Experiences with selling on Carmax?

[Syringer]

I have an '02 Explorer with 117k miles on it, but had a new engine that was put in @ 77k..so there's 40k on it, and just had the transmission rebuilt and comes with a 2 year warranty.

The tranny rebuild was the last straw for me so I want to get rid of it like a bandaid..as quickly and as pain free as possible. Is Carmax worth the experience? I've heard mixed results on it, which makes sense since there are so many of them..or are there other similar options I could consider?

I'm going to end up buying a car from a private dealer.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

They'll probably give you like 1k for it. They severely lowball you, especially on SUVs and large trucks.

 

[Gibson486]

Well...they are better than dealers.

That doesn't say much however.

 

[SearchMaster]

In my experience, they only resell "quality" cars - basically those they can sell for $10K or more. So they would turn your car around to auction and price it accordingly.

 

[mb]

In my experience, they only resell "quality" cars - basically those they can sell for $10K or more. So they would turn your car around to auction and price it accordingly.

Yep, a car that old with that many miles won't likely be sold on the lot. They'll give you $XXX to $XXXX under what they think they can get for it at auction, which probably isn't much to start with.

As far as the process, yes it is quick and pain free. They'll check out the car and make an offer, and I think you have a couple days and some amount of miles to decide if you want to sell.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Sometimes they will severely lowball you, other times the offer will be outrageously above what you were expecting.
Examples: Was thinking about getting rid of my 2003 Focus, KBB was about $3000 they offered me $1000.
GF had her 2001 PT Cruiser with numerous problems (clutch, wheel bearings, massive oil leaks, brakes, etc.) offered her $3000 for it (above KBB for it) and then turned around and attempted to resell it on their lot for almost $9000.

 

[SammyJr]

I sold a couple Saturns to them back in 2006. They offered me a $2000 above what any of my local dealerships were offering.