CarMax we will buy your car for pennies even if you dont buy ours!!! beware!!! Norcross Georgia

When you sell a vehicle to anyone who is planning to make a profit off of it, don't expect much. It would not be worth it to them if they can't make a healthy profit. And you've got to consider possible market changes. Like now with gas at $4 and diesel at $5 a gallon, it's hard to give those big trucks and SUVs away. They're not going to get stuck with something they may have to take a loss on. If you feel you can get alot more for it selling it yourself, do it.

Okay, where should I begin? Let's start with your vehicle, a HUGE 2003 Ford diesel truck with well over a hundred thousand miles on it. The miles is the first thing against you. Carmax rarely sells vehicles over 100,000 miles and when they do, its usually a Honda or Toyota. So that's strike one pretty much; nothing devalues a vehicle more than high mileage.

Number two: have you seen the gas prices? You can now get a gallon of milk cheaper than a gallon of gas. Diesel is even worse. The demand for your expensive tank is down. Everyone is unloading them, Carmax is buying them. Because demand is down though, they can't turn around and expect a huge profit, therefore, they can't offer you alot for a vehivle they'll have trouble selling. It's bad business. They ARE a business. Strike 2.

Finally, KBB and NADA DO NOT take market conditions into consideration when making their estimates on a vehicles worth. They give the value based on mileage and overall condition. They don't take into consideration that your truck probably costs more than $100 a week to operate. So if you think you can get more, fine, by all means, try. I wish you luck with that...by the way, strike 3, you're out.

Carmax does not claim that they will purchase your vehicle at book value. They use book value as a reference. And Kelly Blue Book states that it is a ball park figure they are giving you, and rarely have I EVER seen KBB to be anywhere accurate on their pricing. I have no idea where they get their numbers from.

You, on the other hand, might need to step back and look at your situation a little more clearly. Carmax has VERY few cars for sale with over 100k and those that are lucky enough to be a part of that crowd, I can guarantee you, are mostly Toyotas. This means that your truck would go to auction. They have to consider what they can make on the vehicle. They are not buying your vehicle out of a favor to you. And if you still had your vehicle, I would have challenged you to find ANY other dealership that would have offered you that value for your truck.

Just because you were expecting way more than your vehicle is actually worth doesn't mean that Carmax did anything wrong. They go by market value. That means they offer you what the vehicle is currently selling for on average around your area.

if they say your 135,000 mile truck is worth $18500, sell it to them. I'm sure they would be quick to cut you a check.

Carmax does not offer the appraisal in an attempt to buy your car cheap. The offer the no obligation appraisal to get you to drop by. Maybe you'll buy one of their pre-owned cars instead of the new one from that mean car dealer that wouldnt give you as much on your trade.

135,000 miles really isnt very much on a Ford diesel. Unfortunately, I dont think any bank in the world is going to finance a 5 year old car with that many miles. You (if you sold it privately) or Carmax would have to find a buyer that would pay 18500 cash for it. I'm thinking someone with 18500 cash would rather not have a 5 year old truck with 135000 miles. See the problem?

I purchased my last car from Carmax and had a great experience. With that being said, I did trade my current car in. I remember the website saying that I could go to NADA, Edmunds, or KBB for an ESTIMATED value. They did not gaurentee I would get this value for my car. After reading your report I researched their website and this is EXACTLY what is states:

"What's My Car Worth?

It's easy to get an accurate value for your car just bring it to any CarMax location for a free appraisal. Remember, to get a fair market value for your car, it must be carefully inspected in person.

Our Buyers will test drive and inspect it from top to bottom and give you a free written offer good for 7 days. Read more about the CarMax Appraisal Process.

You can also use the online resources below to get a basic estimate of what your vehicle may be worth. These links provide estimates; no one can give you an accurate value for your vehicle without carefully inspecting it first."

Where in there does it say you will get one of those prices? Also, who wants to pay $17,000 for a car, truck, SUV or whatever that has 135,000 miles on it- diesal or not?! I think $13,000 was more than fair. You should probably go back and take it before your truck depreciates further. 2008 is coming around the corner, now it's one year older too!

