Poor Management, Wasted Time I drove an hour to this location after reserving a vehicle online. The website made everything simple -- that's where the good experience ended. When I arrived, I waited about 20 minutes past my appointment time. After sitting down with the salesperson, I learned the car I came for had open recalls and couldn't be sold -- something they texted me about 30 minutes before my arrival while I was already driving. No earlier call, no meaningful notice. I had already been there nearly an hour. Management offered a $300 shipping credit (only usable at that location), which wouldn't even cover the typical shipping cost. They refused to apply it elsewhere or cover full shipping despite the inconvenience. Gas reimbursement required a printed receipt from before leaving -- unrealistic. I decided to look only at cars physically on the lot. I clearly said no white cars and no compacts. I was repeatedly shown white cars and compacts. Eventually I purchased a different vehicle after another long wait. During the test drive, the tire pressure light came on. I was told it was handled before delivery -- it wasn't. The car was also handed over dirty (filthy rims) and missing the actual emergency key -- I was given a plastic cover instead. The salesperson was polite, but management failed at communication, preparation, and basic follow-through. I've bought from CarMax before with no issues. This location was a completely different experience. I won't return. Four hours in-store for this level of execution is unacceptable. read more

I had an excellent experience at CarMax. I could not be happier. The whole process was so easy and I was happy with the offer and the speed of getting it accomplished. I even got a free ride home. read more

My experience with CarMax has been excellent. I believe CarMax is a trustworthy dealership that stands behind the vehicles it sells and provides a transparent buying process. While no company is perfect, I have found the employees to be hardworking and genuinely trying to help customers. Many negative reviews often come from situations where customers may be frustrated with financing outcomes or other circumstances that are not entirely within the employees' control. One thing I appreciate is that the staff takes the time to explain protection plans such as MaxCare. For customers purchasing luxury or higher-mileage vehicles, repair costs can be significant, and these plans can provide valuable peace of mind. Rather than viewing it as a sales tactic, I see it as an option that customers should seriously consider. Overall, my experience with CarMax has been positive. The staff treated me professionally, the process was straightforward, and I would recommend CarMax to anyone looking for a quality used vehicle. read more

Carmax is great. The offer they gave me online was honored in store. And never changed their price or haggle me down. I was impressed with our customer service and a short time spent for a transaction. read more

We bought our 2020 Audi Q3 December 31st January 8th check engine light pops on so we bring it in they put us in a loaner. They have the car until February 6th waiting for parts. We pick up the car February 6th get about 4-5 miles down the road the cruise malfunction warning light comes on and there's no power to the acceleration like there should be. So we bring it back, they immediately put us in a loaner vehicle don't even look at the car or anything so here we are right back into the loaner we just had for a month. We have the loaner for two day. February 8th we pick up our vehicle that's once again "all fixed and ready to go". Everyone's super apologetic and I understand things happen, it's a used luxury car. Well February 11th comes around and once again check engine light comes back on. So we once again have to bring the car back to get looked at/worked on. We speak to someone about our warranties getting extended seeing as our car has sat on the lot more days than we've been able to drive it and our 90 days are gonna be up before we can even get 1,000 miles on it, we were told they'd speak to the GM (it was there day off of course) and reach out to us and let us know. We were informed February 12th that they took the car to the Audi dealership to get looked at. The service department reached out February 17th letting us no the dealer still has no update and hasn't looked at the vehicle. I reached out asking what my options are the same day seeing as there's no update I just want out of the car at this point. I'm paying for a vehicle to let it be a parking lot ornament. I was told a manager would reach out. Hadn't received any calls or texts. Service dept says let me know if no one reaches out by the following morning. I gave them an extra day and texted back on the 19th informing them no one's reached out. I get a text back a few hours later saying they'll touch base. It is now February 23rd. I've had no update on my car, no managers have called me and I'm just stuck with this car payment and nothing to show for it. I signed the papers for the vehicle 54 days ago. Of those 54 days I had the vehicle in my possession for 9 days on and off. The team is so nice and I'm sure doing their best but the room for improvement is extremely wide. read more

