Poll

How much did carmax offer you for your car?

Well over the trade-in value range
5 (8.6%)
High end of the trade-in value range
9 (15.5%)
Middle of the trade-in value range
10 (17.2%)
Low end of the trade-in value range
13 (22.4%)
Bottom end of the trade-in value range
4 (6.9%)
Below the bottom of the trade-in value range
17 (29.3%)

Total Members Voted: 58

Author Topic: POLL: Carmax-how much offered for you/friend your/their car? (painless version)  (Read 7695 times)

DeltaBond

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 530
  • Location: U.S.
Reading the "did you trade in your car for a cheaper car" threads on here, not many people who went to Carmax  wanted to share what was actually offered to them for their cars.  Most of the people who sold their cars to them simply said, "I was fine what they gave me."  I can respect that, but I ended up assuming that they at least gave within the range of normal trade in value.  I thought I'd establush this pole for those like me who feel a little less stressed when they know what to expect, in order to save time and energy.  All this car stuff can be so stressful, the loans can be very confusing, especially when trading down... so maybe this will help people give a more clear response anonymously, so no one can criticize someone who states that they accepted a low ball offer or something.  I stuck with Carmax for the poll, because that seems to be the most popular place people go to sell a car "hassle free" as they like to advertize.

*** Please look up your actual trade in value on the car before voting.  Thank you!!!
« Last Edit: May 31, 2015, 01:19:30 PM by DeltaBond »

ivyhedge

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 290
  • Location: United States of Farse
Back in the day...


- 2000 Civic EX coupe (mint) Carmax offered $6,800. I sold it in the DC area via CL for $9,200 literally 6hrs after posting it (gone within 36hrs).


- 2006 Acura TSX (mint) Carmax offered almost $6,000 less than for which we sold it on CL (2 weeks) before beginning our trek to being carless.


For some, Carmax's (relative) lack of hassle is worth it. However, we would have had ~$8,400 less to invest! Ouch.

DeltaBond

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 530
  • Location: U.S.
Were the amounts they offered less than the trade in value range?

ivyhedge

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 290
  • Location: United States of Farse
Were the amounts they offered less than the trade in value range?


To be honest, I do not recall: it was "many" years ago. Given the delta for which I sold them, though, I suspect yes.

DeltaBond

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 530
  • Location: U.S.
I would guess, that, too, I was just curious if you knew.  I put my car on CL yesterday at a very reasonable price, but who knows, I haven't heard anything yet, so we'll see.

Fuman

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 29
  • Location: Boulder, CO
I've sold two cars to Carmax in the last two years.  I don't remember exact dollar amounts but one was for $300.00 over high KBB, the other was at the low-end of KBB.  At the time I was living in a rural area and didn't want to deal with the inevitable parade of tire-kickers and low-ballers.

I found Carmax to be fair, fast and easy.  That said, if you have the patience to sell it yourself, you'll do better than a Carmax sale.

Carmax was worth it for me and I wouldn't hesitate to sell to them again.

forummm

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7374
  • Senior Mustachian
I sold my 2010 Corolla to them for $9k. They turned around and sold it for $13k. I could have sold it myself for about $10k or $11k on Craigslist. As a trade-in the dealer was offering me something like $6500. At the time I think Blue Book for dealer trade-in middle of the range was about $9.7k. That offer from the dealer may have been especially low since I had such an insanely good deal on the car I was buying they were trying to make money off me somewhere.

I sold an older car to them for $1200. A dealer offered $1000 for it as a trade-in. I think I could have sold it for $2k or $2.5k if I sold it myself. I think KBB dealer trade-in was way off the mark with that one--something like $2.5k.

chicagomeg

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1196
CarMax offered us $12k on our Jeep Liberty. We used that as a bargaining chip to get the dealership to match that price. I can't remember the exact KBB for our trade in, but I know the dealership listed it for $16.8k. We could have gotten more private party but we were up against the deadline to transfer plates and get a city sticker so we went the route of least resistance.

Ocinfo

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 313
Sold them my 2010 accord coupe for $15k which was about $1000 more than the private party value. I was willing to accept as low as $12k so was plenty happy. They listed it for $18k, which seemed crazy high.

Ethernet

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 34
  • Age: 27
  • Location: Lawrence, KS
We sold them my truck last winter for $1500. Trade in was $2000-2500, which was decent considering how important it was I sold the car asap.

My dad went shopping for cars a couple months ago, and saw a truck with eerily similar paint job, flame stickers, and broken cruise control buttons. They were asking $6650, and it seems all they did was give it a nice wax and buff.

gradstudent

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 20
Carmax gave me $7500 for a 2004 Ford Ranger. Trade in would have been around $5k at a dealership, while the KBB was somewhere around $9000. I listed on CL and had no luck, which I attribute to a combination of not many people (other than here) have that amount of cash lying around and to the location I was trying to sell it in. I thought the price was fair, although they listed it for ~$12,000 which I thought was ridiculous. You could almost buy a brand new (stripped down) model for that, instead of my 9 year old, 80,000 mile truck.