My parents took their car to Carmax and sold it to them without purchasing another vehicle (since my father retired they were downsizing to only 1 car). The car was in great shape and they ended up getting 2,000 over KBB for it because of it's condition (much lower milage than most cars that age).

So, when it was time for me to purchase a new vehicle I took my car there. My car was in excellent running condition, great condition appearance wise, but it did have very high milage (it was a 2003 and had 165,000 miles on it).

They came back with an extremely low offer on my car, they only were going to give me 3,200 for it. When I asked about the offer, they told me the milage was the reason. Despite the car being in working order, they do not sell vehicles on their lot with over 100,000 miles on them. Anything with milage like that means that the car has to go to auction. And at auction they could make a profit or they could lose on the car, there was no way of telling.

Needless to say, I did not sell my car to them and took it to the dealership and traded it in and got 4,700 for it.

I think it's all in how you look at it, but they were not forcing you to sell your truck to them, they made you an offer, just like they made me one, and it's your right to turn it down or accept it.

Mileage is Mileage weather its on a Ford Focus or a huge Pick up, it still constitues to wear and tear and parts that need to be replaced after so much usage. No one wants to go out and buy a vehicle that needs to be in the shop weekly and that's what happens on a high mileage vehicle THAT NEEDS TO HAVE ITS MAJOR INSIDES REPLACED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am not sure that the OP is on target with pricing, but comparing a Ford Focus which is a compact gasoline engine car with a big diesel truck does not make any sense at all.

Well, then they shouldn't advertise that they buy at such and such book prices.

They just try to lure potential sellers to low ball them out of their car/truck.

L

No one wants a vehicle with over 100,000 miles on it unless its a collectors item or they can't afford anything else. I have a 2003 Ford Focus in excellent condition. But it has 135,000. So in 18 months when I buy a new car, I don't expect to get anymore than about $1500 for it because even though its in great shape, it still has over 100,000 miles.

No one wants a vehicle with over 100,000 miles on it unless its a collectors item or they can't afford anything else. I have a 2003 Ford Focus in excellent condition. But it has 135,000. So in 18 months when I buy a new car, I don't expect to get anymore than about $1500 for it because even though its in great shape, it still has over 100,000 miles.

No one wants a vehicle with over 100,000 miles on it unless its a collectors item or they can't afford anything else. I have a 2003 Ford Focus in excellent condition. But it has 135,000. So in 18 months when I buy a new car, I don't expect to get anymore than about $1500 for it because even though its in great shape, it still has over 100,000 miles.

You normally get from a regular car dealership what the dealer could purchase the same vehicle at auction for. If the dealer gives you more than NADA trade in value for your car -which I've never experienced - he packs the new car price, adds ADM (additional dealer markup) or keeps the rebate and doesn't credit it to you. If he buys the car outright, he gives you auction value or perhaps a bit less unless your vehicle is very unique (2,000 miles on a 5 year old car etc).

Apparently you did'nt read my post very well, I said "WHEN I was in the car business..." which by the way was never at Car Max. Yes I worked for a dealership for 11 years. If you list your truck in the want ads and someone inquires about it but does'nt agree to pay you what you are asking for it are you going to list that person on ROR? Also check your local banks and credit unions and see how many will make a loan on a car/truck that has over 100k on it? Very few will regardless if it is diesel or gas. You are just pissed at Car Max because they did'nt tell you what you wanted to hear.

Apparently you did'nt read my post very well, I said "WHEN I was in the car business..." which by the way was never at Car Max. Yes I worked for a dealership for 11 years. If you list your truck in the want ads and someone inquires about it but does'nt agree to pay you what you are asking for it are you going to list that person on ROR? Also check your local banks and credit unions and see how many will make a loan on a car/truck that has over 100k on it? Very few will regardless if it is diesel or gas. You are just pissed at Car Max because they did'nt tell you what you wanted to hear.

Apparently you did'nt read my post very well, I said "WHEN I was in the car business..." which by the way was never at Car Max. Yes I worked for a dealership for 11 years. If you list your truck in the want ads and someone inquires about it but does'nt agree to pay you what you are asking for it are you going to list that person on ROR? Also check your local banks and credit unions and see how many will make a loan on a car/truck that has over 100k on it? Very few will regardless if it is diesel or gas. You are just pissed at Car Max because they did'nt tell you what you wanted to hear.

