lowball offer and complain about wasting our time. He came up with some garbage that it typically cost them $2000-$2500 to recondition Minis. I asked him to tell me ONE item that needed to be reconditioned on this vehicle. The tires were new, brakes were new, recent tune-up, no body damage, and it was just detailed. He had no answer. Basically their "reconditioning costs" are thinly veiled profits centers. The buyer told me they could sell this vehicle for $18-19,000, which is a $6,000 profit for CarMax.

    On the call he was also mentioning things that my buddy only told the sales consultant, so we know they were in cahoots. The crazy thing is if they offered $1,000 more it would have been theirs that night. They were hoping my buddy was desperate enough to take their lowball offer and lost. I was skeptical about going to CarMax with good reason. This place is for people who need cash quick and don't mind selling for less than the value of their vehicle to just unload it. CarMax does not provide the "honest and fair" offers that they advertise. Rather than being taken by these shady people, my buddy decided to sell privately.

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    Reviewed May 6, 2014

    I just want to put something clear. I am only expecting the best from Car Max and help them improve his cars at the dealer in Miami Lakes/Hialeah location and to help other. I bought cars before at Maroone dealers and never had any problem with them in returning back to the dealers for any reason or mechanical problems, but only to buy another car from them. I had a car before this one after my divorce back in 2008 that I sold also to Car Max and then I bought a car cash outside, not in Car Max. I had no car payments then I sold it to Car Max Jeep Liberty 2003 because it was old and giving me a lot of mechanical problems. So I decided to buy a car for the first time at Car Max, thinking that nothing was going to happen to me ever.

    Since they are a Nationwide company and help a lot to the community, but it was my mistake, not even a month pass and before the 30 days warranty time period on 07/08/2013 at 7:30 am and I went to Car Max in Miami Lakes to check the way the car turns on and accelerate and they found nothing, even the day I bought it. I ask the guy, does the air works like that normally, that it was hot at the beginning, he says yes. But I tried another car same year and it was cooler, but Miami weather does not help so I let it pass (my mistake). And in Nov 2013, I went to VW to do the regular oil change and they found all mechanical problems: leaking from Vacuum pump (need replaced), motor a/c circulation noise, transmission leaking (the insurance said they do not cover that, until is actually damage), CV joints are in bad condition and also the a/c did not cool good enough, and the blower motor. (This day I only did the regular oil change), no money for deductible ($300).

    Then in Jan 2014 I went back to VW service to fix all that so they fix with MAX CARE warranty. The Max Care came to dealer and did not find anything in the air conditioning. But now in April 2014, the compressor for the air conditioning broke, so Max Care fix it after I had to pay to VW for service to clean up the throttle body, and because Max Care did not fix it or find anything last Jan 2014 and it was in the claim, the Max Care fix the compressor at no deductible charge to me. They did not cover the transmission leaking, because that is not internal damage or is not broke (is cosmetology) but VW clean that up for me back in Jan 2014. And now in April 2014, VW change the Vault Transmission since Max care was going to charge me the $300 again and VW cover it under VW for me. The CV joints were change back in Jan 2014 for the deductible I had to pay of $300 and also they change the motor flap a/c in the passenger side.

    They also replaced the Vacuum Pump and also 4 days rental only. (the car took a week in the dealer, since inspector had to come by and check the car by himself and damages, since the mechanical problems were more than $1000, it was a total of $2301) so I had to pay the deductible of $300 ONLY, back in Jan 2014. Then April 2014, Max care only fixed for me the A/C compressor (because it was on the last claim and no deductible I had to pay to them). The rest was cover under VW, like the Vault Body transmission and the gas tank, that it was giving problems to start the car, (from my complaint from the 29th day with CAR MAX direct, before the ONLY 30 WARRANTY CAR MAX and Car Max told me, they are NOT going to take care of that for me, even though I went on the 29th before the 30 days warranty with Car Max). VW help me 100% in all this, since MAX CARE want it to charge me $300 for the replacement of the VAULT BODY TRANSMISSION, that got damage from the leaking they found from last Jan 2014 and also the Gas Tank for the way the car was turning ON from the first day I bought the car.

    But first I did some service in order to find the damage of the Vault Body Transmission and the Gas Tank replacement. I did PAID to VW the cleaning of the Throttle Body and replacement of the Fuel Filter and also the rear brakes were extra for a total of $494.72. I understand we all buy cars in the street and also that you can find problems with all cars any where, but since I am buying a car with a huge nationwide dealer, this things shouldn't happen at all, since like I said at the beginning, I had like 5 cars bought from Maroone in Miami Lakes and West Palm Beach and never had any mechanical problems with the used cars, while I had them. I really hope this could help other people and think twice always, before you buy at Car Max. You may be lucky and find a good car in any other use car dealer and never have any mechanical problem.

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    Reviewed April 25, 2014

    Came in to purchase a 2013 Mercedes Benz. Was specific regarding exterior color, interior color and features. Went through the process, received financing via Capital One. We paid $3400 down. Was told our vehicle would be available for pick up 3 days later as it was being shipped from a different location. Upon our return to pick up vehicle, we soon learned that they had sent the wrong vehicle. Was told to take that vehicle home while they tried to locate what I ordered. Next, we're offered various vehicles with either higher mileage or more money than what I paid. Unwilling to make any effort to correct the mistake they made. Was vehicle on lot which would have only required that they add a navigation system and park sensors to meet what I was at lost for.

    Refused to make any concession to rectify their error. Instead they chose to argue with me on why they couldn't make an adjustment. Had difficulty returning vehicle to them that they told me to use until they could find me one although it was returned within the 5-day allotment of time. Now I wait for a refund of $3400 which has prevents me from purchasing elsewhere as well as money lost in insuring the original vehicle. Very unhappy and dissatisfied. Will never do business with Carmax, nor recommend them to others.

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    Price

    Reviewed April 25, 2014

    Looked online called for pre-approval and once I got there, it all went downhill... Had to get approval twice and run credit twice which caused interest rate to jump and caused me to put down extra 500 dollars. Also process I was told will take 45 minutes - took about 5 hours... Once everything was complete, I was told they would order owner manual that I have not received to this day which is three weeks later. Top that the full inspection that they do on their cars, well, this one must have been skipped... Car have been in shop two weeks out of the three weeks I purchased it... 2004 Chevy Corvette. Wow this is completely unacceptable... Purchased car in Jackson, MS and barely made it back to Texas... So completely discouraging...

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed April 6, 2014

    I currently am buying a 2006 Buick LaCrosse from Carmax. I bought the CareMax Warranty. I have had problems with the car since the day it was driven off the lot. They fix whatever was wrong with it the first time at Carmax expense because we hadn't had car but a week when they finally decided to fix it. A few months later, started having some more problems that was transmission related. Aamco fixed it. A month ago, car ran hot while driving from Vicksburg. Stop, put water in it and continued to drive. Mind you, no indicator lights ever came on. Car runs hot again; stop and call tow truck. Take it to a mechanic that I wanted to fix it because deductible was only gonna be $50 more.

    Person comes out, looks at car and said it only needed some hose replaced and that was all they were paying for. Well finally took car to Carmax and they called the other day and tell me that Maxcare said the problem was my fault. That I drove the car while it was hot and that I put water in the wrong place and got water in the motor and that the radiator was busted. Well, seems to me that the radiator being busted was probably the problem from the beginning. Now I have to deal with this BS because Carmax said it was gonna be $2000 to fix the car. We will see what happens because I plan on taking this to court.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsPriceStaff

    Reviewed March 16, 2014

    I am the owner of a white 2007 Cadillac model CTX. I originally purchased the car from Car Max in 2010 (pre owned) and the car was financed through Car Max finance. When I purchased the vehicle I decided to purchase an extended warranty just in case something would happen mechanically during the life of the car. I did not want to have an expense for mechanical problems that I would not be able to afford. The car has undergone a lot of warranty maintenance during the time I have been the owner. At all times I have taken the vehicle to Car Max service in Boynton Beach which I local to where I live.

    About 4 weeks ago I had cause to take the vehicle into Car Max as there was a knocking noise coming from an area of the car that gave me cause for concern. Car Max accepted the car for service but tried to locate the problem without success. They decided to send the car to Auto Nation a GM Cadillac dealer for further inspection and diagnosis In Green Acres Florida. By this time Car Max had possession and control of my car for nearly 4 weeks, but in fairness did provide me with a loaner vehicle as we are a one car family. I received a call from the service advisor informing me that the car was going to be moved to a Cadillac dealer in Green Acres for further investigation. Auto Nation, according to the service record had completed the work on February 28 but the vehicle remained at Auto Nations lot awaiting collection by Car Max. Car Max service department called me every day to provide me with updates on the car which amounted to nothing more than no useful information. I was not too concerned initially, as I did have alternative transportation, but did want my car back especially as they did have the car for nearly one month.

    My husband and I went on a short vacation to Nevada on March 3, 2014. On the morning of March 6 at 7.00 AM, Pacific Time we were asleep in our hotel when my husband received a call from the West Palm Beach sheriffs deputy. He informed my husband that our car was found abandoned in Lake Worth outside and known crack house, and the car was severely damage and had been vandalized. At first, my husband told the deputy that it was not possible as the car was with Car Max for a mechanical issue. After much explanation we realized that the car was mine, and was obviously stolen from either Car Max or the Cadillac dealer (Auto Nation) where the car was being examined.

    According to the officer, he informed us that the dealer was unaware that the car was missing until the police informed them of the situation. What had taken place according to varying accounts from Police and other people from Car Max; the car was driven through a brick wall at the dealership and taken for a possible joy ride. Then the car was trashed inside and outside and was not drivable. When we called Car Max at Boynton Beach they were unaware of the theft and anything that remotely related to the incident. They then called Auto Nation Cadillac and the story became much clearer. I communicated with Car Max corporate and they would not provide much comfort and even the police informed me that they could not get any cooperation from the Car Max branch at Boynton Beach, and the officer assigned to the case said that no one would respond to his phone calls for towing assistance.

    Eventually, I spoke again to the corporate office response team and a representative told me that they would try to find out how all this could have happened, but would not commit to anything about how we would be treated or dealt with respect of this event. I had made several calls to the corporate office requesting some kind of information and to see what they were prepared to do in order to assist us in this debacle. They were very evasive and had no appetite to want to help us and finally after more than 4 calls they did not respond further.

    On Friday March 7 and after making a police report to a very unhelpful police officer at Green Acres Police department, we received a call from Travelers Insurance who are the insurance carriers for Car Max. They were rude and condescending, verbally aggressive and extremely argumentative. The agent told us that it was now an insurance problem and Car Max were in no way responsible even though the vehicle was entrusted to them; the blame was then transferred towards Auto Nation in Green Acres. We understood that the car was passed on to Auto Nation through Car Max and the fault in respect of the security of our car was placed in their hands. However, we originally dealt with Car Max service and I entrusted the car to them and I signed a service document when leaving the car with them. We were not entrusting the car to another dealer as our service appointment and warranty agreement was with Car Max. Car Max took it upon themselves to send the car to another service vendor, but any reports on the status of the car came at all times from Car Max.

    We had no communications with Auto Nation ever regarding the maintenance issues as it would not have been our business to do so. Car Max insurers told us that Car Max was not in any way responsible for the loss because they sent the vehicle to another dealer. The insurance agent went on to say that Car Max was out of the picture and we would be dealing with AutoNation. We know that that the car will not be able to be repaired, and even if it was repairable, the vehicle would not be the same and it would have a negative Car Fax report if we ever wanted to sell or trade the vehicle. The car was financed with Car Max finance and the value of the car is now much less than what we owe on the vehicle loan. If we were to receive a check for fair market value we will end up owing the finance company additional money and be without a car that we never intended on selling in the first place. We are the victims of a crime of vandalism which is obvious to anyone, but we are also the victims of a situation that will render us without a vehicle for something that we were not responsible for, and Car Max have washed their hands of us and the situation. Now we are on our own and in the hands of the insurance companies who will obviously give us the lowest possible payout for the car.

    Car Max and Auto Nation will be walking away from this event and just leaving us to fend for ourselves. We will not be able to afford a new vehicle comparable to the vehicle we have lost, and all this has happened just because we sent our car for a service issue to Car Max through our extended warranty. Car Max insurers (Travelers Insurance) deny any form of responsibility and called us on Friday March 14, 2014 to inform us that they were out of the picture and the liability was ours to prove and place through our own insurers. The management of the Car Max dealership in Boynton Beach, Florida have not even bothered to reach out to us ever, and have not offered us any kind of assistance. The loaner car that we are currently driving was provided to me while our car was in service, but will have to be returned. Then we will have to rent a car at our own expense if we want to have transportation.

    Car Max Corporate office always told us that that they will get back to us after hearing about the problem but have discretely kept all conversations initiated by me to a minimum. They have been evasive at all times and we are now left with no car and a debt to the finance company. We made contact with Auto Nation service department and on March 14 and asked them what they would be prepared to do in respect of providing us with a replacement car. They said that our request would be passed on to their corporate management, but we have not heard further. Today I was provided with an adjusters report on our car and the cost to repair the vehicles is $9,700.00 and the value of the car is approximately $11,000.00. So we know that the car is a total loss. We also owe $10,471.00 on our car loan.

    My husband is retired, and I currently work, but have recently been diagnosed with a heart condition. We are not in a position to be able to take a financial hit or shortfall on our only vehicle which is my sole means of transportation to get to my place of employment. All that has taken place is not of our doing, and we now have to pay the price for an incident we cannot afford. How can this be right when we entrusted our vehicle to Car Max and then the car is stolen and we are the ones that have to suffer the consequences in order to prevent them from suffering any loss. Handing us over to their insurers and washing their hands of the problem, and just paying a small amount of loss is a drip in the ocean for Car Max, but is a financial nightmare for us and no one has even made an offer for us to consider.

    Car Max have a responsibility to us. We purchased the car from them and all the servicing was performed by them. This is not the only issue I have experienced with Car Max as every time we have a problem and the service department is involved we have always had to communicate with the corporate office in order to have satisfaction for any problem. I will say that when we had problems there was one service agent Boynton Beach Florida that was always sympathetic but his hands were tied due to the terrible and inefficient management at that branch. My question is: how can this be allowed to happen when I am not at fault. Now we have no car and no resolution to the problem and Car Max walk away free and clear.

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    Customer ServicePrice

    Reviewed March 8, 2014

    I was financed a 2002 Dodge Durango on December 1, 2012 through Carmax and Santander. I was repeatedly told to purchase the extended warranty just to be "safe". The car has left me stranded 7 different times, as in I had to leave the car where it was, get picked up or call a taxi, then get a ride back to send it back to Carmax if it didn't start. The car has been returned to Carmax a total of 4 times for repairs relating to the same exact "engine light on and not starting" problem. They've charged me each time to repair something different. I've only had the car 14 months and have driven approximately 10,000 miles total.

    Carmax still has my car now going on the 4th week of them not being able to repair it as it now needs a catalytic converter they cannot seem to acquire. They have provided me with a loaner car in the meantime. They have also offered to buy back the Durango for the original price, which sounds fine at first; however with my loan arrangements, I have no equity and therefore cannot finance another car through them. This whole situation has been much more than a mere inconvenience and has cost me an exorbitant amount of time, money, and energy. Thank you for your time, I'm hoping something can be done.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed March 4, 2014

    I have been very disappointed with Carmax FINANCE DEPT follow up after loan is paid. I have attempted to resolve a title delivery problem AND make suggestion to help prevent this problem and honestly, they have been disrespectful and almost RUDE. They seem to have NO interest in helping resolve the problem and NO interest in preventing future problems. I have spoken with 4 different people in different departments and the last guy basically said... sorry, but do this or no title. Blaming all on customer and the total opposite of what they claim. Their goal is providing total customer satisfaction. There are better options to do business with than CARMAX... SKIP them and do business with another company.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Feb. 14, 2014

    I bought a Buick 4d century Sedan for my son and it had many things wrong that should have been caught by the 125 point Quality Inspection. Car was purchased at Carmax in Frederickburg, VA, Phone Number 540-710-7781. ** was the agent that my son used. Car purchased on 11-21-2013. Windshield wiper driver side problem. Tie rode need to be replaced. Cruse control and bright lite control didn't work correctly. The car had new tires and they were not balanced, Replaced headlight asm (had water in both headlights). Outside trim on car damaged and had to be replaced. Service Employee in 11090 W Broad street Richmond did all repairs.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Feb. 12, 2014

    Purchased my car 8/11/2011, mileage 55921. Modesto CarMax claims to have completed a CQI quality inspection, however, since walking off the lot my car has been in the Modesto CarMax repair shop and Livermore Land Rover repair 18 times. Multiple visits were for the same issue that they could not resolve on the first few visits. Less than 2 months after purchasing my car, I took it to CarMax because the engine light would still not urn off. They towed it to Livermore Land Rover. When it was returned to Modesto CarMax I was told that there were some defects in the harness due to rodents, most likely before I purchased since it appeared to have been damaged for some time. I was also told these issues were repaired.

    Yesterday I was informed by Livermore Land Rover on my 18th visit, that the harness needs to be replaced and should have been replaced on the above mentioned visit because it is the same issue. I have requested copies of my vehicle repair history from the Modesto CarMax and they are unable to provide me with legible copies. The service manager said their printer is not set-up to print additional copies accurately and they had to use a black marker to cross out many of the lines on the reports they did offer. They also suggested I should have saved my repair order receipts from all previous visits. I requested copies from the CarMax Website and have not received any response.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 12, 2014

    Had two cars to trade in and one to purchase. Should've been a one-stop shopping experience. It would've been if CarMax had given me reasonable values on my trade-ins and a reasonable price for their car. Neither criteria were met. The prices they were giving me for my trade-ins were several thousand dollars below the Kelley Blue Book value for each vehicle. I know that the KBB is just a guideline, but they were not even close. Also, their prices on their cars were several thousand dollars above other dealers for similar cars. If they had raised the value of my trade-ins to an appropriate figure or lowered their price on their car, I might have purchased just for the convenience.

    Since neither happened, I left and purchased at another dealer who gave me what I wanted for my trade-ins and gave me a great deal on a car. I saved quite a few thousand dollars by NOT buying from CarMax. Their customer service was not an issue. They were courteous and professional; just not consumer-price friendly. Their 'no-haggle' price should not be seen as a selling point as it benefits only CarMax.

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 12, 2014

    I went to CarMax. Appraised my vehicle and found a car I wanted. My questions before the transfer were pretty straight forward. Smell inside the car, stains, scratches on the paint, curb rash, the basics. They replied after a few minutes that the car had NO SCRATCHES, NO CURB RASH, no smell, etc. I paid $199 for the transfer and today I went to check the vehicle. Both driver and passenger doors have scratches close to the door handle. There are also scratches in back of the car close to the license plate and the front bumper has several curb rashes not just in the bottom but on the sides and front as well. Obviously I complained and the salesman said, “Well, not to minimize it, but this is a used car!” Well, YES, a used car that you promised was not scratched or had curb rashes on the front bumper.

    The car has only 4k miles, that is almost new. My current vehicle has twice those miles and doesn't have a single scratch. The car drives great and I didn't notice anything else but I don't know what to do. I want the car but would need to get a new bumper which is not going to be precisely cheap. What can I do? Buy or not to Buy??

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    Sales & Marketing

    Reviewed Feb. 7, 2014

    Bought a 2001 Ford Focus with extended warranty from Carmax and The Warranty Group in 2009. The car's motor gave out 2 months later. Carmax and The Warranty Group fought me and failed to repair motor 4 separate times. CarMax is untrustworthy and a scam corp.

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 31, 2014

    Went to get an estimate on my Tundra, met the agent from Carmax. While waiting for the paper work and test drive, the agent began to explain how the estimate is done. We then went to look at the Kelly Blue on his PC to show me about how close Carmax would be to the KB book. After waiting about 45 min, the agent went to the PC to show me what the estimate was. It came up on the screen and I responded, "Is this a Joke?!!!" The agent got up left the room said he's going to see about this. He couldn't believe the amount, he returned after 5min, said he was sorry about the estimate.

    I laughed and said, "I'm not going to give it to you." It was $6,000 under what the agent had told me after checking the Kelly Blue book. That's the reason Carmax is doing so well. They steal your car (low estimate) and no haggling on the price of the car you buy from them. WASTING YOUR TIME WITH CARMAX!!!! Buy from a private owner if you can or take your chances with an established Dealership you can bargain with.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 16, 2014

    I went to purchase a minivan with a posted price of $13,599.00, but when the sales person gather the paper work, the supervisor discovered that the sticker price on the car was wrong, and should have been $18,599.00. Well after this so-called "human error" revelation, the manager said he would honor the sticker price but would have to get approval from the corporate office. They told me to take a seat in the lobby, and which I did for about 1 & 1/2 hours. I asked what was situation on my purchasing the vehicle. They then said, sorry but it ain't gonna happen.

    So I left shocked over what had happened with the total lack of customer consciousness. When I got home I called Carmax's customer relations headquarters in Virginia, and they never received a called from Fresno Carmax regarding my situation. They said they would reach out to them to help resolve the matter, after I found was just them send the customer in circles, because she told me to reach out to them instead of them reaching out to me. I don't understand this company motto and the model by which they function. Following my conversation with consumer relation, Carmax's Fresno manager called me with an aggressive attitude in his voice, as though I was trying to expose his bad ethics regarding treatment of customers.

    I will not do business with any organization where accountability and honesty is just words and not practice. This "NO HAGGLE PHILOSOPHY" simply means that customers have no bargaining power on what the actual value of a car is worth, so therefore they overpay all the time. I'd rather do business with a regular car dealer company than CARMAX.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Nov. 22, 2013

    Bought an '06 Jeep Cherokee and within two weeks, brakes were squeaky and it was idling really bad. When I took it to service department for service, they said had bad coil pack which caused spark plugs to fall out. So Joe in service department told me they were gonna replace coil pack and the spark plugs and put new brakes on it. Well finally a week later Joe calls back and says our jeep is ready to be picked up and running good.

    So I went to pick it up. Joe told me they only replace spark plugs and sanded on brake pads instead of putting new ones on it and he reassured me that the plugs were bad and coil pack was fine. Well three days after having Jeep back, we're having the same problems, poor idling and within 20 min. of leaving Carmax, I had to call back because brakes were already squeaking again. Bad thing is we only had Jeep for a month now and it's only got 63000 miles. And they had it one of those weeks. And now we're back to square one, same problems. My advice is to stay away from Carmax of Greenville, SC and don't trust Joe in parts dept. Now my wife and I are stuck with having to get a lawyer.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaffFinancing

    Reviewed Nov. 14, 2013

    I am a young woman in my 20s and I needed a new car. I had heard about CarMax from a few people. I thought that I would give it a try. I went in and looked around. I ended up really loving this gold BMW X5. They gave me this sales guy that seemed to be very nice. He wooed me into thinking that this was a great car in great shape and nothing was wrong with it. I never thought that I needed to have a mechanic to come and check out the car completely from head to toe. When it came to signing the paper work, the sales guy lied to me multiple times stating that the warranty would cost anything extra, the high 17.5% APR was the lowest that he could get me and I could only go through CarMax for financing, the car had no previous issues, and I could try to refinance my car with CarMax financing within a year. I ended up signing the paperwork for the car believing that all this was true.

    I have had this car for just under a year and I have had so many problems with it that I just can't believe that it had no previous problems. The BMW was taken to a BMW shop here recently and they told me that it has electrical wiring problems which causes all the sensors to go in and out and constantly beep at random times. My sunroof works whenever it wants to because of the wiring. When driving my car engine jerks because they sold me the car with tires on it that are 2 times too big for it. I have had nothing but trouble with this place and when I call corporate to complain on the service that they give me when I take the car into service, corporate always takes the side of the company. It's like a never ending cycle with CarMax. I am having an issue with the service center now because I need a oil change and they told me that I needed to take my car to the BMW shop because I was no longer welcome to take my car to them. They are THE WORST car shop around!

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 12, 2013

    I bought my 2011 Grand Sport Corvette at 7420 State Road 84 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33317. "Is where this dealer is located." So my first contact was with ** (excellent guy!), he helped me to get in and get out in about 1 hour. I was driving my awesome car home! ;) I notice that not just "**" was great with the customers, but the entire place it has a peaceful environment.

    Now if you are those who like to fight over the car prices, (Carmax dealers) it may not the place to go. When you are interested in a car, let's say with a $10K sticker price, that's what you pay and is not negotiable. This guys are not "salesman", they are more like customer service people. They are there to help with the papers and get you on the road ASAP. I thought that may help for you to save some important time at the dealer! lol :D

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    Staff

    Reviewed Nov. 4, 2013

    On Friday, November 1st, I made contact with CarMax to purchase my 2008 Toyota Highlander. They offered me $14,000 with their standard 7-day contract. I told them I was moving to New York City and that I needed instant access to the cash once I brought them the car. They told me I would get a cashier's check and that I would have immediate access to the money. On November 4th, I took them the vehicle and the lady in the back that does the checks told me I would need to wait 24 to 48 hours for the cash. I explained what I had been told by the sales person and she said there was nothing she could do. I told her I needed access to the money right away for my move and I asked her to check with her manager to see if anything could be done. She left and came back in about 5 seconds and said no. It was obvious by the way she was acting that they have dealt with this numerous times. This is flat out lying which is illegal. I found a supervisor that was very smug and would not even consider helping me out. It was obvious he had dealt with this situation so many times as well. CarMax is a thriving business so they know they don't have to make me happy because they are going to have people showing up all day long selling them cars and buying cars from them. Does this give them the right to lie to people and treat them poorly without any consequences?

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    Staff

    Reviewed Nov. 2, 2013

    Racist managers, discriminates against females in the workplace. Was humiliated and screamed at in front of customers and employees by one of the good old boys. Filing an EEOC complaint! Stay away from Carmax!! Especially in RICHMOND -**- Raywood, VIRGINIA!! Used car salespeople. Uneducated group of people. Horrible place to work!! Stay away!!

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    Staff

    Reviewed Oct. 28, 2013

    They have this cheesy program where each associate takes a turn to step up in your face and extend their hand to greet you after you are only two feet in the door, annoying. I took a used high end luxury car there with a value between $15K-$20K depending on which online service you use. They come back with an offer to buy it at $4K and telling me what a favor they were doing me taking the heap off my hands, like they were doing me a favor. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. What loser DB's.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Oct. 24, 2013

    18-Month employee, #1 in efficiency and fired for speaking up about a racial incident that had NO consequences. Maybe because the ones that were involved were all Caucasian Managers in the South. GOOD OL' BOY NETWORK MUST BE DESTROYED!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 21, 2013

    Picking up my car from almost a month of waiting for repair, I noticed the oil level was low. Hmm, I thought, they must not have filled the oil to the top. After driving for car for several days, I then discovered my garage floor having a large quantity of oil - not a few drops - half a quart or more of oil pooled into the corner in a low spot. I was fuming angry at the situation. Not only had most of the oil leaked out of my car BUT the car died on the way home to make matters worse. I immediately took the car back to service as soon as I could, not really knowing how much oil was left in the car or how much had leaked out. I was told they would handle everything by the service rep and given a loaner car. Just how did the oil leak out, I wondered?

    The next day, I got a call from the service rep explaining that the oil had leaked out from a faulty/defective oil filler cap seal. I thought that was strange considering when I initially got my car back, I scrutinized the engine compartment for any sign of "screw-ups". I did not see anything. In fact, all looked tidy with no signs of oil spraying anywhere. Moreover, if oil had splattered from the filler cap, I explained to the rep, I would have seen burning oil smoke from the sides of the hot engine or smelt the burning oil. None of that was observed. So I surmise the oil did not leak out from the top but from the bottom of the vehicle.

    This result is that I drove my car from over 3 days with some indeterminate level of oil in it not knowing what damage if any I was doing to the car. I don't know what lasting damage, if any, this will have on the engine. In addition, I don't trust the service department at Carmax that they can actually perform proper repairs without breaking more than they fix. To add insult to injury, when I picked up my car, the battery was dead. I left the car off at service with a perfectly working battery. They blamed the dead battery on me instead of taking responsibility for killing my battery by: 1) leaving the radio on, or 2) leaving the door open, or 3) some other electrical negligence. Please note, there are many reputable car dealers with well staffed, capable and skilled service department technicians. Carmax is not such a place.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsSales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 11, 2013

    I was approved online by RoadLoans. They referred me to Carmax Ontario, California. We completed all paperwork and they handed me the keys and car. Approx 2 months later, they told me they printed a new and different contract. I refused to accept due to I was already approved. Then they told me they believe a Carmax associate scratched my name off the downpayment check and paperwork. I still told them it’s not my issue for I am approved. One year later, they repossessed my car. I called the bank and the bank said Carmax took the car and they didn’t. I will leave the car with them and I don’t want it back. The bank says I am not liable for future payments.

    The good part about it is Carmax will have to resell the depreciated car for at least 8 thousand dollars cheaper so no loss on my behalf because due to Carmax and the bank disagreements, I never made a payment for a year. There's some type of scam going on and I will at least, in the name of all consumers, notify the Fed gov't about this experience. Please do not buy from Carmax. They are really scamming people right now.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 10, 2013

    I had recently purchased a Pontiac G6 in May. I've had the car for about 4 months now. Recently we have been noticing problem after problem with the car. These problems include things such as brakes, exhaust, sway bar links, air conditioning controls, emergency brake, rough starts and a few other little things. The main concern we had was that the driver’s side door was peeling paint. The whole door under the window had paint missing.

    The service manager came to look at the car and began to peel the paint off with her nail and proceeded to tell us that she was unsure if they would be able to cover that. They told us that they would also be charging us diagnostic fees for each issue with the car. Yes I do have Max Care but feel like I should not be held responsible for these issues for the car being this new. The service department has been very, very rude to us. We have been beaten around this bush by hearing one thing from one person and something else for another.

    We have called corporate offices and talked to several different people and have gotten nowhere. Ultimately we would like to trade the car in for what’s left on the loan and get into something else. We tried to get into a new car today but they were not willing to work with us and were very rude. I was offered $5,500 for a car that I paid $11,000 for less than 6 months ago. I am very unhappy with the service I have received and all the unsure things they have told me. This was my first time buying a car from a dealer and to be honest I am very unsure about buying another car. My family bought 2 other vehicles from this location and has not had a problem.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 3, 2013

    I purchased a car at the Boynton Beach FL CarMax location in Aug 2012. With the purchase, I also got the MaxCare warranty to cover me against problems with the car. Initially the car produced a small puff of smoke upon starting and I did not give it much thought. Seemed normal. One year later, that small puff of smoke turned into a huge billowing cloud of white smoke and I knew I had to take the car in to get it serviced. I thought I would be serviced quickly and in a respectful manner. I would expect this from a reputable establishment such as CarMax.

    Upon arriving at the service center and leaving my car off for diagnosis and repair, I was told that I had overfilled the oil. This was quite shocking given that I meticulously fill the oil EXACTLY to the high fill mark on the dipstick. I was told that I would be charged to REMOVE oil from my car. I questioned the logic of this, but was told that this was the way to proceed. Removing oil and bringing the level down on the dipstick had no effect on the smoke output, I was told. I was told that filling to the top of the dipstick is not a good practice. This seems absurd.

    I asked whether my Maxcare warranty would cover the repair and I was never given a solid answer. I was then told my engine would have to be torn down for further diagnosis. I would be liable for the tear down costs if this was not a warranty issue. I agreed to this since I wanted my car repaired and had no other choice having spent close to $2000 on the Maxcare warranty.

    After 1 week in the shop, I was finally given a loaner car and told that the repair would be covered. I thought that it would all work out after all. Not so. After more than 3 weeks since I dropped the car off at the service center, I went and picked it up and was told the battery was now dead. WHAT? The battery was fine when I dropped it off, but now I was told the battery was dead and it was MY problem. The car sat for 2 weeks after a family vacation and started instantly. Now, a couple of weeks later, after being at the service center for 3+ weeks, the car would barely start. I was told they would sell me a new battery - how convenient for them. They kill my battery and now want to sell me a new one. Well, I took the car with battery as is and drove home.

