Selling a Car to CarMax?

Has anybody sold a car outright (no trade, no purchase) to CarMax?

In reply to Woody:

Well I am sure someone has. Or else they probably wouldn't advertise it. ha. No go on the ebay auctions?

Yes, it was pretty much painless. Got less than I could have outright selling it, but at the time, didn't have time/inclination to deal with flakes. I got about what Edmunds said my car's trade-in value was, if you're looking for an idea as to what you may get.

I did to CarSense. Same type of thing but in Pennsylvania. The CarMax I first started talking to in Orlando was impossible to deal with on the title issue, so I drove the car back north.

I've done it three times. It was easy, painless and I got a fair price.

Don't, worked there for 3 years.

They screw you upfront. They will give book, if it is a car that is hot right then, otherwise it will be less.

The down side once you have a car appraised there, it will never, ever be higher than that.

Sell it yourself.

Now all that being said.

They are upfront about all of this and will give you a price and a check that day if you are in a hurry to dump it. They are usually about a grand under market value for trade, so if that is fair to you then go for it. It is pain free and easier than just about every other selling method.

In the end how much is your time worth?

I haven't actually sold a car to them, but a used car salesman I once knew told me that if I was trading in a car that I should go to Carmax first and get their offer. According to this person (who did not work for Carmax) it is usually better than any car dealer will give you on a trade-in. At the very least you can use it as a negotiating tool on a trade-in.

The one time I tried it I got a quote on a C5 Corvette that was about the best I could do on a trade-in. In this case, I had tried to sell the car myself with no luck (this was 2008 when the world was coming to an end and selling an expensive sports car was tough).

In most cases, though, you will get more selling it yourself than either Carmax or a trade-in will get you. If you want to deal with the hassle. In some states you can also get a break on the new car sales tax with a trade-in, so be sure to factor that in.

how much are you trying to get for your car?

Sold one car that way when I was a bit short on free time. It's pretty straightforward - you're trading getting the most money for having less hassle. Prices are about what you'd expect a dealer to offer as trade-in value.

They pull Black Book and Manheim auction values for the last week. If it is more than 100K on the odometer or they are kicking it for what ever reason they pull their auction values for that store.

If it is a car they want to put on their lot, unless it is hot, they go by the following procedure. They are real strict on grading the car (most cars in good are rated as fair, etc.) They then discount any issue and their cost of repairs (they have all the data from all the stores and their associated costs) as well as the likely hood of habitual issues with a certain make or model (ie Toyota - V6 engine sludge, Honda Odyssey - power doors, Land Rover - everything, etc.) and factor that in. Then they take off a set fee for the process, (my store was $500). That was your offered price.

So your offer = Data sources price - issues - % habitual issues - fee

Hope the data helps

Oh yeah and the value is the same if you buy or don't, that is true

I will say they pay big when cars are hot. They gave me ~600$ over what I originally paid for my Prius (Work car) after 18 months on the road and 20K miles.

Mind you gas was 4+ a gallon and nobody had Prius's.

I traded in my 2005 QX56 to them. When I bought the car, I did not put anything down. Sold it to them for over $1000 more than I owed.
Fast Forward 4 years and a Porsche Cayenne S..... They were trying to rob me for $6k... No thank FU!

I did it. They gave me less than I wanted, but it was fast and hassle free.

tuna55 wrote: No go on the ebay auctions?

That was sort of a test the market thing (WRX) with a comfortable reserve. I may have stirred some local interest. I wanted to compare the high bid with what Carmax would offer.

slowride wrote: I did it. They gave me less than I wanted, but it was fast and hassle free.

This is why I have sold so many cars at Carmax.

Keep in mind that pretty much every car dealer will buy your car at trade value without requiring you to buy a car from them. You might get a better price talking to the used car manager at a store that sells whatever brand of car you might have.

they've offered about 500 over what most dealers were offering in trade when i was looking to make a change, keep in mind they're not real high on manual transmission cars, so will knock the price down a bit for that. they had rock bottom prices on a 6-speed rubicon (like 2k less than i'd seen anywhere else) and neon srt-4 (modded some, a little beat up)

In reply to Woody: I am a Sales Manager at CarMax. You can PM me if you have any questions about the process of selling your car or would like me to help you get it arranged.

Datsun1500 wrote:

Argo1 wrote: In reply to Woody: I am a Sales Manager at CarMax. You can PM me if you have any questions about the process of selling your car or would like me to help you get it arranged.

He asked that question over a year ago.....

I have bought and sold at least five cars since. None through CarMax by the way...

They offered me 3k under book value for mine.......oh, and the douchebag that took it for a joyride warped my brand new brake rotors.

Edit: nvm.......thread from the dead, CANOE?