My car buying experience at CarMax was actually quite pleasant; quick easy and simple. The process for receiving financing and getting the car shipped to this location was superb and the sales associates kept in touch with me the entire time my car was being shipped. Buying the car took about an hour to see, test drive, and complete paperwork. All in all that process was a breeze.
Once I actually took possession of the car, however, things started to go downhill.
Let me be fair and say that CarMax has an excellent warranty policy. They offer you the chance to bring back your car within five days for a full refund, will fix anything that goes wrong with it in the first thirty days for free, and offer like a year warranty for any "mechanical" issues that go wrong with your vehicle. All in all a pretty sweet deal right?
On day six of owning my new used car the engine light goes on; too late for me to exchange it for a new one...so I take it to the dealer to get a second opinion on it before I take it back to CarMax to see what's up; well he tells me that my used car is now on recall which was not in the information provided in the carfax when I bought it so that must have been pretty new, that my spare key is going to damage my ignition switch if it's not re-cut properly, and that the gas cap needs to be replaced with a factory made gas cap because apparently that was why my engine light had come on. Trip 1 to the mechanic $136.
Trip 2 to the mechanic I take it to CarMax and they take care of that trip for free; cut me a new spare, tell me that my engine light is now off and the codes have been cleared, don't replace my gas cap which I did ask them to do and send me on my way.
Day 30 of my warranty I'm heading out and my car goes bump and then the most horrible grinding sound happens whenever I press the gas. I limp back home and call CarMax. They give me the information of a tow truck owner and I get him to tow my car to them. They say they'll call. Forty-five minutes later I call them to see where my car is and how it's doing; to have them tell me that it just got into them; I live five minutes away from them at most...They fix that for free, give me a great loaner vehicle, and in two days my car is back in my possession. That's Trip 3 to the mechanic.
Two months later my tire goes completely flat. I must have run over something. I take it to them, they have to order the tire, they put on my spare for free. They promise to order the tire on Monday and call me when it's ready. That was Trip 4. Today is Friday. I've called them after trying to get the tire myself and running into no end of issues, only to find out that the person that promised me he'd order my tire never actually submitted my order. In two months I've been to the mechanic FIVE TIMES (if you count me having to take my car to Sears to get them to put a tire on for me so that I don't blow out my doughnut because I've been driving on it, on the highway, for like a week and a half!).
Extenuating circumstances aside. I've been ignored, promised things from these people, and then not communicated with properly. I've had to call them to follow up on every interaction we've had, with the exception of the one time I had their loaner vehicle in my possession; and I am beyond frustrated.
Yes they may have an exceptional warranty, yes they may have an easy buying experience, and yes if I had bought anywhere else and all of these problems had cropped up after buying a car I would have been screwed. So I'll give them that. But the lack of communication and cooperation that I've had to deal with just to get my car in working condition for me is unacceptable to the standard of service that CarMax quality assurance implies.
If this review was written six days after my first hiccup with CarMax then you could chalk it up to the rantings of a disgruntled customer. But I have given CarMax sixty days to rectify the issues that I've mentioned above. And I have consistently been disappointed with their level of customer service.
For the car buying experience with CarMax I'd give 4.5 stars. But their lack of follow through on customer service garners them about 2. read more