    I was told they had test-driven the car and it was in great shape. However, when I drove it home, I found the the engine would stutter at idle. While driving home, the engine stuttered and died at a stop sign. Not good! Furthermore, upon inspection of the dipstick - since they had to remove the oil in order to effect repair of the engine - I noticed the oil was barely on the stick. I had an automotive-minded co-worker look at the oil mark on the stick and he came to the same conclusion - LOW OIL. The manual for car clearly states the oil fill level but CarMax did not fill the oil to that level.

    Moreover, I explained my car repair woes to the general manager of the store. He seemed not to care about my frustration and anger over getting my car repaired. With an air of satisfaction of his team he just brushed my concerns aside and walked away.

    I DO NOT and CAN NOT recommend buying or servicing any car at CarMax. If you do, be prepared to get the run-around. Be prepared to be told "We don't know if your warranty will cover this repair". Be prepared to have your car come back from repair and it to not be properly looked after. Be prepared to be treated like a fool because once they have your money, there is not a much you can do about it. I wish I had read all the exceedingly negative reviews posted here at ConsumerAffairs.com before I purchased and had my car serviced at CarMax. Buyer BEWARE.

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    Reviewed Sept. 17, 2013

    My Mini Cooper is under warranty. We purchased the extended warranty thru Carmax and our engine just stopped. We had to have it towed to Mini of Ontario because Carmax didn't have time to work on it. They have had our car for a week and a half and the warranty department is refusing to pay for some of the services that are covered because according to them they are not bad enough to repair. I'm sorry but when did a break not become severe enough to fix? They are trying to wait so that when it breaks to the point the car will no longer run it will be out of warranty. I feel completely ripped off by Carmax and their warranty department and will make sure I tell everyone and anyone I know about how me and my family have been treated. DO NOT purchase from Carmax and especially don't buy their extended warranty!!! I will be contacting their corporate offices to file formal complaints and the Better Business Bureau!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Aug. 20, 2013

    Took my 2006 Ford F150, 110000+ miles, for what they determined was a transmission problem. I was told that it would be over a week before they could get it in. Once it was in, they took 3 days to diagnose then they said it needed to be rebuilt. In the process of rebuilding it, the transmission place said I told them the rear end needed to be fixed, which I did not. Carmax authorized those repairs. Eight days later, I got my truck back, a Friday. It was worse than when I took it in. It had a high pitched squeal and it still didn't run right. They even did a quality check before I got it back. What does that tell you about their quality checks?

    I took it back that next Monday. When I got it back 2 days later, I looked at the paperwork as well as having the service guy tell me, they rebuilt the transmission and rear end again as well as replaced 4 ignition coils. It took two days this time to do what they did last time plus extra work in the ignition coils. Don't understand that either. I got my truck back again. I still have my same ORIGINAL problem going on and now my truck idles rough. Don't know what to do but take it back again. I don't think my transmission is right and now I have more issues than when I started. Be aware of their service department. Obviously the place they outsource to is questionable, their own quality inspection is suspect and they don't communicate or answer their phones at all.

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingPriceOnline & AppStaff

    Reviewed June 15, 2013

    DO NOT USE CARMAX TO FIND A CAR. They are a huge SCAM. They make you do all of the work. They have you search their website for cars and transfer them to their location and they sell it before you can even see it. The cars are overpriced and the sales reps are awful and just passed me around. Worst experience I have ever had with a company. When I called to complain to a manager, they never called me back. It's the worst customer service. Do not use CarMax!

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed June 14, 2013

    In 02/2013, I purchased a 2008 Mazda CX 7. I brought it home and noticed it was making a purring noise when driving. I called the service department and was told the soonest they could get it in would be March 5th.

    On 03/05/13, I brought the car in for service. I drove with a technician and pointed out the noise. He said it sounded like a CV boot. I asked the representative, Jason, how long it is going to take to fix and he said it should be done by 6 pm. I asked if I could get a loaner for the day and they put me in a loaner and sent me on my way. I received a call at 3 pm stating that it was not the CV boot and CarMax was trying to diagnose the problem and they would keep me informed. I received keep-informed phone calls from Jason every day. He told me that CarMax was still trying to diagnose the problem and they couldn't figure out what it was.

    On 03/08/13, I received a daily keep-informed call from Jason stating that CarMax could not figure out the problem so they sent the car to Mazda to see if they could diagnose the problem. On 03/09/13, I received a phone call from the service manager, Jim. He said, "It's looking like the whole engine in the car needs to be replaced," so I would be better off getting a different car because he's seen it in his 9 years of experience where engines are replaced and the mechanisms don't work well together and the air conditioner goes out. I told him that I wouldn't have a problem getting another car as long as it's the same car for the same price. He told me he would have my sales guy, Rory, contact me to see what they can do. Rory called me and asked me to come in after work and he would go over inventory with me. I went in after work and sat down with Rory. He pulled up inventory and said that all other cars like mine are more expensive and my payment would go up. I told him that I was not willing to make a higher payment. He said he would partner with higher management to see what they can do for me and he would contact me to let me know.

    On 03/11/13, I received a call from Rory saying there is a car in Kansas that they could have shipped here for me. I asked if it's the same price and he said that it's $4000 more but they would work with me. I told him not to send the car here if they can't give it to me for the same price. He said just let them get the car here and they will work with the price.

    From 03/14/13 to 03/22/13, I heard nothing about my car... Only follow up calls from Jason asking how the loaner was doing. On 03/26/13, I contacted CarMax corporate office explaining everything that had happened. I told them the loaner car that they gave me does not fit my needs, and asked if I still had to make a payment on the car and they said yes. I received a phone call from Jim at the Henderson store. He said they would have another loaner car for me that fit my needs if I wanted to come pick it up. I told him I would be there in the morning. I made a payment on the car of $584.00. I received a phone call from Jim. He said that I can call corporate all I want, the only thing they are going to do is call the store and voice my concerns...

    On 03/27/13, I picked up a second loaner vehicle, a 2008 Mazda CX 7. The car was just like mine so I was happy. On 03/28/13, I received a phone call from Rory saying the car from Kansas is in and asked if I'd like to take a look at it. I went in after work... The car was just like mine, same color, all the same options except it was a year older and $4000 more expensive. I told Rory that I was not willing to make a higher payment due to their mistake. A manager by the name of Robert came out and said they were willing to take off $1000 of the price. I told him again that I was not willing to make a higher payment. He proceeded to tell me it's a more reliable vehicle and if the engine in my car is replaced, then the seat mechanism is going to go out. Rory asked me to sit down with him so he could run some numbers. So I sat down with him and he said the payment would be more expensive and he would partner with the management team on Monday because they were all on an Easter getaway for the weekend. I asked if I could get my things out of my car and they said sure, and took me to where my car is. My car was parked in the front lot accessible to anyone at anytime under a tree!!

    From 3/29/13 to 4/3/13, I heard nothing regarding my car except from Jason doing follow up calls on the loaner vehicle. On 4/4/13, I was required by work to go to a National childcare conference in Reno, to prepay $250 each for Friday session and $250.00 each for Saturday session; it was $210.00 for Hotel in Reno for Thursday night and Friday night. A co-worker and I left Las Vegas at 4 pm in the CX7. We stopped and got gas in Tonopah which is about 250 miles from Las Vegas. 50 miles later, the check engine light came on. Then we heard a rattling noise and the car wouldn't accelerate. We pulled over, shut off the car and white smoke was pouring out from under the hood. We ran from the car.

    A highway patrol car stopped and gave us a number to a tow truck company and said he would be back to check on us and left. It was 7:30 at night; the sun had gone down and we were stuck in the middle of the desert. It was cold, raining and pitch black outside! I called CarMax and spoke to Tim. I explained everything that was happening and he asked if I have a credit card to charge a tow truck on. I told him no. He asked for the number to the tow truck company and said he had to ask his boss if they were able to pay for the truck. He called back and said they would pay for a tow truck and there was one en route for us and he would have someone from CarMax call me in the morning and let me know what was going on.

    We turned the flashers on so at least we would have some kind of light. At 8:30 pm, the battery died in the car and now we were sitting in complete darkness. The tow truck got there at 9:30 pm, loaded up the car and took us to the Best Western in Tonopah where CarMax had paid for a room for the night for us. We got to the room and asked if there was anything to eat or drink and the man in the lobby said he had boiled eggs and oats, no bottled water and nothing was open this late. So we went back up to the room and went to sleep. This was not anywhere I would want any of my loved ones to stay ever!!!

    On 4/5/13 at 8:12am, I received a phone call from Jim and he said the car is at a shop in Tonopah and they were trying to find the car. At 9:02 am, I received a call from Jim saying they found the car and they were trying to figure out the problem and if they could fix it. He would keep me updated. At 10:07 am, I received a call from Jim. He said the car had a blown head gasket and they couldn't fix it in Tonopah and they would see if they could get a rental car to me or a taxi or something. At 9:00am, I called the hotel in Reno and asked them if they were able to refund our hotel for Thursday night since we broke down and didn't make it. They said they couldn't refund our hotel and they cancelled our reservations because we were a no-show and they were all sold out for the weekend because there were 3 conferences and all hotels were probably going to be sold out.

    At 10:57 am, Jim called and said the nearest rental car place is 82 miles from Tonopah and they only have 2 employees and were not willing to bring us a car. So CarMax was going to send a tow truck with another loaner car. He said his Google Maps is telling him there is a coffee shop a half a mile up the road if we want to grab something to eat. But we don't have a car and I was not walking a half a mile up the road in a strange deserted town!! At 11:29 am, Jim called and said the loaner car was on the way. At 1:30pm, the hotel lobby called and said we had to leave our room because they gave it to someone else and they were all booked up for the night. So we took all of our things and sat on a couch in the lobby. At 3:14 pm, Jim called and said the tow truck was 70 miles away. At 4:55 pm, we were still waiting in the lobby. I called Jim to see if he could tell me how far the tow truck is. He called back at 4:57 pm and said there was confusion with the tow truck driver and he was 90 miles away.

    At 7:00 pm, the tow truck driver got there with the loaner car which is a Honda Fit. He says sorry it took him so long; they sent him to the wrong dealership to pick up the loaner. At 7:30 pm, we started our journey back to Las Vegas because our hotel in Reno cancelled our reservations and we didn't want to get out there with nowhere to stay. I called Jim and let him know the loaner got to us and asked him if I'd be able to switch it out with a different car because my children and all their belongings will not fit in this car. He said that will be no problem. I also asked him if I would be able to get all my belongings out of the broken car and he said that it should be back on the lot so that should be a problem either.

    On 4/6/13, I went to CarMax to get my things out of the broken loaner and to switch the Honda Fit for something larger because I have children and they will not fit in a Honda Fit. The gentleman at the counter, his name was Branton, says they have a limited amount of loaners but he will see what he can do. I asked him about the broken car and he said there were so many CX7s out there, I would have to wait until Monday to get my things. They put me in a Hyundai Tuscan. I drove away, got on the freeway and noticed it was shaking. I pulled over and looked around the car and there is a rip in the back driver's side tire. I went to the store on Sahara and explained everything, showed them the tire and they put me in a Nissan Altima. I drove home and noticed the brakes are squeaking and grinding.

    On 4/8/13, I went to CarMax this morning to get my things out of the broken loaner car. Jim and I walked around the lot and couldn't find it. He says he will call me when he finds it. I tell him about the loaner I have now and that the brakes are squeaking and grinding and the check engine light comes on and he says they have a limited amount of loaners and sends me on my way. At 7:50am, I received a call from Jim saying he found the car and would like to know if I wanted to come get my things out of it. I told him I was on my way to work to find out if I still had a job because I missed the required national conference I was supposed to be at. He asked me what was in the car and I tell him, my garage door opener, a pink case with a strap for my iPhone, CDs in the center compartment, my Aux jack, a bag of soaps and body products from Lush, receipts and insurance paperwork in my glove compartment. He said that none of that was in there except for the receipts in the glove compartment. So someone took all my things!!

    Total amount of money lost because of all this... 1 day of pay from work for me and my co-worker, $1000.00 total for conference we didn't make it to, $210.00 for hotel in Reno, $584.00 I paid on the car that has been sitting in the front lot at Carmax in Henderson for almost 2 months, $174.00 a month in insurance for a car I can't drive and $50.00 in Gas I put in the CX7 right before it broke down.

    On 4/8/13, I called Carmax corporate office and spoke to Vicki **. I explained everything that had happened and she asked me to send her an email of the expenses lost because of this. I sent her an email at 12 pm, received an email back from Vicki at 1:37 pm saying she reached out to a senior manager at the store and was waiting for a response. I received a keep-informed call from Jason at 2:08 pm. He said he is so sorry that all this has happened and he hopes it all gets resolved soon.

    On 4/9/13 at 11:00, I received daily keep-informed call from Jason. He said he is trying to keep his eye out for a different loaner car but right now they only have a Chevy Aveo and that's smaller than the car I have now. On 4/10/13 at 12:40 pm, I received a phone call from Mike at the Henderson store. He said CarMax is not responsible for any expenses that I have incurred because of their car breaking down. I asked him about the items left in the car that someone had taken and he said I would need to contact the tow truck company because no one from CarMax would have taken my things. He said he was reading my ticket and the engine is in for my car and a mechanic named Davis was working on it.

    On 4/26/13, I made another payment on the car I have not been able to drive. On May 2, 2013, I picked up another loaner car from Carmax. On May 7, 2013, CarMax called and said the new engine is in the car and they replaced the oil pump and the timing chain. They said they test drove it today and it was leaking oil so they were taking the engine out to figure out where the leaks are coming from. On May 9, 2013, CarMax called and said they took my car to Mazda because they couldn't figure out the problem.

    On May 14, 2013, CarMax called and said there is an electrical problem with the car. On May 18, 2013, my car was sitting in the front lot at CarMax. On May 23, 2013, CarMax called and said they are pulling the transmission out because there are leaks and they can't figure out where they are coming from. On May 24, 2013, CarMax called and said they need to replace some seals and a bushing in the transmission and the car should be done. On May 26, 2013, I made another payment on the car I still have not been able to drive. On June 5, 2013, CarMax called and said my car is finished. On June 12, 2013, I picked my car up at 7 pm at night.

    On June 13, 2013, I drove 10 miles to work. The check engine light came on and the oil light came on. The car was making a high pitch squealing noise, clunking from under the car; it wasn't shifting or going over 40 mph. I called CarMax and told them I was bringing it in. I brought the car in and the service manager asked to go on a test drive with me. He turns the car on and sees the check engine light and oil light. He gets out of the car and opens the hood. He checks the dip stick. He closes the hood and we go for a drive. He gets to the stop sign and when he accelerated, he heard the clunking. He says, "It sounds like we lost something." Then he said, "I'm not going to take it any further," and he drives it back to the service bay. He asks me to sit down in his office with the service manager and he says that someone will call me by the end of the day to let me know what they are going to do.

    I asked if they were going to give me a loaner car and he says, "No, your car should be safe to drive to and from work." So I asked who to call when the car breaks down and he said to call the service desk. I pulled off the lot in my broken car. I got 5 miles down the road and turned around. I went back to the CarMax and told them I have 2 small children and it was hot outside. I don't feel safe driving this car. They asked me to have a seat in the waiting area. The service manager came up to me and said they are going to put me in a loaner. He said the car looks like it could have some transmission problems and some engine problems and someone will call me to keep me updated.

    I'm displeased with the service I have received from CarMax in Henderson, NV. I feel like they are treating me the way they are because I am a female. I'm beyond angry that they sold me a vehicle that had so many issues when they pride themselves on their "125-point inspections" and their "Used car guarantees". I have made 3 payments and I am continuing to make monthly payments and insurance payment on a car I drove for 3 weeks which I feel is completely unfair. Please let me know if there is anything else needed. Thank you for taking time to hear my concerns and I hope someone can help me resolve this soon.

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    Sales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed June 11, 2013

    I went to Laurel, MD Carmax on Saturday to pick a new truck out. I could have gotten my truck that evening. However, the salesman, Emmanuel ** stated that I needed my pay stub. I told him I will have to print the stub on my job because I do not have access to it from other computers. I contacted Emmanuel today, June 10th, 2013, throughout the day asking him, "Do I need anything else," and to check on other vehicles besides the truck I wanted before making a final decision.

    When I came to the dealer this evening, he was helping another customer which was fine and suggested that Isaiah assist me. Isaiah was great; however, my transmission is bad and I needed a vehicle. I picked my vehicle and everything was going until came to assist Isaiah. I supplied two recent pay stubs, to find out everything is alright. However, due to a former customer pulling a scam from my job, I had to provide proof at the last minute before closing and I can't have the truck. If I provided what was asked of me and everything looked well, what was the problem?

    I was treated as if I were a criminal and had stolen something. I was lied to and taken advantage of. I work too hard to be treated like trash because someone else that I have no recollection of created a bogus pay stub. The branch manager came in to speak to me but he was racist, so I gathered my paperwork and my search for another truck continues somewhere else. Emmanuel put my family and my lives in danger tonight and I want the whole Maryland, Washington, DC area to stay away from the lying crooks at Laurel location.

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    Reviewed June 8, 2013

    I took my car in. They took my car and gave me a printed amount they would give me. This amount was good for the next 7 days. On the 5th day, I took my car in, removed everything, gave them the title and waited for my check. The Carmax guy sat down with me and asked me if I knew how this works. I said no, so he said CarMax would cut me a draft that I could deposit anytime, BUT it wouldn't be honored for 5-10 days. At that point, I asked him that if I was to buy a car from them, wouldn’t they want their money before I drove the car off? I told them to bring my car back, and I would NEVER do business like that! I loaded my stuff and left with my car, swearing never to do business with shady people like Carmax.

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    Reviewed May 31, 2013

    I bought my car from CarMax dealership in Torrance but before I bought my car, they promised me they were going to take care of the dents. They did but used the cheapest material and painted some parts without my consent. They insisted that it looks good and they were not going to touch it again... Also when they put a part on, they forgot to put some screws back on and one of the parts ripped off. They're going to replace it but they want me to take the car during my work hours or they want me to miss a day when the part replacement wasn't my fault. This would be my 3rd time bringing the car back and all I get is if I'm not satisfied to take the car back. Can someone tell me what can I do or who to speak with?

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    Reviewed May 18, 2013

    We traded in our car for a 2005 Ford Ranger in 2010 with CarMax. Since then, the fuel pump has been replaced twice (2); it stalled and stranded me for hours on end at the most interesting places to be stopped numerous times. I've had to have it towed several times due to this quirk and now our insurance company is dropping us because whereas most people only get towed once in six years, we've been towed in excess of six times in one year. Shortly after the second fuel pump was put in, the check engine light came on. I had the codes checked and surprise, it came up with a problem in the fuel delivery system. It stayed on for about a year and when I took it in to CarMax... surprise, it's in the fuel delivery system but all they figured out is that we needed a better fuel cap. That took four hours and joy upon joy, MaxCare didn't want to pay for it. A couple of weeks later, the check engine light is back on. We will never buy from CarMax agan! Don't use MaxCare or buy from CarMax!

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    Reviewed May 18, 2013

    I purchased a 2010 Rav4 this past weekend. Although I am satisfied with the vehicle, I was given only one remote key and one valet key. The salesman told me that was CarMax's policy as I was about to drive away and the sale was essentially completed. Every car I have purchased in the past came with two remote keys so it wasn't something I specifically asked about. I also need handicap license plates and had the appropriate signed notarized form. They told me I had to get them myself, as they were unable to do that. I paid CarMax for the plates and had to pay again to get the handicap plates. Motor vehicles said the dealership could have applied for the plates and there wouldn't have been the double charge. I will never use CarMax again. If you'll lie about one thing, how can they be trusted?

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed May 12, 2013

    My daughter bought a Pontiac Vibe from the Carmax dealer in Baton Rouge on 2/8/2013. When we looked at it before purchase, it had a spare tire. When she got home after buying it, the tire was gone. The dealer refuses to return or replace it. Several hours after getting it home, it would not restart. The dealer took over a day to return calls. In the meantime, I fixed it myself. The battery cables and posts were so corroded that it would not provide enough current to start. Supposedly, the vehicle had been thoroughly inspected. The cables and battery posts were covered with a red protector that served to hide the corrosion.

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    Price

    Reviewed May 10, 2013

    I went to CarMax to trade my truck on a car. I had searched online and found a couple a CarMax that I liked and decided to buy it. I realized the CarMax prices were higher than other places, but I was under the impression that I would get more for my trade. Wow was I wrong! The Kelly Blue Book clean trade on my truck was $24,588, yet I was offered $17,000. Trucks very similar to mine were on their website at the time for $28,000. What a profit margin. When I questioned it, I was told they do not use NADA or KBB, that they have their own rating system. How arrogant!

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    Reviewed April 24, 2013

    I bought 04 Toyota 4Runner. Within one week, I noticed rear brakes were squeaking; interior light was burnt out, exterior light burnt out, roof rack molding missing, and radio was stuck on a high setting. They replaced the back brakes, lights and covers. I asked for an inspection of the engine. Now less than a year later, the transmission fluid is black and I am paying for a flush by the professionals at Toyota. CarMax said that it has the world standard fluid which lasts 100,000 miles. In fact, the dipstick says type T4 which is to be changed every 30,000 miles. So the manager at CarMax in Escondido says that it's his opinion that just because it's black, it doesn't mean that it's bad. Unbelievable!

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsStaffFinancing

    Reviewed April 11, 2013

    In January of 2013, I had finally reached a position where I was ready for a new car. After weeks of searching around trying to obtain financing at other dealers, a salesperson referred me to RoadLoans. I applied privately with RoadLoans, which actually was one of the many subsidiaries of Santander. Anyway, I was subsequently approved at terms that, considering the amount of my student loan debt, was rather acceptable. I sought out a few cars I'd always had an acclimation towards and found that prices at Carmax were rather high when compared to other local dealers. However, after their commercials and reputation (little did I know), I went in with the frame of mind "you get what you pay for."

    After weeks of searching, I found my car which fit the RoadLoans' parameters (2002 or newer with less than 100k miles). I ended up having my 2002 VW Passat, GLX V6 manual, transferred from Nashville, TN to Milwaukee, WI in early January. I would have to say that from the get-go, there were little updates as to the status of my transfer aside from the routine emails that Carmax sent out showing pictures of my new car and a link to its auto check report, which stated that it was accident-free.

    So I, in mid-January, when the vehicle had finally arrived with 79,100 miles and in what looked like showroom condition, was then told that the car was too old for RoadLoans but they were able to secure other comparable financing. So I ended up paying $9,998 for the car, which was about $1,200 over Blue Book, but considering the condition it was in or I thought it was in, I thought I was getting a great deal. I ended up purchasing a 6-year/125,000 mile MaxCare warranty, which probably was the smartest decision I could have made.

    I took ownership, drove home and noticed a few things wrong with the car that somehow I had previously looked over. If you are familiar with VWs, the key is just a little box and the key flips up out of it. On the bottom of that box is a metal clip that is screwed into the box that holds your other key rings, etc. That was broken. I noticed a few days later that there was a strange clunking noise coming from the front of the car when I was shifting gears. However, it was not a transmission noise, but something similar to the noise a bad boot would make. Moving on, there is the home link system on the driver's side visor which controls your garage door systems. Buttons 1 and 2 were jammed in and non-operational. In addition to that, I noticed that the glove compartment was missing the key cylinder which would allow you to lock the glove compartment.

    So the car goes in for the first time. They had the car for just a few hours. They ordered the home link system and a new lock for the glove box, which was supposed to be in within 10 days. I was provided a loaner during this time, but it was only for a few hours. So I drove my car home. A week or so passed, I heard nothing from Carmax. In this time, I noticed that the power window button for the driver's side window was intermittently not working. In addition to that, the car's turn signals were engaging when I would not be using them. So I would be driving down the road listening to click, click, click and click. I brought this to the attention of my service adviser when the car went back in to have the home link system and glove box lock cylinder installed. At this time I also had the Carmax location perform the 80k mile tune-up, which in my opinion should have been performed prior to taking ownership of the car, but I didn't complain and paid the $341 for the tune-up.

    I was again provided with a loaner car. This time I had to keep the vehicle overnight. In the city I live in, you are required to either have a parking permit associated with your license plate or you can receive guest night parking permission by calling in your car's information. So I called in the loaner car, provided the dealer plate number and was told that I could not receive night parking permission because there were 9 unpaid parking citations associated with the license plate that was on the vehicle that Carmax had given me. I was also told that the vehicle is eligible to be towed as it has so many unpaid citations. I called Carmax the next day to inform them of the situation, as I had to stay awake and wait for the parking checker to come at 4:30AM and plead with her not to tow my rental car.

    They repeatedly apologized and informed me that they were able to complete the tune-up; however, the glove box lock cylinder had not arrived and the replacement part they received for the home link system was not the correct part. They would have to reorder it. In addition, they informed me they were unable to replicate the power window problem, the turn signal issue or the clunking noise coming from the front of the car. I went to pick up the vehicle and immediately noticed that I was sliding all over the road in the snow; more so than I had been prior to them rotating my tires, which were part of my $341 tune-up.

    A few days went by, we kept getting more and more snow and I kept sliding all over the road. I inspected the tires (mind you, this is all in the first 5 weeks of owning the car) and the insides of two of my tires are completely bald - one to the point where metal is sticking through the tire. So to the tire shop I go. $434 later, I have two new tires and a 4-wheel alignment on a car I have owned for 5 weeks and driven less than 1,000 miles. I called Carmax and explained how absolutely ridiculous this whole situation has been. I demanded that they fix my car immediately, refund me for the cost of my new tires and my alignment (citing a state law that requires a vehicle sold by a dealer to have a certain tire tread depth). They agreed to reimburse me if I could bring in the old tires, which I did.

    I brought the car back the next week to have the turn signal issue, home link system, glove box lock cylinder, clunking noise, and window operation problem addressed. At this time I requested that a technician go on a drive with me so I can show him the issues that I am up in arms about. He confirmed each and every issue and I was sent on my way with promises that everything would be fixed again provided with a loaner car. Before I left the dealer, I asked them if this plate had tickets because I didn't want to have to go through what I went through last time. They assured me there were no tickets and I went home. I called the car in that evening. Lo and behold, this plate has 13 unpaid citations. I had to sit on the phone for an hour with the Department of Public Works' supervisor, explaining the entire situation to her, stating I would have this car for a few days and in between working 2 full-time jobs and going to school full-time. I do not have the time to go back to Carmax for them to deal with this.

    I was granted a few days of night parking permission on a special circumstance basis. The next morning, I called Carmax again and just had it. I explained to them about the loaner car and its tickets. They explained to me that they would reimburse me for tires, but it would take 10-14 days for a check to be mailed to me. In addition, they said they fixed the home link system and the glove box lock cylinder, but were again unable to replicate the other issues I had complained about numerous times. I said, "Well, I'm not making it up and your technician confirmed the issues." The service adviser at Carmax said they can keep the car for longer or I can pick it up. I demanded to speak with a service manager, who agreed for the car to go to a VW dealer for repair. I should note that the homeland system that Carmax installed is not installed correctly and in no better shape than the one they removed.

    I brought the car to a local VW dealer, which diagnosed and fixed the problems in one day. I required a new power window master control switch, a new hazard signal switch and a new turn signal stalk. Carmax called me and stated they could do the repairs for $325 cheaper than VW. I informed them they had their opportunity to fix the car. Carmax ended up getting $125 off of VW's bill. The final bill was roughly $900. Two weeks passed and no check in the mail for my tires. I finally called Carmax corporate. I was told that the necessary paperwork had yet to be filed. The accounts receivable rep was very helpful and was able to get my check to me within 48 hours. She expressed how badly the service manager felt that I had to escalate it to that issue, yet despite his amount of sorrow over this situation, not one phone call; email; voicemail; nothing on his end to express such discontent over the situation. That really pissed me off.

    So yet again new issues with the car. I took the car back in to VW because there was a loud noise occurring while I was driving on the freeway. The day I took it in, I pulled into VW's service department and there was an overwhelming smell of burning oil. Come to find out not only is one of my rims slightly bent, but my car is leaking oil. This new repair took 7 days. I needed a new camshaft plug and new valve gasket covers. $680 + 1 week of car rental later, I have now had my car back for two days.

    A few weeks ago, when it was snowing, I noticed that the floor of the rear passenger seat was sopping wet. I just attributed it to the snow and having people in the car. Today, in the torrential rain, I noticed the rear floor area behind the driver's seat is completely drenched. I'm talking like you could squeeze the water out of it like a sponge. In addition, there is a moisture building in the left headlight. I am to the point where I just don't even want to deal with this anymore, except I have a $11,000 loan I have to pay off on a car that is literally falling apart day to day.

    I found a piece of paper in the glove box titled "Vehicle History Service Report" and it showed a million repairs that were done to the car prior to me taking ownership. Valve gasket covers were one of them, yet oddly they needed replacing again just a few months later. Also on the list were replaced and repainted bumper, door and fender. In addition, the replacement of the drive axles, repair of a rim, ABS module and a few other things I can't recite. With all that said, if you've reached the end of this, my only advice is to run far away from Carmax. I am in the process of dealing with their corporate office in obtaining the original auto check report, in addition to trying to find some sort of amicable resolve to this situation. It's been 3 weeks and so far, not much has happened.

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed March 17, 2013

    I am torn with my rating, I am bordering "angry". My sales experience was pleasant. One hour after taking possession, this changed. I noticed both electronic entry and alarm activation key fobs were non-operational. I replaced the batteries. This did not help. I called the sales rep and she asked that I return two days later (Monday). I live over 60 miles away, so I returned that day around 4:55 or so. Service center was just closing for the day. I waited for the customer service manager for over 10 min. She was called three times over the intercom. She walked in 10-15 min. later and proceeded to chat with an employee.

    Finally, the finance guy who I came back to told her that we needed help. She said, "Oh, hi, my name is **." I told her the issue and she took us away from the service department and said that we would have to bring it back on Monday. I told her where I live and it would have to be the Ontario, CA store. She asked if I had their phone number and I said no. She said that she would look it up for me, as if she were doing me a favor! She was very condescending and nonchalant. She never apologized for the alarm/entry key fobs not working until the very end, and when doing so, she did so insincerely.

    I told her that there is no way that they did not know the key fobs did not work prior to selling me this vehicle a couple of hours prior. She said that they move a lot of vehicles there. I told her the sales associate and the prep guy/girl, along with whoever did their 125-point guaranteed inspection would have known and that it would have been their responsibility to notify me prior to acceptance of this vehicle. This vehicle was over $35,000 after tax and license! And there are additional broken and/or defects such as it's unknown if alarm is functional, information/select reset/setup us/m buttons on dash do not work, manual adjust air suspension does not adjust; it simply makes an air escaping hissing noise and there is either a vacuum leak or electrical interference/feedback that broadcasts over the speakers when stereo is turned off!

    Yep, I will most likely be returning the vehicle for a full refund. As Carmax guarantees, I am able to do so within 5 days of purchase. I'll keep you up to date on whether they honor this guarantee without much grief.

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingPriceStaff

    Reviewed March 6, 2013

    I bought the car for my son at CarMax in Independence, Missouri. My wife and I drove the ML350 and my son, Kyle, decided to buy it. He lives in Houston, Texas so CarMax sent the paperwork for him to sign at CarMax in Houston. ** the sales lady noticed the day we drove it that the spare key was missing. She wrote a note to get the key made to **, the service manager. She also added the rear cargo mat to the list that we noticed was missing. We came in to CarMax on December 7, 2012 to close on the vehicle and the key was still not made. This was over 14 days since the initial request and no cargo mat. Now they claimed we had to pay for it. No! I refused. ** stated he could get me the cargo mat for his cost. No! We spent $ 24,998.00 and I want my cargo mat that is part of the vehicle!

