I Used to Recommend Buying From CarMax, but After Recently Helping My Father-in-Law Purchase His New Truck and Dealing With the Dumpster Fire That That's Turned Into, I've Got to Tell You Things Have Changed if You're Considering Buying a Car From CarMax

A recent video from The EVO1VED Mechanic YouTube channel discusses how CarMax shopping has changed, with two examples that the host has personally experienced.

"My father-in-law had seen a video that I made recently talking about all of the positive things that CarMax does in their buying experience. He had gained some trust from that video and decided now was the time to pull the trigger. And where does he go? CarMax, because…well I put my name on it, and I recommended it. So lucky me."

CarMax Shopping Experience Goes Bad Story #1

Here is a summary of Zach's and his father-in-law's ordeal:

Zach's father-in-law, through CarMax, selects a 2019 Chevy Colorado ZR2, which he requests be shipped in from out of state due to the free transfer.

Super-pumped about the truck, his father-in-law began calling CarMax every day, asking when the truck was going to arrive.

However, that excitement quickly turned into hesitation, fear, and then regret in that order, says Zach.

And that is when the shopping experience began its descent into a lower level of hell, especially since Zach's father-in-law was relying on Zach to assist him with the entire CarMax sales process.

Multiple significant issues began immediately after signing the paperwork and transferring the payment:

1. Numerous delays made what should have been a straightforward, easy pick-up-and-pay-and-out-the-door service turn into an interminable, hours-long process that car shoppers expect and receive at a regular dealership.
2. The truck arrived needing cleaning and had a lightly damaged roof, as well as contained bullet casings in the back and a nail in the tire, causing it to leak air slowly. A warning message on the dash indicated a low tire problem.
3. Only one mechanical key was provided despite the truck had been advertised with keyless entry and remote starting.

"I was like, well, that sucks he's going to have to poverty lock this thing," and isn't going to be able to use the remote start function or anything that he really wanted out of it―the features that we like to enjoy."

Only after removing the remote fobs from his father-in-law's trade-in Subaru keys and handing just the key blades back to the salesman were they able to get the salesman to agree that CarMax would eventually supply them with the proper keys for the Chevy Colorado.

4. Zac noticed tread depth differences between the front and rear paired tires were too varied for 4-wheel driving to be mechanically sound. From his previous experience with CarMax as a mechanic, he knew that their policy was to replace all four tires to prevent any 4WD issues. CarMax agreed to this as well, but Zach and his father-in-law would, again, have to wait.

5. CarMax tried to sell them a similar truck instead of addressing the issues; however, a test drive revealed that this vehicle had its test drive issues as well.

6. Because his father-in-law found better financing outside of CarMax, several delays in processing the paperwork occurred at CarMax despite the transaction being relatively straightforward.

7. After they left with the truck, his father-in-law tried to schedule the tire replacement that CarMax had agreed to. However, he was told it would take weeks before they could attend to it, thereby leaving his father with unsafe tires. They advised him not to drive on the highway or reach speeds of about 60 mph with them. Additionally, they only added afterward that they would not replace the old tires with new original tires, but with low-cost, budget tires not intended for 4WD use.

8. Eventually, CarMax agreed to supply the correct tires, but this meant waiting 7 weeks, which incidentally put his father-in-law past the vehicle return grace period.

CarMax Shopping Experience Goes Bad Story #2

Zach decides to buy what appears to be a well-equipped, high-end Volkswagen Atlas for his wife.

 A Volkswagen Atlas R-Spec. It was my dream car from CarMax. A loaded out, beautiful car, silver-on-silver brown interior, captain's chairs; I just love this thing, right?! The ultimate Dad Car! I was super pumped about getting this one: a two-year-old, 20,000-mile, and great-priced vehicle sitting on the lot in Texas. They offered free transport to Colorado, and we took it."

With a spouse equally excited about the car and a two-week wait, the car finally arrives.

And then the problems began:

1. Large scratch through the clear coat on the side of the car.
2. Apparent bumper scrape from the transport.
3. Dirty undercarriage.
4. Rock chips.
5. A star crack on the windshield beginning to spread.
6. Dog claw scratched window tinting.
7. Missing piece of interior trim.

Only after telling a reluctant sales manager they would walk away if they did not take care of the issues as per their policy, was Zack able to get the service he expected from CarMax.

CarMax actually ended up agreeing to fix a lot of these items on the car, which I was super happy about, but it did take some negotiating. Meaning I literally said, 'If you don't fix this I'm walking and by the way this car sat on the lot in West Texas for over 95 days so good luck, it's yours now here stuck on your lot―I'm going to leave and go somewhere else.'"

The scratched paint was taken care of in-house by CarMax to Zach's satisfaction; however, a snag hit with the windshield replacement.

CarFax farmed it out to Safelite AutoGlass, but after the glass was installed, Zach was contacted by Safelite that he needed his car towed to a garage for repairs because the car's dash warning lights had Christmas tree'd on them.

From experience, Zach surmised correctly that Safelite techs had disconnected the battery during the windshield installation and that it needed only a simple reset. However, Zach's point is that if it were someone else, this would have escalated into problems for the CarMax shopper, necessitating a tow, a diagnosis, and repair bills for the reset servicing.

Zach's Message to Others With His Secret Tip

The connection Zach makes between the two stories is that, overall, the experience of buying cars through CarMax today is subpar. And that's why the experience you can expect today will be less than stellar.

However, there is an insider secret to both stories, and it has to do with the fact that both purchases involved a trade-in.

Zach explains it this way:

"We traded in an Acura and a Subaru in both cases. In both of these cars, we did an online estimate and filled it out where you put "excellent condition"―the car's perfect, and here's the mileage."

Both cars were not perfect, but whenever you do that, they give you the higher number, and then you walk in, and as you're looking at your car, you say, "Oh yeah, I've also got an appraisal here for a trade-in. Here's what they offered online,' even though it might not actually be that condition.

And then you say, "If I can get that number, I'm probably going to end up doing a deal today."

They're going to give you that number. They're going to work as hard as they can to give you that number, and they did it both times. I cannot believe what we ended up getting for both of these cars and knowing what condition they were in."

Zach elaborates that why this tip works is that he believes that CarMax is going for quantity over quality by implementing a "Full Flow" style of management with an assembly line-like process of techs who do specific repairs one after another depending on their skills to get a used car ready for sale as quick as possible.

Zach believes that this is failing and why the car buyer experience at CarMax has changed…for the worse.

Should You Buy a CarMax Car?

Would Zach buy another car from CarMax?

The question still remains: would I buy another car from CarMax? I don't know. I used to have a really confident "yes" here, but these days, unless it was the right car at the right price with nothing wrong and I had an independent inspection done on the lot and knew everything about the car and that it was a great deal, that would probably be the only thing that convinced me that it was worth it."

Related article: The Best and Only Way To Find CarMax Used Car Deals

Why I Don't Buy CarMax Cars as a Former Employee

Tell Us What You Think: Have you had a good or bad experience with CarMax? Tell us about it in the comments section below if you agree with Zack.

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Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati who currently researches and works on restoring older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. He also reports on modern cars (including EVs) with a focus on DIY mechanics, buying and using tools, and other related topical automotive repair news. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites as well as on Facebook and his automotive blog "Zen and the Art of DIY Car Repair" for useful daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

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