CarMax Reviews 

I have a 2018 Kia Niro Hybrid with 114.000 highway mileage in excellent condition. Never had an issue with this clean carfax 2nd owner car, and clean accidents free car. Due to my latest financial situation as a retiree, I went to CarMax to see if can get a fair price for my car. I was shocked when the unfriendly and extremely cold salesperson returned after a 30 minutes following the car appraisal and offered me $5000.00 where the KBB estimate value is around $12.000.
What upsets me the most of their unfair practice is the posting their offer online. I’ve sold two others cars to carmax in the past including my 2015 Audi A6, and I would strongly suggest to avoid this company that takes advantage of general public and senior citizens like myself.

Don’t try and sell your vehicle to these clowns. They put up an offer for your vehicle then write things that they say are wrong but they are not. The clown who appraised my vehicle said my transmission was slipping but the clown didn’t know that my vehicle was at the shop prior to me trying to sell it. I did this to make sure the vehicle had nothing wrong with it prior to bringing it in. This was to make sure they didn’t try to pull a fast one. Again, watch out for these clowns

Totally untrustworthy. Their online offer was three times higher than what they wanted to give me eventually. I had the car checked by a dealership garage before i went to Carmax in Clark county Nevada. When Carmax "checked" the car they claimed that something is wrong with the transmission. Actually during their check, they never moved the car. Do not go there to sell your car!

I was trying to sell my car to Carmax. They offered me $7000 online, when I got there and they checked out the car they offer me $2700. They claimed that there was hail damage and I had about 30 dents on the roof of my car. When I went out to look at my car, there were no dents in my roof. When I asked to see the pictures they just sent the guy out who took the pictures and I asked him to show me 30 dents and he kept saying don’t you see them I said no, point to them and he couldn’t, I said points to just one dent and he couldn’t Then he claimed that dents come and go. It’s also funny how there’s apparently 30 dents on the roof of my car, but my hood he saw no dents.
He also said my transmission was slipping, which is untrue. Stay away from Carmax. They’re liars and pathetic because they can’t even stand behind their lies.

Deceptive dealership!!! We did an online appraisal of our 2020 (Mint condition) G70 Turbo Elite AWD fully-loaded Genesis with only 26k miles and received a low-ball offer of $27,000. We took it to a nearby CarMax to have the price verified and then sent away for the car title as we went on a two-week cruise. Upon return, we went back to CarMax with title in hand and they said they had to appraise the car again. I thought... "great, maybe this time they'll give us a more reasonable offer". Nope! apparently if you're not ready to accept their offer CarMax has some formula that will depreciate the value of your car by some percent. In our case, it depreciated by $2,000 in less than 3-weeks!!! I would understand if due to supply and demand, there was a glut of pre-owned 3-yr old Genesis' in perfect condition arrive in the market but No just the opposite. You can't find a luxury vehicle in Indianapolis for under $35k (and you're offering $25k???) that's lower than KBB Black Book value - especially a car that cost me $45k new! I was warned about CarMax but I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Stay away. Stay away. Stay away. Deceptive practices at hand.

I purchased a fully loaded 2016 Hyundai Sonata from CarMax, and I must admit, the car itself is everything I wanted - all the bells and whistles, except for a few minor issues. While I adore my car, my experience with CarMax has been less than satisfactory, and I'm hesitant to recommend them to others.

I went into the purchase with a pre-approved credit offer from Capital One, my trusted bank. The initial process was smooth, with no impact on my credit score. However, my interaction with the salesperson took an unexpected turn. They ran my credit three separate times during our discussion, leading to changes in the offers presented. In the end, I find myself paying just over $300 per month for a used vehicle. Although I had the option to explore newer models at different dealerships, I chose this car for its uniqueness.