Rubic

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1130
Low end of the trade-in value range, but my 2004 car had issues that would have been expensive to fix, so I was happy to have them take it off my hands.  I think Carmax generally adds value to the consumer chain.

surfhb

  • Guest
2007 civic....CM offered $6200.   Sold it the next day for $8100

FIRE me

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1097
  • Location: Louisville, KY
  • So much technology, so little talent.
Back in the day...


- 2000 Civic EX coupe (mint) Carmax offered $6,800. I sold it in the DC area via CL for $9,200 literally 6hrs after posting it (gone within 36hrs).


- 2006 Acura TSX (mint) Carmax offered almost $6,000 less than for which we sold it on CL (2 weeks) before beginning our trek to being carless.


For some, Carmax's (relative) lack of hassle is worth it. However, we would have had ~$8,400 less to invest! Ouch.

It is good to hear you lived after posting ads on Craigslist. :-)   
I have sister who took a low ball Carmax offer because she was concerned that she would end up murdered by people responding to the ad if she sold the car on Craigslist.

toincoss

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 19
  • I've been told to be like water.
Sold a 2006 Scion TC in May. CM offered me 2000. KBB dealer price was 3800 and private party was in the 5000 range. I sold on CL for 4000.

pagoconcheques

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 190
Since I have a CarMax conveniently located to me I use it to get a baseline value for a used car before selling it:

Tuesday or Wednesday: After making that old car clean and shiny, drive it to CarMax and get their offer (bring your ID and title with you or they will send you packing). Browse their car lot and politely decline when they try to get you to sell immediately or buy something else.  They will give you an offer good for 7 days. 

Wednesday or Thursday: Take a dozen or so nice photos of your car and write up a craigslist ad. 

Thursday afternoon: Post your ad on craigslist.  Include your phone number.  Price your car somewhere between CarMax's offer and the asking price on their web site for similar year/mileage make/model vehicles. 

Thursday evening through Monday: field calls, show the car to prospective buyers, and happily negotiate with them down to your low threshold.  My low is typically a couple hundred over what CarMax has offered me since there is a certain hassle factor in doing these transactions. 

Tuesday or Wednesday: If you havent' sold the car through craigslist, take it to CarMax before the offer ends (build in a buffer of a couple hours in case they are busy) and take their offer. 

forummm

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7374
  • Senior Mustachian
Some of you (and me) have mentioned that CarMax lists your car for an insanely high price after you sell it to them. If you are in the market to buy a used car, keep that in mind. They are a very expensive retailer.

CDP45

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 509
August 2014 - 2009 CRV EX-L w/ 94,000 mi

Carmax offered $11,000
Sold on Craigslist within 24 hours for $15,100 CASH.

Luckily I didn't make a $4,100 mistake for "convenience," buyer came to me!

DeltaBond

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 530
  • Location: U.S.
Hmm, a lot of you are sharing what they offered vs what you sold the car for.  I hope what you based your vote on was not what you sold the car for, but what the trade-in value was ;)

epipenguin

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 124
I don't quite understand the poll options and how they relate to my situation, so I'll just write out what happened.

I had already negotiated on the cost of the new car, so I'd picked a dealer to buy my new car from, without mentioning that I had a trade in. Then I went to CarMax, and they offered me $4k for my car. After that, I went to the dealer I'd already picked, and they too initially offered me $4k. I sat there and said "I have an offer from CarMax, and I was hoping for higher than what you just offered on the trade in so I might just go back to CarMax to sell them my car" without saying that my CarMax offer was for the same damn amount. The dealer came back to me, offered me $5k for the trade in and I took it. I will say that this particular dealer advertised themselves as a bit of a specialist for the car I have/had (Prius - I was trading an older model for a newer model), so they were quite keen to get the trade in. I think it would not have necessarily gone so well if I'd had a random other car to trade in.

So I guess CarMax was on the low end of the range for my trade in, but it's not like I really heavily negotiated or got an actual range or sought out different trade in options. I don't remember what the KBB value was at the time, but then again I'm always confused about how you tell if your car is good or very good or whatever condition. Plus, in my state if you trade in and buy a new car in the same transaction, you only pay sales tax on the difference in price, not on the full purchase price of the car, so that swayed my decision quite substantially.
« Last Edit: June 02, 2015, 08:07:50 AM by epipenguin »

DeltaBond

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 530
  • Location: U.S.
epipenguin, that's one thing about Carmax is that they don't negotiate, on anything.

opah

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 31
I have a funny CarMax story. In 2011 I was selling my 1996 Ford Escort wagon and my friend told me to try CarMax before Craigslist because why not right? Rather than just telling me it was worthless to them right off the bat, the guy actually made me wait in line to sit at one of the desks and have them input all the information (about an hour long process on the weekend) only to be offered the stunningly low amount of $50. This guy said it with a straight face.

It had a trade in value of about $1000 and I sold it on Craigslist for $1200. 

I realized later that  CarMax is obviously looking for late-model cars, yadda, yadda. But Jesus just tell me that when I walk up and inquire about selling my beater to you!