Apparently you did'nt read my post very well, I said "WHEN I was in the car business..." which by the way was never at Car Max. Yes I worked for a dealership for 11 years. If you list your truck in the want ads and someone inquires about it but does'nt agree to pay you what you are asking for it are you going to list that person on ROR? Also check your local banks and credit unions and see how many will make a loan on a car/truck that has over 100k on it? Very few will regardless if it is diesel or gas. You are just pissed at Car Max because they did'nt tell you what you wanted to hear.

You must be right. No one else has any clue how the free enterprise system works. Anyone who doesn't agree with you MUST be somehow tied to your defendent. No one could ever have worked in a dealership or out in the workplace before.
I know exactly what you say you have and it's irrelevent to the complaint.
As stated, they made you an offer....YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO TAKE IT.
And you didn't.
No one held a gun to your head to take it and no one HAS to give you what you want just because you DEMAND it.
You went to them to try and unload it. That was their offer. Oh well.
Don't like it, sell it on your own since you seem to feel it should go like hotcakes and you just wasted your time even thinking about them.
It is still no rip off.
They lost the oppurtunity to buy and sell a vehicle and make a profit - be it at what they wanted the unit for or what you wanted to get for it....they still lost out on turning some profit because you didn't like their offer. That's all it is.
Go to a real dealership and demand they buy it for what YOU want if your so confident in the product and feel that just anyone should give into your demands. And there's a reason you still see them for over $20,000 in the papers.....no one is buying them at that price or they still wouldn't be for sale.
Please, get over yourself.

Clearly, neither responder works for the company. To add to this, I would not be giving you anything near the NADA Used Car Guide or the Kelly Blue Book value if I were working in a car dealership. Between the overhead charges to run the place, the commission I'd have to pay at time of sale, there would be no way you'd get anything close to the value you expect. I would assume Car Max is in business to make a profit, and a difference of $4500 between your expectation and their offer allows them to make somewhere around a 8-10% profit in the end.

The other thing is that their decision to offer a similar truck on the lot for $29K is irrelevant - it only becomes relevant if someone wants to buy the truck. In all likelihood, the truck isn't moving off the lot for $29,000. In the end, it will be for less, but it also has no relevance to the situation at hand.

In the end - this is not a rip-off. This is a situation where two people/entities could not agree on the price of a truck.

The two guys above must be emplyees of CarMax. Obviously neither of you know anything about the vehicle listed above, but I can guarantee you that you will not find the similar vehicle on auto trader or any other site for lower than $20,000.00 The fact is that it was not just a business proposition as stated in the first response. It is a form of bait and switch advertising. CarMax lists on their website that they use Kelly Blue Book as the guide for the valuation of a vehicle, and when you come in they offer thousands less, and then make excuses why they offer thousands less. It is a game to sucker people into the store and then they can try to "steal the deal". Read all of the other posts of equal experiences.

Also by the way if you know about deisel trucks, then you know that 135,000 miles is equal to about 50,000 on a gas engine, respectively. These trucks are usually good for about 300,000-400,000 miles. (much more than a typical gasoline engine.) I said it was a deduction of about 4,000.00 in my post, but not a difference of 16,000 as per the CarMax offer to me compared to the price on the other truck they are selling. I believe in free enterprise and capitalism, but I do not believe in tactics such as these to make a buck by luring people and then trying to rip them off. I will report back when I have sold my truck by owner and will offer proof of how far off the mark car max is with the offer.

Comparing a truck with 135k miles to a truck that only has 40k is like comparing apples to oranges. Think about it would you buy a truck from a used car lot with 135k miles on it? Or would you pay more for one with 40k miles on it? Most people that come onto a car lot would not even look at a truck with 135k miles. And most banks will not even loan money on a truck with 135k on it. His offer was not really out of line believe it or not. WHEN I was in the car business I use to tell people like yourself "If Kelly Blue book says it is worth that much, sell it to them!"

Just an attempted business deal that the two parties couldn't agree on. I don't believe a regular dealership would give you much more but that would be their choice if they did or not - much like it was Carmax's.