CarMax - Audi Q3 - Car Buyers Near Me - Palm Desert, California

This was my first car purchase and honestly, I'm glad it didn't work out. I came in ready to buy a 2012 Honda Accord, paying full cash -- no financing, no complications. Instead of working with me on the price, they pushed add-ons I never asked for. Cash buyers deserve some negotiating respect, and I got none of that. Two days before my 90-day warranty expired, the check engine light came on. Keep in mind, they advertise a full inspection before every sale -- somehow that didn't catch whatever was wrong with the engine. I had already gotten the windows tinted a week after buying it, so I wasn't expecting a full refund, and I went in calm and understanding about that. What I didn't expect was attitude from the manager. When I lightheartedly joked that I at least left them with a free tint job, he had the nerve to tell me I could've gotten a better deal or a better car for what I paid -- information that would've been a lot more useful before he took my money. I got my refund and moved on. I won't be back and wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. read more

I have never been on this car lot before. I wss super impressed. Seemed like 500 cars, all different brands and makes. They were all super clean, looking almost like brand new. Most card I looked at were only one to two years old. Immaculately kept. I appreciated the fact i was not hounded by an eager to sell salesman. No pressure put on me. I really apreciated that. I will for sure go back. read more

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Jake in Service is a great employee. He is a very happy person,he takes care of customers. He went to a %100 to help me with my truck. Car max needs employees like him there. Please make sure you let him know,also you should be proud of him by having him at palm desert car max. Thanks to jake for his woulderfull service with my toyota tundra.​ read more

Beware!! I tried to sell my car here. I had a written appraisal for $5000. I went on vacation and came back 2 weeks later and they would not honor the offer! Offered me $1000 less. Yes, the time expired on my offer, but come on, by a few days it dropped a $1000? I don't think so. Major scam place! read more

It was time for me to get another vehicle so I went to the place where I purchased my last three vehicles, CarMax. I like the no-haggle pricing. Before I scheduled my appointment to go in, which is very important to do, I looked on their website for vehicles within my price range. I saw a vehicle but it was at another CarMax location so I paid a shipping fee (clearly stated on the vehicle listing) to have it transferred to this CarMax location. I received a courtesy sales call from Mari'a at CarMax who answered my questions about its arrival timeline and why I was interested in the vehicle. I used their app so it was easy to get updates and schedule my appointment to test drive the vehicle once the vehicle completed its final checks by the technicians. I received an email too. Before I went to my appointment, I appraised my current vehicle for its trade-in value on the CarMax website, and also got prequalified, which helped me to decide on my down payment. I brought with me my driver's license and current car insurance to test drive the vehicle. On the day of my appointment I arrived 15 mins early and entered the establishment, where I was greeted by a representative who got me checked in for my appointment and the test drive. It took about 5 mins. I was then greeted by Josh Pieters who took me over to a desk and made a copy of my drivers license and proof of insurance then he pulled my reserved vehicle around for the test drive. While I test drove the vehicle he was working on my final appraisal offer for my trade-in and by the time I got back I knew this vehicle was the one and received my appraisal value from Josh. He took me back to the desk and we started the paperwork process, I signed over the title for my current vehicle to CarMax, reviewed the pre qualification and established the final APR, monthly payment, processed my down payment via debit, and I included MaxCare because you never know what major issues can happen along the way with a used vehicle. That gave me peace of mind, had to use it in the past so it's worth it. Josh explained everything clearly and concisely as I e-signed and ink-signed my documents for the contract, DMV paperwork, etc. While this was happening, he had the vehicle washed and prepped for me to take it home. He asked me if I needed water or coffee during the minor waits for him to scan my paperwork or generate documents. I also met Mari'a, which was nice to put an actual face with a voice from the phone call. My appointment was at 4:00PM/PST and I left at 5:40PM/PST, no complications and great customer service. I appreciate that. read more

CarMax - This is my 4th vehicle purchase with CarMax over the years. No-haggle pricing and it was the right vehicle for me after the test drive. - Car Buyers Near Me - Palm Desert, California

went to test drive a 2017 BMW i3 dekka model. As soon as I told D---- (redacted name of salesman), that I want a the 2018 BMW i3 base mod advertised as "coming soon" and it was less money. I said ill pay for shipping right now. He took all the information, stock number, vin and pulled up the car. I explained how my research shows its a better buy even though its a base model not the Dekka. We talked at length. Then he and Carmax raised the price by $1500 for the 2018 and denied I ever discussed the the 2018 with him. Its all we talked about. In fact he said test drive the 2017 anyway since it will give you a feel for the 2018. Now management denies all of this and put the 2018 on the market for $1500 over the "coming soon" advertised price. I was pre approved for financing under my name at the advertised price which Carmax used a false price in their ad. Now there is a hard hit on my credit. read more

CarMax - Same car went on market for $1500 more than the advertised price. False advertising. - Car Buyers Near Me - Palm Desert, California

