Synopsis: Carmax ran my credit under false pretense, they let me drive off the lot with a vehicle that had a bad ABS system and bad mechanical brake components, they lied about doing a second 125pt inspection, and clearly didn't do the first one, and they are not proficient in the diagnostic or resolution of mechanical issues. They are not a no hassle car buying experience, you have to maintain high involvement in the process of buying and servicing your vehicle with them. Someone could have gotten seriously hurt purchasing this vehicle.
I would like to premise this review, that I work in the tire industry for a multi-national warehouse that may be known for having the best member service in the industry, so I have mechanical literacy. I also attend school full time and work full time, so my money and time is very precious to me, as large financial decisions almost always put me on the brink of financial death.
When I first started using Carmax to look for cars, I was decently surprised by all of their offerings, and specifically a beautiful Mini Cooper S Clubman from 2010. The car was in Virginia and I currently live in Houston, so I called to make an inquiry on the vehicle. This is where the first major issue occurred. On the phone call I asked for the monthly payment with a given amount of money down, for the price of the vehicle, tax, title, *shipping*, and *all associated fees*. The gentleman(Marquis) on the phone proceeded to input all of the numbers in his system and asked for authorization to run my credit. Upon approval for the vehicle with all my desired terms, the associate then asked for my credit card number. Confused, I asked why this was necessary, his response: for the shipping. He did not clarify that this fee was separate, and I thought nothing of it, I thought I just couldn't get the vehicle I was fixated on. A couple hours later I realized they ran my credit under false pretenses and I called into the call center to state this. The gentleman offered to waive the shipping fee upon the review of the call. After 4 days of calling back I finally spoke to a manager named Ron, who just conceded the shipping fee because I had been blown off so many times, but the car was put on hold during that time. Luckily the next day the car was back on the market. Finally the Mini was on its way to me.
Upon its arrival, Carmax Gulf Freeway had told me that they were going to do a 125 point inspection for the second time and that they would expedite this process as the car I was currently driving at the time died. I went to test drive the vehicle, it was raining that day and the abs light came on. I thought this was the vehicle telling me that the system was in action, however I have only driven Japanese vehicles, and did not understand the German indication light scheme. In fact, the system had failed and the brakes on the vehicle were bad, slipping in fact . Upon talking to two AES certified mechanics about the issue, they told me that this was illegal on Carmax's part, and Carmax ended up replacing the wheel speed sensor, all pads, and rotors. It was very clear at this point that they did not take their inspections seriously, as this would have been very apparent upon a code reading.
Next issue arises after only having my vehicle for 5 days, code p2188 pops up, indicating that bank 1 is running rich at idle and/or deceleration. No codes appeared stating that the o2 sensor had a bad heating circuit or failure but the techs determined that this was the issue, and I myself took issue with this diagnostic, outlining reasons as to why this wouldn't fix the issue. Not even 20mi out of service the car through the check engine light again, and upon my next interaction with the service adviser I had learned that in fact a 2nd 125pt inspection never did occur, which was not surprising.
Carmax advertises a no hassle car buying experience, and not outlined in this review are the hours spent on the phone trying to maintain communication, and the numerous different responses related to their policies. read more