After purchasing the car, I raised a few concerns that needed addressing before taking it home. The heated and cooled driver's seat, touted as a selling point, only has functionality on the back, with no heating or cooling on the bottom of the chair. To my dismay, I discovered that the steering wheel was wrapped in electrical tape to conceal wear and tear - a detail that escaped my notice until three months into ownership.

One of the driving factors in choosing CarMax was their extended warranties. However, my experience in getting them to address issues has been frustratingly fruitless. My transmission frequently shifts slowly, requiring me to leave it on the eco setting for any semblance of proper shifting. Despite my concerns, the service team only conducted a brief city block test drive and concluded that they "didn't notice anything wrong with the transmission shifting."

Moreover, the experience left me disappointed on another front. I was informed that the credit pulls would vanish once the temporary tags on my car were removed. Such occurrences should not be expected from a reputable brand, but rather from less reputable in-house finance establishments.

In light of my experience, I recommend exploring other dealerships that offer extended warranties. CarMax's approach left me feeling like I was dealing with a less reputable operation rather than a well-known brand. The car is fantastic, but the process of acquiring it has left me disillusioned and hesitant to endorse CarMax's way of doing business. There is a chance that this is only reflective of the Broadway location, but based on other reviews, buyers beware.

Salesman was so rude! I actually sold a car to them before and was given a good offer AND treated with respect. Not this time! They had the exact same car in their lot for $15k with 10,000 MORE miles than mine and they offered me $7k. What a joke and waste of time!!

We brought over at their request a 2023 brand new only titled Bronco Wildtrak, which they have none nationwide, they refused to offer due to its not registered with the State of Tennessee who told us we can title it and it remains brand new. These scammers want it plated or registered so its not new but used. So their offer could be significantly less. This vehicle has all options ford offers except roof rails. Its got a leveling kit on it plus 4 tube doors which is $1800 option. The upgrades alone are over $14000. Scammers never again will we ever darken their doors.

I checked the value of my 2019 Kia lease with under 9000 miles on it and Carmax gave it a $27,500 value. I went ahead and bought it from Kia at lease end and inside of a month, Carmax dropped the value to $22,000 after I called a dealership and they sent me a link to appraise it again (they held the initial offer 7 days). The car was the same, same mileage, everything. Values shift but not by 20% in a month. Plus Cargurus, Kelley Bluebook, and Edmunds all gave it a value of over $25,000. I guess that's called bait and switch. Or greedy salespeople, or just plain scary algorithms.

I am overjoyed with how the entire process at CarMax went today. Upon receiving an online offer for our 2018 Hyundai Elantra SE, we went to the dealership to have the car appraised. Much to our surprise, they came back with an offer that matched what we had received online! This price was not only fair, it was higher than several other offers we had received elsewhere. We were in and out within 90 minutes altogether, and the customer service and friendliness were exceptional. I will never sell another car any other way; CarMax has got a customer for life!

I want to start out by saying that the staff at CarMax are very nice and generally very well trained. All of the people I worked with at the store tried their best with the policies and situations that we were dealt. This review is STRICTLY of the corporation (KMX) and their policies and structure.

I chose Carmax because when I spoke with customer service they said I could sell my car without a valid registration. I got a $41k offer on my car which was approved in-store in Wayne, NJ. After 90 minutes of our meeting, Carmax then refused to buy the car on the grounds of its lack of registration. I explained everything to them and management to no avail. I contacted the DMV and paid the registration. I called and told them I paid registration and asked if I could come in and sell the car now. They said yes. I come in and after another 90 minute meeting they then refused to buy the car because they claimed the registration fees were pending. Ok. I went home again. My offer lapsed to I had to create a new one. This time the offer was $40k, so I lost out on $1000 plus the $2000 in fees I didn't expect to pay in registration. At this point I still would have given a positive review. But when I came in a 3rd time to finally close after the fees process they refused to honor the $40 active offer and low-balled me at $38k. After two more hours in the store. At this point I had nowhere to put the car and the insurance was going to lapse so I took the loss and sold the car. I know. I probably could have told them to shove it. I'm an idiot. But I needed to be done with it. I was feeling this tightness in my chest and was feeling light headed and I just needed it to be over. I take responsibility to allowing them to get away with it.