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scam, run do not do it ! 15% apr trash , no options once you sign you are stuck ! the staff will talk to you like your dumb and is if money was the issue - its not! they lied and said i could refinance through them when signing. disappointed, heated, go with a dealer read more

Their offers are now well below what other used car dealers will give on a straight buyout. Plus these front line employees have little or no car knowledge. read more

HIGHLY RECOMMEND! Incredible service and I have nothing but great things to say about carmax. I have purchased 2 vehicles from this location and each time they have taken great care of me. The first purchase I had no issues but when I purchased my most recent vehicle from them, there were many. Robert in the service department went above and beyond to fix my car issues and found me a replacement while they fixed it. There were about 6 different items needing to be addressed and while in service, he noticed some additional items needing attention and he repaired and let me know his additional findings. This is what great service looks like! Can't say enough positive things about this location. read more

Got a great price. Quick and easy. Very efficient and pleasant experience. I worked with Leahnna who is 5 stars

Absolutely the worst experience I have ever had an over 60 years buying a car. I was preapproved, thinking it was going to be a seamless situation to go pick up my car. The associate who helped me was absolutely unexperienced with their computer system. By the time I left 4 1/2 hours later, my preapproved loan had been declined because of key stroke errors of the person who is assisting me. I would never recommend dealing with this company. Worst car buying experience of my life. read more

I worked with Josh on selling my car. It was so amazing and easy. They also gave me a very fair price. I would buy or sell cars here

My wife and I went there on 5.30/24 to look for a new car for her. When we walked in the receptionist ask if we had an appointment, when we said no she said there was nobody there that could help us. We have only made one appointment in advance for a carmax and that was in riverside were the woman we had the appointment with got mad that we showed up on tine. When we go ready to leave a spanish couple came in she asked them in spanish if they had an appointment we they said nada she got someone for them right away!! So that leaves to conclude that this receptionist does not like white people. I WILL NOT BE BACK!! read more

Went in to sell my 2020 dodge charger and they seriously low balled me with an offer. This company is clearly just looking to put money in their pockets and not yours, given that I went to a dealership down the street and got $4,000 more for my car than they offered. Don't trust these clowns by any means go to a dealership! read more

I went in to get a car appraisal. I was told to scan a QR code and get the information asked I did so and I had to go out to my truck to get the information VIN number mileage, etc. took maybe 3 min. then I came back in. I waited over an hour And decided that was long enough to wait. I let the lady know in the front that I was waiting for a long time and I was leaving to mark my name off of the list and she said they called my name along time ago. Super frustrated they could have they could've texted me since they took my phone number down so I ended up leaving very unhappy with their customer service and will not be going back. read more

We sold our truck through Carmax in Palm Desert. They gave us a fair price for it and no hassles. They look at your vehicle and appraise it and if you agree, they give you a check. Simple. I think that because their building is currently under some construction, this process took a little longer than what it should have. I still recommend selling your vehicle here. read more

BAD customer service. Made an appointment, was told 30 minute wait, going on 2 hours, no service. Front desk prioritizes customers who complain. FYI read more

Whoa, who knew selling a car was so easy? CarMax definitely makes it so! Highly recommend checking CarMax before accepting whatever your dealer offers you for a trade-in; you may be pleasantly surprised. My experience with CarMax was great. I've been checking the value of my vehicle week to week and was happy to see it go up, so I decided to pull the trigger and sell it over the weekend. I took pictures ahead of time via my phone and got an appraisal without bringing the vehicle in. Then, I made an appointment to bring it in and the whole process of selling it took about 30 minutes and I walked out with a check! So nice and painless. Definitely recommend CarMax! read more

Easy transaction with the sale of our car. Fair price for value of vehicle. No bull, staff and management were transparent. Definitely recommend them for auto sale. read more

CarMax made me an offer, but got $300.00 more for my 19 year-old Toyota Matrix at Carvana in Ontario, CA.

