Carmax is funny...

[Cuda1447]

I went in to get the trade in value of our 2010 Scion TC. Car is in great condition, so I was expecting a pretty good price. While we were waiting we were browsing their lot. We happened upon a 2005 Scion TC they were selling. The car had 80,000 miles and was 5 years older than our car. To our surprise they were selling it for 11,000. We figured wow. These cars hold their value good, we should be able to get a decent amount for ours. We get the offer back and what is it? $11,000! WTF? How does that even make any sense. Obviously we left.

*ps* I understand they have to mark the cars up some to make a profit, but I firmly believe carmax is pretty much NEVER a good place to get a good deal on a car. Period.

 

[vshah]

carmax is a terrible place to sell unless you need to sell the car TODAY. in 2004 we got a quote on our 2003 CR-V - 9k, WTF?
sold it for $16k private party

 

[RavenSEAL]

carmax is a terrible place to sell unless you need to sell the car TODAY. in 2004 we got a quote on our 2003 CR-V - 9k, WTF?
sold it for $16 private party

16 dollars?

 

[manimal]

Carmax rates while low on many scales are actually pretty decent when it comes to selling your car. I usually run a car trough carmax as a baseline if I want to trade at a dealership or to help me set the price if I am selling local. No sense in dropping a local sale below carmax's rate or letting a dealer have it for a few hundred less.

 

[vshah]

^ good point, its a fast way to get a baseline number

 

[T2urtle]

I went in to get the trade in value of our 2010 Scion TC. Car is in great condition, so I was expecting a pretty good price. While we were waiting we were browsing their lot. We happened upon a 2005 Scion TC they were selling. The car had 80,000 miles and was 5 years older than our car. To our surprise they were selling it for 11,000. We figured wow. These cars hold their value good, we should be able to get a decent amount for ours. We get the offer back and what is it? $11,000! WTF? How does that even make any sense. Obviously we left.

*ps* I understand they have to mark the cars up some to make a profit, but I firmly believe carmax is pretty much NEVER a good place to get a good deal on a car. Period.

carmax also sells it with a 30day guarantee last i saw. They also do a LOT better checks for damage. Some used car lots at big name dealerships will sell you a accident car that was fixed on site but will never admit to it.

You selling a 1-2 year old scion, you will get burned. Best way to go about this is private party.

 

[boomhower]

I got a pretty good amount on mine. It just depends on what your selling, they like econobox's that get good gas mileage right now. I got a real good price on an Elantra I sold last year.

 

[ultimatebob]

Yeah... Carmax is nuts. They offered me a lowball offer of $7,000 on my 2003 Audi A4 3.0 Quattro when I visited a few years ago, even though they had practically identical cars for sale around $18,000 on their lot.

Kelly Blue Book says the car is still worth approximately that much... four years later. :|

 

[GTaudiophile]

Yeah, I had to deal with them, but I regret it.

In the fall of 2006, my job was moved from ATL to DC, so I decided to sell my almost-2-years-old Mazda3 Sport. It had 19K miles on it and in LIKE-NEW (BABIED) condition. It was pretty loaded: 5-speed MT, Xenon headlights, rear lip spoiler, velocity red, etc. I think I paid around 21K for it and wanted to sell it for around 17-18K (BB value for private party). I posted it through various paper and online sites. I think I got two calls for a test drive but no sale. That was August 2006. My job moved in October, so I left the car in ATL and tried to sell it from DC to no avail. I got tired of paying for more ad space. So when I went back to ATL for Thanksgiving, I just took it over to CARMAX. They did their little test and told me it was rare for them to receive a car in such immaculate condition. Anyway, they offered me $14K, and I took it and left and returned to my life in DC, never looking back.

 

[CrackRabbit]

carmax also sells it with a 30day guarantee last i saw. They also do a LOT better checks for damage. Some used car lots at big name dealerships will sell you a accident car that was fixed on site but will never admit to it.

You selling a 1-2 year old scion, you will get burned. Best way to go about this is private party.

Frankly their damage guarantee is 100% pure bullshit.
My girlfriend ended up selling her PT Cruiser to them, it had been in 2 fairly major accidents (both rear end), clutch throw out bearing was going bad, brakes were shot, oil leaked and a bunch of other crap. Sold it to them for 3k they put it out on their lot a week later attempting to sell it for 10k.