    **’s supposedly wholesale price was actually higher than I had priced the rear cargo mat at Mercedes Benz. **’s price was also an aftermarket knock off brand! I instructed ** to install the correct Mercedes Benz rear cargo mat! Other problems: phone does not work. They offer 3 months free OnStar. No OnStar on Mercedes exists. This is false advertising! The phone does not work. I requested ** to fix the phone; no phone module. I told ** to put one in. We purchased the auto so our son could have 3 free months of OnStar! The wiper blade inserts were said to be replaced. We have documentation, and they did not wipe the windshield clean. Now documented again, they replaced them again. They’re lying, false documentation right on CarMax letterhead!

    Now it is March 5 and the key still sets off the alarm! There is no working phone and no cargo mat! The volume control on the steering wheel for the stereo is intermittent and has been since December 7, 2012. We wrote a letter to CarMax Corporate Office. They say they will not do anything! I have contacted MO Attorney General and several Better Business complaints!

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    Reviewed Feb. 24, 2013

    I bought a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox in Aug. 2011. By May 2012, the head gasket blew; it had to stay 2 weeks. I came to pick the vehicle up, got almost home on the interstate. EGR valve and EGR pipe blew. It had to be towed back and stayed an additional 2 days. In July 2012, it was spitting and sputtering again. I called them. They said it was probably bad gas, okay. In Sept. 2012, it went back in for 3 days for tune up plugs and wires were replaced. By Feb. 2013, there were blown head gaskets again and a bad catalytic converter which, of course, warranty doesn't cover exhaust so yeah, that one was on me. Hmm, it stayed 3 weeks for this. I just got it back and I almost lost the hose from the air filter to the motor, because they did not tighten the screws back and there was an oily paper towel stuffed down in the motor.

    I mean, come on, really! And to top that off, I had three quarters of tank of gas in it when I left it there. They gave it back to me almost empty. Well, now my motor sounds like a diesel engine and I can hear water sloshing around in the dash. So, I am guessing now it's the heater core and no telling what else. I was promised that this car would be fixed right, so it would not have to come back anymore. Ha ha, that was a lie; it needs to go back now!

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 19, 2013

    I was interested in a Ford Cargo Van. However, there were no photos available. I am in Plano Texas so I have to pay the transfer price of $549 or so. I wanted at least to see the 2007 van before I had it transferred. I called and spoke to Sherry in Charlotte and she stated that the vehicle has been there for over two weeks and did not know why there were no photos. She reassured me that she would talk to management and took my email, so she would send me the photos the next day. I never heard back from her and when I pulled up the vehicle on the Carmax website, it was gone. Thanks.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 16, 2013

    I went into CarMax the other day (February 2013) to sell my 2007 silver Toyota Rav4 Sport with 30,000 miles. I am the original owner of the car and performed all maintenance at my local Toyota dealer. Note: I’m a non-smoker, and the car had no accidents, no pets, no dents or scratches, and was in almost new condition.

    When I walked in the front door, the 20 employees that were standing around the front desk all stopped talking and stared at me, waiting for me to say something. I had to ask them (a large group of people, it was kind of intimidating) who I could talk to, because I needed to get an offer on my car. Finally, one answered he could help me. He asked me where my car was; I said it was right outside in the parking lot. We went out and he complained that I parked too far away and he was going to have to walk all the way down there to tag my car for inspection. I was about 25 spots down. He asked me, "Is this even your car?" I was taken back, but replied, "Yes, it's my car." He said, "Where is the title?" I said, "It’s at home. The title is in my dad’s name because it’s cheaper for insurance." He then replied, "Oh, so you’re selling your dad’s car? What is his number because I am going to call him?" I told him it’s my car, and absolutely refused to give him my dad’s phone number, just over principle that he was being unprofessional and rude.

    For whatever reason, I stayed to have my car appraised. He tried selling me a car while we waited, even though I said I had my eyes on a car at another dealer. I told him I was buying a white 2012 Honda Accord coupe. He's like, "Oh, we have 10 of those throughout all our stores" and said the one I was going to buy was probably in an accident, that's why the price was only $22,000. He also rolled his eyes whenever I would correct him. He would talk out loud when he was typing on the computer, "Okay, a 2005 Toyota Highlander." I must have said it was a 2007 Rav4 five or six times. All I got was the "rolling of the eyes."

    When the "inspection" was done, the offer was for $8,000. He's like, "So, that's probably more than you were expecting, huh?” I replied, "Hah, not even close. The Honda dealer offered me $15,000. I was thinking if I could get more here, then I would sell it to CarMax." He said I was lying. He said their offer was low because it was "probably" in an accident, and CARFAX and AutoCheck are "very unreliable" (Even though CARFAX and AutoCheck were 100% perfect!). They base all the cars they sell on the "clean auto check," yet he said it’s unreliable? Hmmm… By the way, I literally watched the car come off the trailer the day I bought it. So I know it wasn't in any accident before I drove it home from the dealer.

    CarMax will lie to you; make you believe your car is crap, so you will sell it to them at a ridiculously low price, which they then sell for double what they paid you for it. He also said, "Your car will be hard to sell, it's very unpopular." Now, maybe it's just me, but I'm pretty sure a Toyota Rav4 is one of the most popular SUVs on the road. But again, maybe it's just me. I’m never going to CarMax again for anything. They are rude!

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 11, 2013

    We were recently at the store in Norcross, GA. It was very unpleasant. I had gone in to look/buy a 2010 Dodge Caliber. It took about 5 min. to find the vehicle we wanted since we had done some research on their website prior. We sat down with the salesman, Keith **. The first day, we spent 5 hours there. We went through everything - paperwork, down payment, insurance. You name it, we did it. He kept running back and forth, and coming back with, "The financial department needs this, and this." He was extremely unorganized.

    When it was all over, we had given him everything. Just as we went into the signing room, he pulled us out of the signing room and said "CarMax" would not let us have the car until my DL had been changed over to GA. Now, I can agree that was my fault, but he had seen my DL at the very beginning. He couldn't tell me this before I wasted all that time, and we had gone through all of that?

    Well, I left the dealership and, the next day, I went and got my correct DL. So, at that point, there was nothing else that needed to be done. I had kept in contact with him every single day since he had said he would hold the vehicle for me. He assured me when we came in again that it would be a very quick process and nothing else would happen. Well, we showed up a 2nd day, and he had to redo the paperwork. After telling us he wouldn't have to, that everything was finished with the Caliber. That took almost 3 hours.

    The salesperson was extremely unknowledgeable and did not answer many questions. When we asked him why he kept resubmitting the information for the loan approvals, he said he had to do that every time he had to correct something on the paperwork. All the mistakes on the paperwork was his fault. I was sitting behind him in the office looking at his computer screen and I corrected him several times on things that were wrong. Finally, when the paperwork was done and we went into the signing room, we sat there for almost a hour. No one came over. People kept looking at us and finally I asked, "What is going on"? No one said anything. Finally someone came over, sat down and said, "We are sorry; we cannot find the Caliber's title. We are looking for it."

    Now, we had spoken to our salesperson several times. We were under the impression the deal was done. Then when we got to the final stages, the car title is not available. My salesperson was not even going to tell me this until I asked him. Let me add to this that my grandmother was with me. She is elderly and has some health problems but she was there helping me find a good vehicle since she has had some dealings with dealerships, and she knows how they work. My grandmother had to ask the sale person 3 times, "What is going on with the car, and why is it taking so long"? He kept dodging the question and would not answer her. Finally, he told her, and she asked him the same thing we did, "How can you have a vehicle for sale on your car lot and have no idea where the title is?"

    Now, out of all of those days that I spoke with him, and the first day of going through the paperwork, I was told all of this was done. It wasn't anything of the sorts. I would think if he knew we were coming back and had shown that much interest in that vehicle, he would have made sure everything was together. Shortly after that happened, he told us he had to go home. His wife was there to pick him up. So he handed us off to another salesman. Yes, the other salesman was great, but we had to go through everything all over again. To top it all off, they had no other Calibers, and told us they could have one shipped from another CarMax but it would not be there until tomorrow. So we ended up having to choose something else off the lot. We did not leave the dealership until 10:30 p.m. that night.

    All over CarMax, there were signs up saying, "You can have a stress-free, enjoyable, good price, buying experience." We got none of those things, also the commercials that say, "The way car buying should be". After that, I will probably never go through any of that ever again. I walked away with a car I do like, but somewhat feel like we settled because we could not get our first choice. The car is a great car, but it was not exactly what we wanted. I am very unhappy about this whole situation. I've never had an experience like this in my life. I feel lied to, and runaround.

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    Reviewed Feb. 9, 2013

    My 20-year-old son made a mistake in purchasing a car from this company. They are warm and fuzzy on the outside. Try and get something fixed, good luck. The car was purchased in July 2012. At the time of purchase, it had a leak in the front windshield which he was told would be fixed. To date and 5 visits later, the car still has a leaky windshield. Each time they tell him we need an expert to look at the windshield. Like all dealerships there are detailed records on the cars they work on. Them saying, "We had no idea what the problem was until you brought it in" is getting old. They are avoiding the cost of fixing the car; however, glad to take the oil change money, but leave him with a leaky windshield each time.

    I called the service manager. I first asked him how long it takes to put in a windshield. Answer is 1.5 hours. I then told him who my son was and explained my reason for the call. Each time my son has spent more than 4 hours at their service center. That's 20 hours. I find it crazy that a job that takes 1.5 hours has been given 20 hours and still left leaky. I guess if this is what you want for your kids, wife or loved ones, this is the place to buy a car. I just got a call from the service manager. I told him I will just take it to a windshield shop and submit the bill to them. His reply, "Do what you need to do. I'm in Georgia. What do you expect me to do from here?"

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    Customer ServiceContract & Terms

    Reviewed Jan. 29, 2013

    After 3 hours two days in a row, the deposit was made and all the paperwork was properly filed. I received a plate and registration, but I failed to notice that although the Registration and Bill of Sale were correct, the general paperwork was for the wrong car, and I did not receive a receipt for the deposit (cash $600). The next day I was sent a copy of an email asking for half of the paperwork (which they misplaced) as well as the deposit, again (also misplaced). Then I received a phone call from the salesman demanding that I return to Carmax immediately and pay the $600 again or he would come and take the car from me. Page 2 of the Finance Agreement, signed by the Carmax Rep states in item 2 that $600 is required, and in item 6 it states that all of the above have been satisfied. I am fearful for my safety and my new vehicle. I can easily provide the documents they require but I cannot pay $600 again.

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    Sales & MarketingPriceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 22, 2013

    Okay, I have read a lot of the complaints that are on here about CarMax and well after a month of working there, I can truly say that they are a complete rip off! First, they offer you a so called fair price on your vehicle. The reality is that they offer you way less than what they sell it for at a ratio on the dollar. Basically, if they offer you 5 grand, they’ll sell it for $8,000. If they buy it for $11,000, they’ll sell it for $16,000; it’s a huge joke really. The other day, an older gentleman came in with a 2007 Silverado with only 27k miles on it, and he got an actual good deal getting $17k for it because the car truly was immaculate.

    Six days later, we turned around and sold it for $25,900. Ridiculous margin, this is just icing on the cake though. Then there are the auctions. The day after they bought that Silverado, they went to an auction and bought 20 cars, mostly fleet vehicles. With an average price tag of $3-$5k, they got a good deal. Once they hit the lot, the average price selling was $12-$15k! Ridiculous margins.

    Now, they say they spend 12 hours with a 125-point inspection examining their cars and reconditioning them for sale before they will even put them on the lot. This is the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard and is a 100% falsity. In the service area they have rotations. Once they have a dozen or so cars in the incoming inventory area, they have a cleaning party, literally. Too bad this party only lasts a few hours. The cars run through a gas station style car wash and come out at the end with a line of people waiting for it. Each person in the service area rotates each time they clean to a new item to clean on the car, so one person wipes the windows and another vacuums, and then another picks up trash out of the vehicle. One person wipes off the hoods, one for one side of the car and one for the other side of the car.

    The reality is that not a single person gives any one vehicle any undivided attention. Notice I did not mention at any point any diagnostic checks or functional maintenance. There is absolutely no reconditioning going on here! The resulting level of cleaning is comparable to my 5 year old son detailing the car. When a car comes in, it may be marked for new tires/oil change or to have a huge scratch fixed but otherwise, there is no service done at all. As a salesman, it is downright embarrassing; you lie to the customer and tell them how well refurbished the car is, and then you open up the door and the seats need shampooing and there are French fries in the center counsel on a 27k dollar vehicle. This happened to me today, and I can’t do it anymore. Absolutely ridiculous.

    Now, something that they don’t want you to know is that 65%, yes 65% of vehicles that they sell have issues within 90 days! And when customers bring them in for "extended service plans", the customer always ends up paying for a portion of the work going well beyond their MaxCare deductible. I was working with the service manager the other day and was told that the sales people needed to quit selling it, and that the deductibles should be completely removed because they were very misleading. He told me that 80% of his job was to deal with customers that were pissed because they were lied to! Absolutely ridiculous.

    It’s a scary thought to know that they sell 450K+ cars a year nationally, and their customers are so discontented with their purchases. I will say though that as the market dictates and as consumers become aware, the bull will give CarMax the horns. Their parent company was a little company that we all know as Circuit City! If you remember their story, they went bankrupt after a huge expansion in 2009 and closed their doors. CarMax has just set out on the same mission. They’re planning on opening a new location every month for the next few years. You think they would have learned their lesson the first time, LOL. To sum it all up, CarMax is a joke, stay away, far, far away!

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    Reviewed Jan. 10, 2013

    I purchased a 2007 Nissan Murano in September of 2011. Just after the 30-day warranty was up, things started breaking slowly but surely. First, the motor mounts broke - $2,000 fix. Then the high pressure power steering pump - $600 fix. Next was something with the back arms that made it impossible for the tires to hit the ground properly - $1,500 fix. Wheel bearings in front wheels - $500 fix. I had a very minor fender bender and they discovered that the front suspension was very messed up. Service King asked if the car had been in an accident before I purchased it. I don't really know, but it probably has considering all of the issues it's had.

    So nearly $5,000 sunk into a car that I can't get rid of because no one will give me what I need to get out of it for a trade. Forget the 300 point (or however many it's supposed to be) inspection. That's nothing but a lie. To top it off, while out on the golf cart to tour the lot, the salesman got carried away driving and literally threw me off the cart onto the ground. If you want a good used car, I suggest not going to Carmax. Ripoff.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Jan. 7, 2013

    On December 14th, my husband and I decided to go to Carmax and purchase a used vehicle. From the moment we began the process with our sales rep, we were misguided and lied to - which didn't give a good feeling at start. We proceeded with the process and paperwork. Along the way, we've seen some discrepancy that was later fixed. From the beginning, the paperwork was a mess and they seem very unorganized and unprofessional. They have a lot of young kids working for the company, which is probably why this company is going down the drain. After the vehicle was test driven, we found a lot of issues with it that we set on the table for them to fix. So after that was said and done, we waited for the vehicle to be brought for us to drive it home.

    We noticed there were marks and scuffs that were not there before. So when we told our sales rep, he said to take it and bring it back on Monday. That we had 5 days to return it anyways, so we agreed. We brought the car home and made a list of all the things that were wrong. Long story short, we brought the car back on Monday the 17th of December and they kept it for a week without doing anything to it. We picked it up on the weekend again and found the same issues - dirty filter, brake fluid, no transmission fluid, windshield was whistling, car wasn't clean. All the things that should have been done before the vehicle got sold to us.

    From that day on, it was nothing but a nightmare. First we were told that the 5 days stops while the car is under the service, which was a lie because after that they kept telling us we couldn't return it even if we wanted to (without even asking them). We fell in love with the 2010 Chrysler Town & Country, but after all the trouble, we have contacted the main office. Victor came down from Chicago and tried to deal with the problem himself. So we dropped off the car after Christmas and we were told that everything will be fixed in a timely manner, which was not. Today is the 7th of January 2013 and it resulted in a refund. I have contacted all major offices. We only owed the vehicle for a total of 4 days. Payment was almost done and we had no car. There's no way we're making a payment on a vehicle we don't have. It is not happening.

    To put icing on the cake, they lied on their paperwork on why the car was being returned. They put it down as it was being returned because of the price, which was a lie. The reason for return was because in reality, they don't do any major services in Carmax. They pretend that they do. They use aftermarket parts and the staff are rude and unprofessional. We had to go back so the sales manager who can sign our paper and put the correct information of why the car was being returned. You can see images posted with this review on that. I had the worst experience with a dealer ever. Considering the fact that our cousin and our boss purchased cars from this company, I didn't think I would have had to research them.

    I will definitely go to another dealer when making a big purchase like this. Hope that they get their staff together and make this a better business for the future. In the meantime, I am so happy that we don't ever have to step a foot through their door again.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 24, 2012

    I recently took my son to purchase his first car under his name/credit. We test-drove a 2006 Mini Cooper S, and he loved it. The car was going for $15,000. After test-driving the car, we proceeded with the loan application and my son got approved for the loan through CarMax's own Financing with $816 down. Prior to this, we had no idea of getting approved for the loan, but since it was there already, I opted to pay for the downpayment and wrote a check for the amount and asked if CarMax would allow us a deferred payment of 5 days.

    The salesman was okay with this, so he filled out a form to facilitate this hold (SOP). Then his manager came in and asked if I could show proof of my income by way of a pay stub - I did. Then I was asked to show at least two recent bank deposits of my salary - I showed three pay cycle deposits. Then the manager asked if I had at least $400 to pay for the deposit. I replied yes. Then he asked if I would be able to cover the full deposit in 5 days. I told the manager "I just showed you my bank balance ($1,005) and the only reason I asked for the 5 day deferment was simply so I do not leave myself short" because my next salary will not be until Thursday, which is exactly 5 days from the day we were at this dealership.

    After a few exchange of words with this manager, we left the dealership feeling insulted and humiliated. Needless to say, we didn't get my son's car and we may never get the car because of the way the staff had treated us. What I cannot understand is what other proof I needed to show to prove that we have the money to cover the lousy $816.02 downpayment. I have purchased many vehicles for my family over the years (I am now 52 years old) and have never felt so embarrassed and humiliated until this experience with CarMax.

    I wrote a letter to CarMax corporate office hoping they would respond, but to no avail. After we left CarMax, my son and I visited a Mini Cooper dealer and I decided to co-sign for my son and got him a brand new Mini Cooper S. We went back to CarMax, showed the salesman and his manager the car and asked them "I wonder how many lost businesses you have had for the way you mistreat your customers the way you mistreated my son and me." There was no response.

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    Sales & MarketingPriceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 15, 2012

    Let me tell you about my CarMax experience. About 4-5 months ago, I was looking to buy a used car for my wife. I was looking for a 2005-2009 sedan with a small engine, and after checking the local market, I decided to go to CarMax at Pompano Beach. My wife and I got in to the lot, and a salesman approached us immediately to assist. After he introduced his self and we did the same, I explained what I was looking for and asked him to help us if he can. But I emphasized I didn't want to pay for a car more than its worth.

    We started to go around the lot and check a few different models. Eventually we found a 2007 Saturn Ion in mint condition. The price was $11,400. I immediately loved the car and asked him if we could take it for a test drive. He said okay and went to submit our driver's license so we could go for a spin. In the meantime, I started checking on my phone online for this car to see if there was anything wrong with it or reviews about the model. The first thing that came up was KBB, and they priced the same car in perfect condition at $5,700. I was a bit confused about that. I mean I know CarMax has to make a profit, but 100% overpriced?!

    When the salesman came back, I asked him "Why is the car priced so high? Because according to KBB, its value is half of what they were asking for." The sales man answered "Then let KBB sell you the car!" So I replied, "When we started looking around, I told you I won't pay for a car more than it is worth. So you tell me, how will you find the price of a car before you go and buy it?" And for that he replied (and I'm not making this up), "I go around car dealerships and ask other salesman what they sell the car for."

    I laughed a bit. At this point I knew that this is going nowhere, and so did he. At that point I replied, "Really, you will trust someone that wants to make the maximum profit on a vehicle what is the price suited for a car he is selling you?" Then he replied in anger, "Well, why the hell did you send me to arrange a test drive if this is what you think?"

    That was the last time I will ever visit CarMax. So please answer me this (to help your future customers that might read this): What's the justification of pricing a car 100% over the value? I know you have to make a profit and you test the cars you sell to ensure that it's a bust to keep your customers happy. But don't you think you went a little overboard with this?!

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    Reviewed Dec. 8, 2012

    A few days after I hit the 30-day mark to bring my car in to Carmax for free repairs, things started falling apart! My brakes went out, so when I took it into another shop to get them fixed and find out why it was driving funny, they told me my rotor was warped badly and my brake pad was extremely hot and bubbling! There was no reason for it to be hot since the car shop was less than 5 miles away from my house, so I wasn't driving far. A few weeks later, I took my car back in to get the oil changed and get an alignment. They told me that my back tires were torn up and the front ones had no tread left. Needless to say, I had to get 4 new tires along with the oil change and alignment. In a little over a month, I have already put $1,000 into my car that got a 125+ point inspection. A day later, my engine light has come on. I will not be buying any more cars from them nor will I be referring anyone I know to them.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 3, 2012

    First time car buyer. I visited the Southlake facility in Stockbridge, GA. I was greeted by a large, female associate who was nervous acting and wrinkled - that was annoying. Anyway, I did not specifically know the car I wanted, but I know what I could afford. So I told the lady my budget, my preferences and I had to keep repeating myself. She had no knowledge of the cars, their features and she kept answering her phone. It was a nightmare. Finally, I saw car that I wanted to test drive. I had to wait almost half an hour for her to tell me it just got sold. I tried again with a car she suggested. It was getting transferred. I wasted 4 hours there. Obviously, training is not a priority for that facility. She gave me her card and told me to check back around Christmas? Umm, I'll never go to Carmax again and Lashon ** needs to be relieved or retrained. Deplorable customer service.

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    Price

    Reviewed Oct. 29, 2012

    I love the Infiniti I bought back in June. The G35s is a great sports sedan. However, before the 30-day mark came around, I noticed the clutch started to slip. I drove to the Carmax, where I purchased the car, and found that service was closed on Saturdays. Due to my work schedule, I was unable to make another drive there until about 35 days after my purchase date (taking sick time to do so). The service dept. told me there was nothing they would do because the 30 days had passed. After waiting for almost 3 hours while several technicians drove it (and a call to Infiniti), they determined it was a problem with the clutch, more specifically, the pressure plate. Really?! Is that not what I said when I went in there? Even more, they said they would be willing to replace the pressure plate and clutch disc at the employee discounted rate. Seriously? The price they quoted me for the work was more than a quote I received from my local service shop, even with their discount. Needless to say, I declined.

    So now, I am paying over $2,200 to have a new clutch put in it, because Carmax won’t cover it under warranty. I love the car, but I am completely disgusted with the big box business ethics and the disregard for customers once the sale is final. I will never again shop there, and will tell anyone I know, to avoid Carmax like the plague.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 28, 2012

    I am shocked that the quality of CarMax has sunk so low. I’ve bought 2 cars from CarMax in the past, a Mercedes and a BMW, and I had wonderful experiences both times. I recently ordered a Dodge Ram truck delivered from Independence, MO to Gastonia and had a horrible experience with CarMax. It was so bad that I refused to buy the truck.

    My sales representative was very poor. She was rude and unprofessional. There were 7 attempts to communicate with CarMax after my order was placed and all 7 failed. I sent my sales rep 3 emails that she ignored. I asked her to send the truck’s VIN to my banker who was processing the loan. I then sent an email to CarMax sales in Gastonia and one to corporate CarMax explaining the fact I was receiving no response from my sales rep. I also called my sales rep’s supervisor and complained about the poor service I was receiving. I asked for a different sales representative. He sent the VIN to my banker but failed to assign another sales person. My banker requested additional information from my sales rep that she never sent.

    I went to get the truck and met my sales rep. She showed me the truck. It was extremely dirty on the inside. When I pointed that out to her, she abruptly said, “We’re not a detail shop.” I found that very offensive, and I told her that the other cars I looked at at CarMax had always been very clean. CarMax Gastonia had been in possession of the truck for a week, so they had ample time to clean it. She responded that vehicles are not cleaned until they are purchased. The truck was a 2011 with less than 22,000 miles. There was significant rust on the outside, and the interior was severely worn for such low mileage. There was a stain on the back seat and the backs of the front seats and carpet on the back of the center console was badly scuffed and worn. The foam rubber in the seat back pockets was shredded. The mileage on this vehicle was obviously 22,000 very hard miles.

    I previously had the perception that CarMax only purchased top quality vehicles so one could be sure that any purchase was of a quality vehicle. But this vehicle looked like one that would be found at an auction rejected by dealers. It is apparent to me, from the poor condition of the vehicle and the lack of any reasonable customer service, that CarMax has regressed from the stellar organization that I previously did business with to just another substandard used car lot. For these reasons, I will never do business with CarMax again.

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    PriceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 18, 2012

    I bought two cars here in CarMax. After having it for only 6 months, the check engine light on my second car came on and it was related to the ERG valve failure. They replaced it at no cost (even though my deductible was lower than the cost of the repair). They've always offered me great service and have always tried to do things right. My check engine light came on a year later, so we'll see how this experience goes. So far, they've always treated me fairly.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 16, 2012

    I purchased a 2004 Mercedes Benz at the Ellicott City store. The sales person, Claudia **, hardly knew anything about the vehicle. The cashier told me to order a manual and they would reimburse me. I should have run then.

    On October 12, 2012 I took the vehicle to a Mercedes dealer to get an oil change and to have them tell me where the noise I often hear was coming from. They put it on the diagnostics and discovered that it was the brake booster; and then they discovered that the engine belt was worn and could break any day. The fuel filter needed to be replaced among the spark plugs. Luckily, I purchased an extended warranty called MaxCare that other dealers can use. No one told me that it only covered repairs and not maintenance, so the only thing covered was the brake booster; the rest was on me. I expected repairs to be costly when there was a problem, but Tom ** told me that the inspection had been done in June. You would think that they would have inspected it again in August since they transferred it to their store. That inspection was good according to Tom, but not for me. Their 125 inspection was never done on that car and those things should have been corrected.

    I emailed the CEO today. If I do not get a response, I am going to sue them for whatever any court of law allows me to. Perhaps I should have taken it to a Mercedes dealer during my 5 days, but I thought they stood behind their word. They obviously do not.

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    Reviewed Oct. 15, 2012

    On Oct. 12th, I had my car appraised at the Potomac Mills, VA location and the offer was so bad I did not take the offer. However, they never said anything and just handed my appraisal document and I got in my car and the window on the passenger side started to rattle. I thought maybe it was just nothing. However, when I got home, I decided to look and see what is causing this and the front window sponge was torn a little. Their service was not very good and now I have to find out what the heck happened when they were looking at my car. I will never ever go to CarMax. I did not appreciate their service at all.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Oct. 12, 2012

    My nightmare started on August of 2011 when I decided to buy a convertible Mercedes at Carmax. After only having the car for 2 weeks, I had a huge leak on the roof, engine problems and many other problems. I brought the car to Carmax at least 10 times regarding this matter. Since I live in South Florida and it rains a lot, I would come to work soaking wet due to the roof. Finally one day, I got into a car accident because the roof was leaking. I was trying to dry myself and I didn't see the car behind me when I was backing off the parking lot. I decided to exchange my car for a Mercedes truck in February of 2012 thinking that would resolve my problem. Guess what? Less than one month after having the car, I already had several problems with the trunk, airbag light, oil leak, etc.

    I think that overall I have been there over 20 times and I am so sick and tired of them. To make matter worse, the manager and their representatives treats you like they are doing you a favor. Please keep in mind that I paid over $4K for my warranty! Thank God! What makes me so mad is that they advertise that their used cars are Carmax Quality Certified, which means every vehicle on their lot must pass a 125+ point certified quality Inspection by one of their technicians. Yes, right! Their own mechanic told me that he didn't think my convertible was ever inspected because I had so many problems. I would love Carmax to take their crappy car back and return my money, but since I don't want to mess up my credit and I know darn well they wouldn't try to help me, I guess I am stuck with this piece of crap of car.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Oct. 11, 2012

    I purchased a 2005 Trail Blazer from Carmax in Rockville on April 5, 2012. The tires which were on the vehicle when I purchased it were brand new. However, after driving it, I noticed a very loud tire sound (almost like the treads were sticking out of the tires). Within the last month, I noticed it getting louder, so I had my personal mechanic check them. All four tires are beveled and don't round to the ground. I recently had two incidents where the Blazer fishtailed on me and one of the two times, I almost hit another car. I called them yesterday and spoke to Ed ** (the service adviser), explained the situation and he said that they wouldn't replace the tires.

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    Reviewed Oct. 3, 2012

    I purchased a 2008 Ford Edge from the Greenville, SC location and within the first 30 days, my brakes were squeaking. I took the car in and they told me that I had metallic brake pads and I just needed to break them in. A month later, I had to have the rotors tuned and the brake pads replaced at my expense because they said my extended warranty did not cover this. Six months later, my car runs hot and is smoking. I took it in and they could not find the cause. The car was sent to the water pump, was replaced after 3 weeks because CarMax didn't own the tool needed to replace the water pump.

    After getting the car back in less than 2 hours, my car ran hot again. CarMax again could not find the cause of the problem and sent the car to the Ford dealership. My car was supposedly fixed and once I got the car back, the car ran hot again in less than an hour this time. They got the car back and replaced the fans once again and supposedly tested the car for days. Well again, after getting the car back a 3rd time, the car ran hot and was towed in. The fans were replaced and the transmission overhauled. Once again, the car starts to have issues with skipping and shifting into neutral while I was driving by itself.

    When I took the car back to CarMax, the Sr. Mechanic told me I had to take the car to the transmission shop. I asked him if they would tow the car and he told me no. Again, the car shifted into neutral as I was driving the car to the transmission shop and I was almost rear ended. The transmission was fine. CarMax damaged my battery and the acid had eaten the transmission cord. CarMax refused to fix my car. The owner of the transmission shop fixed my car for free because and said that he did not know CarMax conducted business this way.

    Now, my car is cutting back because it took CarMax so long to fix the overheating issue. The motor head is cracked and I am still responsible for paying $465 a month and my warranty has expired by 125 miles. The miles that CarMax put on my car doing the supposed extensive test driving to ensure my car was fixed.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Sept. 26, 2012

    I purchased a 2009 Hyundai Accent from CarMax in Ellicott City, MD in May 2012. The vehicle claimed to have only 27,000 miles on it and was in "perfect" condition according to their ** inspection. I got the car’s oil changed right on time near the 30,000-mile mark. After the car was serviced and the oil was changed (I watched them change the oil the entire time and even asked them to take apart the engine because the engine was clicking), about a month later the car’s engine caught on fire while I was driving down the highway. Thankfully, an 18-wheeler on the other side of the highway came and put out the fire underneath my engine. I got the car towed to Day’s Hyundai in Morgantown, WV and upon inspection of the damage, it was seen that the fire was caused by built-up oil sludge. I called CarMax and not only did it take them 3 weeks to even give me a clear response, they said there is nothing they can do about it and that they had no idea where the car came from, but it passed inspection.

