TLDR: . I cannot believe that after buying a $58,000 car from your company, that within two days, I had not only had to take it to a mechanic for service, but that I had to pay $1,300 for brakes out of my pocket. I have purchased two other cars from CarMax, and have sent many customers your way, based off of my referrals, but I can no longer. I felt comfortable enough to have my wife go to CarMax without me to buy a car, and this is how she was treated. She was sold a car with incorrect financing, an oil leak, bad brakes, and bad tires. This is how car buying should not be.
For those interested in the details:
My wife purchased her car on Thursday, March 29th. She went to CarMax with a pre-approval from Bank of America. During the financing, she had them check to see what the CarMax financing rate was, to compare with Bank of America. CarMax was higher so she decided to go with Bank of America. Upon financing, the person doing the paperwork selected the CarMax financing option. My wife told them she did not want to use CarMax's financing, she wanted to use Bank of America. The paperwork person said selecting CarMax option is "ok" and that Bank of America would handle it. She went to Bank of America and they said that they don't operate that way. She called CarMax to let them know, they told her to come back and process paperwork to return and repurchase with Bank of America financing selected. The customer service section at CarMax said that the woman that did our financing was unaware of how financing through Bank of America worked. My wife showed up the next day and they asked for the car. She didn't bring the car, as there was no mention she needed to bring the car back, and she didn't think to bring the car back for what she percieved was a clerical error. I had driven the car into work on that day. I ended up having to leave work early to get to CarMax. I got to CarMax at 3:30, and we did not leave until 3 hours later. This process took an additional 3 hours! During this time, a manager could not be found. Our sales person was just pacing the lobby, looking for someone to assist us. It wasn't until I called customer service from my cell phone in the lobby to request a supervisor that someone came to assist. When I got home, I noticed an oil stain from the car on the garage floor. I knew it came from the car, as I hadn't kept a vehicle in the garage prior. CarMax had done an oil change at their San Gabriel location, their records show. I called CarMax and they tried to pass it off as a warranty issue I should take up with the manufacturer, even though I had only purchased it a day ago. Being that it was a Friday, and CarMax service isn't open on the weekend, I took it to the dealer on Saturday morning, March 31 to have the oil leak checked out. The computer showed that the oil was overfilled. They took pictures that show the oil was leaking from 2 locations; the drain plug and the oil filter housing. That made sense, as I had (and still have) two leak spots on my garage floor. They also told me that the rear tires and the front brakes were at end of life and needed replacement. Not wanting to have an unsafe automobile, I got the brakes and oil change done, holding off on the tires as I could see that they were low, but not unsafe. I went to CarMax on April 4th and showed them the picture of the oil leak in the garage and the pictures and documentation from the dealer. They reimbursed me for the oil change and had a mechanic come to verify the tires were low, and agreed that they were in need of replacement and should have been replaced before the car was sold to my wife. They would not reimburse me for the brakes, as I had got them done, without having CarMax look at them first, even though brakes are a safety issue, and should be replaced as needed. They ordered the tires, and said they would arrive in a couple days and that I would get a call. After 4 weeks of not getting a call, I called and was told the order had not been processed and that it would be a few more days. 2 more weeks pass and no phone call. I called, and they said the woman that helped me was on vacation. After two more days, I called and was told the tires were in. I made an appointment for 11:30 the following day to have the tires installed. At 12:15, after waiting 45 minutes, I was told they could have the tires completed by 2:30. I was unable to wait, as I had made an appointment during my lunch break and needed to get back to work. I ended up coming the next day to pick up the tires and get them installed by a shop that would honor an appointment time. After all, CarMax San Gabriel couldn't do an oil change correctly, and inspect tires or brakes properly, so I was skeptical of their ability to install tires, especially when it involves my wife's safety. read more