does car max negoitiate the price they have listed? can you talk them down?

Question

or do they only go with what is listed? would you buy a car from carmax? how are they about giving a fair price for trade in?

Answer 1

No, they offer the car, warranty, financing for a set price. There is no negotiating. They were owned by Circuit City and basically had sales people that were selling stereos the day before selling cars.

They offer OK deals on cars, not great. You could do better but you could do worse.

Trades are the same, they are OK, you could get better if you sold private party but for the ease of disposing of the car, it's a safe way to go.

I would not buy a car from carmax. If you do your research and aren't afraid to walk away at a traditional dealership, you will do better.

Answer 2

Just one of many:

I completed a transaction with Carmax recently, where I both purchased a car from them and sold them my old car. The purchasing side went smoothly and I was happy enough with the price and the process in general. The selling did not go so smoothly.

I had a 1989 Mazda 626 with 160,000 miles on it, not in great shape, but still running. I figured I would at least get a hundred or a couple hundred dollars for it, so I had them appraise it. When the appraisal was completed and I was offered a whopping $5 (yes, five dollars) for the car, I decided it would be worth it to investigate other options for selling this car.

I had already decided to purchase a car from them though, and the salesman was eager for me to drive it home that night, enough so that he offered to keep my old car on their lot for a few days if I drove the new car home that night, which I decided to do. It was at some point on the drive home that I realized that the appraiser had never returned to me the keys to the old car, which were the only copy in my possession. I figured they had some kind of system to deal with such things so I would just call them tomorrow.

After the jump, something happens—something scummy.

Well for whatever reason I did not remember to call them about it, but I did return to the lot in a few days to pick up my old car. I sought out the salesman and explained the key situation to him, and he went in the back to look for it but shortly returned with nothing. We found the appraiser but he said he had returned the keys to me because "that's what he always does". They both went to the back and looked again but did not find them. I eventually spoke with a manager-type person, who assured me that the appraisers always return the keys posthaste and blah blah blah, basically implying that I must have had the keys in my possession and then lost them. But even though the $5 offer on my car had expired, he would be glad to still purchase the car from me, without a key, for $5. Disgusted and wanting this ugly affair to end, I went ahead and proceeded with the ridiculous processing necessary to collect my $5 and be on my way, free of any more responsibility for the old clunker (so I thought).
Several months later, I received in the mail a certified letter from a township I had never been to, stating that I owed $35 for leaving my car parked for too long in the same area in a derelict condition. Confused, I inquired further and found out the old mazda had been stripped and abandoned in some town near the Carmax, and I was the last registered owner on file with the Secretary of State. I told them I had sold the car well before this incident, and they said if I could provide proof then they would pursue the matter with the new owner. I faxed them the bill of sale and did not hear from them again, though more recently I received a bill from what looks to be a collection agency for towing and storage fees in excess of $2000 for...you guessed it, a 1989 Mazda 626. I sent them the bill of sale as well and haven't heard from them since, either. I guess the moral of this story is DON'T SELL YOUR CAR TO CARMAX!

Smoking Pope says:
I had an old Chevy Impala station wagon (the Greg Brady-mobile!)that got traded in for something a little less, you know, ridiculous. It had 200,000 miles on it (although a souped up engine, and it could still crack 100 mph). A few months later, we got a call that our car was abandoned and we owed a lot of $$$ for towing, storage, etc. The dealership squared it away and then explained to me what happened. Seems there's a type of person out there that will break into junk yards/salvage yards and steal beaters. Because it's not a person's vehicle, possession of this beater is not grand theft auto, but petty theft. The dealership made it sound like it's not an uncommon practice. If you have the paperwork proving you sold the car, keep sending it in to any collection agency that contacts you, and ask to have your credit repaired and threaten big, whopping lawsuits if they don't do it and mail you proof.

02/01/06 04:02 PM
AcidReign says:
.....I bought a car at Carmax a year and a half ago, and was pretty happy. The car (2001 Mazda Protege) has performed mighty well, except that I blew the factory speakers out. (too loud, mon, too loud!) .....I found the car on the INTERNET, was in and out of the dealership in less than an hour, done deal! I sold them my 19 year old Thunderbird, and didn't get but $50. But hey, the AC was shot, the ball joints were wobbling, it needed a new transmission, it was burning oil, and the master cylinder was leaking. Oh, and it had been wrecked and had frame damage. I was just happy I didn't have to PAY someone to take it! .....Keep that bill of sale for a few years, though! Those tales above sound a little scary!

02/01/06 06:03 PM
don_mynack says:
Years ago, when I was in college, I totaled the car I was driving. The title was actually in my parents name. Anyway, about a year later, my dad gets a notice from the city - our car has been towed, if we payed $200, we could come pick it up. In other words, we could have gotten the presumably repaired car back for $200, after the insurance company paid us $6000 or so when they totaled it. Too bad I was completely broke at the time.

Answer 3

they have no haggle pricing/ I bought a 2006 Cadillac Escalade(the big one) fully loaded from them it had 900 miles on it I payed 30,000 cash I recently looked up the kelly blue book value and it is worth about 35,000 now so yeah I would say it's a good idea to buy from them

Answer 4

Carmax is a typical "no haggle" business. they are no more trustworthy, or less trustworthy than a garden-variety car dealership.

Answer 5

No, they don't negotiate.

No, I wouldn't buy from them. Their cars are so overpriced, it's a joke.

They lowball on trade-ins too. I had my mom's car appraised there and they offered 50% of trade-in value, which was a joke.

So basically they want their cake and eat it too.