    Insurance said the same thing and since it is a maintenance issue and not a mechanical issue, they cannot help me. Now, I am slapped with a $3,500 bill for a new engine. I am a college student and had to drop out just so I can work just to pay off this amount of money. Do not ever buy a car from CarMax: they will screw you over and give you false information regarding the history of the car. Also, they do not stand by any of the cars they sell. They will lie directly to your face just to sell a car - horrible company. I will always tell people to never purchase a vehicle from here on. In fact, if anyone asks me a recommendation on where to get a car, I will tell them it doesn't matter as long as you don't get it from this sinister establishment. I guess everyone has to make a buck, though, right? I pray your business goes under very soon.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Sept. 23, 2012

    Untrained Carmax salesperson Alan at Mt. Zion Road, South Lake Store in Stockbridge, GA - We found a car in Charlotte, NC and had it shipped to Atlanta, GA. First of all, the car was very loud from road noise. Needed tires took three days to get it ready for GA. It took two days to put tires on and I made several trips to lot. I had my Capital One blank check in hand. Alan worked numbers after my car was appraised. He gave me a price that I would pay to buy the car. I came back ready to buy the car. We talked same money for the car. He came in to say he made a mistake on the numbers. He didn't add something in and he said he had other people to look at it and they approved it. I have the check in hand and he told me this. When he sat down, I asked if everything checked out. He said, "We will get to that. First things first." After he told me he screwed up the figures, he acted like, "So what? Get over it." He apologized once and it did not sound sincere. Alan or Carmax owes me an apology for the salesperson's mistake and lack of knowledge.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsPrice

    Reviewed Sept. 4, 2012

    On 08/03/2012, I purchased 2008 Chevrolet from the Carmax Dealership in Norcross, Georgia. We love the little car. It gets very good gas mileage. We had a problem with the car being hard to start. I called the dealership about 5 days prior to Warranty Expiration and was told to bring the car in. On the morning that I was to take it, it would not start. We got a wrecker to haul it in. The service department could not find anything wrong with it. I was with the car and took it back home. It ran okay for a few days, but started giving problems again. The dealership gave me an appointment to bring the car in on 09/03/2012 which I did. They called me later that day to say that there was diesel fuel mixed in with the gas. I do not know how or where this happened. I am the one who pumps the gas and I do know the difference. They told that it would cost $530 to do the repairs which is awfully high to. I am on a fixed income since I am retired. I don't have a money tree in my backyard. I called Corporate Headquarters but did not get any help. When I bought the car, I purchased an extended service contract and was told that if any problem came up within the 30-day warranty period that it would be fixed with no cost.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Aug. 27, 2012

    I should have been a smart shopper and read online reviews before I went to Carmax. We bought a Toyota Yaris on Friday, August 17; returned, based on their 5-day policy, on Sunday, August 19. I expected to have the refund check back to us by Friday of that week based on the information we had received at the dealership in Orlando. So on Monday, August 27, 2012, I called the "corporate office" to find out when the check was mailed. So imagine my shock when they told me they were waiting to verify that funds had cleared my account. When was someone going to tell me that they need to verify that? Needless to say, funds cleared my account on the 20th. So not only were they sitting on my cash, they didn't even bother to reach out to inform me that they needed additional verification. Wow! And this from a company that prides itself on customer service! This was my first attempt at purchasing a vehicle from Carmax; and needless to say, my last time. I will never shop Carmax!

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    Reviewed Aug. 27, 2012

    This is ridiculous. After the huge problem that I had with CarMax back on 12/31/10 about the rip off they did to me, they had the nerve to sell the car that I returned back because it was probably a salvage car. They sold it to an innocent customer who bought the car again. I just cannot believe that. Please, if you are looking for a car, do not go and shop at that dealer (Burbank). They will sell a piece of junk like they did to me. Just don't do it.

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    Customer ServicePriceFinancing

    Reviewed Aug. 20, 2012

    I'm a huge Mustang fan and I've owned 8 of them. So when I walked into CarMax in Torrance, CA looking for a new set of wheels, I set my eyes on a 2003 Mustang GT convertible with 32,000 miles. The price tag was $13,000 which I thought was a little high because the car is worth about $6k - $7k but it had low miles and ran pretty good so I wanted to get it. I didn't qualify on my own but with my wife on there also, we were approved. Let's keep in mind, after financing, the car was $32,000. Yes, you aren't dreaming. A $13,000 car went up to $32,000 but at the time, I was so caught up and excited we took it home. I got some new tint, oil change, new speakers, the whole 9 yards.

    Two weeks later, I got a call from the manager saying I need to return the car because the finance company didn't want to finance us anymore. I was like we were financed and had the car for two weeks and you guys are threatening me about returning the car (smh). Anyway to make a situation not get worse, I brought the car back and asked for my $2500 cash down payment. After all, you guys sold me a car. Now I had to return it so I need to get another car ASAP to get to work. Their ** told me I would be sent a check & you know, I was heated at that point because I didn't give you a ** check, I gave cash money ($2500) but that aside, I cussed them out and had to wait almost two weeks to get the check.

    The crazy thing is I had receipts for everything I did to the car and they told me to call it a loss because they would not pay me for what I did to the car. This was the most embarrassing car buying moment ever and I would not want another hardworking taxpaying citizen to go through this at all. So stay away from CarMax and FYI, I got another 2003 Mustang GT from a small dealer for $5,500 & $7,500 after financing, so ** CarMax!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Aug. 18, 2012

    Misrepresentation of facts: I purchased a vehicle in 2011. At the time of purchase, the sales rep quoted me 8% financing. I questioned it as it was unusually high. I have good credit and I make payments on time. Reluctantly, I agreed to the 8%. I found out after having made several payments that I was being assessed 9.9% financing instead of 8%. I called the finance office and was told to call the dealership where the vehicle was purchased. The finance dept. there forwarded me to the original sales person. I reminded the sales rep of the original quote. He said he didn't recall and put me off on his sales manager who was unavailable. Far too often, women are victims of cunning practices that we do not understand fully going in the door.

    I know I was taken advantage of and did not understand that I would be assessed 9.9% instead of 8%. Out of 11 payments that I have made, only $2,000 has been applied to the principal balance; the rest, $3,380.54, has gone into the pockets of the dealership. This is not right and it is much like the mortgage practices that brought about so many foreclosures in the past 5 years. I am requesting help with this. I know there is something that can be done to help me, and there are countless others I'm sure that have experienced this and struggling to make payments. Thank you very much for your time. Please respond.

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    Reviewed July 22, 2012

    Here is my complaint about Carmax: Less than two years ago, we went to the location in San Antonio on I-10. We test drove a few cars, and settled on a Dodge Caliber. When they brought it back from being washed, there was a squealing in the engine. They said that a little engine cleaner got on a belt, and that it would go away. It never went away! The first time the a/c compressor went out was just over a year owning the car (still squealing each time the a/c was turned on). This was in October 2010. The second time the a/c compressor went out was October 2011 - just 1 year and 12 days after the last time. The third time the a/c compressor went out was just back in May of 2012. Each time the a/c compressor starts to downslide, the squealing gets worse. The fourth time the a/c compressor went out was just last month in June of 2012. This time, not only did the squealing get worse before it stopped working. There was a resulting rattle to go along with it.

    Hey, guess what? I went to Wal-Mart not 2 hours ago, and the a/c compressor went out! Rattles and everything! Who would've guessed? Now, as I implied earlier, I live in San Antonio, and it is the middle of summer. Not acceptable. How many times does Carmax expect me to swallow the story that Dodge came out with a new compressor to fix this problem? At this point, I expect Carmax to replace the car, not the darned a/c compressor. I've had enough of the squealing and of the excuses. (Although I understand that is unlikely, I am just extremely frustrated.) Now, because the a/c doesn't work in the 100-degree weather we are having, we cannot go driving tomorrow (Sunday) as we had originally planned for our family outing.

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    Reviewed July 10, 2012

    On July 2nd, I took the car to Goodyear, the alternator was bad. Goodyear called and got approval to fix the car, but CarMax wanted to send them a rebuilt alternator. That took 3 days. The alternator was bad. They sent another one which I received on July 10th, it doesn’t work either. Now, the parts division said they are washing their hands of this claim. My wife will be without a car on Thursday to go to work. I did rent a car which was partially paid for by the warranty, but they only gave 10 days. I am still out $100 from renting the cheapest car Enterprise has. Enterprise is also a national rental place for CarMax care. I have spent 20+ hours on the phone, so has Goodyear. What a joke, I guess the game is who will blink first. Please help.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed July 1, 2012

    2006 BMW 750LI - On September 20, 2011, my fiance took me to the Valley Auto Mall in our hometown to purchase my birthday gift. After visiting a few dealerships, we finally decided on Carmax. The salesman assigned to us had been helpful, mentioned their cars were certified and he didn't harass us. We looked around freely, we were also told by them that they didn't work on commission. At the time, we thought nothing of it. We took the car for a test drive and it all seemed fine. Our salesman walked us inside and we proceeded with the paperwork. While we waited, he explained that if we should change our mind within a few days of purchase, we'd be able to bring the car back in get our money back with no questions asked. Again, we thought nothing of it. We assumed he was just being helpful. I mean, what did he have to win? They don't work on commission. We said to ourselves as he went to get the rest of the paperwork that he needed my fiance to sign.

    At the time of purchase, we decided to get the MaxCare warranty being that work and parts on these cars tend to run expensive. A week later, our salesman called us to check on the car and to ask if we liked it. Again, we thought only that he was being nice. On 12/14/11, we had only owned the vehicle for 2 months and 24 days when we had to take it in because yellow fluid started leaking. When we dropped the car off, we were told work would be completed by Friday, December 16, 2011, which proved to be a complete lie. On Thursday, December 15, 2011, we received a call stating that the parts wouldn't be in and work would be completed until Monday the 19th. We called early Monday morning and we got the runaround. We left a few messages for the service department and no one ever called us back. We tried on Tuesday and again, no one called back.

    Being that our days off at the time were Wednesday and Thursday, we decided to make an appearance on Wednesday. But before we could even be on our way, we finally heard back from a man named Lorne ** from the service department. He informed us our car would be ready for pick up on 12/22/11. He reassured us that we would be able to pick it up then. Finally, we showed up on Thursday and after a $250 deductible payment, we drove off with a vehicle that had been repaired, only to find out that this would be the beginning of our nightmare. As I got in the vehicle and started to drive off, I noticed the sensor light was on again. I turned the car back around and had to make a brand new trip to Carmax for the second time, only minutes after driving off because the sensor on the car stated that airbag on passenger side had to get checked.

    As it turned out, the airbag had to be replaced and we were again left without a car. We ended up having to get a rental. Not only was not having an additional car a huge inconvenience, but by leaving us with only my fiance's car to get around in was more expensive than having 3 luxury vehicles because it cut back on time we spend with our kids by having to get ready for work earlier, having to drop my fiance off at work by 4:15PM, drop our 3 young children at their grandparents, not to mention the expensive cab ride from my fiance's job to my job after he got out of work was getting expensive. But he would then pick up his truck at my job, pick up the kids and turn around and pick me up from work. Even though we had done that since 12/14/11, being that it was almost Christmas, we kept in mind that we had to save money more than before.

    We didn't get our car back until 12/29/11. Being that we were left without a car for 16 days, they waived the additional $250 deductible, which didn't please us since the rental car came out to almost $500. On 01/24/12, we scheduled our first appointment for an oil change. We then again took the car in on 04/19/12 for a second oil change, at which time, we informed them the brakes were making squeaking sounds. We stated that they felt weird when driving but they told us after looking into it that they had resurfaced the front and rear rotors and treated pads and that the car was in no need of brakes getting additional work done. We asked them if they were sure of this and they reassured us the car was in great working condition and that it'll be months before anything had to be done regarding the brakes. During this visit, they charged $146.39.

    A few days later, I made an appointment to bring the car in due to my parking light being out during at which time, they advised I'd be better going elsewhere because they were back up and the only available date they had was 05/22/12. I took the appointment anyway because on their limited warranty, it states that if we take the car to get work done anywhere else other than Carmax or places selected by Carmax, we would be responsible for payment and/or repairs. We mentioned that the brakes were still feeling weird and they mentioned that they seemed fine, that sometimes, brakes on cars squeak. During this visit, $109 was charged. On June 15, 2012, as I was exiting the freeway with our 3 children in the car ages 4, 6 and 7 in the backseat, the brakes took a few seconds to take effect. By some miracle, I somehow kept my composure, pulled into a street and proceeded to drive a few blocks down to their grandparents' house. As we arrived safely, I kissed them and told them I love them and that I would kiss them goodnight when I get home from work, as usual.

    After driving off to work, the car kept acting up. After I got out from work as I again exited the freeway, the car took even twice the time as before to stop, only this time, I was grateful our kids weren't with me. When I got home, I informed my fiance and we decided to call first thing Saturday morning to make an appointment. All they had available was 06/28/12, so we took it the appointment not having another choice in the matter. But after he drove it and realized the front brakes were completely out, we got a tow truck to take the car in to Carmax on 06/19/12 because we found it unfair that we have only owned the vehicle for 9 months and 11 days and make our payments as scheduled, yet we keep getting left without a car. We have gotten the runaround from all the supervisors Ira and Bill and their entire service department. They take a day or two to call us back, after we've left message after message. This has gotten ridiculous.

    What made me the most angry is that after 5 messages, I was finally transferred to Bill and explained my frustration and told him I was mostly upset because our kids were in the car. His reply was, "Well, at least you're all safe." Are they serious? Would it have taken my children to be in the hospital and for my fiance to be a widower before even having a wedding for them to fix a problem? I had already mentioned on 2 previous visits. They have lied over and over again on when the car would be returned to us, but the car note still arrives on time. We have been given 4 different dates on which we'll be getting the car back and nothing yet. This is very frustrating only because with this company, we have spent more money than the car is even worth. I doubt anyone can put a price on their children's lives. I don't know what else to do, but I will make it a point to tell as many people as I possibly can on how unprofessional they have been and our horrible experience with them has been.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed June 19, 2012

    I am going to write a positive review of the Albuquerque store and general manager. I purchased a Porsche Cayenne. Upon noticing that the car was close to $60K, I mentioned that the plugs and drive belt might need to be replaced. The general manager disagreed but said he would send the car to Porsche and have them decide. He sent the car to Porsche and keeping his word when Porsche recommended replacement, Carmax of Albuquerque paid to have the work done. In addition they noticed the electronic part of the instrument cluster was faulty. By the time the Porsche was finished, it was a $3.5K bill. Later, the paint peeled on my rear hatch. Markus said he felt that it was never touched up correctly and repainted the back hatch.

    Some of you may look at this negatively but the point is that they wanted a happy customer. When something was wrong they bent over backwards, worked with me and kept their word. Not all Carmax locations are the same as New Haven does not come close to comparing to the care and attention I get from Albuquerque. Hell, New Haven managers won’t even return a call. But I would whole heatedly buy from Albuquerque. I have had three cars from this location, a Land Cruiser, Mercedes and a Porsche and always receive excellent help. I know a lot of people write of negative experiences and I wanted to give a positive story.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed June 19, 2012

    Last month my husband and I bought a 2010 Nissan Versa in a Carmax dealer in Doral City of Miami. On our way home, he realized that the plastic cover under the front fender was loose and the hood didn't close properly, so we got back and asked for an appointment to get it fixed. They had the next Sunday available. I got there and they gave me a loaned car. During the next 7 days, I had to make every day calls instead of receiving them because no one cared about letting me know the situation of my vehicle. Also, the person in charge of it told me that he called me several times and left messages on my phone which was a lie.

    Anyway, the next Monday I received a call from the seller agent telling me that they found the vehicle "inoperable" and they couldn't give it back to me. So, we went there very upset and receiving any kind of apologies you can name, and the next day we got a 2009 Honda Civic in apparently good condition. Today, 10 days later, when I tried to start the engine to go to work, my car was dead. I asked for a tow and brought the car back to the dealer, as angry, mad and disappointed as you can imagine. Then, the mechanic told me the battery wasn't working, so I asked and I’m asking here, can we trust in the "super certified" technicians, service, mechanics and sellers of Carmax because they gave us all the warranties in the world that the car was in excellent condition and working properly?

    A car, supposedly almost new and with all the warranties of the world is in the service just 10 days after buying it. I gave my 2004 Jeep Cherokee in trading, and yes it wasn't a new car but never in the years I had it gave me any problem. Also, when I checked the document that certified the devolution of the Nissan, it reads in the reason for devolution: "The customer didn't want the car." Come on, are you kidding me?

    So, I have nothing to say but my worst rating to Carmax and their services. They have given us the worst time of our lives and I wouldn't recommend it to any of my friends or relatives. That's all I wanted to say. I hope it’s worth to anyone who wants to make business in that place. Thank you.

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    Reviewed June 17, 2012

    The original motor ran out of oil and destroyed the rods. It was replaced with identical motor out of Atlanta ($3,000), and 1,500 miles and 2 months later, the oil is still disappearing. I have looked high and low for answers and keep getting the same answer: "I don't know." I am very disappointed in this product. Very!

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    Price

    Reviewed June 12, 2012

    My Suzuki Reno is leaking a black gooey substance inside the vehicle under the glove compartment on the passenger side. My vehicle is under warranty; consequently, I took the vehicle back to CARMAX (which is where I purchased it) to have it repaired and they said that they did not know what the problem was. Ironically, upon leaving the CARMAX facility, I had a CARMAX mechanic look at the vehicle in the parking lot and within 30 seconds, he diagnosed that the sealant on the HVAC was leaking probably from overheating. I quite frankly find it very difficult to believe that a certified dealership with a certified a service department with certified mechanics were unable to diagnose in 2 days what one mechanic did in 30 seconds which now reeks of an impropriety.

    CARMAX informed me to take the vehicle to a Suzuki dealership which I did. The Sukuzi dealership stated the same thing that the CARMAX mechanic in the parking lot said, in that someone put a sealant over the HVAC box obviously to repair it and that they used the wrong kind of sealant which is why it is now leaking when it gets hot, particularly when the air conditioner is running. CARMAX is trying to infer that whatever it is, a private owner must have done it but the Suzuki dealership has stated that that type of extensive work was no doubt done at a professional shop and that it is absolutely ludicrous to believe that a private owner would do something that extensive to their vehicle. More importantly, the Suzuki dealership stated that it would be very expensive to repair!

    The Suzuki dealership informed me that the only reason to put that type of sealant on would be in conjunction with a repair of the HVAC. Clearly the most probable solution is that CARMAX repaired the HVAC before they sold it to me and subsequently put the sealant on it; however, someone obviously put the wrong sealant on it and now they do not want to face the responsibility concerning their negligence.

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    Sales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed June 11, 2012

    My wife and I recently bought a 2010 Chrysler Sebring at the Henderson store. Due to the hot outside temperature, I didn’t go out and look at the car as the car was for my wife. She picked it out and did the test drive. About 5 days later, her son told her that there was a piece of trim under the front seat and that it was missing from the driver’s side rear fender. I went out to the garage and took a look as I was curious as to how it got into the car instead of on the fender where it belonged. I was not happy about what I saw. I used to purchase cars from auctions in the Greater St. Louis, MO area for sale on a small car lot that I owned. What I saw was bodywork all along the driver’s side rear fender. It’s fairly good work, except that I can see the tell-tale ripples that are present when body putty is used and a mismatch in the paint color compared to the driver’s side door.

    What bothers me is all of the advertising about being “Max Ready” and then they are not disclosing a large amount of bodywork to the buyer. Even on the showroom floor, there is a car that is tagged as not being “Max Worthy” as it had been wrecked, patched up and repainted. They body and paint work on the demo car is better than that which was done on the car that my wife purchased. The dealership has ordered a new piece of trim for the fender, but that does not explain the fact that the car had been wrecked, body-puttied and repainted and that it was not disclosed to my wife at the time of sale. It could make the difference between making a sale or picking out a different vehicle. Does “Max Ready” really mean anything other than a sales gimmick?

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingPriceStaff

    Reviewed June 11, 2012

    I filed a written complaint to the Enforcement Planning and Oversight office 10240 System Parkway Sacramento, CA with reply dated 21 May 2012. I forwarded the below compliant: No reply from CarMax Complaint division.

    "Customer purchased her 2002 P.T Cruiser from CarMax in June 2004. On 01/26/2012, Customer took her car to the CarMax Service Center, 1977 Thornton Rd, Lithia Springs, Georgia with concerns that her car, when idle, was skipping beats, shaking and the conditions were worse with the air conditioner on when in an idle position (stationary). Customer stated that her car was just not sounding as it should and sounded a little rough. Immediately upon arrival to the CarMax drive-in service center, Customer was greeted by Service Employee **, who met Customer at her car, opening the door for her and kindly encouraging Customer to tell her about the problem she was having with her car. Service employee said that the CarMax Service Center could do a visual to find out what was causing the car problems but could not guarantee that it would be the actual problem. She suggested that it could be other problems and that a diagnosis would be the best procedure in finding out exactly what was creating the problems with her car or if any other problems were causing the problems.

    Service Employee encouraged Customer to get a diagnosis that would guarantee that the appropriate correct problem or trouble with her car would be adequately addressed. Customer understood the diagnosis to mean a computerized (x-ray) of the entire system of her car. Customer waited in the waiting room until the employee returned with the itemized cost of repairs needed a total of $851.59 and decreased to $630.89. Customer talked with the Automotive Technician who had informed her that he knew exactly what was wrong with her car. Technician stated, working at another CarMax and having years of experience with PT Cruiser, and assured Customer that he had everything under control. Customer accepted her car with the understanding that all her car problems were resolved. Customer lived miles away, over 150 miles to Warner Robins, Georgia. She noticed still a little shaking when idle but thought this too would go away and that perhaps, the car needed a little time and this would correct itself.

    The little shaking missed beats increased. On a warm day, Customer turned on the air conditioner and the car was shaking and skipping beats while driving and when stationary. Prior to taking her car to CarMax, she could use the air conditioner when driving but not stationary and now she cannot use the air conditioner even when driving. Customer returned to CarMax on 03/6/2012 and as she drove into the Service Center, she saw Service Employee standing behind the counter, with no Customer, no phone in her hand, just looking out of the glass at her. Customer believed it to be odd that Service Employee did not come out to her car and greet her as previously on her initial visit. Service Employee informed Customer that she would have Automotive Technician talk to her. Immediately, Automotive Technician greeted Customer by telling her of the things that she must have done, or not done when the car left CarMax Service Center that resulted in the car problems.

    Customer informed Automotive Technician that the problems that she had on her initial visit were worse and that she had noticed a leak in fluid from her coolant on the driveway pavement that should not be. Technician went over the mileage of the car, and a list of other reasons that could have caused a problem with her car. Automotive Technician informed Customer that a lot can happen to a car from the time the car leaves the service center, and that any problems with her car were new problems. Customer explained to Automotive Technician that the problems that she presented to him on her initial visit were worse. Automotive Technician had many words and explanations coming from his mouth even bringing up the mileage on her car that was a problem.

    Customer explained that she, as a Customer, brought her car to CarMax with the understanding that the service center was professional, and stood by their "Carmax started out with a vision to change the way cars were sold and repaired. Company mottos like 'Happy associates 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." However, Automotive Technician continued to talk and said that he would perform a visual exam and informed her of his finding. Automotive Technician's visual exam revealed many oil leakages and many other car problems that could cost over $2,000. Customer stated that, if his visual exam revealed many problems with her car, then his visual exam would have revealed such car problems or repairs needed on her initial visit. Customer wanted to know what the purpose of the diagnosis was if a visual exam revealed such repairs needed.

    Automotive Technician continued to discuss other possible repairs needed and Customer left his presence. Customer went to Service Employee and asked to speak with the Service Center Manager, who was **. He asked Customer to come into his office to discuss her concerns related to her car. Manager stated, "Let me close the door; some people get a little loud," this was suggestive to Customer that she was not the only Customer that this has happened to. Manager basically approved the finding of automotive technician and that she needs additional repairs.

    Customer could not believe what she was hearing and wanted to know how CarMax could take Customer's hard-earned money and not provide the service that it promised. Customer informed Manager that she brought her car to CarMax as a patient would go to a physician with complaint of health problems and would expect her physician to find out the problems and treat medical conditions as a physician in his profession. Customer stated that she had a six(6)-month warrant on all repairs and wanted CarMax to honor their warranty. Manager stated that all repairs needed were new problems and that Customer would be given a new estimate of all new repairs needed. Customer asked to speak to CarMax Manager and was informed that his name was **. Service Center Manager escorted Customer to Manager's office and she learned that automotive technician had worked together in their previous position at another CarMax dealership.

    Manager agreed with Service Manager and Automotive Technician and informed Customer that she would be given a new estimate of repairs on her car. The new estimate was a total of $1,951.94 and all additional repairs needed were made by a visual exam of repairs. Customer informed them both that she planned to file a complaint due to the breach of their warranty and breach of fair dealing and false advertisement. There is no reason for Customer to believe that the CarMax Service Center would not come up with additional repairs if she had any other repairs completed at the service centers. The experience was unbearable, and humiliating in front of other CarMax Customers, who were listening to Customer's concerns related to the repairs not performed on her car as promised.

    CarMax Service Center has failed to honor their warranty and has provided false advertisement. Customer believed that she should have received better service than what she had received at other company in the past years. Customer believed that 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. Customer plans to file another complaint with the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) in the division of Consumer Affairs after thirty (30) days from the above date if no resolution."

    I am requesting: 1) To have the CarMax Warranty honored and comply with obligations; 2) To have any repairs fixed that may have arisen out of the extreme delay in correcting the repairs; 3) If Customer’s car failed to function/operate due to the increased in problems as listed above, for CarMax to replace car or make repairs in good operative function as required by Georgia Law; and 4) A response no later than thirty (30) days from date April 06, 2012.

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    Customer ServiceSales & Marketing

    Reviewed May 10, 2012

    I got my 2010 Acadia in February 2012. I had it less than a month when the AC would only blow hot air. I made an appointment to have it fixed per the warranty I purchased. The first available appointment was in 2 weeks (not acceptable service). Then they tried to tell me that it was due to corrosion and not covered under my warranty. Nothing will corrode that quickly and obviously, it wasn't checked prior to my purchasing the car. Now, it's May 2012 and I have multiple leaks on the garage floor. My brother who is a mechanic checked it out this time.

    It's apparent that nothing was checked out/repaired before CarMax sold me this car. I have another appointment to get these fixed (as my deductible is less than the cost of the parts, I would have to buy), but I am waiting for a call back from the manager so I can tell him of my bad experiences. Also, I am nervous for what's going to happen next? It could be anything and with 2 small children, I am afraid to go anywhere in my car, which I purposely bought to fit my entire family! CarMax is one big scam and do not treat their customers right after the sale is completed.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed April 24, 2012

    After a flawless first experience buying my Lexus at the I-10 location, I decided to buy another car from them. This would be my son’s first car purchasing experience. It turns out this has been the most frustrating and most unprofessional car experience in my 44 years! I ordered the car on March 2, 2012 from Florida, paid the transfer fee, and waited over a month to get it! It is the 24th of April and I still have not been able to obtain it! The excuse: non-working turn signals that has taken two weeks! Between the incompetence of the CarMax technicians to the unprofessional managers (**) who don’t call back, I have been patient and understanding, but this is a nightmare! Please help!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed April 21, 2012

    2005 Jaguar was in for an oil change. The oil pan gasket leaked. Extended warranty covered oil leak. The tech found the right side half shaft was seized in transfer case during removal of shaft for oil pan removal. It reassembled and cleaned underneath. It was test driven. The vehicle now has vibration during driving. The repair facility (Patrick Jaguar Naperville, IL) says: "Transfer case overheated, causing shaft to seize up." How and why did the transfer case and shaft heat up are my questions? The car has been serviced religiously since I bought it in 2006 from CarMax in Naperville, IL. The extended warranty company refuses to return calls to us and Patrick Jaguar. I’m totally unhappy with CarMax and the warranty company. Terrible customer relations on the warranty company.

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    Reviewed April 19, 2012

    I purchased a Mazda CX7 in April 2011 from Carmax. At 4 months of ownership, I experienced a loud noise which turned out to be the Turbo System. I took it to a Mazda Dealer for servicing and was told that not only that the Turbo System ($2,500.00 out of pocket that I had to pay) had to be replaced but that my engine was full of sludge and it was extremely bad (the reason why the turbo went bad). The Mazda Corp and MaxCare Extended Warranty refused to pay for repairs stating that "I failed to maintain the vehicle properly."

    This vehicle was part of a Fleet Service according to the Carfax and the salesman assured me that the vehicle went through the proper checks before being purchased. During the time that the turbo was fixed, I was told that some of the sludge had been cleared out. It is exactly 1 year and after 5 oil changes, engine flush, etc., the sludge is "the worst that I've ever seen, it's like peanut butter," according to several Mazda mechanics. Also, the Turbo System and engine will have to be replaced! Again, Mazda Corp and MaxCare Extended Warranty are refusing to pay for anything!

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    Customer ServiceSales & MarketingStaff

    Reviewed March 30, 2012

    Missing $1500 downpayment: Thank you for you time. I am sending this email in hopes that someone on your staff can assist me with an issue or provide any feedback that might lead to a fair resolution. On 3/29/2012, I arrived at Carmax Stockbridge location to make a final decision on the type of car I wanted to purchase. This day turned out to be the worst day I can remember in a very long time because of workplace integrity issues and the company's failure to make good to a customer that came to do some honest trading but instead was robbed of $1500 and dismissed to Mt. Zion Parkway to walk back to Columbus, GA. For the better part of the past two weeks, I had been in contact with a specific Carmax salesman about buying a car (names can be submitted upon request). Over the phone, we had the usual question and answer session. I was told what information was needed and it was promptly submitted to the salesman by fax. I was approved for an initial loan of $17k for a specific vehicle while we were communicating on the phone. Arrangements were made to arrive at the Carmax location on a specific date (3/29) to complete a purchase and be on my way back to Columbus.

    I was not alone upon arrival, I arrived with two companions. One I did not know and he sat in the waiting area and the other a good friend I have known since childhood whom I asked to meet me at a location and to drive me to Carmax to do a purchase. Since he was in the area already, it was not a problem for him. I test drove two cars. The first was a Nissan Versa and a Chevy Impala. While out driving the Versa along with the salesman, I was reminded of the downpayment and we made a stop to withdraw the $1500 payment for processing (receipt available). As per a previous conversation with the salesman, the payment should be cash because Carmax does not accept debit or credit as downpayment.

    Later, this was found to be not true. I settled on the 2011 Chevy Impala at 15k. The salesman and I went into room number 4 and began closing the deal. A new loan was submitted for approval. We also made contact with my current auto insurance provider and expanded the coverage to this new second vehicle. At that moment, I submitted and counted the $1500 downpayment to the salesman. He informed me that it would just be a moment and he can't take it right now. I sat the money in front of him while we did more paperwork. The salesman was in and out of the enclosed booth faxing papers or whatever is done in car sales. I even found myself going from the room to just outside the door to take a quick peek at the traffic in the building.

    In the moment, I slipped about 10 feet away to the men's room. That was not a wise move. When I returned, the payment was gone. Clayton County PD (case # **) was called and they arrived quickly, took a few minutes to speak with the sales managers and then came to question me. I immediately asked if they could check the video security camera to see who might have taken the missing $1500. There was no video surveillance in the booth area. There is an overhead camera only a few feet away and PD went to assess and determined the camera was facing the exit door in the opposite direction. PD then told me there was nothing they could do about this situation. They soon left. My transportation soon left for an appointment. I was left at the facility waiting for some type of resolution from the Carmax corporate office. I made contact with an analyst and an investigator. I also made left three voicemails with the regional manager. No call back at this point.

    In the end, I was told they are investigating and there was nothing that could done at that moment. Soon I was asked to leave the property under threat of calling PD. Dismissed and disrespected is what I feel. I take an honest look at the circumstances behind the missing funds and understand how the scene may look questionable. Nevertheless, I am a true victim today on every level and by all involved. So there I was, no new car, robbed of $1500, down $200 more from insurance and cast out into the streets to walk back to Columbus. Not even an offer of a ride to a bus or train station. I endured being questioned as if I stole my own money or set up some elaborate scam to rob myself of the only reason I had to be in Stockbridge (to buy a vehicle), and waited the better part of 5 hours more for satisfaction. None came.

    I walked off and away from the property headed up MZ parkway, another good friend was available and picked me up maybe 30 minutes into walking and delivered me to the Atl airport where I purchased a shuttle ride home to Columbus (I have receipts). I am not a thief and definitely not a dumb thief. I have been in my current position for 9+ years (retail management). To trade $15k for $1500 is just not smart. Someone in that building who probably is there everyday walked away from that building with an extra $1500 they did not earn and no one will do a thing to help this robbed consumer. I am in sheer disbelief and I am pissed about the events that happened on 3/29/2012 from 11am to 6pm and the way I was treated by the staff there. I would like for that company to offer me those missing funds to my approved loan company so that I may pick up my vehicle that should be on hold in my name or return my stolen funds, fully or in part. I only seek a fair resolution that revolves around customer service that exceeds, consumer protections and integrity.