Honestly a bit of a crapshoot. Went looking to buy a truck with a budget, ended up being told that nobody could speak to me for 45 minutes. But I decided to wait and see only for a salesman to call me over after an hour and a half only for him to tell me that they don't have anything in my price range and the lady at the desk should have been able to tell me that... Great. read more

Been here 3 times sold 3 vehicles to CARMAX . Thank You Tonia for making the process quick and easy read more

CarMax - Tonia - Car Buyers Near Me - Palm Desert, California

Went in today without an appt. Still got great service and process of selling my car was fast and painless. David provided excellent service today. read more

Buying the car was the easy part... getting customer service is quite another issue. I called PD CarMax on 9/25 to cancel my MaxCare contract for my Mini Cooper. I spoke with Joe, who said he would take care of it, all i had to do was supply a photo of the odometer and one of the registration. I hung up and emailed both the requested photos. (I have the email) I called back 10/15 and was told the policy was still in effect and they didn't show any of my email correspondence or the photos. I resent the same email that was sent to Joe. The 'girl' in the contracts department told me that since I'd paid cash for the policy, i would receive a refund check and she would take care of everything. It is now 11/10, no check. I called PD CarMax and was told i did not pay cash for it so it would be applied to my loan and i should call CarMax Financial. Before i called, I looked up my loan and the $1400 has never been applied. I called CarMax Financial... they don't show the contract was ever cancelled. Therefore, no refund. They told me to call MaxCare. I was on hold with MaxCare for 25 minutes only to find out that my policy can't be found. I can't believe i have to do the dealership job because they don't. I've had other excellent experiences in the past with other CarMax locations... this one is the WORST. I would never, never, never recommend this location, it is VERY poorly managed. I am beyond disgusted read more

BEWARE!!! CARMAX TOOK MY CAR ON A TEST DRIVE AND BROUGHT IT BACK BROKEN!!! They caused $1102.00 worth of damage and REFUSED to pay for it. The car was in their possession, they damaged it. Their employee was driving it when it occurred. They are negligent. BEWARE OF CARMAX! I am a HUGE car nut. Cars are my passion.  I am also a previous client of Carmax's having bought a car from them a few years back. I maintain and baby all of my cars to a point that most people who know me, make jokes about it. That said, I took my car in for a simple appraisal at CARMAX. The guy at CARMAX, Joseph, said he needed to take my car on a test drive. That he needed to see the vehicle get to 30 mph and he wouldn't be going over that.  I said sure, go ahead. This car is maintained meticulously. I just had it at the BMW dealership for a brake flush service.  Joseph takes my car, he's gone for about 15-20 minutes. First off, that's too long for a quick appraisal drive. He comes back and I see him hurriedly walk up to another man behind the counter (Marq). They both take turns looking at me and looking back at my car. It was very unnerving. It was clear something was not right.  Joseph walks back outside and I follow him. When I get outside and asked him if everything was ok. He seems really strange and in a hurry. He says everything went fine and I'd get my appraisal by email and he begins to walk back inside. I stopped him and asked why he'd rushed in to speak with the man behind the counter. I told him something didn't seem right and that their conversation seemed concerning.  It was ONLY at that point he said to me "Oh, your check engine light came on in your car."   I was totally thrown off by this as my car is in perfect shape and has never had any sort of issue. It's meticulously maintained. I asked Joseph what happened and he did not give me any answer. He simply said I don't know. The light just came on. I didn't even get a chance to ask another question, he got defensive and said he was going to get his manager.  Joseph from Carmax got in my car and it was working beautifully, he brought it back and now it's very, very broken. The car while in park is revving high. It's going back and forth without any pressure to the throttle. I have no idea what he did and he is not being forthcoming at all. The manager, Marq, comes out (same guy he had rushed in to speak with) and just tells me he can't help me, "this happens." I can't tell you how upsetting that was. I then take the car to BMW immediately, it will barely drive. It's a total mess.  BMW tells me it's a blown charger pipe. It's going to be $1102.00 to repair it.  I reached out to Carmax, I send emails to the CEO and the entire C-Suite of Carmax. I got a response from a guy named Steve from the Executive Response Team. He says he's going to help, he calls BMW talks to the Service Advisor. He calls me back and says that Carmax won't cover the cost of the repair. He said that the service advisor told him it could not be determined because they were not there.   The next day I pick up my car and have a conversation with the Service advisor who tells me about the call she had with Steve from Carmax. The advisor proceeded to tell me that it was truly one of the most uncomfortable conversations she'd had with another dealership and that she felt like Steve from Carmax was trying to pressure her into saying something that she couldn't say. This seems very much in line with the Carmax behavior I witnessed firsthand. Sketchy and underhanded. I reach out once again to Carmax and this time it's a guy named William from the Executive Response Team. He comes across as though he is here to help and find a solution. He does nothing and calls a day later to tell me after "his investigation" Carmax won't cover the cost of repairs. I reached out to them several times, I gave them several opportunities to simply do the right thing. They refused at every turn. CARMAX TOOK MY CAR ON A TEST DRIVE AND BROUGHT IT BACK BROKEN!!! They caused $1102.00 worth of damage and REFUSE to pay for it. The car was in their possession, they broke it. Their employee was driving it when it occurred. They are negligent. BEWARE OF CARMAX! read more

Sold a car here and it was an awesome experience. Came in when they opened, had an offer estimate ready to go, no appointment and was taken care of swiftly. Painless experience. D'Kari walked us through the entire process and explained everything that was going on and took care of everything quickly. Didn't know it was that easy. Thank you guys! read more

Great customer service! The people who helped me were so friendly and helpful. Truly the BEST way to buy a car!

