We came here to sell our car as we were short on time and didn't want to deal with the hassle of a private sale, and I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. Everyone was friendly and they greet you immediately when you walk in. We made an appointment ahead of time, but we arrived early and they were able to accommodate us right away (it is huge inside!).
First they do a walk around of your car and you hand them your key so that the appraisers can take it for a spin and check out the condition of the vehicle inside & out. The staff member then takes you back inside, explains the process to you, then you wait for the results of the appraisal to come in. Appraisal should take less than 30 minutes, and I'm pretty sure they got back to us within 15 minutes. The salesperson walks you through the results of the appraisal, including the features and conditions they marked for your vehicle and then presents you with their offer. This offer is good for 7 days at any CarMax location.
We were expecting to get lowballed, like most dealerships do when you sell a used car (even those in really good condition), but were genuinely shocked by the very fair offer they gave us. Given that it was a fair deal, we took the offer and walked right on over to the business center to sell the car. The paperwork took about 10-15 minutes and then bam, you've sold your car and they've handed you the bank note. They make copies of all the paperwork you sign and make sure to talk you through the finer details too. They also make sure to ask you if you might have left any personal belongings in the vehicle (phone charges, garage openers, etc), which was super thoughtful.
We were in and out in just over an hour, without any pushiness or haggling that you normally get from dealerships or private sales. Having never sold a vehicle to CarMax before (we've only done private sales before), it was quite nice to have such a seamless, professional, and hassle-free experience. If your car is in pretty good condition, you'll likely get a very fair offer for your vehicle, so if you're selling a used car, definitely give CarMax a try. Given that you have a week to decide, you can certainly still take the offer and shop around to try to get more from other parties too. read more