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    Reviewed March 28, 2012

    I purchased a 2005 Dodge Dakota, Crew Cab 4WD from CarMax dealer in Fredericksburg, VA in October of 2008. All routine maintenance and mileage checkups are completed as well as oil changes every 4000 miles. To date, I have spent over $10,000 on repairs to this vehicle - $9000 of this was on rebuilding the rear end. All repairs have been performed at a Dodge Dealership with the exception of the first time the rear end went out and I was in the middle of nowhere with no Dodge dealer easily accessible. I can't sell or trade it due to being unemployed for about a year right after I purchased and car finance company (Santander) worked with me by delaying payments so I am really upside down in amount owed. Bottom line, the truck is a piece of junk and I will never purchase or allow anyone I know to purchase a Dodge/GMC vehicle!

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    Reviewed March 25, 2012

    I sold my car to CarMax. They advertised that they will issue a bank draft. That is a lie; they gave me a company check for $29,000 that bounced. Then, to make everything worse, they sent a cashier’s check. I deposited it in my account, the bank ran it and they refused to honor it. These people are not buying your car; all they are doing is brokering them, that way they make more money. They are liars and thieves. I have copies to prove everything I have said and would love to post them.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed March 8, 2012

    I bought a 2006 Pacifica in 2009. I also bought their Maxcare Extended Warranty. The car has shut off without warning more than 20 times. It has been taken into CarMax and the Chrysler Dealers numerous times. Repairs have been made, yet the car continues to shut off without warning. Furthermore, CarMax has stated they cannot recreate the problem so the car is fine. I'm afraid for my safety, the safety of my family, and the safety of others driving around me. CarMax's response is there is nothing they can do but they will buy my car back for less than half of what I paid for it and less than what is still owed on the car, and for me to buy another car from them. I mean they've got to be kidding me! The Maxcare Extended Warranty is still in effect, but it seems like CarMax is trying to ignore me as long as they can until the warranty expires and they no longer have to do anything. If I had the luxury of taking the car to a junk yard and buying a new one, I would do it tomorrow! But here I am a hazard on the road driving this death vehicle because it's my only means of transportation. I have contacted a lawyer; I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the Florida Attorney General.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed March 8, 2012

    My family has bought 2 cars from Carmax in the past; a 2004 Chevy Impala with 14k miles (still runs great with nearly 300k, no major work) and a 2006 Ford Focus 4D SE, that also ran great till a wreck; it had about 100k miles. So I went again to Carmax expecting the same level of service and quality as before. Boy was I wrong! I bought a 2008 Chevy Impala 3.5 litre with 36k miles. The person handling the transaction and finance kept forcing down my mouth extended warranty packages that I said I rather not purchase. I declined, must have been several times, over and over again.

    I noticed different type of people working there. Let's just say they looked unqualified. The brakes were bad, the car had alignment problem, the tires they had were the cheapest you could find and were unbalanced. When I was on the interstate, one of the zinc balance strips they had just flopped on which were basically just glued on had fallen off. I took the car back to have the problems fixed. I called for appointment 1 week in advance, dropped the car off in the morning and picked up in the afternoon and they still didn't have it complete. I finally got it back, though it took about 8 hours. They still didn't fix the problems like they said.

    So a few weeks later I took it to a local shop. Let's say after them working on it 45 minutes (I left car there to go back to work), I came back and he was shocked. All 4 wheels misaligned! The front right wheel was literally leaning sideways. All tires were unbalanced and a bolt that goes with the wheel that keeps it aligned was simply missing. He was shocked again how the car was even drivable. The cost was $140. Carmax so-called fixed the car from the start which was under warranty at the time was like $150 dollars.

    Carmax has went downhill, way downhill in the last few years. They lost a loyal customer. These were not car defects, people, this was pure lazy and incompetent mechanic workmanship of this car they sold to me and I'm sure to others as well. Also, I did an online survey with Carmax concerning my transaction which I thought didn't pinpoint me personally. It did! Since this was the case, I'll list the address of this individual store, the address is 2501 Powell Avenue Nashville, TN 37204, (615) 269-3703.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Feb. 14, 2012

    I purchased a 2005 Chevy trailblazer from Carmax in February 2011. One week after I had the car, I noticed that it wouldn’t crank on the first try. Then I called. They had me bring it in and said they saw nothing wrong. I then had the engine light come on and I was having trouble putting gas in the truck. They told me that it needed to be reset and that nothing was wrong. Well, here we are a year later; I finally got the funds to take my truck to the Chevy dealer. Its $2,200 to have my truck fixed and it was all broken when I purchased the truck. I feel like they are a bunch of crooked people. I will never recommend anyone to go there.

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    Reviewed Jan. 7, 2012

    I have a car that I purchase in 02/2010. That has become disabled three times in the road, stopping my ability to use my brake or gas. I have advised them that I almost got in an accident and the car is a danger to the roads and my only form of transportation. Despite the fact had a passenger and two children (2 yrs old and 4 yrs old). They are refusing to take responsible for selling me a lemon car that is a deadly weapon now. There has been 2 transmission put in the SUV in the past 3 1/2 months.

    It came out the shop on Thursday and broken down again so it had to be put back in the shop Friday. The fan for the engine you can stop with your bare hands. The engine shakes when on. The car broke down a few weeks after I got it and brought it back to them and they stated everything was fine and fixed but it shut down after that which I ate the cost. Then one of the pullies of the belt went bad. The clutch for the fan is bad. They sold me a bad car that they are refusing to do anything about. I'm afraid if I continue to drive it, it will result in a fatality.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Jan. 2, 2012

    I bought a 2005 Ford Expedition from CarMax of Roseville, CA on 9/12/11 with 84,034 miles. I totally bought into their You're buying a better used car by going through CarMax. CarMax of Roseville, CA are thieves. I will never recommend them to anyone and any chance I get, I will tell my horror story! It has been the most stressful 3 months, between dealing with about 7 different service people including the General Manager. It should be illegal what they are doing, I believe they are committing fraud.

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 21, 2011

    We went to CarMax in Boynton Beach to trade in our 2006 Honda Civic with 110,000 miles and bought a 2007 Volvo S40 with 28,000 miles on it. We loved the car until a few days after driving when we heard a rattling noise every time we made a left-hand turn. So, we brought it back to CarMax, and we were told that it must be something in the trunk (basically blown off).

    A few weeks later, the car keeps overheating. So we brought it back to CarMax and also told them about the noise again. They call later on same day and told us they need to order parts for the hose that broke to fix overheating problem. And now, they heard the noise and will repair that as well. Let's forward 4 weeks later. The car was still in service. Now, they sent it to Volvo to be looked at and a body shop. We told CarMax that we have had it after 4 weeks of this, and we are told that they still cannot locate the source of the noise.

    Not happy and after weeks of frustration of getting a different story from everyone we talk to at CarMax, we had no other choice but to get another car since the Volvo cannot be repaired. Now we are told that our credit score has changed, so the interest rate on the new loan will be higher and that is not their problem.

    Well, the only thing that changed on our credit was the new car loan! Of course, the credit score will be lower! So now we bought a cheaper car to get the same payment, lost the value of the original trade-in on the Civic and gained much anger. Then to top it all off, the salesperson told us that the Volvo should have never been sold to us and that it should just go to Volvo heaven!

    Yet, not one manager, service person, or salesperson that we dealt with made any attempt to apologize to us or try to make up for the mistake. We were not looking for anything that we were not entitled to just to get a decent car that runs properly! What a horrible place!

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    Customer ServicePriceStaff

    Reviewed Dec. 9, 2011

    Carmax did not meet my expectations. I was sold a car 2003 Honda Civic LX that supposedly had approx. 51,300 on it. The buyer, all staff "physically" inspecting the car failed to notice an easy to see sticker on the left side of the frame of the car that said the mileage had been reset to 0 in 2005 from supposedly 14,375. I noticed this sticker the second time I got in the car. I spent five hours at the dealer on one day purchasing this car, another 1.5 hours the next day explaining the situation after explaining it on the phone. I returned the car. I hope to get my refund check in three days. This impacts my ability to get another car.

    We purchased our previous car from Carmax. The price on the 2003 Honda Civic LX was about $2900 over the Kelly Blue Book. If this is for the extra care that was taken to certify the care was up to Carmax quality and then the extra checks while at the dealership it failed. I do not feel comfortable buying at Carmax now. The buyers were apologetic but really this should be a wake up call for the Sterling branch. I will share this experience with others if asked. Unfortunately, it's buyer beware now.

    Had I not noticed this sticker, I could be stuck with a car that may have had 151,300 miles on it instead of the 51,300 they said it had-- who knows what the actual mileage was. It was not disclosed in other records. A two-minute inspection of the car revealed it. I spoke with the person who sold me the car two days later and she was not even aware that the sale of the car had been canceled and the reason why. No one spoke to her about signing off on an inspection form without fully inspecting every aspect of the car. The Sterling Carmax's reputation for fulling vetting and inspecting cars they sell was on the line. They appear unconcerned. This is disturbing.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Dec. 5, 2011

    A warranty was purchased with the Chevy Equinox that we purchased from the Garland, TX Carmax location. We exercised this warranty when the heater core went out on this vehicle. The service people first tried to tell me it was the water pump when I clearly pointed out that water was coming out of the evaporator core drain. They replaced the water pump and would not acknowledge the existence of the heater core leak until they saw the leak I indicated. I have over 30 years of experience under the hood and I know what I am talking about. When I informed them of this, they totally had to shift gears and go another route. They performed (what they say) over $1200 of repairs on this car and my cost was $250 deductible. After two days, the car is still overheating and will have to be taken back. I'm interested in what kind of fish tale routine I will see out of those people. I know it was a chore to get into the dash but judging from all the high profile cars that were torn to the gills in their service dept., you would think they would have enough raw ability to make this repair. More to come.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 23, 2011

    I bought my 2007 Hyundai Elantra in February of 2011 with 51,000 miles on it. I also purchased their extended warranty. It is now November 2011 and I have only put a little over 8,000 miles on my vehicle. The clutch suddenly went out on me. I had it towed to CarMax as my service warranty advised. They were closed, of course. I called them Monday morning and they said someone would call me back. 5 hours later, I called again, because no one called. And I found out the mechanic hasn’t even looked at it. They promised me a call back before they close. They failed to do that. Today, Tuesday at 11 am, I still got no call. I called them again and they said they would see what’s going on and call me back.

    Three hours later, some uneducated girl in their "service" department called to relay my clutch is out and it’s not covered under my warranty. She then gleefully expressed that they are offering me a great deal that costs over $1,000.00 to fix it. I explained to her there is no reason the clutch should be out this soon! Even if I drove like a race car driver, the clutch should have life on it, unless their 125 point inspection is a complete lie! She said she would speak with her supervisor and call me back. It is now 7:30 pm and I have received no response from CarMax. I am reading through complaints and seems like there is definitely a trend here regarding them ripping people off and deceiving them about their inspections. If I would have known the clutch was worn, I wouldn’t have purchased the car! This is not okay. I bought this car from them so I wouldn’t have car problems anymore. I trusted them and now I really feel I got ripped off!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Nov. 18, 2011

    I bought a 2004 Nissan Armada in 2007. Early this year, white smoke began pouring out of the exhaust. After taking it to 2 Nissan dealers (I was told by someone at Maxcare that I had to take it to a Nissan dealer), I was told that I needed a new engine due to poor sealing piston rings burning up. When I contacted the warranty in charge, I was told they needed maintenance receipts showing that I had proper oil changes done. When I faxed these to them, I was told that my paperwork was in order.

    But before I could hang up, my wife received a call saying the receipts were not enough proof since they did not have the mileage on them and could not be used. When I called back and asked why, I was told one thing and my wife told another, no one could answer that. Then I was told that they wanted to send someone to look at the problem and wanted the Nissan dealer to break the engine down. I have a letter from that dealer stating that this was unneeded work since they had told Maxcare what the problem was. The engine was broken down and Maxcare still said that I didn't do proper oil changes even though I had receipts and I had just had an oil change before taking it to the dealer so new oil was in the truck then.

    Carmax says they cannot do anything about it other that offer me $4,000 for a truck I paid $32,000 plus for. My truck has been sitting at the Nissan dealer for over 8 months now with half of the engine still out.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Nov. 17, 2011

    I bought a 2007 Pontiac G6 from Carmax with the extended warranty Carmax offers. I have had to take my car to Carmax Service Center 6 times within the last three months. My Check Gas Cap light comes on, then the check engine light. I take it up there I have to wait hours for them to let me know they will have to send it to the dealership. I have to get a rental car and take time off from work.

    I am with out my car for 2-14 days each time. When I do finally get the call to come pick up my car, I was happy to be reunited with my G6. The very next day the same lights come on, check gas cap, and check engine. My car is there now for the 6th time (same problem). I got a call today that it's ready to go. So what would you like to bet my car still isn't fixed? To be continued. Oh, and the Extended Carmax Warranty is almost expired!

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Nov. 17, 2011

    I had to go through the car buying experience twice at the LAX location. The first purchase was a 2004 BMW Z4, and after 2 days of driving it. Tons of white smoke came out of the exhaust. I returned the car, and was told by their maintenance dept., the car was a lost cause. So, I gave them another chance to redeem themselves. With the 2nd purchase, the customer service was so bad. There were errors from the business office, regarding the signing of the documentation. No apologies! No sorry! Rude behavior from the management. My sales associates manager(s) were informed of the customer relations issue. So, I went back to the office to get some resolve, and the sales manager left me waiting in the lobby area for over 40 minutes (he never showed his face nor, came to speak with me). Knowing that the evening he had me waiting for him in the lobby, was the last day of the 5 Day Money-Back Guarantee.

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    Reviewed Nov. 16, 2011

    So I bought our used car on Oct 28th 2011 and a week later I had to bring it in for minor repairs but explained to them I could smell anitfreeze or oil. They came back and said that it was okay. One week later after my car was sitting over night, there was a leak under the car. I brought it back to the service department and they called today and said it was the water pump and they were replacing it. Now Carmax is trying to say after being approved for my loan that I need additional income or they will have to get me into a cheaper car! Really? I was approved. They ran my social security # a million times and lowered my credit score, approved me for the loan and now is trying to change my car! What kind of dealership is this place? If they do try to change my car I will go the the BBB and report their a***s!

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    Staff

    Reviewed Nov. 12, 2011

    I purchased a white 2006 BMW 325 with 36,000 miles on it in November 2010. I have loved this car for years and I finally got one. Let me preference by saying that I did purchase the extended warranty. One week later, the car started to idle really rough. The entire car would shake. It felt as though it was going to fall dead then the motor would rev really high only to idle rough again.

    CarMax couldn't fix the car. They were clueless. I took the car to BMW and they fixed the problem. A week later, at 6:30 in the morning, I was on my way to work the car would not start. I waited five minutes, tried it again and it started. Two weeks later, the same thing happened. I had to miss work so I could take the car back to BMW. They kept the car for an entire week.

    When I got the car back, it was running worse. I had had enough. I decided that I would trade the car in for a 2008 Honda Accord with 30,000 miles on it, again from CarMax. It was a big mistake. A month after purchasing the Honda, all the lights on the dash came on at once. It was so scary. The computer system (the brain) in the car had completely gone out. I took the car back to CarMax. They could not fix it and told me to take it to a Honda dealership. Honda checked the car out and asked me how long ago I was in an accident. I told them I had just purchased the car from CarMax. They were shocked. They told me to take the car back to CarMax. I had been sold a wrecked car!

    CarMax denied that the car had been wrecked and said they would not fix the car. I was hurt, confused, and disappointed. Honda stood behind me about the car being wrecked and wrote it all up for me if I ended up needing a lawyer. Too make a long story short, when I told CarMax that Honda was standing behind their theory of the car being wrecked, they decided that they would fix the car at no charge. They also gave me a loaner car to keep for a week free of charge. They still denied that the car had been in a collision. The TPMS light came on a few weeks later. I took the car to Discount Tire. They told me that my tire was missing a sensor.

    CarMax sells wrecked cars. It's unfortunate but true. I was burned twice by them. Since my experience, I have talked to several people, men and women, who have been burned by CarMax.

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    Reviewed Oct. 27, 2011

    I was told by Carmax service to take my 2006 Buick Lucerne to King Pontiac and they would honor my MaxCare extended service plan which I purchased in 2009 when I bought the car and warranty through them. The door handle fell off when pushing the remote to open door locks.

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    Customer ServiceContract & TermsStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 6, 2011

    I purchased a used Dodge Grand Caravan from Carmax in Louisville, KY on March 2011.I brought the van back, complaining about the brakes. They said that the noise was normal. I was not satisfied, but they agreed in writing that they would extend a 6 month warranty on the brakes.

    The brakes became progressively worse to the point that the van is not drivable. I called to have the vehicle towed in, but they will not honor their agreement. Their explanation is that they agreed to honor the work on the brakes, which they did nothing, but offered to look at them for free! I should have never bought the extended warranty. I can see what kind of service they have (none) if offered. They also would not let me talk to the original person who wrote up the agreement. They have terrible service.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Oct. 2, 2011

    I bought a 01 Cadillac DeVille that was in the Carmax show room. The car was supposed to have gone through their service department to make sure it was a great car to buy. The first thing I noticed was that there were gouges in the side walls of the rear tires. This car was in their show room. How was this overlooked as the tires were Armor-Alled? The tires were replaced with new tires before we took delivery. In the first week, we noticed a smell of burning crayons. The car was sent to the service department where the air intake module was found to be faulty and had to be replaced. It was a good thing that we purchased the extended warranty. Because over a period of 24 months, the car was in their repair shop over 18 times and stayed there for a minimum of 2 weeks to a maximum of 3 months. For the first 2 years, they had the car in the shop more than we were driving it. There is hardly any original parts left on the car. It seems that everything was replaced including the engine. The engine was replaced with a used engine, because every gasket was replaced twice and the engine was still losing oil.

    Since the extended warranty has expired, the transmission is now failing. The window regulators on 3 doors have failed. And the engine stalls when taking corners. I have contacted Carmax. But they said there was nothing they can do, and it's just our tough luck. I don't understand how they can sell cars that are shown to be defective and lemons. I mean come on. It was in their shop over 18 times for repairs to the electrical system, engine replacement, etc. And they say that all of these items wear out! This is so much ** that I could be a millionaire selling their fertilizer. I called their complaint line but that was like beating my head against a wall. I also spoke to the store manager and that was even worse. I wish a lawyer would get involved and have a class action lawsuit filed for the people that have legitimate grievances against Carmax.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Sept. 23, 2011

    I purchased my vehicle from Carmax in July 2011. 12 days later, I took the car back to Carmax because of it jerking and not getting the gears. I explained my situation to the service consultant and was sent home to have a technician investigate my concern. I was called back the same day to say my vehicle was ready and I could come pick it up.

    Not to mention that the car still had the same issue and was never repaired. Again, I took my vehicle back to CarMax because of it still jerking and now the car would not start again after I shift it into park. I knew it was not my battery because no lights came on and I had just turned the car of just less than 5 minutes ago. I shift the car down to neutral (this is an automatic transmission) and the car started. I took the car back and explained the car is still jerking and now it will not start in park.

    I had to actually explain this to a technician while sitting in the car. I also explained that when the park is finally started and it park, it rolls back as if the car is in reverse gear and I am giving it gas to move backwards. Not to mention, this has been over 30 days and the extended warranty has kicked in. I was told that oh your gear shift cable has broken and that is why you can't start the car and not to mention, this is also why the car was jerking.

    But no one could figure this out during the first time I took the car in because it was within 30 days and no money would be paid. I have contacted the service manager with no return call. After researching the problem on the internet, I realize that General Motors had recalled over 275,000 vehicles for the same exact problem, but of course "my VIN was not included". I filed a complaint with the department of transportation. I am extremely upset and expect this problem to be fixed.

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    Sales & Marketing

    Reviewed Sept. 11, 2011

    I purchased a car late February 2011. There was a part missing when I drove it. I was told that the part would be replaced before delivery. It was not. Within 2 months, there was a problem with the rear door not staying open and slamming shut. It took several weeks for that issue to be resolved. By the time I took the car in for the rear door, the shocks were bad. Then by the time I got an appointment for the shocks, all of the spark plugs were misfiring. The MaxCare warranty has not covered anything yet. CarMax is a scam of epic proportions.

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    Reviewed Sept. 6, 2011

    My husband and I bought a 2007 Jeep Commander at CarMax in July. On our way home with our "new" vehicle, the passenger side window fell in. The next day, the gas cap light came on followed by the check engine light. We had this for two days and returned it. We then traded in for a 2008 Jeep Commander. This worked out for two weeks until it stranded my husband and he had to be towed home.

    After contacting CarMax, they sent us a loaner car until ours could be repaired. After four weeks, we were informed that our second vehicle could not be fixed and we could pick out something else. For our third attempt at a decent car, we picked a 2008 Chevy Trail Blazer. As we filled out the final paperwork, they informed us that there was yet another problem with this vehicle as well. After sitting at the dealership for 7 1/2 hours, they then sent us home in the loaner car that we drove there in.

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    Reviewed Aug. 27, 2011

    I purchased a 2004 Crown Victoria Sport from Carmax on 07/08/11, up until this point, the car has been returned to Carmax on six different occasions for the same problem. Every time they give the car back to me, they said the problem was fixed. The Service Manager has been trying to pull the wool over my eyes this whole time by telling me this car drives well and he does not see any problems. The car has a tremble in the steering wheel. The car has been to the Ford dealer twice and no one can fix the problem. I have been without my vehicle for three weeks and finally got a call from a service manager stating that my car has the wrong rims on it. Little did he know I had already did my research on the rims and those rims were factory rims that came with the car, again still trying to trick me! He now wants me to go with hubcaps on my car! No way! He stated either I go with hubcaps or pick another car! The biggest scam in history!

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    Reviewed Aug. 5, 2011

    I bought a 2007 Honda Accord on 7/29/2011. The battery had problems before I wanted to test drive it already. So, the sales guy got the car battery charger and charged the car battery before we drove it off the lot to test drive. The car drove fine. However, at the end after deciding to buy the vehicle, I asked for them to check the battery life and to replace it because I was concerned that it may be old. The sales guy assured me that everything was fine and there was no need since he already charged it. I accepted his re-assurance and left with the vehicle. That same evening when I got home, I turned my car off, however, sat in my car listening to the radio for only a few minutes, when my car suddenly dies on me. The battery was dead. I had to have a friend jump my car and took it back to CARMAX the next morning and they replaced the battery for me. The manager gave me 2 coupons for oil changes and filled up my gas tank for the inconvenience, however, I had to ask him. No one offered.

    Second problem, my Honda remote key to the car doesn't work. I asked the manager the same day they replaced my battery to assist me with it. He told me I had to make a separate appointment to have their technicians fix my car or he told me I could go BUY the battery at a local store and replace the battery for the key because he's pretty sure that is what it is. Third problem: Now its been only a week I had the car and my ignition is having problems. When I start the vehicle, it makes a buzzing noise. I called the service dept at CARMAX and explained to them the issue and they told me they I could come in the following week so they can look at it. This is withing my 30 day inspection policy, however, I've already had 3 issues with the car. The inconvenience of going back and forth, wasting my gas and miles on my new car, and than having to take time off work and such to fix my car is frustrating that I have to deal with this.

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    Reviewed Aug. 1, 2011

    I purchased my 2007 Mini Cooper S from CarMax on 6/2/2011. The following day (within 24 hours of purchasing the car), I was attempting to leave work, and the car would not start. The engine would start up at first, but within a few seconds it would go off.

    I had to restart several times before the car was able to be driven. I called CarMax right away to have them look at the car, but unfortunately they weren't able to see the car until 6/10/2011, which was more than a week after I purchased the car. It was just outside of their fantastic 5 day return policy.

    In the week before I took the car back to CarMax, I noticed a rattling sound that came from the engine when it was idling. It sounded much like a small diesel engine. When I finally dropped the car off they were unable to find the cause of the starting issue, and they stated that the rattling sound was a normal operating sound of the engine.

    I knew that this could not be right; so I went home, and did some research. After five minutes of reading through posts on Mini forums, I decided to go out, pop the hood, and see what I can see. I immediately found a major issue, but not the cause of the starting issue. The intake tube was broken off of the air box, and was just sitting loose in the engine bay.

    I called CarMax to set up another appointment for them to replace the broken air box, which they somehow missed in their 125-point inspection.

    Two weeks later, the air box was replaced, but the car is still having intermittent problems with starting. The engine still rattles. Rather than wasting more time with CarMax, I decide to take the vehicle to the local Mini dealer, and have them see what they can find.

    I was blown away.

    Aside from a faulty fuel pump which they replaced themselves (free of charge under an extended warranty on that part), they found that the rattling sound came from the timing chain--stretched out of specification. It was a $2009 fix at the Mini dealer.

    They also found the source of the starting issue. Somehow in their 125-point inspection they must have forgotten to check all four spark plugs and ignition coils; which were completely rusted out, due to some genius washing the engine bay with a water hose. It was a $635 fix at the Mini dealer.

    When I bought the car, I also purchased MaxCare - Carmax's third party insurance company. After pulling some teeth (with the help of Robert at the Mini dealer), we got MaxCare to pay for everything-- except the spark plugs. All I have to pay is $292 for the spark plugs, and for the deductible. In all fairness MaxCare shouldn't have had to pay for anything. CarMax should have paid for everything; since the problems that they were either to incompetent to diagnose or simply didn't want to fork out the money for, existed within my first day of ownership.

    Currently, I am trying to contact Tony (the service manager at CarMax), to have him either pay the Mini dealer directly, or reimburse me for the $292. He is avoiding my calls. If he won't help me, I'll go to corporate. If they won't help me, I'll go to every media outlet I can think of.

    I understand that $292 isn't much money, but the amount of money isn't the issue. It's the principle of the matter is that after paying about $18k for a vehicle and warranty, I shouldn't have had to spend the following two months trying to get my car up to a standard operating level.

    If this is truly "the way car buying should be", then I'll ride a * bike for the rest of my life.

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    Reviewed June 21, 2011

    If you buy a car from Carmax, make sure you take it to your local dealer and have it inspected before your return policy runs out. If there is anything wrong with it, Carmax will have to fix it or just return it. They are cutting corners to produce more profit for their shareholders. Buyer beware!

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    Reviewed June 7, 2011

    I purchased my car on 5-9-2011, and dropped the car back off at Carmax on 5-12-2011 for issues that needed to be corrected. After a lengthy process to address and fix the issues with my car, it was ultimately returned to me on 5-26-2011. I had to return again to Carmax on 06-01-2011 for the same issue that I previously brought the car in along with other problems with the reliability of the vehicle. I was told by the agent at Carmax to bring the car back on 6-6-2011 because they could not address the issues until then.

    My appointment was for 7:30 am and I returned at 4:00 pm to check on the status of my car and it still had not even been looked at. I requested that the car be taken to a Mercedes dealership, who would know how to repair the issue that Carmax simply could not fix. I am now being told that my vehicle will be in the shop for at least another week. The service or lack of service that I have been dealing with is ridiculous. I will have owned the car for 5 weeks and actually had it in my possession for 1 week only.

    When confronting Carmax both locally and within corporate, I am told I should not be complaining since they have given me a rental car. It baffles me that I'm expected to be happy registering for a car, paying a loan on a car, and paying for insurance on a car that I do not have. Carmax responded that they are shopping for the cheapest parts and service possible. I simply want the car I am paying for and if they cannot provide me with the reliable vehicle they promised, I want my original car back. They have had possession of the vehicle and promised continuously to fix it while holding it until warranties expire. I no longer want the vehicle and want them to take it back.

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    Reviewed June 2, 2011

    Ok, so I went into Carmax in San Diego in April 2008 and was looking for an SUV. We quickly went into a 2004 Toyota Sequoia Limited and it seemed like a good price. We did all the paperwork to include an Autocheck that showed the vehicle was clear of any accidents. I had a great experience with the salesperson, manager and all the steps of buying. I actually love the truck, very solid, but sucks on gas. Fast forward to June 1, 2011. I'm looking to reduce my bills, get rid of the 2nd vehicle and consolidate debt. So, I know I'm still upside-down on the Sequoia, but ready to take a $2K loss just to be done with the payments and all. I took the truck back to the same dealer I bought it from, Carmax, because they offer a free appraisal. Why not? They seemed like nice people when I bought the truck.

    I went into the sales floor in San Diego and told them I was looking for an appraisal. He took the keys, identified the truck with a plastic number thingy, and we sat down. He asked me what I was looking to replace it and more chit-chat, to include updating me on the status of the appraisal. About 25 minutes later he brought me to a desk and started going over the appraisal process, market condition, condition of the exterior, mechanical, interior condition, Autocheck history, etc. He showed me their offer and it was pretty ridiculous! $3k below what I was moderately estimating. Then he went over the factors—everything on their appraisal showed good condition! So why the low ball?

    Looking closer at the Autocheck, there had been an accident reported in AZ! It showed "Vehicle damage reported as Disabling." What's worse? It was reported 3/16/2006! 2 full years before I bought the truck! Why wasn't it on the (almighty) Autocheck done on 4/13/08 when I bought the truck? I would never have bought the truck knowing it had been in an accident! All the sales person and the manager could do was offer excuses why it wasn't there when I bought the truck, how it was probably just a minor scratch that they didn't detect on their 125 point inspection, "I've never seen this happen before", etc. Well, here I am, stuck with a vehicle I can't sell (for any decent value), duped by Carmax and their Autocheck report that "wasn't accurate then, but is now". This caused loss of retail value of the vehicle and resale value due to late reporting by Autocheck or omission by Carmax. Carmax offered no resolution.

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    Reviewed May 18, 2011

    I bought a pristine luxury 2008 Mercedes-Benz E350 on 4/15/11. My friend (Hollywood detective sergeant) and I brought it in to fix a light bulb and minor wheel balancing on 5/10/11 only to find out the mech tech took it for a joy ride and was involved in an accident resulting in damage! Service dept tried to cover it up by telling me they remember 'seeing' the damage (not indicated on documents) as I had brought the car in that way and it was my responsibility to fix it as it was not 'fresh' damage. They brought me in to see the car, which was on a lift. Tires and lights missing, only the carcass was left. I could only see the engine cover damage and a crack in the passenger side front low bumper.

    I was flabbergasted and amazed by how I could have done this without notice. I was appalled by Carmax's accusations and could only blame my 18 yr old daughter for lying to me for not telling me she did it leaving her in tears, anguish and jeopardizing our trust. I asked how they know the damage wasn't done at Carmax and I was told that there was no way, as the mileage was the same as I brought it in (40191). They told me I was unable to bring it home 5/10 due to a light bulb having to be 'welded' on instead of screwed on. They provided a less than standard loaner car, Ford Focus. On 5/11/11, I was called at approx 2:00pm and informed my car was almost ready but they wanted to 'wash and vacuum' it and take it for a test drive so I could pick up 5/12/11. At this point I needed a clear mind and my friend and I once again went to record my mileage for verification.

    I arrived unannounced at approx 4:00pm and asked to be escorted to my car. The car was now on the ground. Tires and car were filthy with white dust. A battery charger was charging the back end battery and the car door and radio were on. I sat in the driver side and the mileage read 40915, it had been driven 4 miles! I told the rep he had misinformed me and my car obviously had been driven. No comment/. I turned to look at my friend, who was now standing in front of the car with a horrified look of disbelief. I felt my adrenaline run as I got out and walked towards the front. The front hood was scratched with black scratches and the Benz emblem bent in half and scratched up.