That said, you should know about my experience. At first it felt like everything happening must have been my fault but the way it ended with them pushing me back and refusing service and lowering the price over and over... it's very concerning.

My brother in law had a similar experience with Carmax last year and he warned me but I didn't listen. If I were you I'd take the lower offer from Carvana and save yourself the hassle. My family and friends vouch for them.

They are just the worst among the companies that offer this service. Unreliable on delivery, it took us to week to even get an update on the phone as of why they could not deliver the car. Just absurdly frustrating. I can only think of ADT as a comparable on bad service!

CarMax made me promises and kept every single one. They gave me an estimate, told me I didn't need to wash my vehicle in order to gain any value, told me exactly what was needed from me and that did not change

I thought it was going to be a bait and switch type deal. The first offer expired because I had to wait for the proper paperwork. When I received that I applied for another offer but they had me come in the office for it and that made me sceptical since the last offer was done online. I thought it would drop drastically.

The offer only went down $100 after 7 days. Which is more than fair. I did not have the time or energy to run around getting the highest offer. My situation couldn't allow that. I was in a financial bind caused by carelessness, bad discipline habits and lack of self awareness. My family and I were facing actual homelessness.

I did not want to sell my car but had no other choice. It was a tough situation to navigate and it's because of the honest professionalism CarMax exhibited that made it less stressful.

They provided me a mulligan; a chance to stay afloat and recover from a dire financial situation. And that has given me an incentive to try and watch my money more and to try and find better coping skills.

I'm now without a car but we have a roof over our heads and food. Keeping the car wouldn't have done that. It was the most valuable item I owned. I am grateful for that.

CarMax quoted me a really good offer for my car. I traded for an suv that had some issues that were minor that I was unaware of at time of purchase. It was the MPG being so low that made me use the 30 day return and a lack of physical uncomfortably. I went and drove to a different location an hour drive away and they told me it would take all day in which she was 100% correct. I was there 8 hours.
One car smelled like wet dog. Another shook violently and had a check engine light. One had a noticeable amount of pet hair in the back and was not cleaned. None of them ran 100%. They say they give all their cars a hard look before deciding to sell them on the lot or take to auction. I don’t know how that’s possible with the condition some of those cars were in.

I picked one with more miles than anyone would have liked to for a car 5 years old. but it was was the most comparable to what I traded in as far as features go and sounded the best engine wise.

The next day the engine had a hard time in idle and might need a tune up..hopefully nothing more…

Based on my experience I highly doubt they give a crap about you or the cars the sell. I thought CarMax was reputable for a reason. Turns out not so much. I will be taking it for an inspection and evaluate if I want to keep it or not.

I might take the itemized list to CarMax and ask them to fix the big stuff and see if they do it.

At this point I wish they would just give me my dang car back so I take it to a reputable dealer.

The online offer for my car, was between $15.5K and $$22K, in round numbers. I noted on the online application that the 2019 Jetta had $39,200 miles and had dings and dents from hail damage, and noted the condition was fair to good. When I took my car in to the Carmax in Glencoe, Illinois, They offered me $13,500, saying there were dents on the car. I questioned the rationale, wondering if they thought hail damage meant one dent? So beware. I wasted my time. Took it to a Nissan dealer and sold it for almost $2K more, a hour or so later.

