OT: Anyone Yarders ever sell a car to CarMax?

[Dove]

How are they to deal with? I was told they offer fair values for cars. Perhaps equal to trying to sell privately via Craig's List of Auto Trader.

 

[Danzz]

Sell it on your own on autotrader or cars.com. Carmax will low ball you.

 

[JMick]

They will give you well below market rate

 

[TRest]

They gave me an okay price on an Altima that was on its way to dying and I needed the money to put towards a private sale. It was only worth a few thousand though.

 

[CTMike]

It depends if it's a newer, desirable car that they can put on their lot. If not - they absolutely will low ball you. A while back I looked to see what they would give me for my 2005 BMW X3 with like 115k miles. They offered a little over 2k, whereas KBB value was almost 3 times that.

Btw if anyone wants to buy a 2005 X3 now with 130k, DM me.

 

[Uconnrick]

They offered me 12.5 for my Pilot which had a retail of 16,oo0 per KBB. I sold it privately for 15,500 a week later.

 

[MattMang23]

I got a quote from them for my last car. They gave me a price about 1K less than what I would have expected had I sold it privately, which is to be expected. I walked their offer right over to the dealership I bought my new car at and they matched the Carmax offer so I never ended up doing business with Carmax. But I thought it was a good experience and fair offer.

 

[Hankster]

Never knew you could sell to them. I see CarMax in Auto Exchange and other car mags. Nice looking place in Mechanicsburg, PA. I inquired about a vehicle and was told it was at another store. They would bring it up. As far as I know, the vehicles you see may not be at the lot nearest you.

 

[Hoophound]

I sold one to them. I could have gotten $1000-$2000 more on my own but that involves hassle. My time is better spent working or relaxing than trying to get top dollar for my used car. You have to factor in cost of advertising, meeting with strangers, paperwork at DMV and all the other stuff that goes with fully executing a sale. They are providing a convenience as well as paying an ok price for the car. When I walked out of there with a check, I knew it wasn't going to bounce.

 

[uchusky32]

They gave me $2000 more than the dealer would have given me for a trade in. 7 year old Max that had "frame" repair.

 

[bmayuc]

got 1500 above KBB for a crappy 2 accident Kia Soul that my wife treated horribly. And its fast. Like, they appraise it, you sign, your gone. There is a value to that.

 

[methodology]

About 5 years ago I had a 5 year old audi a4 and out had ton of issues. My audi mechanic reset the check engine light and did some quick fixes but told me to get rid of the car asap cause the turbo was bad and other expensive issues. Went to carmax got a great deal with them telling me everything checked out fine and went on my way.

I feel bad for whoever bought that car

 

[80shusky]

About 5 years ago I had a 5 year old audi a4 and out had ton of issues. My audi mechanic reset the check engine light and did some quick fixes but told me to get rid of the car asap cause the turbo was bad and other expensive issues. Went to carmax got a great deal with them telling me everything checked out fine and went on my way.

I feel bad for whoever bought that car

oh crap, was it black?

 

[jleves]

I sold them a 6.5 year old BMW 335i coupe. They offered 17k and I was in a hurry and took it. I looked a few weeks later and they had it listed for 22,9K after they had fully detailed it and fixed some curb scrapes on the plastic front quarter panel. I could have spent $150 to detail it and would have gotten around 20k on my own.

Bottom line is you can do better selling it on your own if you want do deal with the hassle of people coming to your house and test driving your car. They will offer more than your dealer will give you, but they are in the business to make money and considering how many vehicles and people they have on the lot on a weekend, it's a good business model.

What's more important - your time and privacy or the bottom line on the sale? Your best dollar is always selling it yourself if you have time and ability to deal with people.

I hate dealing with people, but I probably wouldn't use them again. Next time I will find a friend who likes dealing with that stuff, get a price from CarMax and then split the difference for whatever that friend can get.

 

[CTBasketball]

I sold them a 6.5 year old BMW 335i coupe. They offered 17k and I was in a hurry and took it. I looked a few weeks later and they had it listed for 22,9K after they had fully detailed it and fixed some curb scrapes on the plastic front quarter panel. I could have spent $150 to detail it and would have gotten around 20k on my own.

Bottom line is you can do better selling it on your own if you want do deal with the hassle of people coming to your house and test driving your car. They will offer more than your dealer will give you, but they are in the business to make money and considering how many vehicles and people they have on the lot on a weekend, it's a good business model.

What's more important - your time and privacy or the bottom line on the sale? Your best dollar is always selling it yourself if you have time and ability to deal with people.

I hate dealing with people, but I probably wouldn't use them again. Next time I will find a friend who likes dealing with that stuff, get a price from CarMax and then split the difference for whatever that friend can get.

What went on the N54 335i? Turbos, high pressure fuel pump, or vanos seals?

 

[jleves]

What went on the N54 335i? Turbos, high pressure fuel pump, or vanos seals?

edit It had twin turbos.

 

[CTBasketball]

edit It had twin turbos.

I don't trust the N54's turbos buying used. I'd much prefer a 128i

 

[jleves]

I don't trust the N54's turbos buying used. I'd much prefer a 128i

I get the impression I'm missing something....

 

[uconnfan68]

About 5 years ago I had a 5 year old audi a4 and out had ton of issues. My audi mechanic reset the check engine light and did some quick fixes but told me to get rid of the car asap cause the turbo was bad and other expensive issues. Went to carmax got a great deal with them telling me everything checked out fine and went on my way.

I feel bad for whoever bought that car

Note to self... Avoid Carmax like the plague.

 

[intlzncster]

It depends if it's a newer, desirable car that they can put on their lot. If not - they absolutely will low ball you. A while back I looked to see what they would give me for my 2005 BMW X3 with like 115k miles. They offered a little over 2k, whereas KBB value was almost 3 times that.

Btw if anyone wants to buy a 2005 X3 now with 130k, DM me.

I'll give you 100 dollars for it.

 

[huskyharry]

I tried to sell a car on my own here in San Diego...had no bites in 4 weeks at $10,500 using Autotrader and Cars.com and local paper. Took it to CarMax and they gave me $10,900.

If someone is great at sales, perhaps they could get more on their own...not my cup of tea.

They told me that they only take cars with < 100K miles and with clean titles. so perhaps they will only low-ball the higher mileage cars. Very easy process.

 

[Hoophound]

In my earlier post I forgot to mention that not only did I sell a car to them but I also got a bid from them on another car which I used as trade leverage at a new car dealer. Carmax provides you a professional looking, written offer with a window of time that it is good for (10 days or so). Well worth the 1/2 hour spent to see what they'll pay before you head out car shopping and negotiating a trade elsewhere.

 

[jojipoji]

Both carmax in Hartford and new haven have a competition across the street that will purportedly pay higher. Go to carmax, if you don't like the offer drive accross the street and there is a little hole in the wall that will pay more. I have gotten about 6 cars appraised by carmax and sold one car to them. It was a Subaru wrx sti hatchback and they bought it for 2k over kbb. Every other time it has been below kbb.

 

[Dove]

I gotta know. Hittin' up CarMax this morning. I will look for a hole in the wall across the street.

Thanks for all the responses. Seems hit or miss. I think my car is desirable.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I'll give you 100 dollars for it.

Somewhere down the line it'll be fun to say that I once offered to pay twice what some guy offered for a BMW. Sight unseen, I'll pay $200, and I'm not even car-shopping.