    The front grill was missing and the under carriage damaged with scooped up construction rock inside. The complete front fender was scratched, bent and completely misaligned from its adjoining side panels. Both side parking/fog lights were damaged, passenger side mirror destroyed, and orange paint side swiped on passenger door. I cannot begin to tell you the condition of disbelief, betrayal and abuse I felt. I was personally and emotionally distraught. I demanded a manager in which Angelo ** came and listened to my wrath of lies and negligence his employees had dealt on me.

    He admitted that it was apparent the tech got into an accident and did not record it. He also admitted that he was going to get terminated that evening for having committed the 'same' incident. How dare you let a disgruntled employee in such a liable situation where I now have to pay for his aggressive behavior? Angelo stated they would take care of everything and no accident would be reported on my car reports (Carfax). He was very empathetic and apologetic and I can see he was embarrassed by the lack of work ethics and negligence of his employees. He gave me a Toyota SUV upgrade to drive, which had a horrific stench of an ashtray. I called him a half hour later to tell him I was not going to pay their negligence and demanded the same quality and standard vehicle I brought in. The next day they suited not in a Benz, but a 2008 Cadillac SRX.

    It is now one week later, they have reported the accident to their insurance company but will have the damage recovered by a Mercedes specialist and their own shop, Ram and Sons in Ft. Lauderdale. My concerns are the inherent repercussions and depreciation my car will now have due to their negligence. This could all have been avoided had they held the employee responsible the first time he committed the same infraction. Their lack of disrespect towards myself as a customer and a professional is unacceptable. I bought a very high end luxury car from them, I question Carmax's work ethics and negligence to the fullest extreme.

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    Reviewed May 12, 2011

    I have purchased 2 Chevy's. (1) is a 2005 Chevy Malabu (2) is a 2008 Chevy Impala. The traction control light came on in the Malibu and when it did I could not drive the car. I got stranded. So much because of the traction problem that, when my Malibu was stolen I was elated.

    Now, I have a 2008 Chevy impala with 64,000 miles on it and I can't believe it! My traction control light has come on again on this car too. GM need to check on this. It seems that all the Chevy cars are having traction control problems. I hope someone steals this car too. You can bet, I won't buy another GM product.

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    Reviewed May 9, 2011

    Apparently selling your car is as much of a hassle as buying one here. Boyfriend took an old truck up there Saturday morning and was cut a check, which none of the banks here will touch. Waiting on resolution as we speak, the manager is talking to bank trying to figure out what the heck is going on. How hard is it to sell your car at Carmax? Apparently very hard. Stay tuned.

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    Reviewed Feb. 21, 2011

    I purchased a vehicle on February 2, 2008. I paid for 32 payments. I qualified for a deferment on August 17, 2009 and on April 28, 2009 so 32 payments plus 2 deferments comes to 34 payments. CarMax took the payment I made and applied them to the deferments making my account behind with the contract balance. The finance charges were applied and it came to $8,980.24 plus $659.33 worth of late fees. However, my full amount from money orders and checks paid came to a total of $11,593.97. There is $1,954.40 missing and not accounted for so some errors must have been made with my account. All I know is that I have been over paying. I have been in contact with John ** at ext. 4822 in reference to my account. If no one contacted me by tomorrow, I am going to see a consumer attorney.

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    Reviewed Feb. 8, 2011

    In August 2010, my husband and I bought my car at CarMax. This was the only time in 2010 we gave our Social Security Numbers for our credit report. On Monday February 7, 2011, I contacted the IRS because we couldn't file our 2010 income tax. The person who helped me at the IRS slipped up and stated that someone who worked or is still working at CarMax is using my husband's Social Security Number and that person filed a 2010 income tax using mine and my husband's Social Security Numbers and names. I believe someone at CarMax gave or sold our information that they obtained when we bought our car in August 2010 and should suffer the consequences for their actions.

    One would never know how many more people have been victims of identity theft through CarMax. Due to someone working at CarMax giving or selling mine and my husband’s Social Security Numbers and names, a federal investigation is being conducted, but my husband and I have to wait for our refund until this matter is cleared up. All these amounts of money we were to get back, we were to pay our rent and many other bills now and yet this process in placed on hold.

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    Reviewed Dec. 30, 2010

    I bought a car on 2008 a convertible Mazda with a soft top. Since 12-14-09, the car begin having problems with a water leak on the back of the trunk and getting into the front interior of the car and took the car several times approx 4 times specially when is raining in Ca. I went back finally after several attempts for them to repair the problem. He has the nerve to said to me that the car was old and as owners we need to keep the car in good condition, and that it was my responsibility to deal with the problem.

    They offered me to take my only car to Mazda dealer and make them deal with the problem without offer me any wise solution to the problem. I contacted Carmax Corporation without any luck. Either this is a ripoff for us as consumers because I believe that the car was sold to with a problem. I have done some research about this problems with /convertible Mazdas and is the same problem that I'm currently facing. They will not take any responsibility to repair the car they want me to do it.

    I am very frustrated because I am a long time customer of Carmax. I have recommended Carmax to so many friends, and its sad to say but I will surrender the car in a few days knowing the consequences of this act but I rather have peace of mind and be free of worries and stress in my life. Now they are trying to blame the problem to an accident that I had back on August 16 2008, a minor bump crash in the front of the car which was successfully repair. It's a shame that an innocent customer will be rip off like me again.

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    Reviewed Dec. 28, 2010

    I purchased a 2008 Dodge Nitro on October 27, 2010. I drove it for a week then I started hearing my breaks squeaking. I took it back then they said they could not hear anything but then when we drove it together, they heard it. Then they said that they would clean for the second time the rotor. It drove off the lot the noise when started again. I took it right back then they kept it for a day. After I contacted the corporate about the service, they called me to say that it was fit but after test driving it, the squeaking in the brakes was still there. Then they told me that it was a used car and to expect to hear some noises, my car has only 26,000 miles. They told me to take it to the dealer. I will never buy another car from Carmax. Their service is the worst I have experienced in my life. I would not recommend anyone to buy a car from them. That was my first and last time to deal with them.

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    Reviewed Dec. 15, 2010

    I bought a 99 ranger in Nov 200. In 2005 I discovered a problem I was having with my manifold was due to water inside the engine. The water was vacuumed out but unknown to me at the time rust had started to deteriorate the cooling system and July through Aug 2010 I replaced the cooling system. Recently, December 14, 2010, the truck overheated due to the cooling system rotting out due to same problem. The grand total of repairs will cost me somewhere around $3000 and even then the problem can resurface. Can I receive any type of compensation?

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    Reviewed Nov. 29, 2010

    My wife and I purchased a 2005 Mazda RX8 in August of this year. We knew during the test drive that something was wrong with the vehicle immediately. However the sales person, "Guy", assured us that all problems would be fixed before delivery of the car. The next few days arrived and it was time to pick up the vehicle. After driving the car off the lot, the car shut off at a stop light less then a mile from the dealership. My wife called "Guy' and he said it was most likely because the car was sitting on the lot for a while. He said to let it run for five minutes next time before we drive it. I got the vehicle home safely that night and the next morning, when I went to work, I followed the sales person's instructions and the car hesitated but did start.

    I noticed the car would buck when changing gears and smelled like something was burning. The coolant light and check engine light came on while I was driving to work. I called the dealership and talked to Joe in service. He told me to bring the vehicle down. They had the car for 6 days and said they replaced the battery, lower radiator hose and an AC hose. This was supposed to fix the coolant leak and stop the car from not starting.

    Over the next few weeks, the car continued to have the same problems. I brought the vehicle back again and this time spoke to the service manager Steve who assured me the car would be fixed properly. They replaced the upper radiator hose and spark plugs. The car is now worse than original. It shuts off constantly, I have to be jumped by another vehicle to get started, the oil light won't go off and the check engine light is permanently on. I called Steve and he told me that they would be willing to buy the car back and get me into a new vehicle.

    My wife took a day off work to get all of this taken care of and the end result was they were giving me 1700 dollars less than what I paid and the $2000 I put down was basically a wash. Therefore, there is nothing I can do with the vehicle because I am negative equity and lost my down payment. I went back to the service center the same day and spoke to Joe and told him that Steve needs to fix the car properly and not release it until it's 100 percent operational. Steve had left for the day and I was told he would call me first thing in the morning November 23rd. I never received a call... The car is non operational, it sits in my driveway and I had to rent a car with Enterprise to get to work, not to mention I am paying my car payment on a car that's not functional.

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    Reviewed Nov. 18, 2010

    I wish I had read all the warnings about this company. Do not buy a car from Carmax. I purchased a 2002 certified Toyota 4-runner from Carmax. While I was checking out the vehicle, I put the car into 4 wheel drive. The transmission got stuck in 4x4 and after much grinding and 2 sales agents fussing with the gears, it finally came out of 4 wheel.

    The agent assured me, we were having problems simply because the vehicle was not driven forward after engaging 4x4. The next day, I put the car in 4 wheel again and it got stuck. The transmission was completely stuck. I had my own mechanic look at the vehicle and he said the transmission was in bad shape. I returned the vehicle the next day and the staff was completely unapologetic. The promised they would fix the issue but after reading all the bad press on this company I will never deal with them again. It took them 3 weeks to return my money and now I am going to have to battle them to reimburse me for the interest on my loan. Do not buy a car from these people, they are truly shady used car salesman.

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    Reviewed Nov. 18, 2010

    At the beginning of the year, during the month of February, I had a car accident and had my 2003 E320 Mercedes totaled. I received a check from my Insurance Company and decided to look at Car Max for a replacement. In the week after, I received my check, I had found a 2004 E320 Mercedes at their Houston Dealership which didn't qualify for their free transfer to the DFW area ($150 charge). The car fax report did not have any negative reporting showing anything that had been wrong with the vehicle beforehand.

    When the car came in, I looked over the car with my Dad and we decided it would be a great car to purchase for it's price range .After having the car for less than 6 hours, the check engine light came on and I called it in to the dealership. I had it taken in and they replaced my break sensor, a gas sensor and reset my check engine light. I got the car back within the 2-3 days and thought that was that. After a week and a half my car's check engine light came back on again. And the same issues had to be fixed. After a 3rd time of the same thing happening, my car's issues had escalated. I was going to make a trip to my brother's Army graduation, and 3 more errors popped up at less than a 2 month mark of owning the car. This time the alternator, the breaks, the gas sensor and the break sensor failed and needed to be replaced. At this point, Car Max had covered most of everything since the majority of the fixes occurred in the first month of owning the car which was in the contract when I signed.

    When I went to pick up my car after the trip, I was told that they had been trying to fix the break sensor and another part that they had been failing to do the whole time. They then after 2 months decided to tell me they could no longer service the car for certain areas because it is not in their expertise and I needed to take it to the Dealership. After a short time, I took the car to the dealership and they found many problems with the car. I have taken it into the Mercedes Dealership over 3 times to get the car serviced for multiple issues. In that time, the car expense bills totaled up to over 3000-3500 which Car Max refused to pay for anything.

    Having paid for the $5000 extended warranty, I thought that there would have been some sort of coverage but there was none. I called up to Car Max and talked to their Mercedes specialist and he refused to give me any information about what my car had been serviced on and refused to give any past information since I had owned the car to the Mercedes Specialist helping me. Mercedes has done wonders in helping me, but purchasing a car at Car Max has been the worst experience for me. Going forward, I will never buy a car unless it is from the Dealership. The hard part throughout the whole process is that in the time I've had my car, for the past 8 months now is that my car has been in the shop over 2 months time and I am a 20 year old college student that does not qualify for a loaner car and has had to get rides here and there between 2 different community campuses for school and work.

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    Reviewed Nov. 14, 2010

    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!

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    Reviewed Oct. 29, 2010

    My husband and I purchased a car from Carmax in May 2010. The first car had to be returned within 5 days, that should have been our sign. We did, however, purchase a second Chrysler 300 from Carmax at end of May 2010. This car also had major issues:

    Carmax took the car back to "repair". Carmax had our car until mid-Aug. because every time they advised it was fixed and we brought the car home, the sames issues arose. I called into Carmax's main headquarters down in VA, they are just as useless. I was informed that they spoke with management in the East Haven store and they are satisfied with the results, one being the bumper was realigned and fixed properly, this is a false statement. The bumper before actually asking Carmax to take it to a Chyrsler dealer, could be shaken just from touching it. It was supposedly reinforced, this again was incorrect, the bumper is now falling apart literally.

    I have been trying in vain to get in touch with anyone from Carmax in regards to this matter since 10/25/2010. It's totally unacceptable. I have been advised prior by Julius, the manager in charge of the East Haven store, that my 60-day warranty has expired, as I explained to him why should we have to pay from our extended warranty for issues that have been ongoing since the car was purchased. They also expect me to be without a car and pay for a rental for their incompetence. Being that they have had my car more than myself and my husband, Carmax should issue us a loaner car while they take our car and get it fixed properly. This car is a $30,000 lemon. The navigation is faulting. The heat does not work unless on max. All issues have been brought to the attention of Carmax, still nothing.

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    Reviewed Oct. 25, 2010

    My husband and I bought a Volkswagen Passat with 18,000 from CarMax a little over a year ago. We also bought the extended warranty. Just recently the oil light went off and the indicator said to stop driving the car, which we did. Due to the warranty agreement, we had to have the car towed to the nearest Volkswagen dealer which was over 150 miles away. Then neither the tow not the repair was covered. They claim that there was oil sludge and it would not be covered. We have changed the oil every 3 months since we bought the car but obviously the previous owner never changed it. How were we to know that? The damage we incurred was due to the lack of routine maintenance by the previous owner. When CarMax certifies their cars, they don't stand behind their own review. Neither their precertification nor their warranty is worth anything. We lost over $1500. We will never buy from CarMax again.

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    Reviewed Sept. 27, 2010

    I purchased a 06' Chevy Colorado with 36k miles on it on Sunday September 12, 2010. On the way home from Carmax the passenger side window quit working. The next day, the ac would not work unless it was on full blast. The following day, the truck would not crank. My husband was late for work that morning and had to find another car to drive. When he got home, we were able to get it started so we assumed it was the pass lock theft system.

    That Saturday it did the same thing. The following Tuesday the truck cut off going down the road and we had to have it towed back to Carmax in Greenville. I called and said I wanted my money back and was told that they couldn't (wouldn't) give me my money back since it had been past 5 days. They called Friday and told me to pick it up and on the way home it cut off again going down the interstate! Someone could've been killed! And we had to have it towed again. I'm going up there to show my butt tomorrow. This place is a pathetic rip-off!

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    Reviewed Sept. 21, 2010

    I purchased a 2006 VW beetle from CarMax on July 17,2010. Therefore I had to wait until I receive ownership documents in order to registered and have a New York State safety inspection. I didn't receive my title until September 9, 2010, so they have said the 30 days has pass and the car is no longer under warranty. I feel the day I was able to register the car, should have been the starting day!

    Well, the car failed to pass the state inspection, due worn drive belt, and faulty fuel filter, that I have to pay out of my pocket for simple things that should have been replaced in their so-call 125+ point inspection. The reconditioning of car with the original drive belt and fuel filter at 84,000 miles, only say two things:

    1) They missed these items, when they were doing there inspection OR

    2) They are not doing what they claim. to recondition the used cars, and are just buying and selling cars.

    I say its the ladder of the two because, I had to take it to their East Haven Store on:121 Frontage Road , East Haven, Connecticut 06512, about a week after I purchase the car. The car was shaken when it was driven on the road way. (They had to see the belt was worn, and replace it, but they didn't). That's two different store's and the same result, Fix if customer complain is the way they are doing business, and if it no longer under warranty- Oh well!

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    Reviewed Sept. 16, 2010

    Car Max sold me a car with electrical tape on the battery and bad brakes and rotors. I have had nothing but trouble with this car from Car Max. My first experience was when I went in within the first 30 days and complained that the 1 year old car with 18,000 miles had a battery with electrical tape all over it and it kept dying on me and I had to get jumped. The service manager, Ed, could not put his apricot down long enough to help me. He told me not to worry about it and said he would take care of it if it did it again.

    When it died again, naturally he was no longer there and the other service managers said I should have come in within the first 30 days. Then, the emission control is valid for 90 days. I have 30 days to get to DMV to register the car. I went to DMV on the 25th day and found out the emission control expired within the first few weeks I had it instead of 90 days. When I complained to Car Max they said sorry, there’s nothing we can do.

    Then, the brakes went completely out. Within a few weeks of owning this car from Car Max, the brakes and rotors were shot. They refused to address the issue and said it was the way I drive it. I called the executive office and spoke to Margaret and she said she is there just to help and she did nothing. The manager at Car Max in Las Vegas was defensive from the first call, saying it was the way I drive it.

    This was a fleet vehicle bought from Hawaii that took tourists up to a volcano and they sold it to me with a bad battery and bad brakes and rotors. I would never buy anything from this middle man company again. They are not a dealer, they are not legitimate, and they have 18-year olds in the service department which really scares me. They took a vehicle and flipped it to me without making sure the car was sound. I would not buy a car from Car Max. If everyone that has had an issue with Car Max would file a complaint with the State Attorney General, when they get enough complaints they will investigate. A class action lawsuit would be awesome.

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    Reviewed Aug. 12, 2010

    Bought 2007 Toyota Corolla in 2008, paint peeling off, took car to two body shops and both said car had been wrecked and front end repainted. Took it back to Carmax and said untrue and tried their best to sell me another vehicle since I seemed unhappy with Corolla. Manager said he called body shops to ask why both had said car had been wrecked and repainted but the body shops said no one from Carmax had called them about my vehicle. Carmax lied to me.You can look under hood and see where this vehicle has been repainted. I will never tell anyone to buy from Carmax. They are very dishonest.. I will let everyone know about they will mislead you. We will be doing further investigating about this company.

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    Reviewed Aug. 9, 2010

    I purchased a cargo van with this company on August 1, 2010. Jason promised to get the front passenger tire replaced because it had a gash in the side wall. They then told me 4 days later that the tire was fine and would pass DOT Inspection. I took the van to a DOT-certified professional who told me that the tire would not pass inspection. I took the van back on Monday, August 9, to have the radio put in that we were charged for, only to be told that they no longer offer the radios. I proceeded to tell them about the tire and they said that unless I showed them the DOT report they would not change the tire.

    I did not pay for a DOT inspection I just got a certified DOT inspector to check that tire, so I have no report to show them. I should not have to show them anything since they are the ones that said they would get the tire changed as part of the deal on this van. I would not recommend Car Max to anyone. They will promise you anything to get you to buy the vehicle then when it comes to get the work done, they will weasel their way out of it.

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    Reviewed Aug. 8, 2010

    My husband and I welcomed our first daughter into the world and discovered our brand new Scion XD 2010(Paid off) with ONLY 5,000 miles on it was too small. So we drove two and a half hours to the Carmax in Kennasaw. It seemed like a nice atmosphere and the sales associate was nice at first. We were wanting something bigger that we could have room to grow in as a family. Well we looked for two hours in the 100 degree humid Georgia heat and decided that a Chevy Equinox was the car for us.

    We went back inside to see what they would allow on out scion so we could figure out what our payments would be. They were only going to allow us 12,000 and they had just sold the same car Only a 2008 with 41,000 miles on it in the lot while we were there for 15,999.and they would only allow 12 on our brand new 2010 Scion with 5,000 miles. The loan value from the bank on our car was 15,500 and banks only loan you 80% of what the vehicle is actually worth. Our car at the Toyota dealership lists at $19,900.

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    Reviewed July 23, 2010

    I purchased a 2007 Nissan Altima SE, ended up becoming a lemon due to the unskilled staff that performed work on my car. I kept bringing it in for various things as I had a 30 day warranty. As follows: June 12th - bought car. June 17th - brakes squeak, wheel alignment is off. Prognosis, the rear tire, passenger side was mounted backwards. Rotors were sawed down. July 5th - brakes squeak louder, installed new brake pads. July 9th - gas gauge is off. It went from 1/2 full to empty overnight. Want the 125-point check redone as several things were incomplete. Brought in car, got a loaner.

    July 13th - CarMax couldn't find problem with gas gauge. They brought it to Nissan Dealership - No leaks, ready for pick-up. Arrive at CarMax 8 pm and discover they did not redo the 125-point check. Left car there went home with loaner. July 14th - car is ready for pick-up. 125-point check redone and is complete. Arrive at CarMax at 8 pm, do a walk-around of my car, discover rear side bumper, passenger side is dented and scratched. Left car there went home with loaner. July 15th - car is ready for pick-up. Arrive at CarMax 8 pm. Conduct a walk-around; discover two claw marks like scratches on passenger door, drive side. Left car there went home with loaner.

    July 16th - called corporate office and made a complaint, car ready for pick-up. Arrive at CarMax 8 pm. Shoddy job done on the passenger door, looks like a magic marker was used. Complained and asked to have it redone. Discovered new scratches, driver’s side, from front wheel well down along side of bottom trim from drivers door halfway across to passenger door. Color is blue and white. Scratched down to the metal. A/C when in the on position is blowing out the smell of rubber burning! Hmm –now what! I stated the following, "What kind of incompetent people to you have working in the service department! Enough already! “Left car there went home with loaner.

    July 19th - receive a call from the GM from the Burbank CarMax. He was hostile and threatening. Said he was keeping the car because it was defective and it wasn't my kind of car. I said the car is not defective, your staff is! He then stated I had better bring back the loaner or the police will be called. I call corporate office - he said the same. July 19th - arrive at Burbank CarMax approximately 9:50 am with my entourage in tow - two Burbank Police Officers - one female and one male. I explained the entire story to the officers. We headed inside to find the GM and get things straight. I asked the receptionist for Brett - GM. Waited 5 minutes. Asked again where he was.

    She said he was in the business office. I said I would go find him with my entourage. I asked to see my car along with the officers. I showed the officers the car and all of the scratches, dents, shoddy job etc. Turned to the GM and said start the paper work and I want my deposit today! He said the paper work will be started immediately but not sure about my deposit getting into my hands today. Moving forward, signed off on the paper work taking me off any liability and got my deposit. In hindsight, there were many things wrong with the car. While taking it out for a Road Test, before purchase, the left turning signal was burned out. I asked how the car passed the 125-point inspection. That was the red flag!

    Conclusion: If I had not brought officers with me that day, I am sure things would not have turned out in a positive way. It amazes me that the Burbank CarMax is still in business with their unprofessional mannerism. Moral of the Story: When purchasing a vehicle go to a dealer and not a used car lot.

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    Reviewed July 23, 2010

    I left a message to make an appointment for my vehicle to be inspected before Warranty expires. I never received any call back so I left a message directly to Ralston telling him to make an appointment to bring my car in for servicing. Not once have I ever received a call.

    No damage done but one time, I was quoted $150 to fix something, then I came to find out it wasn't necessary, but it just needed to change the correct oil, as wrong oil was used previously when I took it elsewhere.

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    Reviewed July 14, 2010

    We wanted to purchase a 2006 Honda Odyssey. A salesman named Tracey gave us a verbal quote for our trade-in ($10K - 12K), and when they gave the offer, it was $8500. This was for a 2003 BMW 325i with 67K miles. I think they lack integrity. They could tell my husband was "hooked" on the car. Then, when we went to buy the car, they wouldn't take my date/time-stamped deposit slip as proof. I was forced to log into my bank account to "prove" the funds were there. It's an invasion of privacy. No other "retailer" makes you log in to your bank account. Here we are paying cash for the car and treated like cheaters.

    Then, when they found out the fund transfer for part of the amount wouldn't occur until the following day. I had to write two checks. Now, this was at 5 in the evening, so there was no way they were going to deposit the check that day. Also, I wanted to retain my custom plates but they said they don't have a link with the DMV so I have to make an appointment with the DMV to reuse my custom plates. So what were all the DMV forms we signed for? Their "customer service" is very self-serving. I don't plan to shop there again.

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    Reviewed July 8, 2010

    I purchased a 2007 Dodge Nitro from Carmax in January 2010. A month after having the car, I had to take it in (thankfully I purchased the extended warranty) because the gas fuel tank did not automatically shut off while pumping gas. They "fixed" it. They gave me a rental that I was responsible for tax and gas. I got the car back in less than 48 hours. Immediately the next time I had to get gas, I noticed the problem was not fixed. I took it back. This time they had me drive a Dodge Nitro off their own lot that was for sale. When it was time for me to return that car, I had to fill the tank back up. Lo and behold, this Dodge has the same problem my Dodge has. There’s no fuel filter when you pump gas. I mentioned this to John, my service rep, so he won't sell that car the same way mine was sold to me.

    Anyway, the second time around they actually had to put an entire new gas tank in my car! When I purchased the car, I noticed the car drove really loud. I thought maybe it was just a loud car. There was no shaking or anything for me to suspect it was the tires. But my boyfriend would get in and always say this is not normal, that my car should not be this loud. So when it was time for an oil change, I decided to take it to Carmax and get it done so I could also have them check the noise. The noise is from the two front tires. It’s a condition called "choppiness". They sold me a car that supposedly had brand new tires on it, but didn't. However, this problem is not covered under my warranty, and I now have to pay $240 for two new front tires. I tried calling to speak with an operations manager to complain. Of course, I got no call back. The whole thing about point inspection before selling is a lie! If they do that, they would have known about the gas tank and the faulty tires. I will never shop at Carmax again!

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    Reviewed July 1, 2010

    I bought a 02 Mini Cooper that was in good condition. Everything was fine except for the airbag light on the dash that would not turn off. I brought it to Alexander Mini Dealership on a Saturday since it was the one closest to me. Ivan **, the service supervisor, suggested a free service inspection. I agreed and immediately said that it was illegal for any repair shop to have a customer drive off when the airbag light is on, so they gave me a loaner. On Monday, they notified me of a thermostat leak and a faulty airbag wiring and that my extended warranty from Carmax would only cover a part of the repair which amounted to $441. Four days later, I end up paying $278.42. I did not mind paying that amount, thinking that it must be good since it's your own car's certified dealership.

    When I started the car and turned on the AC, I noticed that it was not getting cooler, and worse is it was churning out hot air. Disappointed and disgruntled, I immediately called back Alexander Mini Service and spoke with Ivan. He then put me on hold and a few minutes later, he told me to come back the next day to have it checked out, and I'm sure you could only guess what that means. I looked at my receipt again and noticed that there was a note that stated "Declined additional repairs: brake fluid, tires alignment, fan switch (fan runs all the time)." Dumbfounded, that's why I bought the extended warranty to help out when repairs as such occurs. Sure.

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    Reviewed July 1, 2010

    Through an Internet search, I located a 2009 Acura MDX at the Orlando dealership. After a couple of E-mails, I drove over 100 miles round trip, to view the vehicle. At that time, I also obtained an appraisal on my 2002 Lexus LX470 for $13,000, with an agreement that when I returned with the 3rd row jump seats in good condition, the amount would be increased to $15,200.

    The following day, I returned with the jump seats and to finalize the purchase of the Acura, along with the sale of my Lexus. However, through an attempted "Bait and Switch" scam, I was told that the $15,200 was never promised, even though I had it in writing. Being very angered, I took my car keys back and walked out of the dealership. It should be noted that over the past forty-five years, I've bought and sold more vehicles than I care to recall, but I've never been treated in this manner. I'm a very dissatisfied consumer and will make every effort to forewarn future Carmax purchasers of these tactics.

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    Reviewed May 26, 2010

    I got my car back in March 2010 for my birthday. The car was dirty in the inside of it. I didn't know until I got home because it was dark. That day while looking inside the car, I notice a smell. I thought it was from sitting up for awhile. That week I notice that the carpet is wet. I took my car back to the service department. They kept my car almost two weeks. They gave me a liner car. I took my car back for the second time with the same problem. May 25, 2010, I call for an appointment to get my car taken care of. The lady said she had nothing until May 25, 2010. I called a week or two before that date. Now, I'm still waiting on my car. I call them, Jimmy said they sill having found no leaks. I don't have a ride to get to work an around. I am a very busy person to not have a car. Please someone help me with this problem.

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    Reviewed May 1, 2010

    CarMax injured my girlfriend and ruined her dress and brand new shoes today. So my girlfriend and I took off of work today to go car shopping. We went to the North Austin CarMax first today to look for a new car. The salesman greeted us and told us to get on the back of his golf cart and he'd take us out to go look at some cars. We were driving around the lot talking about what she was looking for and saw a car we were interested in checking out. The immature salesman (probably about 21-22 years old) needed to turn around, and thinking he was being funny said, "Let me take evasive maneuvers." Yes, he really said that and whipped the cart around while gunning it. My girlfriend went flying off the back of the cart and onto the asphalt. I managed to grab the seat as my foot hit the ground and had my feet dragged a couple of feet until the salesman stopped the cart. There were 3 other sales people and a customer within 20 feet of us who saw everything. She is covered in bruises, her hips and back is sore, has a skinned ankle and elbow, and scuffed up shoes. It happened so fast we were pretty stunned and **. As we were walking back, the sales representative said, "Please don't tell them what happened, unless you want to see me walk out of here and fired."

    We ended up leaving. On our way out, one of the other sales guys had told the sales manager who asked us to file a report. He wrote the whole incident report up after we told him what happened. As we were leaving, I noticed he wrote in the incident description: "Fell off golf cart." I called back tonight to see what they would do about the fact we wasted the whole day, and my GF had to spend all day in bed in pain and the sales manager said nothing other than paying her medical bills. Don't ever go there. If she hadn't put her hand down as she fell, she most likely would have cracked her skull open on the ground. I suppose they would have just covered her medical bills if their negligent and immature salesman had killed her thinking he was being funny. I would not recommend CarMax to anyone.

    I feel like in addition to "taking care of all medical bills" for her, they should pay for her shoes and dress and do something to make things right. I called the sales manager to which he said the two have "nothing to do with each other" and Dan on the customer service line at CarMax Corporate said basically they would only cover medical, that's all they will do, and gave us the number to their insurance company. She's going to go to the hospital tomorrow since their insurance was a recording that said it was after business hours and she will most likely consult further with our Personal Injury attorney. We took pictures of her injuries and I assume any reasonable person who looks at their surveillance film will see the salesman whipping around the cart like a maniac and my girlfriend flying off.

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    Reviewed April 28, 2010

    I dropped my car off to have a recall on my rims handled and they returned my car with new rims. But now, it is so out of whack that if I hit 40 in it, the steering wheel shakes as if it was having a fit. I have to get an alignment and pay out of my own pocket. I called Nissan about the new rims and mounting, balancing and alignment are part of the recall so that the car is returned 100%, which Carmax failed to do .

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    Reviewed March 30, 2010

    On 7-27-07, I bought a 2002 PT Cruiser car from Carmax. On 11-3-9, the transmission started sticking and I took it to Carmax, and received the car back 45 days later after they outsourced to West Coast Transmission for replacement, and my engine and cooling system somehow got ruined and had to be replaced. I have a 9 page invoice of all the items that had to be done, while I made my payment and insurance on a car that was at Carmax, having who knows what they have done to it or driven by who knows who that did so much damage.

    The car has not worked right since, makes an awful noise and on 3-3-10 would not start, engine light came on, transmission is sticking after jumped, A/C makes terrible noise and no longer works. Carmax has cancelled appointments and turned me away when I physically brought the car in, even though it is still under warranty and "new" equipment is under warranty as well. Lonnie *** does not return calls or pick up my calls when I try to reach him about the car problems and I was told if I leave the car there without an appointment it will be towed away at my expense.

    I have a car I cannot drive that I am paying the payment and insurance, while I have to figure out how to get to work and school. I work retail, both day and night shifts and attend school 2 nights a week. My school is suffering because of the car issue, and it is not safe to ride public transportation so late at night. I am a one car person, and cannot afford another car and this one cannot be sold or traded in its present condition. Economic damage is paying for a car and insurance I cannot drive to work and school. While car was fixed for the first 45 days, I did not get a loaner car until the 4th week, which was a huge issue for work and school schedule. I made 3 payments of $379 and 3 insurance payments of $140 while not driving my car. $1557 is the total, not to mention paying others to drive me around, or not be able to do things because of having no car.