I miss that wagon.

Sid Hoffman

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 928
  • Location: Southwest USA
Some of you (and me) have mentioned that CarMax lists your car for an insanely high price after you sell it to them. If you are in the market to buy a used car, keep that in mind. They are a very expensive retailer.

Carmax reconditions cars before reselling them and then puts a 7-day money back guarantee and 30-day warranty on them.  They aren't just turning around and selling the cars as-is.  You're buying something that's basically a basic CPO car, not just a used car.  For a lot of cars their extended warranty isn't very expensive either, which also isn't something you get when buying private party.

Carmax is more expensive than private party for sure, but the cars they sell are in above average condition as far as used cars are concerned.  I've both bought and sold cars private party as well as through Carmax.  Do your research and know the values and you'll be fine.

DeltaBond

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 530
  • Location: U.S.
Hmm, well, I'm starting to think Carmax is one of those places where you go to just see if you're the one they'll offer a good deal to or not, and not hold your breath.

Sid Hoffman

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 928
  • Location: Southwest USA
Hmm, well, I'm starting to think Carmax is one of those places where you go to just see if you're the one they'll offer a good deal to or not, and not hold your breath.

I think that's an excellent way to approach it, yes.  Between my sister and I, we've sold a total of 6 cars now, 3 of which went to Carmax because they were willing to offer close enough to what we felt we could get private party to be worth it.  The other 3 we sold private party.  Just go in informed, or I guess go in with no expectations and when they give you the offer letter (generally good for 3-7 days) take that letter home and compare against all the for-sale ads for your area in autotrader.com and craigslist to make an informed decision.

DeltaBond

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 530
  • Location: U.S.
And that's why I put up this poll.  I know a lot of people on here are wanting to downsize and get out of bad loans, and cars are very tricky with all that.  Very very tricky.  Hopefully this poll and thread being on here can be of some help for all that.

CDP45

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 509
Some of you (and me) have mentioned that CarMax lists your car for an insanely high price after you sell it to them. If you are in the market to buy a used car, keep that in mind. They are a very expensive retailer.

Carmax reconditions cars before reselling them and then puts a 7-day money back guarantee and 30-day warranty on them.  They aren't just turning around and selling the cars as-is.  You're buying something that's basically a basic CPO car, not just a used car.  For a lot of cars their extended warranty isn't very expensive either, which also isn't something you get when buying private party.

Carmax is more expensive than private party for sure, but the cars they sell are in above average condition as far as used cars are concerned.  I've both bought and sold cars private party as well as through Carmax.  Do your research and know the values and you'll be fine.

Wow 7-day money back guarantee! And a 30 day warranty?? What a deal for $2,000-$5,000 cost vs going private party! My mechanic costs $125 for full diagnostic inspection including emissions/infrared/timing/etc and usually finds at least $500 worth of dings and wear issues to knock down from the sellers price.

Walmart offers 30 days money back guarantee! Haha. Plus the major mfg offer factory 6+ year warranty, so I hope you didn't get scammed buying some 3rd party worthless "extended warranty."

Slee_stack

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 876
Reviving to add my experience and see if anything has changed.

I'm in the process of downgrading our car.

Got a CarMax offer $1000 under the lowest trade-in value on the KBB range.   

I am selling a 2012 in perfect shape with <50k miles which is right in line with putting it on their retail lot (vs auction block).

I have an appt at Carvana early next week.  Their online offer is $2700 higher than CarMax and smack dab middle of Trade in range.  Will see if they stick to that or drop the offer when I go in.  I spoke to a Carvana person on the phone who claims they are very consistent with their online offer and only adjust if something is clearly different from the info entered online.

Have the car posted on Craigslist but getting the ridiculous folks smoking crack and making offers even less than what Carmax will pay.

retiringearly

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 363
2.5 years ago I bought a new car.  I tried selling my old car on Autotrader but it didn't sell.  I took it to Carmax and an independent used car dealer.  Both offered me the exact same amount, to the penny.  I was able to get an additional $350 from the independent dealer so I sold it to him.

One positive to Carmax is that their check will not bounce or be fraudulent.

lbmustache

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 926
Car was worth around $5-$7500k depending on the condition (fair - excellent). They offered me $5500 for a car that had been in accidents and was falling apart. They did not put it on their lot and sold it at auction.

I would have listed it in CL for $6000, so the $500 loss was worth it to me to have it gone and taken care of painlessly.

sisto

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1084
  • Age: 55
  • Location: Sacramento, CA
There are lots of variables involved. I was lucky 2 out of about 8 times in dealing with Carmax for myself or family/friends. You have to consider some of it has to do with the appraiser, but then there is also how many of the cars are on the market, and what they are selling for at auction just to name a few. The auction price is generally also based on availability in the market. Then there is age and mileage considerations to take into account. I've found that vehicles that tend to hold their value like certain truck models and vehicles that are a little higher end and not as readily available at auction will get a better price. It's always worth having them give you an estimate because it doesn't usually take that long and it's good for 7 days.