I love my job

My Garage

GRM garage link

My job is an enabler and contributor to my lifetime car addiction. I am passing 5 years working for CarMax. I wish that I had discovered the company 20 years ago. Besides being a Fortune Top 100 Company to work for the last 13 years running, it allows it's associates to purchase retail cars at cost and - the one that gets me in trouble - cars heading to auction at cost BEFORE they get to auction. That's what fills up my garage. If you live near a CarMax and want something to do P/T or F/T with a great company that enables us car guys, I recommend you check them out.

Hay Argo!!!! We were talking about you last Sunday. Wondering where you were. Glad to see you posting up. If I had your job I am betting I would just be bringing cars home and no pay check.

In reply to dean1484: Yeah, that tends to be my problem but I have no intention of changing! Can't wait for GT Sport PS4 to come out and get the group migrated over for a new series. My PS3 is dead.

That's quite a haul from Carmax!

What do you do for CarMax, sales? They seem like a cool company to work for, but I wouldn't want to be a salesman.

Also, I love your car collection. Most people would say that owning both a Maserati and a Jag is insanity, but that's my kind of insanity.

Do you buy the premium warranty?

I worked for CarMax for 10 years, 6 were spent in the purchasing department. I loved the job and the company treated me very well. The wholesale side of the business was great, that's where I picked up 4 of my cars.

Woody said: Do you buy the premium warranty?

Unfortunately on wholesale cars the warranty wasn't an option.

In reply to Woody: Like the danimal said, the extended service plans aren't available when you buy a wholesale auction car. Trust me, I would have on the Jag and the Maserati if I could have! Though both have been 100% reliable so far.

In reply to dannyzabolotny: I am a location General Manager for CarMax. I started out in sales. Sales at CarMax is not at all like sales at any other car dealership. Zero. Some days I would love to get out there and sell again. It was a blast!

Do they charge cost? I was there and wanted to buy one and there was a $700 difference between offer and my quote, this was 8 years ago. The car never moved, I parked it back lot and it was there in the exact same spot when I bought it.

Are they still making you wait X number of days before you can buy them from the front lot at a discount?

Are they still forcing A credit to go through Carmax financing or are they letting it roll to more lenders now? We had just picked up BoA about 3 months before I left.

How has the quality control maintained? They were working on some wonky stuff when I was there. The one I agreed with is the moving away from bumper resprays for minor road rash.

Are they still putting on the cheapest tires they can find for the size of the car or have they done a deal with a manufacturer? (this was in discussion)

Have they improved the service department? This was a huge missed opportunity for them when I was there and I think everyone in my store, including the service department, was asking for changes to better serve the store and the customer.

I know they will buy anyone's cars, but have they went up on the appraisal? We were losing deals to down the street because we were low balling them on the appraisals. Even though the data showed that the number of customers lost was minimal.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I was President's Club and an Above and Beyond Award recipient. The three years I was there I had a blast.

are you at a X-store, Production store or mini?

And can you help a brother out?

I will say it is nice to hear about a company treating employees well.

FlightService wrote: Do they still charge cost? I was there and wanted to buy one and there was a $700 difference between offer and my quote, this was 8 years ago. The car never moved, I parked it back lot and it was there in the exact same spot when I bought it. Are they still making you wait X number of days before you can buy them from the front lot at a discount? Are they still forcing A credit to go through Carmax financing or are they letting it roll to more lenders now? We had just picked up BoA about 3 months before I left. How has the quality control maintained? They were working on some wonky stuff when I was there. The one I agreed with is the moving away from bumper resprays for minor road rash. Are they still putting on the cheapest tires they can find for the size of the car or have they done a deal with a manufacturer? (this was in discussion) Have they improved the service department? This was a huge missed opportunity for them when I was there and I think everyone in my store, including the service department, was asking for changes to better serve the store and the customer. I know they will buy anyone's cars, but have they went up on the appraisal? We were losing deals to down the street because we were low balling them on the appraisals. Even though the data showed that the number of customers lost was minimal. EDIT: Oh yeah, I was President's Club and an Above and Beyond Award recipient. The three years I was there I had a blast.

Wow. That's quite a laundry list. I don't know how long ago you were with the company but we are all about constant improvement in every area. There are still some specifics to the associate purchase program, as there should be. Since you used the term "low ball", I know that you never worked in purchasing. We are business partners with Kelley Blue Book and we give the customers the option of taking our best offer for their car or Kelley's instant cash offer, whichever is higher. As is true for any business, the management and the team make the difference. My store has been a "Top 10" store 4 times in the last 12 months and my service department team is #2 in the nation according to our customer surveys. I will stand CarMax quality and service up against any dealership.

I just bought a car from Carmax. It was the most pleasant car buying experience so far. Zero pressure from the salesman was great.

Argo1 - you have a pm

When I was 18 I would just fill out some information and test drive cars I would never buy, it was awesome! Kind of insulted they offered me 55 bucks for my 90 corolla back in 2005. I mean it was a pile but not even 100?? come on...

My only experience with CarMax was test driving something and them having a preset loop that you had to follow. And half of it went through an industrial park. It was maybe 10 minutes, tops. At the end the guy was like "what do you think?" I replied "I dunno, I wouldn't really call that a test drive."

Is that normal?

I've never let a salesman tell me where to drive. I only recall one ever riding with me and that was a hot chick.

Argo1 wrote: In reply to Woody: Like the danimal said, the extended service plans aren't available when you buy a wholesale auction car. Trust me, I would have on the Jag and the Maserati if I could have! Though both have been 100% reliable so far.

So you haven't driven either of them then.

Hmm...I might need to go part-time at Carmax then. I need me a better tow rig without paying tow rig private party prices...

In reply to NorseDave:

See fidelity101's comments. There normal routes for test drives unless a customer has some specifics that they would like to check out. Most people don't want a long test drive and the routes avoid left turns across traffic, etc. Knowing where the test drive is also a safety factor in this day and age. We also allow test drives alone on request.

oldtin wrote: Argo1 - you have a pm

Thanks. Replied.

Would you mind telling us what you laid for the cars from CarMax?

DrBoost wrote: Would you mind telling us what you laid for the cars from CarMax?

I could tell you but then I would have to kill you. Wholesale is a wonderful thing.