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    Reviewed March 20, 2010

    I purchased the vehicle on 3/11/08. I paid coupons ahead. All coupons in book. Carmax applied all payments to interest and refused to pay balance on car and is harassing me for future payments even though I have paid up what was on the payment stub. The consequences are harassing phone calls, un-validated late charges and credit reports.

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    Reviewed March 10, 2010

    I took my mom's car to be appraised; she is no longer driving. I told the saleswoman and appraiser that the car had been in an accident and the front bumper was replaced. I didn't bother to fill in all the details because: 1) I don't know the technical terms for all the damage that took place and the parts that were replaced and 2) I knew they could find this info on Carfax because the police were called, the accident was reported, and my mom was given a ticket.

    When the appraiser came back, the first condescending words out of his mouth were, "More than just the bumper replaced..." like I had been trying to deceive him. Then, he tried to pull the wool over my eyes (but I didn't realize that until a few days later when I called the manager at the body shop that fixed her car). He told me that her car was now not good enough to sustain another front end hit, because it had been damaged and repaired not as well as it had been originally made and would now crumple like a can, having been hit before. This he told me assuming that the car was not repaired right, without even trying to find out which body shop was used and what parts were used. He didn't even ask! And then, he offered only $8500 for her car - on a practically new Honda with 5000 miles on it!

    A few days later, I talked to the manager of the body shop who did the repair. He had noticed my back bumper was scuffed up and volunteered to buff and paint it at no cost to me and at the same time as my mom's. He had thereby earned my trust by doing a good job on my repair and for staying true to his word regarding any problems my mom's car might have. The manager said the Carmax guy was trying to get out of paying full price for her car by insinuating the car was not truly road-worthy anymore. Carmax lied, in other words. The body shop manager had already earned my trust by his words and actions, so I believe him when he told me that genuine Honda parts were used and that the car was as good as new now.

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    Reviewed March 9, 2010

    Where can I start this nightmare? First, I had the funds to purchase the vehicle I always wanted, brand new, cash money. I found the vehicle listed online at Carmax in Houston, TX. After about a dozen calls and three days of dealing with that dealership to get pictures of the described vehicle with no luck, I asked for someone to go out and describe the vehicle to me. I got two hang-ups from them. I guess they were to busy for a $40,000 cash sale. I finally asked for the GM and demanded for him to go out to the vehicle and describe it to me since they were "too busy" to post the pictures. I liked the vehicle so I paid the $599 to have it transferred to California. I was told it would take 28 days firm. I said that was fine for the funds for the sale were also 28 days out.

    It arrived 14 days early and I was treated like I was lying about the funds and was asked for proof that the funds were soon to be available. I showed the deposit receipt for almost $94,000 and the funds would be available in five days. I was asked to give a check and it would be held for the five days and then deposited for the sale of the vehicle. They lied. The check was deposited the same day and it bounced to the moon and completely ruined my vacations because my account was in a multi-thousand dollar negative amount plus the day I did pick the vehicle up, it looked like ***. I asked for it to be detailed and it was nothing more than rinsed off and not even vacuumed out.

    I was then apologized to profusely and promised it would never happen again and Carmax, I was then asked to provide a cashier's check for the amount since the check bounced (Carmax's fault). I went to my bank and acquired the cashier's check as requested. In the infinite wisdom of Carmax, they redeposited the check when I had already taken the funds out in a cashier's check. So, this check has now bounced for a second time. My checking account, for the second time, is now over $50,000 overdrawn and checks are bouncing all over the place.

    I spent several hours on the phone and at my bank's ATM doing damage repair for what Carmax had done to my account and had to re-deposit the cashier's check to keep other checks from bouncing, namely checks written to my daughter that they, employed by other banks, had any holds waived. Had these checks bounced, they would have lost their jobs due to Carmax's stupidity. Carmax Modesto promises they will reimburse me all expenses. But what I am saying what about the inconvenience and the defamation of character and the repeated trips to my bank and the "hours" spent on the phone with my bank and Carmax for their screw-ups? Plus, what if my daughters had lost their jobs because of this?

    Total tally: Pictures of the truck, three days; arriving 14 days early and demanding proof of the money; received the vehicle looking like ***; Carmax deposited a check that was supposed to be held for five days; demanded a cashier's check then redeposited the original check; almost causing the termination of my three daughters from their jobs as bank tellers. Can I express how angry I am with Carmax? Their incompetence is not measurable. Carmax must start some major damage control right now!

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    Reviewed Feb. 26, 2010

    I purchased a Toyota Prius at the Carmax in Norcross. The previous time I tried buying a car from them, the car had a bad transmission, so I took this one to a Toyota dealer to get it checked out. While at the other dealer, I looked at the new 2010 model and with the incentives they were offering, and a better interest rate, I was able to get a new model for less than the one I got at Carmax. Knowing that Carmax has a 5 day return policy I decided to get the new car and took the original Prius to Carmax figuring they would understand.

    As soon as I told them what happened, they began treating me like dirt. This guy Dabid who was supposedly the manager was completely disrespectful and started talking down to me. I began asking him a question and he cut me off and would not even listen. I told him he was being a jerk and he bowed up and became confrontational. His tone became threatening and as he was trying to stare me down. He began raining his hands towards me while making threats about kicking me off the lot and calling the police.

    Mind you, that all I did was call him out on treating me like a jerk simply because I no longer wanted to buy a car from them. In no way shape or form was his attitude warranted, and being outnumbered I felt extremely unsafe. I told David that I did not want to deal with him anymore and after that Carmax made the return process as difficult as possible. I've never felt so disrespected by a business as I did by Carmax. The return policy is part of their advertisement and they proudly tell you that you can return the car no questions asked. Well, if you do be ready to be treated poorly, and even be overtly threatened with violence. I will never do business with Carmax again.

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    Reviewed Jan. 22, 2010

    I purchased my vehicle from CarMax in April 2008. Since then my vehicle has been put in the shop 10+ times for repairs. I was sold this car under the assumption that with the extended warranty, CarMax would be able to fix my car for $50 a visit. CarMax has been able to work on my vehicle once, every other time it must be sent to the dealership. The mechanics at CarMax usually cannot even diagnose the vehicle as having a problem. They changed and rotated my tires and returned the car saying that everything was fine once.

    I was having problems with it so I took it to a Saab dealer. The Saab dealer said that the oil pump was leaking, the water pump was leaking, the head gasket was cracked and the tires were bald. CarMax rotated bald tires and didn't say anything, and they changed the oil on a car and didn't notice the oil leaking right back out. I have spoken to the Operations Manager who is claiming CarMax is not liable for any problems that we have had with our vehicle. He says it would be impossible to be able to be liable for every car owner that is upset when their car breaks down due to age and mileage. I have never heard of a car with 80,000 miles needing a new head gasket. CarMax has robbed us by selling us this liability of a vehicle and now they are washing their hands of us.

    Finally, I spoke with the Operations Manager who instructed me that there is nothing that CarMax could do to assist. They could not take responsibility for every customer that had repairs from aging and mileage being put on their vehicle after purchase. I am not an expert, but unless I am drag racing, I don't think a head gasket should blow on a car that has 80,000 miles on it.

    Result: CarMax is attempting to change PCV valve for $96.14 for the part and $20.70 for labor. If the car has to be transferred to the Saab dealership, CarMax will be paying the difference.

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    Reviewed Jan. 4, 2010

    I bought an almost $30,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee from Carmax in 2004 and obtained (5-year) financing through them. I have paid my bill on time every month for 4 1/2 years and was looking forward to the end of my car note when, unfortunately, I was laid off in August 2009. And this is when my nightmare with Carmax started.

    I called them and explained my job loss and asked them to work with me. All my other creditors worked with me, but Carmax wouldn't. Instead they started acting like loan sharks, calling me several times a day harassing me for payment. Whenever I was able to scrape together a payment, I promptly sent it to them, figuring this would show them my good faith effort on getting the car loan paid off. It didn't matter, the harassing calls continued.

    When I did speak with someone, I was asked if I could get a loan from family or friends or sell some asset to pay them. I kept repeating that I had lost my job and asking them to please work with me until I was able to find other employment. One of the reps told me that "Well, if you don't pay your loan on time, this gets put on your credit report which will make it even harder to get a job." Is this kind of harassment even legal?

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    Reviewed Nov. 28, 2009

    My husband and I shopped around looking for a good reliable vehicle for our family like alot of people we wanted a suv we decided on a durangoo because a friend had one and it seemed perfect. We found one with the help of Carmax in Greenville South Carolina. The durango was delivered to Carmax it only had 57k miles and was perfect, well for the first few weeks I had the car Ithought it was then the trouble started. Before I had even made the first payment on the car I had to take it back and they told me I had a leak in the oil pan and a few other problems that were all covered under warrenty not to worry. In the first year that I had my durango I think I took it to carmax to have it worked on at least 15 times or more for various things. Oil leaks, ABS system, idler pully (at least 4 or 5 times) they damaged my car while working on it and so on. The real trouble started when we were on our way to my husbands grandfathers funneral in North Carolina only an hour drive from our house. The check gauges light came on and there was no oil pressure. We had to call his brother at the funeral that we were going to be late to and ask him to come get us and have the car towed. The mechanic ask my husband had we been changing the oil in our car because there was so much sludge that same mechanic was the last on to change our oil so it had diffently gotten done. The bad news was then given to us at 122k miles we were told we needed a new oil pump, new engine, and a new water pump final bill $4,000. All of this for a car that we still owe around $8,000 for. We explored every option let the car be repoed, trade it, let it sit what do you do when you're still going to have to make payments, insurance and now this. We payed to fix the car because now everthing under the hood should be new and I will drive this car until the wheels fall off and never buy another dodge again.
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    Reviewed Nov. 2, 2009

    I attempted to purchase a vehicle from the local CarMax Auto Superstore here in Fredericksburg Virginia. I went to test drive two Ford Mustangs on their lot. When I was escorted by the sales person to the cars, both would not start. Obviously I was told that they had bad batteries which prevented them from starting. Nope not going to buy either of those cars. I wnt to look at a Dodge Nitro and it had bad tires on the front. The tires almost had steel chords showing. Accoring to the sales manager (no sales associate) the tires met CarMax standards. I asked what were their standards and could never get a straight answer. I left the showroom amazed that three cars were in this condition since the state that they do a 150 point vehicle inspection.
    I was leaving when I came across one of the mechanics on break, so I asked them about the cars. Here is a newsflash. The cars they get are from auctions. They get the auction cars and 'produce" them in the shop. At this store they have to 'produce" over 200 cars per week. He told me that they spend about 15 minutes checking over each car before they move it on to detail or the paint shop. How can a Fortune 500 company spend as little as 15 minutes checking out a vehicle that they want you to buy? Its no wonder that they have junk on the front lot that does not start or run. Fifteen minutes to check out a car that you want a consumer to drive and put their family into? No way!!
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    Reviewed Oct. 22, 2009

    Bought a Top of the Line Jeep Cherokee Limited with 28,000 miles and within 3 weeks it had to have an axle and U-Joints replaced. They wanted to give a used axle to fix it. I attempted to get the GM to assist us by letting us get a different car from them since it was recently purchased. He refused. He said if we see the car coming in regularly we might do something. 3 weeks after that the power steering went out, along with wind shield water squirt motor and it is back in the shop within 60 days of purchase. I contacted the GM, Damon, and I reminded him of what he said about the car coming in regularly and he brushed me off again. Car Max DOES NOT stand behind their cars and are liars. DO NOT BUY FROM Car Max EVER.
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    Reviewed Aug. 27, 2009

    I am so disgusted with Carmax. It's not even funny! On May 27, 2009, I purchased a car from Carmax South that I paid cash for (just under $10,000!). Since that time, the car has been in the shop about 5 times for repairs. On May 28, I noticed it was shaking while I was idling at stop signs, red lights, etc. So, I called the tech at the store, Scott, and he told me this was a normal problem and not to worry about it.

    After speaking with my step dad, who used to be a mechanic, about this, he told me to take it in. So after the car had been there twice and they "fixed" two different things on the car, they told me it was fine to drive. It's not true! After about 3 days of getting the car back the second time, it started shaking not only while idling, but while driving as well. And I mean violently shaking. It also will stall out on you while you're at stop signs, backing out of parking spaces, etc. (It's an automatic. It should not be stalling!) It even turned off on me while I was driving down Mopac at 60mph!

    I have spoken with the manager of the store, Zach; the mechanic's manager, Russ; and the cooperate office. They have no solution. It is going on five weeks that they have been fixing my car. I called to complain about it this morning, and this afternoon, my car is magically fixed! Yeah right! We contacted the head mechanic at the Dodge dealership that actually worked on it, and he said he was not confident that it was fixed and that he wouldn't put his daughter in it! Carmax told me it was fixed, but I don't think so! I refuse to put my life or my child's life at risk for this car! I think Carmax should replace my car for me! I keep getting the runaround. I am so sick of them lying after they sold me a death trap!

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    Reviewed Aug. 12, 2009

    The 2000 Toyota broke down on the freeway for engine failure. Car was taken to service dept at CarMax - Roseville, CA. Car is under "MaxCare" warranty.

    Service consultant, Jacob (**), told us that service tech's initial diagnosis of problem was "oil starvation". He requested the okay to tear down engine to investigate reason for engine failure. After engine tear down, they told us failure was internal, lack of lubrication, but unknown why engine was not being lubricated. We were told a new engine was needed, parts were damaged beyond repair. Paperwork for claim for work to be covered under warranty was needed.

    CarMax on site inspector reviewed service tech's findings & reviewed the paperwork. Inspector submitted claim to claims dept in Chicago. Claim was denied. Roseville inspector asked service tech if oil filter was inspected. Tech said there was no reason to, oil was clean & no visible signs of oil leaks. Oil filter was inspected, it was full of sludge & gunk. Last oil & filter change was done by Carmax Roseville less than 4000 miles ago. We called & talked to Edgar ** (1-800-731-2834) in claims dept in Chicago & asked why claim was denied. He said it was because of sludge in oil filter & engine.

    CarMax did the last oil change. We talked to a claims supervisor (Nate ** - 312-356-2725) in Chicago. He told us the claim was denied because of signs of no oil in engine. When we mentioned that the service tech's initial findings in Roseville was that engine oil was clean & full & no visible signs of leaks, he in a roundabout way accused of negligence & that the engine was being driven with out oil. At no time did any oil light come on or check engine light come on when we were driving. He hinted that we burned the engine & added oil before it was towed to the shop.

    Service dept in Carmax Roseville is telling us our warranty is not valid since we did not properly service the engine. They, too, are now telling us that we burned the engine & then added oil before it was towed to the shop. A rebuilt engine quote from CarMax is $6k. We strongly disagree that it is our fault. We service the car when needed & did not burn the engine & then add oil for a cover up. We feel that Carmax is trying to get out of the cost of replacing the engine

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    Reviewed Aug. 11, 2009

    Well for all of those interested in buying a quality used car here, do not! You would be very interested in how this company reconditions its inventory. They instruct their associates to rush through the "150 point" inspection on their "quality" used car. Let me ask you this, how can you safely check out a vehicle in a matter of 15-20 minutes? I don't know about you, but I would never purchase a used vehicle and place my family in it that has only had 15-20 minutes worth of inspection. This company has a quota to construct over 200 cars per week for its customers. I went to test drive two cars on the lot and two did not even start for the sales associate. The third had badly worn tires on the edges.

    According to the sales associate, this was okay because it was up to "Carmax standards". I was very surprised that the sales associate was very quick to provide me with all of the details on just how they recondition their cars. A 150 point inspection is done by an hourly associate that should be changing oil. Wow! Any hard problems with the cars are sent to the local area dealers (I was surprised when I also heard that their service department does the same). Did you know that they have a body shop on site? I guess selling vehicles that have been involved in an accident is okay for Carmax to do. Wait, they have a picture of a wrecked vehicle on their showroom floor that states they would never sell a wrecked car. Wow!

    Well, I could not even find any literature on what exactly Carmax standards are. So, I thought that I might have better luck at another one of Carmax's stores. Not! I went to the store located in Woodbridge and went to test drive two cars. You guessed it, one had the engine light on and the other had the abs light on. No way am I going to buy a car from this company. No way am I going to refer any family or friends to this company. I beg you, do not go to Carmax. The vehicles that they sell are not safe!

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    Reviewed Aug. 10, 2009

    I cant even begin to explain how disgusted I am with Carmax. Prior to this, I have purchased three other cars with them and will never go back to another Carmax again. I purchased my Lincoln LS 2005 three months ago. Since then, I have had nothing but trouble. A week or so after I drove it off the lot, the brakes started squeaking. I took it back, and in the next 30 days, I had to go back 5 times because it was never fixed right. All they kept saying was "We will check the breaks." Finally, they had to send it to a Lincoln dealership to have them change the breaks. The supervisor at the local Carmax even told me on my 3rd visit that it's because they put cheap brakes on it but that they fixed that. I should have known then!

    Well, a few weeks ago, I took it to the Lincoln dealership to have the air conditioner checked, because it was not cooling right. I was told it had never been serviced and had mildew and crud in it so it was going to cost $215 to correct that, clean it out, service it, check lines, etc! Well, a few weeks after, the car started having problems running, so I had to take it in again. I was told that there was no real service done by Carmax and that I need a list full of things (flushes, line checks, maintenance, etc.) and they had to replace a bad coil. Another $883. I had only made my second payment and am already down $1098. Additionally, I commented about all the problems I had with Carmax, because I had to have a brake service done as well and Richard indicated that he remembered my car when Carmax brought it to change brakes. He said he recommended this service to them at the time, but they said no and just change brakes.

    Carmax supposedly certifies cars before they sell them. We know that is not the truth, given my experience. When I contacted Carmax's home office with all the issues I initially had, they were very uncaring and unconcerned. The response I got was "We will contact the local GM." What he did simply was had a manager greet me! Ya, like that made a difference! I think they should be responsible to reimburse me the $1098 I have already spent just getting this car up to par. Keep in mind it is in the shop again, because there is an issue with the air conditioner valve! What a horrific experience. I have spent more on maintenance than on my (now) three car payments!

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    Reviewed July 6, 2009

    I purchased a vehicle from CarMax 3 1/2 years ago. It was used, so I know the Lemon Law will not apply, but I am hoping that the Magnus Moss Warranty claim will, or some other statute. It has continually given me trouble from the time I purchased the car. I did get an extended warranty, 36 months or 36,000 miles.

    While it was still under warranty, it was in the repair shop for approx 2 1/2 months. CarMax put approximately $4,000 worth of work/parts into the car to get it running properly. I put out of my pocket approximately $1,500 into the car at various times for various mechanical problems. I tried to get CarMax to renew the extended warranty when it ran out, but they would not. The check engine light has been on for at least 90% of the time that I have owned it. It is now requiring a new motor, the "Cam Journals" are shot. My mechanic said the motor would be $6,000 - $7,000 and to install would be another $2,000. I still owe approximately $5,500 on the vehicle. Do I have any hope in getting some help from CarMax or am I stuck owing for a lemon that is not worth another dime of my money?

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    Reviewed July 6, 2009

    On 8/9/2005, I was sold a 2004 Chevrolet Impala LS from the Sales Manager at Carmax in Rockville, MD. I have had continuous problems since purchasing this car. I have an oil problem, brake problems, and the gauge for gas tank stopped working after 90 days after purchasing the car. Most of the gauges don't work and overheat. I pulled a Carfax on my car and saw that it was a rental/fleet vehicle in Michigan on 4/27/2004 since it was brand new. I have attempted to deal with Carmax and they indicated there was a Maryland class action suit.

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    Reviewed July 4, 2009

    I bought a VW Touareg in May 2008. Since that time, I took the truck already to the shop 8 times. First was the flat tire sensor. I took it 4 times (2 with Carmax and 2 with VW) but at the end, it was fixed. Since June 2008, the headlights were flickering. In January 2009, the left side shot down and the right one still flickering. I took it to Carmax and they fixed the left one but for the right one, they said I have to wait until shutdowns as well.

    In the meantime, I was dealing with the check lights sensor. In May, I called Carmax and told them that the right side was shutting down and scheduled an appointment for service. They order the part to be fixed and scheduled another appointment. When I took the truck, they said the part was in good condition and they replaced the bulb and did not change the damaged part. On my way home, the check light sensor turned on again. I called Carmax again and they said to bring the truck and they will take it to VW. At the VW shop, they changed the bulb and repaired the wiring system and the Carmax paid for it because was not included on the extended warranty. They said they updated the headlight system and is not part of the warranty.

    When I left the truck at the Carmax shop, I had almost half of gas tank. They drove my car with the light problem and used the whole gas to drive roundtrip to the shop and never put any gas on it. I had an argument with the manager (Steve). He said that he will not pay for gas and I have to appreciate they paid for the light "update" and I need to leave the shop because he was done with me.

    One week later, the right headlight shut down and I called Carmax to let them know about it. They said they closed the doors for service due the argument I had with them and I need to take to VW on my own. I need to start in zero with my issue and I am not allowed to visit Carmax anymore. I called VW to schedule an appointment and they will be checking the truck on Monday. Gas money was almost $200 to take the car to the shop and still with the same problem. Now, I have to take it to VW, which will be more expensive to pay the deductible and start in zero since this problem should be fixed in January 2008 (the first time I took the truck to Carmax).

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    Reviewed June 27, 2009

    On May 26, 2007, I purchased a 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT. On June 25, 2009, I went to Patrick BMW to purchase a car using the Cadillac as a trade-in. From Patrick BMW, they pulled a carfax (vehicle history report). That's when I found out #1: The mileage on the Cadillac was not the actual mileage. #2: The Cadillac had been in an accident. #3: There is a problem with the title. All these things were in the carfax report from Patrick BMW.

    When I purchased the Cadillac from Carmax, they said and I signed an Odometer Disclosure Statement stating that the Odometer was the actual mileage and they did not tell me the Cadillac was in an accident. I would have never bought it. In addition, the Cadillac is financed through Capital One Auto, so I didn't know that there was a problem with the title. Carmax did not give me any information or choose not to tell me about the Cadillac. I paid $26,738 for this Cadillac with $15,000 down. Patrick BMW said the Cadillac trade is $5,000.00 because of the problems that were reported from carfax.

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    Reviewed June 21, 2009

    I bought a 2005 Grand Jeep Cherokee on 1-21-09. When I purchased the car, they asked if I wanted the extended warranty, which I purchased. On 6-12-09, the transmission on my car went out, so I took the car to CarMax and was informed it was covered under my extended warranty as well a loaner car. Several days later, I was told the car is not covered under extended warranty and that the original manufacturer's warranty drive and train should cover it. I contacted the manufacturer and they said that the drive train had expired because it was never transferred over to the second owner. I informed them when I purchased the car no one ever mentioned that. I was only asked if I wanted the extended warranty and what it covered through CarMax.

    The manufacturer said that the CarMax extended warranty would cover it. I spoke with Annette several times and she stated that her operations manager and she both agreed that the extended warranty should cover the car. She also stated that the extended warranty did not want to cover it because they feel the drive train warranty should cover it. Meanwhile, with them going back and forth, I have a rental car that they are telling me I have to pay for, as well as a $100 deductible and towing of car to CarMax of $130. All of which my extended warranty says that they cover: a $50 deductible and loaner car and towing. They have still not fixed the car after a week. All I have been told is that my car is at an auto shop and they were going to look at it.

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    Reviewed May 27, 2009

    My 2000 Ford Explorer's transmission died as soon as the extended warranty was up. It only has 80000 miles on it and now I'll have to pay close to 3 grand to fix it. I have had several problems with the car during the time it was under warranty and I had to pay 50 dollars to car max each time. During the first month of owning it the brakes needed to be worked on. The car once started smoking and a fuse had to be replaced. The rear wiper broke. The radio has broken twice. The handle on the passager side fell off. I also had to pay about 500 dollars to fix the door because it would not unlock. There have been numerous fuel system issues as well.
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    Reviewed May 27, 2009

    i purchased a 2006 envoy in march 2009 and while getting an oil change and 27 point inspection at a chevy service center, i was told that the noise i was hearing was the idler wheel pulley.  i called carmax and scheduled an appointment for them to check out the findings.  they called me later in the day to not only confirm the pulley being bad but to also state that the control arm, serpintine belt, and another belt needed to be replaced as well. i was then told that the warranty does not cover the belts and it would cost me $67.00 for the belts plus the $50.00 deductible.  i paid $1789.00 for an extended warranty which seems to be a joke.  the carmax warranty program is a rip off as well as their so called recnditioning program.  if my vehicle was put through a 127 point inspection as carmax proclaims they do, why were'nt the control arm and the pulley problems found in stead 2 months after the vehicle was sold.  also, having customers spend at least $1000.00 or more for a warranty and then charge them a deductible for each visit is wrong and dose'nt seem like a fair practice.  it should be looked into.
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    Reviewed May 18, 2009

    Purchased a 2004 Volvo S80 from Carmax with an extended warrarenty for an additional $2000.00 . So the car would not start in Feb 2009, so I contacted Carmax to have it repaired.They took it to Osteen Volvo to have the "specialist " repair it. Waited 15 days for an ignighter to come from Sweden. The Carmax tech picked it up and less than 20 miles down the road it caught on fire. Car is a total loss. The fire investigator hired gave cause as unidentified some where in the headlight area.The fuse panel was ok. So basically it was a freak fire? You will never convince me of that. Allstate is giving me fair market value based on Car Trader Ads- like I would buy a used car out of some one's drive way. Only I still owe another $8000.00. Once again a past Volvo owner gets screwed because of a fire? The car warrenty company was too eager to send back my refund and of couse Carmax was too eager to help and now I know why. Also Car Max and Allstate do not sell GAP insurance which would have covered this difference but dont sell it on used cars more than 2 years old. Again I the consumer lose. I will never buy another Volvo or a used car from CarMax. Volvo's are flamers so be careful. If you see smoke get out and get away from the car.
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    Reviewed May 8, 2009

    on the 4th of December i purchased a Nissan Quest when i went for the test drive i heard a knocking so i let them hear the knocking and the sales person told me its just because the van was cold and need warming so we let the van warm up then the knocking went away but it came back the following day so they keep saying bring it in so they can look at it but still they keep saying the reason why its knocking it need to change the oil so we let them changed the oil then the knocking was gone for couple hours then it came back again so they said its the transmission we changed the transmission get a different transmission then the same evening the same problem so we keep bringing it back like 7 times and it still keep messing up know they saying its the motor please can someone tell me whats the best way to go bye this can i hired a lawyer help me pleasae.
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    Reviewed April 27, 2009

    I purchased Mercedes ML 500 from car max in San Diego at 27000 miles and reported the break problem within weeks of purchase they attempted to fix but in vain now the car has 35000 miles. The car is beautiful and the brand Mercedes was the reason for purchasing my car.
    I am really disappointed with the car because of the horrible Break Squeak. It is dangerous and disappointing to drive the car with horrible break squeak. I do not feel comfortable pressing the break because I do not like the sound of squeak and it scars me even more. I almost had an accident while backing up. When I backed up my car it squeaked badly and I stopped the car and restarted again in the mean time person walking on the street thought that I had stopped for him and started walking behind the car. I almost ran over him and I had never seen him. Car Max has attempted to fix the problem many times and in vain.
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    Reviewed April 26, 2009

    Okay. Here is my story and I never thought that I would have a bad thing to say about Carmax. I have purchased 4 vehicles from them 2 new and 2 used. I had purchased a 01 Lincoln Town Car 18 months ago and had decided to trade up to newer and a bit smaller car. I drove 4 hours to get to the dealer because they had the car I wanted. I never thought I'd be driving back without trading. I got there and the salesman was absolutely stunned at the superb condition of my car. When I got it it was still a bit dirty and I had completely detailed it and had kept it in showroom new condition. I had all the service records since owning it in the glove box proven the car had been meticulously maintained.
    I drove the car I came to buy and it was great. So then this guy went to do the "evaluation" of my car. Now when I purchased the car 18 month before it had supposedly gone through the extremely thorough check they do for vehicles. I had only drive 12123 mile since purchasing it. I paid 11,999 for the car. Now when the price they would pay came back, 3500! Yep, the wonderful car they had sold me was now a piece of junk in their eyes. And the guy that did the evaluation was extremely rude and very insulting. In point of fact, I have never been so insulted in my life. I walked out with him basically still shouting at me that the car was now "worthless" and would have to be auctioned off. How did it happen that in 18 months the car went from a Featured vehicle to an auction item???? I was so upset but not deterred. I went to my local Mercedes dealer where they had a pre-owned event going on. I was treated as a valued customer and respected. I had parked my car over by the cars for sale while test driving the one I liked. Another customer came by and thought that it was ready for sale, it was that clean. While I was buying the car I drove he was ready to buy my old one. So much for a car worthy of only auction! The car I bought was certified, came with a paid up warranty to 100k miles and I got over 8k for my trade and paid 4 k less for a very comparable car and this one came with a warranty that Carmax would have had me pay 1600 for! They said they had never seen a car in such clean and wonderfully kept condition! Carmax, after 4 cars you have lost a customer for life. Next time you want to insult a good customer, hope they can recover and get an even better car at an even better deal like I did. Yep, Camax sucks!
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    Reviewed April 20, 2009

    I purchased a 2002 Mazda Tribute with extended warranty from CarMax in April 2007. Within 6 months, the transmission failed. I towed it back to the CarMax Service Center in Torrance, CA for repair. After a week in their shop, they told me they had rebuilt the transmission and fixed the problem. Three days later, I had to take it back for the same reason except, this time, the transmission fluid had flushed into the radiator and had damaged the radiator. They told me they had to replace the radiator along with the transmission problem. I left my truck there again for a second time for another week. They again told me they had fixed the problem and, in addition, replaced the radiator.

    Two weeks later, I returned the truck for a third time with the same complaint, the transmission problem. The truck was left there for an additional week to have the problem fixed. I picked up the truck once again and, a month later, I came back to drop it off for a fourth time. Only this time, I asked to speak with a service manager due to the constant problem I was dealing with. I insisted they take my truck elsewhere to get it fixed because they were not fixing the problem at all. The manager promised me he would finally take my truck to another shop to fix the problem.

    I left my truck for another week, hopefully, to get my truck fixed for good. It is now 6 months since the first initial repair and my truck once again is having the same exact problems I have been taking it in for the past 4 times now. I still have warranty on my truck but I have decided to file a complaint instead. The time, effort, mileage, frustration, and days off I have to take from work just is not worth it. So now, I have to look to get this problem fixed by my own account with my own money to ensure things get done properly, no thanks to CarMax.

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    Reviewed April 13, 2009

    This is actually a positive report. I bought a 2000 Chevy Blazer in 2006, with high mileage, and purchased the Carmax extended warranty. It is a pain that there's a $50 deductible for each and every item I bring it in for, even if I'm bringing it in with multiple issues at one time. But I think that the investment of the additional warranty was a good investment for me. I had a warped oil pan on my truck. I was out of the truck for a couple of days because the part isn't something that the local parts stores carry, but they set me up with a rental car and gave me a $25/day allowance for it. This single repair almost matched the cost of the warranty, but it's been in there for a bunch of other things: the door hinges, the rear hatch, mismatched tires that they replaced, the cruise control, the air conditioning, a broken seat adjustment handle, etc.

    Now while I had a positive experience with the extended warranty and all of the people in the service department, I still paid too much for my truck. When they compare the sticker price to the NADA value, they are using the very top end of the scale. My truck should have cost less than it did with the amount of miles on it and the features that it was equipped with from the factory, but that's a different issue.