Terrible Car Max. None of the associates are doing any kind of work they just walk around making themselves look busy. Associates don't make commission that's why there's no incentive for them to get up and help you. Even if you make an appointment expect to wait at least an hour. All of the associates are rude and condescending especially the front person, she's useless. I recommend going to any other car dealership or even another car max because these people suck. read more

I came into this morning and spoke with Cheyenne, who mysteriously told me that I needed to go to DMV because I had failed to pay my registration; rightfully so. I went did that and then showed up here at 4:45; waiting for 30 minutes to be seen. 30 minutes later, I asked Rick how long it would take. I informed about 30 minutes. The only thing I was asked for was to scan my DL. At first, he could find the initial quote from Cheyenne, that I handed in at the desk upon my return. Then he found it. And I'm sitting here with no questions being asked. I'm selling. He says he has to print the DMV paperwork. How much DMV do I need to do today. Just spent half the afternoon at DMV. Now it appears a manager is here to approve something. Needless to say, I'm not really happy. Just been asked for the keys and now going to get my stuff. Friend called to pick me up - and I got a reset for another 25 minutes. It took all this time for me to sign 5, maybe 6 times. Time now 6:25 pm. It's business! I was offered to charge my phone by a nice associate. Nice, but I wanna go home. I'm gonna stop here. Nice people. Not sure how the scan option works here. I bought the 2012 Prius in San Diego - purchase was less time consuming. Would have bought car from Carmax, but I wanted a car they didn't have 2023 Kia Niro! read more

CarMax - A change has come! Thanks to Prius and Carmax San Diego for 12 years! Palm Desert. Was planning to trade it in for a Fisker (Hah) - Car Buyers Near Me - Palm Desert, California

Pretty straight forward, which I appreciate. Just make sure you make an appointment, this place is busy.

Do not shop at this dealership they falsely give out information they tell you that your deposit is gonna be lower than it is they waste your whole day then to tell you that your deposit is thousand dollar more than what it is it place as a rip off and a waste of time, do not shop here read more

Went to Ontario to get a car ended up seeing one online i liked at the Ontario branch but was located in palm desert decided to pick it up same dayit was a 2 hr drive they did most of the work at the Ontario branch for an express pick up we got to pal dessert at around 6:30 pm and were signing the paperwork when we got the truck turned in to us at around 8:30 pm the truck was disgustingly dirty from the inside it looked like someone thru up everywhere they in no way even decided to run a towel thru it the car wash was so poorly done they didn't even dry the truck it had water everywhere as if it got hosed down and put out front for me to take do not recommend this certain place very upset with the process and they still wanted to charge me 15 to wash it again the next day . Makes me want to return it and go elsewhere. read more

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Sold my wifes car to CarMax since they were offering $1500 more than the dealer where we were leasing a new one. 5 stars for the in personal experience. It just took way too long, and I don't like that they won't negotiate. I'm sure I could have sold it private party for more, but I didn't want to go through the hassle. I just hate feeling like they still should have given me about $1000 more for such a pristine car. read more

CarMax - Car Buyers Near Me - Palm Desert, California

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Good news. After a hassle with appointment, next day, second appointment we got Tim, the salesperson. He was absolutely great. He was very, very thorough, amiable, listened to questions, patient and what more could you ask for. Loved the car we got and took care that it came to us and looked great. Took excellent care of our trade in, enough photos, that is. He showed how to use the instruments in the car and all in all the other people at Carmax could take a lesson from Tim. read more

I have sold 2 cars here and I've had a really positive experience both times. The first time I had a little positive equity in my car so they gave me a check before I walked out the door. The second time, I was just under my payoff so they just had me pay the difference with my debit card. Super easy. I accidentally underestimated the mileage on my vehicle when I did the online quote by 4000 miles but they did not lower my offer when they saw it in person. My cars are always in excellent condition (no kids and no pets in the car) so I think they really do offer top dollar for them. The chairs in their little waiting area need some TLC but other than that I think they are a really great place to sell to. read more