Carmax tomorrow

[wander2039]

The wife and I are going to stop by Carmax tomorrow. She has no idea what she wants next so thought that would be a good way she could set in vehicles without any hassle. I've only bought 4 vehicles from "dealerships" and her just one.. can't say I've ever cared for any dealership experience. I'm not my dad or grandpa when it comes to haggling, the local dealerships didn't like when they walked in the doors.

But not planning on driving anything or even buying yet. Figure we'll decide on a vehicle and over the next 6 months find something, or most likely she'll just say you decide and buy something. She likes the boxer vehicles like our current 04 Escape, so far the Bronco Sport is top contender. I'm on the fence and almost want to get something wild like a Jeep Wrangler in Punkn Metallic Clearcoat, that we could pull behind the RV. A 2 door wouldn't be a good family vehicle though and the 4 door is too heavy.

Anyways enough rambling, still bit on the nervous side since I'm used to either hounded by salespersons or can't find anyone.

 

[oldgrayman]

I accompanied my niece to a Carmax dealership last year . Nothing scary about it . You check in with the desk and they direct you to the available agent .

 

[thastinger]

You're in luck then, because carmax doesn't haggle.

I went to one with my FIL one time, they seemed very professional to me. Sales person was actually knowledgeable about the car.

 

[PF52]

I've only browsed there one time..... But I got the impression you couldn't just wander and look at a bunch of cars, you kind of had to pick them first. Maybe that was a Covid thing? But yeah, the people there were nice.

 

[cptbarkey]

Carmax is relatively low pressure. You as the buyer will get yourself into plenty of trouble.
Reflect hard on what you need, and the want needs to be secondary.
Good luck.

 

[oldgrayman]

I've only browsed there one time..... But I got the impression you couldn't just wander and look at a bunch of cars, you kind of had to pick them first. Maybe that was a Covid thing? But yeah, the people there were nice.

We wandered the lot .

 

[wander2039]

Carmax is relatively low pressure. You as the buyer will get yourself into plenty of trouble.
Reflect hard on what you need, and the want needs to be secondary.
Good luck.

True but at 43 the wants are starting to take over. I've concentrated on needs too much and haven't had a lot of fun vehicles. Really the boys are almost 16 and 12 and the travel vehicle is the RV, so the family vehicle has a different meaning for us.

 

[cptbarkey]

True but at 43 the wants are starting to take over. I've concentrated on needs too much and haven't had a lot of fun vehicles. Really the boys are almost 16 and 12 and the travel vehicle is the RV, so the family vehicle has a different meaning for us.

100% agree,

i defined that i NEEDED my lexus at age 44

 

[RooflessVW]

Every CarMax I have been to has had junk inventory.

 

[Kira]

This thread caught my eye so I Googled Carmaxes near me.
I know I live in a densely populated region with lots (car lots, get it?) of competition but I expected to find more than a 41 vehicle inventory.

Still, I might go out there today if I can find one additional errand to combine it with.

RooflessVW: I wont say "junk inventory"....yet. However, 41 cars spread out over so many makes doesn't bode well.
I'm betting it'll resemble the hodgepodge car warehouses next to Teterboro Airport.

 

[wander2039]

This thread caught my eye so I Googled Carmaxes near me.
I know I live in a densely populated region with lots (car lots, get it?) of competition but I expected to find more than a 41 vehicle inventory.

Still, I might go out there today if I can find one additional errand to combine it with.

RooflessVW: I wont say "junk inventory"....yet. However, 41 cars spread out over so many makes doesn't bode well.
I'm betting it'll resemble the hodgepodge car warehouses next to Teterboro Airport.

There's two here CarMax's here in the KC area. Per their website both had 200+ cars somewhere, the lots don't look that big! No lack of competition here in KC for sure.

 

[joekingcorvette]

I would have her pick out 5 makes and models that appeal to her and then go out and begin your search. It seems as if your wife is looking for a vehicle however you are leaning toward a Jeep Wrangler or Ford Bronco. See if she likes them since that is what you want as well and if not then go searching for something else.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

I used to work for CarMax, as Inventory Specialist. People don't realize how many cars go through on daily basis, and how many get rejected and head straight to in-house Auction. Employees get the first dibs, then the "Buy Here, Pay Here" dealers pickup what's left.
Their inventory today may be completely different next week, despite the same number of vehicles on the lot. My CarMax had a pretty quick car turnover. About 500 cars for customers, and another 500 of trade-ins and buyouts that are heading to auction, plus another 50-100 in the shop. If I ever get tired of private sales - CarMax is likely where I'll shop. And get something outrageous like a Range Rover, then buy CarMax bumper-2-bumper warranty, then watch CarMax spend way more money on that Range Rover than I did on that warranty lol. Oh wait, Doug DeMuro already did that.

 

[alarmguy]

Car Max is a good place to browse and our experience is if you tell them you are doing just that and need no help they will leave you alone. At our location, we walked right past the "showroom" office and used to walk in where the cars exit seeing no salespeople or staff.
Not much to lose there as you can return the car if you dont like it within a certain number of days. I forgot how many or if that policy has changed or not. It's always good to look at the undercarriages but this goes for anyone or place you buy a vehicle. One time we were looking for vehicles with factory tow packages. Some (very few) of those cars looked like they were dunked in salt water, alot of rust.

Another is Carvana, order online, gets delivered to your house, if you dont like it within a certain number of days, they will come back, pick it up and refund your money. (and/or loan) We did buy a nice Jeep Grand Cherokee from Carvana but after a couple days of looking it over and investigating we returned it and had them pick it up. We learned Jeeps sometimes (factory fault) have a corrosion issue with hoods, where aluminum hoods meet the metal frame. This was a low mileage vehicle and not very old at all and I saw the paint had some minor bubbling along the leading edge of the hood. Well known issue I found out. After contacting a friend who works for them he confirmed. Jeep will send it to a body shop for repair, not something I was interested in worrying about.
Anyway, it was a no hassle return and was refunded within 10 or so business days after it was picked up. This was at the height of the Covid scare.

SO after the Carvana return, We ended up with an awesome deal on an almost new Traverse with factory tow package at a local dealer and still under warranty PLUS it was a GM certified. Dealerships were empty at that time, great time to buy.

I was overall impressed with the way Carvana handled the return, didnt cost us a penny. I also have nothing against CarMax, Enterprise, and even local dealers when the price is right for the perfect condition low mileage vehicle that we want.

 

[andreigbs]

If you're considering a Bronco, you may first want to take a look at how well it did in the latest crash ratings.

It wasn't good.

 

[wag123]

Carmax is a good place to shop for a vehicle if you don't like the typical car buying process with haggling, if you have a difficult time saying "NO" to a salesman, and if you don't mind spending $4000 too much for a vehicle.
Carmax is a great place to shop if you want to find something that you like, then buy it somewhere else for $4000 less money.

 

[loneryder]

Carmax prices are the highest around.

 

[Zee09]

I sold them a few cars last year but would never buy from them...
Carvana was by far a better experience. Easier and they picked up my vehicle. Cash on the spot.
As @loneryder said they are high...

 

[fantastic]

If you're considering a Bronco, you may first want to take a look at how well it did in the latest crash ratings.

It wasn't good.

That along with the other vehicle that's of interest to the OP one of those Jeep's. It flipped over... Wasn't that a thing of the 90' & 00's?.

 

[fantastic]

I sold them a few cars last year but would never buy from them...
Carvana was by far a better experience. Easier and they picked up my vehicle. Cash on the spot.
As @loneryder said they are high...

I figured most of these chain companies bought a lot of rental cars. Not sure if that's still the case.