I am a repeat customer - I bought an Infiniti from them almost 7 years ago and the experience was top-rate. And their warranty was pretty good as well, contrary to the negative reviews. So I naturally turned to them when I needed to buy a truck.
Not finding what I wanted locally, I took advantage of their shipping offer - big (and expensive) mistake on my part. You pay up-front for the shipping - which makes perfect sense - but what doesn't is the amount of time it will take to get that car. I was told to expect 10 business days and since they are open on weekends, I was told "every day is a business day." Um, wrong-o. It's now looking more like 25 "working days" to get a truck from Georgia to New England. And once it's on the carrier, it's out of their hands until it shows up at the receiving dealer. Today (some 6 days later) it's sitting in Maryland, roughly half-way but according to their manifests, another 3 weeks for the rest of the trip.
Worse, they had offered me a very low "cash offer" for my trade-in so I went ahead and sold it locally for roughly 4x that amount thinking I'd be in another car in just a few days.
Now I need to decide can I wait this amount of time (with no guarantee it'll be January 22, the "target date") or forfeit the $600 I've spent and buy something elsewere (and I can guarantee you it won't be CarMax).
Very disappointing - I would not have done this if I knew how things would turn out. Other online car retailers have figured this process out, but CarMax clearly isn't there yet.

I would leave zero stars if that were an option!
I wanted to sell my f-250, so I tried their on-line vehicle buying service. I filled out the information request they provided, and yes I was very honest, maybe even a bit overly critical about the condition of the truck. It does have some issues. They offered me approximately 2/3 of the KBB valuation for a truck in that condition, of which I was a little disappointed, but I grudgingly accepted(on-line).
SO, as per their directions, I made an appointment to go in to turn in my truck and receive their offered payment. Upon arrival, I was told that they just needed to verify that the description that I provided was accurate, and then I could be on my way with a check. After waiting for a half an hour, they called my name to come to the desk, and slid me a new offer for 1/2 of the KBB valuation!! When I asked why it was different than the offer I had already received, they told me about the exact same issues with the truck that I had listed in the on-line description. When I questioned that, I was told that there was nothing that I could do about it. Basically, take it or leave it! I felt like they were just telling me that I lied on my description, and there would be no further discussion, period.
Needless to say, I ABSOLUTLY DO NOT recommend using the on-line offer service!! My experience was a "bait and switch" where they got me to show up with a cleaned out truck, ready to sell, and then bent me over and cut their offer.
A side note, the woman behind the desk was VERY polite, and I certainly got the impression that was nothing she could've done to change the outcome.

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!
CarMax on Gulf Freeway in Houston sold me a 2015 Nissian Rogue that was idling extremely hard at the time of the purchase, just 5 days later I have to bring it in for service and low and behold the motor mounts and transmission mounts are broken, the hood clamps are broken, and a slew of other stuff. I want to get a different car, but am berated because A- I am a woman and they think I don't know any better, and B- they wanted that car off that lot...somehow they convince me to stay in the vehicle, mind you my car stayed in the shop for 14 days....less than a month later, the engine light comes on, turns out to be a bad gas cap...a week in the shop....3 months later, winter comes and bam, the heat won't work, by the way, still hearing a horrible noise on the passenger side front, but what do I know right?? Bring the car back in and low and behold the motor mount is broken on that side as well...after being told for months that I was hearing nothing..all because I called corporate. Now, at first corporate was great, now they can kiss my as* too...I am stuck paying a $250 deductible in order to get my car back, stuck in a vehicle I HATE and do not find reliable to have my children in, all because that store did not properly do their 125-point inspection and sold me a piece of crap. LAWYER TIME!!!!!!! I have tried to be nice, but I refuse to be told I did not hear something when I did, and get an offer on my car for 7K less than what I owe...I tried to go the right way, but unfortunately now they will be hit with a lawsuit.

They gave an online quote of$ 32,000 and the only thing wrong with the truck is that when we transferred the title, we weren’t positive of the mileage and accidentally said there wer 9700 miles when there we’re actually 9671. So because of that difference…. They were only willing to offer$ 24,000…….. $8000 difference when all they had to do was use it to go pick up lunch for a couple days until the mileage was correct and of course they would have sold on their lot. But they tried to tell us they would have had to wholesale it…….unbelievable!!!!!…. Nothing but a scam