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    Reviewed March 23, 2009

    My experice with carmax has been a disaster. CarMax is good at building illusions, just a few examples, when you visited the lot, did you notice that the cars that had been test driven by victims had a SOLD card hanging from them, and how they have this so called REJECT cars inside their buildings, that's the illusion they sold me thinking that i was purchasing a good quality car, just like they say they would. i purchased a Nissan maxima '08 with 622 miles, in feb/08, at carmax in duarte,ca. my car started giving me problems with the door locks, the brakes, the radio, the alarm, and the Air Conditioning condensation hose that was no were to be found, all condensed vapor was turing into water and filling up my car with it. i purchased the extended warranty, but carmax has it's customers use the manufacturers warranty before they are willing to spend any money to fix the cars that were supposed to be fixed before they put them up for sale. i spoke an an employee named jose and told him about the problem that the car was having. he told me to bring the car in, i asked him if the service department was open on the weekend he told me NO. I have a busy schedule and it's quite difficult for me to bring the car in for service on a weekday, so the next time i could bring my car in it was about 4 weeks after i had purchased the car. i took my car to the carmax store that's located in burbank,Ca. i was the first customer there and i spoke to a service agent named Lilian Lazo, i explained to her what the issues were with my car and what i had spoken to jose a couple a weeks prior. My car on paper it sounds like a good buy: '08 maxima with 622 miles. So i told lilian that what was going on with my car was unacceptable because first of all this issues should have been taken care of before the car was put up for sale, second why should a car this new have all this problems. her words were well you bought a used car, the first thought that came to mind was to cuz her the out, but i remained calm. she made it seemed like it was my fault the car was in the state that they sold it to me in. my car still has the door lock problems, it also has developed other problems, my transmission is sluggish, a loud noise has developed when i back up, a clicking noise coming from one of the axles, my electronic key doesn't repond all the time, and no dealer knows what the problem is, or they don't want to deal with it because i didn't make the purchase with them. my recomendations to anyone trying to purcahse a car from Carmax. DON'T DO IT!!, you'll regret it if you do. They don't care for their customers, all they care about is finding ways to rob you for your car and money. you would think those are harsh words, but take one step in my shoes and you would find a few more and better words to describe them. IF YOU'RE PLANNING TO PURCHASE A CAR FROM CARMAX, DON'T DO IT!!!!! you're going to regret it if you do, i have shared my experience with my friends and family that have been thinking of purchasing cars from them. i have stopped them from becoming the next carmax victims. THE WAY CAR BUYING SHOULD BE what a joke for a mission statement...
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    Reviewed March 10, 2009

    I purchased a 2001 Isuzu Trooper from CarMax in Sterling, VA in Feb. 2007. No major problem with the car at all. The car ran absolutely perfect until I took it in Feb. 2008 for and inspection and oil change. When I picked it up I IMMEDIATELY notice that something was wrong with it, so I called and took it back in to ask what they did to my car! Because when I dropped it off it was fine. Of course, they denied doing anything wrong but I knew that they did. I took it by another mech. who told me that the tech, probably when doing the oil change puncture something to cause the EGR Tube to damage. I was furious because I knew that they were responsible for this problem but they refused to admit to it. They give me an estimate to repair for $329.00 but I refused to pay them one cent. The car still drive, but it has a little noise from the exhaust. In the meantime I purchased another car to drive. The following year I take it back to CarMax for an inspection to see what they would say... they tell me that it fails cause of the ERG tube! So now I am steaming MADD because not only they are the cause of this problem pervious but they are now charging me $655.55 to fix it! I am still so mad that I can't even get everything out! CarMax Techs are so incompetent.
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    Reviewed Feb. 3, 2009

    Two months after we purchased a used 2001 Volkswagen Beetle GLS TDI from CarMax, at $16,394.86, including an extended warranty program, after CarMax assured us that it never was involved in an accident. Unfortunately, the car caught fire, while we were driving it to Tampa, FL to visit a family member, having surgery in Sarasota, FL.
    Other motorists on I-75 alerted us that the car was on fire and to pull of the highway. Thanks to them, we got out of the burning car just in time, and we watched helplessly while the car burned to the ground, before the fire engine arrived.
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    Reviewed Jan. 16, 2009

    My wife and I purchased a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo from CarMax. Along with the car, we purchased the extended warranty.Shortly after the front passenger heated seat caught fire.I called Carmax and spoke with the service department and explained in detail what had happened. I asked them to tell me what was covered under the warranty. The service manager told me the electrical system and electronics were covered.The service manager told me that the "heated seat catching fire was not mechanical failure".I told him that is not what the fire department said when they were putting out the fire! The service department told me I needed to contact my insurance company. I researched this problem and discovered that there was a Chrysler recall on an 04 jeep for the front passenger seat heat element malfunction and that is had been documented and known to cause a fire.I called the service department the next day and asked if CarMax does a safety inspection. The service department went on and on about how they do a 125 point inspection. I asked if they checked recalls for my jeep and they flat out stated that they forgot.Forgot to check for recalls on a car that they are selling? A recall for a potential interior fire? My 3 year old and 12 year old daughters were just in this car! The service manager "Joulian" told me that CarMax gave me a packet from the Manufacture to fill out and send in to the manufacture to be alerted of any recalls. I said "you bought the car first to resell it to me... did you fill out the friggin' packet.You just sold us a car that had a "DEALER Recall" for a documented Mechanical Failure which could result in a fire. That recall had been issued for 2 and a half years before we bought the car from you..
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    Reviewed Jan. 6, 2009

    I purchased a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer from CarMax in December 2008. Within 3 days of having the vehicle the check engine light comes on along with a tighten fuel cap message. Check engine light still on after the fuel cap is tightened. I call CarMax and they tell me to bring the vehicle in so they can reset the computer. One day later the check engine light comes on again. I again call CarMax and am advised to bring the vehicle back in. They hook up my truck to a computer and find out it has something to do with the emissions. They turn the check engine light off and replace the fuel cap thinking it is either broken or needs replacing. The light comes on yet again and again I'm off to CarMax. They replace the filler neck (attachment to the gas tank) and turn the check engine light off. Within two days the light comes on again. I am livid at this point and tell them to keep the truck until it is fixed or give me a new truck. They keep my truck over the weekend and give me a loaner vehicle. They call me and tell me they FINALLY figured out what was wrong with the truck (something about a switch near the engine)....OK, like I know what they are talking about. They said they have some bad news though.....UH OH! While my vehicle was parked in their parking lot waiting for me to pick it up a NAPA auto parts driver backed into my truck causing minor damage to the tailight, paint, bumper and quarter panel. At this point my boyfriend and I know the vehicle is cursed and I spoke with John (Operations Manager) about getting another vehicle because I was over the Trailblazer. John agreed and I came in to look at something else. I decided on a 2005 Dodge Durango. CarMax in Jacksonville, FL didn't have one I liked so Lea (Office Manager-I think) told me they could transfer another Durango from the Florida district to the CarMax in Jacksonville, FL at no extra charge! I found one I liked in Sanford, FL and the transfer was done. I received a call the nexr day from Lea saying I could come and get my new truck! YEAH.....I test drove it and loved it and was on my way...or so I thought. Less than a week after getting my Durango the brakes started squeaking. I called CarMax and they told me to bring the truck in. I did and they gave me another loaner and told me they would call me when they figured out what was wrong. I got a phone call a couple hours later saying the rotors and brakes had to be re surfaced (which they did) and the truck was ready for pick up. Not even half way home the brakes started squeaking again! I couldn't believe it! Then the next day as I was coming home from running errands I came to a 4 way stop and out of no where the truck stalled (after my boyfriend filled it up with gas)! I called Carmax and they told me to bring it in...AGAIN!!!!!!! I did and they said the truck stalling was possibly due to gunk build up (which they cleaned). I now have to go to CarMax yet again and have them fix what they were supposed to fix last week!! I am so over CarMax and their sh*tty way of fixing vehicles.
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    Reviewed Jan. 4, 2009

    I purchase my vehicle in May of 2008, and from day 1 it has had several problems. Within the seven (7) days of purchase, I attempted to get some commitment from the dealership in taking the vehicle back, as stated in their marketing commercials. However, they avoided my calls, toss me from person to person with promises of getting back to me. I couldn't camp out, because I have a job, but I continue to call them with little response from CarMax. The return calls I did receive from them, they patronized me, and one manager told me that how would I know something was wrong with my vehicle I was not a mechanic. While the gentleman is correct, I am not a mechanic, however, I am driving the vehicle and even my three (3) year has said, our car is sick and smokes a lot? I was devastated, the seven (7) days were up, and I remember just crying. I have two (2) girls, I'm working to keep us together, financially supporting all of us, and a car I am paying for that needs major vehicle repair.

    The vehicle had a thirty (30) day warranty on the vehicle, and major brake and oil leak problems. However, again attempting to get someone to speak with me and work with resolving my now vehicle problems was exhausting. I was told by CarMax that I could no longer speak with any member in the sales department or manager, only directed to the car service department. There, the staff was verbally abusive, they were argumentative and I have not been able to get any type of guarantee in standing behind the industry integrity in fixing my car. I called their consumer relations department and they responded once, however, the manager there refuses to call me back. I have NEVER purchased a pre-own vehicle, however I am a single parent and felt this was my only option. I now have a large debt to pay on a broken down vehicle I cannot drive because of safety reasons. My vehicle STOP at a stand still in the middle of a interstate highway with my three (3) year in the back seat.

    I was, we were both terrify, the vehicle stopped abruptly that there was no time to move to the shoulder. Vehicles in all directions were honking and blowing their horns, justifiably. We survived that nightmare, but the vehicle is broken down. Now, I find myself very depress and ill from this I have no way to get back and forth, especially to work to pay on my broken down vehicle. I've missed work a lot and calling CARMAX again is depressing, terrifying and exhausting. Each time, it's another argument, they have perfected this whole scam of taking advantage of people like me who have no other options. Ugh. It's hard. I am so depress.

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    Reviewed Nov. 22, 2008

    On November 2, 2008, I purchased a used car from Carmax. Before I committed to the purchase, I was told by the salesman, Dennis Strine, that the tires had 40,000 miles of use remaining. When I had two independent professionals check out the car, they said the tires had about one month of use remaining. When I took the car back to Carmax on November 21, within the 30-day Limited Warranty period, service Manager Chris Anderson said there was nothing he could do to compensate for the salesman's misinformation. He estimated a new set of tires would cost approximately $700. I asked him if he would compensate me a few hundred (50%) for what I'll need to pay within the next month. He said no.
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    Reviewed Oct. 22, 2008

    I brought this vehicle from Car Max in the summer of 2005 for $16,188.13. In fact I pay the vehicle off in 2006. Since I have had this vehicle, I have had to have repairs done to the vehicle every 3 to 4 months. Now that my warranty has expired as of August 16, 2008, I am still having problems with vehicle repairs. Consequently the reoccurring vehicle repairs that I am having problems with are in some way related to a past repair that Car Max supposedly performed. CarMax has performed repairs on my vehicle regularly and it has been to no avail, they supposedly fix the ball bearing on the vehicle which this was the third repair related to the ball bearing since I have had the vehicle.

    Unfortunately, they did not put everything back together properly because they left the back plate down that is located near my brakes causing my brakes to grind. I brought the vehicle back to them the next day and the mechanic corrected this error however, my brakes continued to squeak from the initial damage done by the back plate being left down obstructing my brakes. Note: A manager from CarMax delivered my car to my house which means he drove my car all the way to me (5 miles approximately) while/with the brakes grinding. Because the brakes continued to squeak, I insisted that they repair the brakes since I knew it would not be covered under my warranty. CarMax reps. insisted that they would take a look at the vehicle to make sure they did nothing wrong.

    Unfortunately letting CarMax's mechanics work on my car was a mistake because when I got the vehicle back it was squeaking even louder in fact, whatever they did to my car it caused the anti lock brake light to come on and stay on. This is not the first time that their mechanics failed to properly repair my vehicle and put the parts back correctly. One time there where suppose to be and electronic concern and when the car was returned to me it was back firing so I took the vehicle back to them and found out through their own admission that the mechanic had not grounded the wires properly therefore, causing the vehicle to back fire. Now that my car is being serviced by real mechanics at Dominion Chevrolet, it has been brought to my attention that my brake rotors didn't appear to be new and Car Max's mechanics swore that they repair and/or put new rotors on the vehicle in 2005.

    They even tried to convince me that the rotors on a vehicle can go bad before the breaks shoes go bad. Note: The brake shoes that CarMax replaced back in 2005 when they supposedly replaced the rotors are still on the vehicle and they're in good condition according to the Mechanics at Dominion Chevrolet, however we just cant seem to figure out how purposely brand new rotors became so rusted that they need to be replace and the brake shoes are still in good working condition. In fact CarMax cannot explain to me how brand new rotors seem too had worn out before the brake shoes; however, CarMax's mechanics swear/swore that they put new brakes and new rotors on the vehicle between the first or second month of me having the vehicle.

    In a nut shell Car Max has been performing patch work on my vehicle for 3 three year therefore, billing the warranty company for repairs that I don't feel warrant guaranty. Now that they can no longer rob me of a fifty dollar deductible and/or the warranty company for the remaining balance for repairs since, the warranty expired on August 16, 2008. CarMax is refusing to honor their 6000 miles warranty for services performed. They are refusing to fix my vehicle for repairs that they performed incorrectly and/or without care at the time of services leaving me carless. Max Car reps have kept my vehicle for 30 days and periodically weeks at a time try to get my car to duplicate a repeated problem, one of the service supervisor explained to me that they in fact, wet the car down as though it were raining to recreate the environment in which the problem seemed to be occurring (My window on the passage and drivers side was getting stuck down during rainy weather) this went on for 30 days.

    In fact after speaking with the warranty company I discovered that repairs that should have been submitted to the warranty company where not submitted. Moreover CarMax reps supposedly replaced my ignition switch however; they don't seem to have any records of this repair. Although CarMax claims to have no record of this repair, according to Dominion Chevrolet mechanic the ignition switch is not a GMC manufactured switch and/or cylinder therefore, causing my key to stick in the and the indicator lights to light up in the dashboard of my car and I am still having problems with the ignition switch. Note that the flashing indicator lights in the front panel of the car have been a reoccurring problem since, I brought the vehicle in 2005 and presently it is still a problem.

    I have part of the 14 paged itemized document of services supposedly performed coupled with my individual receipt of services. In addition, I noticed that the customer service reps for repairs seemingly where attempting to avoid recording my every concern when I would bring the vehicle in for services therefore I kept documentation on what my complaints where at the times of services so I documented conversations with managers Aaron..Charley. The current problem is that Car Max put a supposedly, New a radiator on my car,? within the last 3-4 month with a 6000 miles warranty however, when Car Max install the radiator the mechanics are not sure whether they performed a pressure test therefore, I have a leaking lower intake gasket that is related to the repair that CarMax perform.

    Additionally the vehicle is stalling when I press the accelerator pedal and the engine is making a roaring sound when I press it however, if I turn the vehicle off and then on again it works properly, as if it the electrical units reprogram/reloads causing the vehicle to accelerate property when I press on the pedal. Sometimes I have to turn the ignition switch/vehicle off/on several times before I can move my vehicle because, of this electrical problem. I am not past the 6000 miles warranty and Car Max is still refusing to repair my car. I want CarMax to fix/repair my vehicle properly as promised by their reps so many times in the past. It is unreasonable for CarMax to refuse to fix my vehicle when they know that they are liable for the damages done to the vehicle and/or failed repairs.

    I am willing to mediate this matter reasonably however, if CarMax insists on ignoring my concerns by not paying for the vehicle repairs and/or refusing the alternative as listed below then I would like my money back $16,188.13 and this amount includes financing, in which case I will endorse the title to CarMax. Should CarMax decide to accept this offer they will also be responsible for paying any pending repair fee in order to obtain physical possession of the vehicle. Plus I would like for CarMax to refund/reimburse me for each paid out deductibles for the warranty that expired on 8/16/2009 since, those repairs were not perform properly and/or not at all. Primary Concerns/Issues: Dishonest Practices, Repairs, Service, Warranty, Customer Services. Car Max Reps actions/practices have been dishonest by omitting parts of the repair concern from Customer Concern Documentation.

    Failing to repair my vehicle properly, Failing to honor the 6000 mile warranty for services rendered, Damaging my vehicle due to improper repair practices, Defrauding the warranty company by receiving payment for service not perform and/or not performed improperly and by submitted multiple claims for the same repairs. Selling me a car under warranty then refusing to make restitution by repairing the problems. Failing to produce proper documentation for repair supposedly performed. Misleading me as a customer by claiming to have perform services when in fact, services have not been performed and/or not performed properly Alternative: Pay for the current repairs. Reactivate the extended warranty that expired on 8/16/2008 extending it to (8/16/2011 and/or 50, 000 miles with a $50.00 deductible and the same coverage options, until such time that the warranty has been reactivated, I would like for CarMax to paid Dominion Chevrolet for the current and needed repairs until the warranty is reinforced.

    If CarMax is not willing to except the alternative above then I am asking that CarMax pay for Dominion Chevrolet to fix all needed repairs since, the vehicle has/will not pass inspection in its current condition. During the warranty period, CarMax was responsible for all repairs necessary to make the vehicle mechanically operational and sound. Since the vehicle was in the shop so often for repairs during the warranty period, the warranty should have been extended for each day the vehicle was in the shop for repair. Under the Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act since I purchased a warranty from CarMax according to the law, which requires that the warrantor repair the vehicle within a reasonable number of attempts and a reasonable amount of time, CarMax is responsible for my vehicle repairs.

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    Reviewed Oct. 16, 2008

    I purchased my used 2001 Volvo XC70 certified car from Carmax in Rockville, MD. They were going to fix two problems and never did. Now it is breaking down constantly; each time I take it to the local dealer, I spend more money to get the same repairs repeatedly done. It does not always go into gear, the ignition sticks, it jerks during driving, I buy good gas, gas treatment, etc. I bought this thinking it was a good investment car and I would not have to spend $$ on repairs; I am in credit card Hades debt due to car repair costs. HELP. Dealer ignores my pleas to handle recalls and fix without a fee. Do I cut my losses and trade? I have spent almost 4000 just this summer.

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    Reviewed Sept. 30, 2008

    I purchased a 2001 BMW 325i on September 10, 2008. Out of the 19 days that I have owned the car, it has been in the Carmax Service Center for 17 days.

    On the day that I purchased the vehicle, September 10, there was a problem with the heater, so they kept the car for six days. They said that the heater was fixed, but that some pin for the door had to be ordered, and that took 6 days. I picked up the car on Tuesday, Sept16. I took the car in for the second time on Friday, September 19, because it was leaking some kind of fluid. When I called on Sept. 18 and mentioned the problem, I was told that it was due to condensation from running the air conditioner.

    I disagreed and called to talk to someone else in the service department, Pat, who said to bring it in to have it checked. The coolant indicator kept lighting up on the dashboard as I was driving the car down for the appointment. After checking out the car, they said that the windhshield wiper fluid container was cracked and the radiator cap needed to be replaced. They replaced these things, and I drove home. The coolant light came on again, and I called the service center. They wanted me to bring it back on Monday. I told Lonnie that this was ridiculous, and I took it to a mechanic in town.

    He told me that it had a blown head gasket and that's why the coolant indicator kept coming on. He also told me that the car had been hit from behind and on the driver's side, something that was not mentioned to me. The AutoCheck printout that I was given did not mention anything about accidents. In fact, the information in the report was quite vague. I took it back that same day and asked Ken Miller how could they miss a blown head gasket? I was told it was due to human error. I was also told that if I didn't want the car, they would sell it to someone else. From Sept. 22 to the present, I am still waiting for my car.

    I was told by David ***** that my car would be taken to a BMW dealership, because the Carmax Service Center did not have the right tools. Then I was told that they have a certified BMW mechanic after all, on their night shift, and that he would be the one to fix it right there at the Carmax Service Center.

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    Reviewed Sept. 30, 2008

    I purchased a 2001 BMW 325i on September 10, 2008. Out of the 19 days that I have owned the car, it has been in the Carmax Service Center for 17 days. On the day that I purchased the vehicle, September 10, there was a problem with the heater, so they kept the car for six days. They said that the heater was fixed, but that some pin for the door had to be ordered, and that took 6 days. I picked up the car on Tuesday, Sept16. I took the car in for the second time on Friday, September 19, because it was leaking some kind of fluid. When I called on Sept. 18 and mentioned the problem, I was told that it was due to condensation from running the air conditioner.

    I disagreed and called to talk to someone else in the service department,Pat, who said to bring it in to have it checked. The coolant indicator kept lighting up on the dashboard as I was driving the car down for the appointment. After checking out the car, they said that the windhshield wiper fluid container was cracked and the radiator cap needed to be replaced. They replaced these things, and I drove home. The coolant light came on again, and I called the service center. They wanted me to bring it back on Monday. I told Lonnie that this was ridiculous, and I took it to a mechanic in town. He told me that it had a blown head gasket and that's why the coolant indicator kept coming on. He also told me that the car had been hit from behind and on the driver's side, something that was not mentioned to me.

    The AutoCheck printout that I was given did not mention anything about accidents. In fact, the information in the report was quite vague. I took it back that same day and asked Ken Miller how could they miss a blown head gasket? I was told it was due to human error. I was also told that if I didn't want the car, they would sell it to someone else.

    From Sept. 22 to the present, I am still waiting for my car. I was told by David that my car would be taken to a BMW dealership, because the Carmax Service Center did not have the right tools. Then I was told that they have a certified BMW mechanic after all, on their night shift, and that he would be the one to fix it right there at the Carmax Service Center.

    The car is not worth the $11,998 sticker price, taking into consideration that the car was in at least two accidents which were never revealed to me by Carmax or AutoCheck. I am recently divorced and this is the first car I have purchased by myself. If it wasn't for the mechanic that I chose to take a look at my car, I would have unknowingly drove off the lot with a blown head gasket along with other defects that should have been repaired by Carmax without me having to do their job for them.

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    Reviewed Sept. 11, 2008

    My friend and I both bought cars at Carmax within a few weeks of each other. I got a 2006 Saab, he got a 2005 Mazda 3. Both cars were missing the owner's manual and any other original documentation. We both bought extended warranties from Carmax costing almost $2000.00 each. My friends Mazda died because the Belt Tensioner failed which caused a chain reaction of all belts being snapped and therefore the car not drivable. This happened at 3am so garage and towing options were limited.

    After calling the extended warrantee number we found they were closed for the weekend and had no direction on what to do. We had the car towed to a garage and asked them to start the work on the car over the weekend. After finally reaching the warrantee people we were told that nothing would be covered under the warrantee because the Mazda was still under factory warrantee! We called Mazda and it did in fact stil have a factory warrantee in place. However, in order for Mazda to cover the problem Mazda Roadside assist had to do the towing and take it to the dealership. Arrangements were then made to tow the car from the current garage to the dealer by Mazda. When all was ready to go the garage said that they were done with the repairs already, therefore, nothing was left for Mazda to do.

    Now Mazda will not reimburse my friend for the $800.00 repair and towing and neither will the extended warrantee people. He had two full warrantees for the vehicle and both were useless at the time because f the misinformation given by Carmax at the time of the sale.

    After some checking I found that my Saab also had a factory warrantee good for about 2 more years! We called the local Carmax Sales Manager and asked why were both sold warrantees when they surely were aware that these cars had factory warrantees. I got some crazy explanation that seemed like a canned script. After my rebutle the response was that is interesting. He explained that the warrantee can be cancelled before 90 days for a fee.

    I have to assume the following from both my experience and my friend's. 1) Carmax purposely removes the owner's manual from their cars so that any current warrantee info is not noticed. 2) Carmax sells extended warrantees to customers fully knowing that many cars on their lot still have factory warrantees. Be aware! if you buy from Carmax take the time to call a local dealer for that model and understand if there is an existing warrantee.

    A total of $800.00 was spent and is non refundable because of Carmax's business practices of not explaining warrantee information properly and not providing owners manuals.

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    Reviewed Aug. 18, 2008

    May 22, 2008: Went to CarMax and purchased 2004 Chevy TrailBlazer from showroom. Traded in 2006 Chrysler 300 for $12,000 toward purchase price. TrailBlazer has a flat tire within a week of purchase. We fill the tire 3 times and call CarMax to make an appointment to get it fixed. There is no answer, so I leave a message. After 4 days the call is not returned, so I have to call back and request an appointment again. June 6, 2008: Speedometer on TrailBlazer malfunctions and is completely upside-down, but still moving. When getting my son out of the back seat, I notice that the rubber lining on the passenger side back door is falling completely off. A woman from the business office calls and asks if I sent in the insurance information to get my registration and tags. I told her it had been sent, and she responded that it was probably in the pile. I asked if perhaps they should check the pile before calling customers about it, and she hung up on me. Took car to Service Department to have the tire, speedometer, and door liner repaired. Spoke to manager about all of the issues, who offered an apology and justification for their errors. Given a loaner car after waiting almost 2 hours. Was called and told that the speedometer was a wiring issue and they needed or order a new instrument panel, and it would be several days. Picked the car up, got it home, and noticed that the tire was still flat. At this point, I noticed that there was an unusual amount of rust on the underside of the TrailBlazer on the frame, wheel wells, and even inside the car on the pedals. I called back and told them that they did not address everything they were supposed to, and that I also wanted them to look at the rust. June 23, 2008: Took the TrailBlazer back to the service department. After waiting for 2 hours was told that they patched the tire, but hadn't looked at the rust yet. After waiting longer, the service advisor came out and told me that there was a very large amount of rust under the vehicle, and that the driveshaft was rusted out and it needed extensive repair. Received a phone call after exchanging several on the 23rd and we went in and met with a manager to complain and talk about where we needed to go. Were given three options: let them repair the TrailBlazer and us keep it; let them buy the TrailBlazer from us for its diminished Kelley Blue Book Value, or swap the TrailBlazer for another CarMax car of similar price. We decided to get another CarMax car to avoid losing several thousand dollars. Picked out a 2004 Cadillac SRX for $13,998, plus the 48-month warranty. Signed all of the papers freeing us from the TrailBlazer and tying us to the SRX. Approximately 3 weeks after purchasing the SRX, the passenger front turn signal stops working. Additionally, the plastic casing for the airbag on the back passenger side is falling off, and the brakes squeal when coming to a stop. I call and request a service appointment, and take the car in to have it diagnosed. I am told that I will receive a phone call the following day and that the part would be in the day after. I never received a return phone call, and had to call several times the following week to even find out if the part was in. After getting into contact with the service department, we schedule an appointment that I am unable to make because my husband is called into work unexpectedly. We schedule another appointment for August 20 at 10am, and then reschedule for an earlier time (8am). On 8/15/08 at 7:40am, I bring the SRX to the CarMax service center and sign the papers to have it repaired. Was told 1.5-2 hour wait. After sitting in the waiting room for approximately 15 minutes, my service advisor Tim comes and tells me there is a problem. I am informed that the service technician crashed my car into a steel pole in the garage as he was pulling it in. I am taken to the garage to observe the damage. I am given a loaner that I am to return with a full tank of gas and return home. I contact a lawyer (Mark Beam) and am told that it is reasonable to ask for a full refund of the purchase price (which, after removing financing and the warranty, is $12,000), as well as for them to allow me to use their loaner vehicle to travel to Memphis as planned and return it to the Memphis CarMax, or for them to cover the rental of a similar vehicle. I call CarMax and request to speak to the General Manager, but am redirected to the Service Manager's extension. I call at approximately 11am, but there is no answer. I call the service department and there is also no answer, so my husband, toddler, and I drive to CarMax to speak with someone directly. Tim, the service advisor, claims that there are no managers in the entire building for me to talk to. He takes me back to the car so that I can take pictures of the damage. While we are in the garage, he brings me a service supervisor to talk to, to whom I explained the situation. He and Tim told me that they would have a manager contact me on Monday. While I am in the garage with Tim, my husband observes a different sales advisor (Dameon) driving a customer's car in reverse at high speeds through the parking lot with no regard for safety, other cars, or pedestrians. Our request involves 3 options for CarMax to choose from which we think are certainly fair. We are not looking to profit from this situation, and are not looking to go to court. Option 1: Refund the full purchase price and first month's payment, cancel the warranty and lien. This equates to $12,131.03 (the value of our initial trade-in and the first month's car payment). Additionally, we request that CarMax provide a loaner vehicle for us to drive to Memphis and drop off at the Memphis CarMax that is of comparable size and fuel economy to the Cadillac SRX. Option 2: Refund the full purchase price and first month's payment, cancel the warranty and lien. This equates to $12,131.03 (the value of our initial trade-in and the first month's car payment). Additionally, we request that CarMax cover the cost of a rental car through the agency of our choice of a vehicle for us to drive to Memphis that is of comparable size and fuel economy to the Cadillac SRX. If CarMax chooses this option, a quote will be provided in a timely manner. Option 3: Repair the Cadillac and make an arrangement for CarMax in Memphis to refund the full purchase price and first month's payment, cancel the warranty and lien. This equates to $12,131.03 (the value of our initial trade-in and the first month's car payment).

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    Reviewed Aug. 8, 2008


    THIS IS THE LETTER I WROTE TO CAR MAX TODAY, LETS SEE!

    Per our conversation today August 8, 2008, you advised me that CarMax could not work on the 2003 Mercedes under my extended warranty #7136234880 , because you Lonnie advised me Mercedes has special tools and car max does not have them to work on the car? I wish I was told that the first time I drove two hours to get the car there, and then again for the second repair. Why do you sell extended warranties on a car you dont have the tools to repair?

    The 2003 Mercedes has been at Car Max in Roseville twice with the same problem, one in June 2008 and then again last week? I picked up the Mercedes on Monday August 4, 2008 for the second repair in Roseville for the same problem in June. I got halfway home after picking up the supposedly repaired car, and the car stalled and the check engine light came on again, same problem and I was almost hit in the rear by another car! Today I was told to take the car to Mercedes and a full refund would be issued by check today to Candice Rogers for the last two visits to the Roseville car Max and Car Max would pay for the repair at Mercedes under the extended policy.

    Now I have a car I cant drive and will now have to rent a car because Car Max sold me a car and an extended warranty for a car CarMax does not have the tools to work on? Does not make sense. I will be taking the car to Mercedes in Reno, and I cant get in till Monday August 11, thats there soonest appointment, and will send the bill for the repairs and car rental bill to CarMax for reimbursement in full.

    Im a very unsatisfied customer and wont recommend Car Max for anyone who buys a Mercedes.

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    Reviewed July 30, 2008

    I feel that the payment is too much for me. The payment is 325.00. It is been over two years already. My vehicle is Nissan Xterra 2002. It is pretty old. It is too high for me. I only can make 200 payment.

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    Reviewed July 8, 2008

    I had a 2003 Hyundai Tiburon GT transferred to Carmax in Midlothian VA, from Greensboro, NC. The car came in on a Saturday, I was told it would be ready for me to come in and purchase, and that while I was going through the paper work, the necessary conditioning would be done. I finished the paper work, and was promptly informed by my consultant that he couldn't release the car to me because it was not tagged for sale yet. The conditioning had not been done, and the person in charge of that responsibility was not in that day, and wouldn't be until the following week.

    After 2 hours, Carmax got someone in to flag the car for sale (which I appreciated immensely). I then went out to see my car, and found that the whole front driverside quarter panel was covered in white paint flecks, and there was evidence of a deep gouge down on of the doors that had been painted over. Badly. I was upset that I was paying $14,000 sticker for a car that had obviously been painted (badly, twice), and then I went and tried to use my remote keyless entry to take it for a test drive. Surprise! It didn't work.

    The head of Carmax service and my consultant were great in getting me an appointment to have the car reconditioned and the wiring fixed. I took delivery of the car since I didn't have one and needed to work. Three days later, my airbag light came on. I called in, and Carmax said they would take care of everything.

    Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately in this case), at the light in front of the dealership on my way to take my car in, a pickup truck ran the light and t-boned me, totalling the car 8 days after purchase. When buying another car, I looked up that particular car's VIN, and found that it had been reported in a major, front end collision. Carmax NEVER should have even thought of selling the car. One of my airbags didn't deploy de to the faulty wiring on the drivers side (the side my key fob didn' work on).

    When an insurance adjuster came to look at and appraise my totalled car, he found the evidence of the previous accident, and the insurance company initially refused to pay what I had paid because of the damage Carmax Greensboro had failed to take into consideration. Carmax Midlothian however was relatively easy to work with, and my consultant was great and really helped me get things done on a difficult day.

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    www.carmax.com