For a many people, a car is a natural part and extension of their daily lives. But as with anything in life, there will come a time when youâll need to replace your car with something newer. The moment of letting your car go, passed on to someone else with countless unforgettable memories, is never easy. Even selling the car itself isnât always a seamless process to go through. So, you might be wondering, does CarMax buy cars?
You mightâve driven past them at least once in your life. That large blue banner is, after all, a very noticeable. Equally apparent is the vast ocean of cars parked on their lot, with a handy âFor Saleâ sticker on the windshield. The simple answer, is yes, CarMax does indeed buy cars. But perhaps the more pertinent question would be, does CarMax buy cars from you? Could you sell your particular car, whatever its model, age, mileage, or condition it might be?
Although sometimes known as a dealership for newer cars, youâd be surprised as to how deeply CarMax can go to populate their inventory. They can accept a huge variety of different cars. CarMaxâs process of buying and selling has been refined to make it easier on your sanity, too. Itâs the little things that make having to sell your car a lesser pain on the posterior. So, read along our âdoes CarMax buy carsâ guide to learn more on how to best sell your car to them.
- Does CarMax Buy Cars?
- Step-by-step
- Covid-19 availability
- Benefits
- Drawbacks
- Tips & tricks
- Conclusion
Does CarMax Buy Cars?
Yes, they do. CarMax is the largest used car dealership in the US. So, theyâll surely be needing to find those cars somewhere, right? In 2020 alone, they sold over a million vehicles. 830,000 of those were used cars, while another 465,000 were done on wholesale auctions. CarMax bought more than 650,000 vehicles in 2018. They are spread across more than 200 different dealerships across the United States.
On CarMax, you can practically buy and sell anything from pickup trucks to muscle cars. You could choose to test drive the cars for 24 hours to get to know it better. Or, you can return that car after 30 days or up to 1,500 miles (whichever comes first), if you donât like it. Thereâs even a limited warranty attached to each purchase, covering 90 days or 4,000 miles (whichever comes first). As such, thereâs certainly a lot of reasons to use CarMax as your preferred automotive marketplace.
How Does CarMax Buy Cars â A Step-By-Step Guide
Knowing how many vehicles are rolling across CarMaxâs lot, you might wonder how is it that theyâd have the time to buy cars from you. Moreover, what does the whole process of selling your car look like on CarMax? I think we can agree that one of the most tedious things to do is having to sell your car. Auto dealerships have had a bad reputation amongst a lot of people, and for good reason. For one, they will haggle you to death on your car.
Does your car have the tiniest of scratches or dents? Yep, thatâs few hundred dollars knocked off the price. Oh, is your mileage just running a big too far than usual? Thatâs probably a thousand or two knocked down again. Ah, you havenât given your car a proper squeaky polish before you had it appraised? Well, surely thatâs a 50% discount right there. Again and again, car dealerships can make a simple transaction much harder than it seems.
Not all dealerships are like that, but thereâs certainly enough bad apples around. Thankfully however, standards have improved quite a lot in the past few years. Never has selling your car been any easier, more convenient, or hassle free than it is today. CarMax, similarly, has been stepping up their game, too. So, in our next segment, weâll be taking a look at how does CarMax buy your cars, and how to sell your car to them step by step.
1. Find a quote online on CarMax
CarMax can conveniently let you use its website to get a quote on your car. This can be done easily within minutes, from the comfort of your own home. All you need is your carâs license plate or VIN number, along with your state and zip code. CarMax will then match the details of your car with its own database, and give you a rough estimate for that particular car. This way, you can have an approximate idea of how much your car might be worth.
2. Consider getting all the documentation for your car ready
If youâre in agreement with CarMaxâs estimation on your carâs value, then you might consider having it appraised for a more accurate price. But before you do that, youâll be needing to get the carâs documentation sorted out first. The required paperwork will vary from state to state. Thankfully, CarMaxâs website can make determining which documents to bring easier, depending on where you live.
Generally, youâll be required to have your carâs title or payoff information. Make sure when youâre going to CarMax to have it appraised, that all titleholders should be present. This is in case your car is registered to more than one person. Your cars valid and current registrations will also be needed, before selling it to CarMax. All titleholders present will also need their valid, state-issued photos IDs, and any other identification.
And of course, youâll need to bring over and surrender your carâs keys and remotes. Note, however, that these items and paperwork is not required for getting an offer from CarMax. The appraisal process can be done without needing any of the aforementioned documentation. Although, it will be needed for the selling process. It would be more convenient, therefore, to just have it on you in case CarMax makes an offer you canât refuse.
3. In person appraisal of your car at a CarMax dealership
Once youâve attained an estimation of your carâs worth, itâs time to drive down to your nearby CarMax. You could use their website to find the nearest one located by you, for a free in-person appraisal. This is, of course, required for CarMax to inspect your car with their own experts. That way, they can ascertain more properly as to the carâs condition, and how much to offer in return. Their websiteâs estimation tools can only give an approximation.
Note, with the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic still on-going, you might need to book for an appointment beforehand. This will depend on which CarMax youâre visiting. There will be more on Covid-19 later on in our âdoes CarMax buy carsâ guide. Once thatâs done, simply drive down to a CarMax dealership, and inform them that youâre here for an appraisal. Then, CarMax will send its staff to inspect your car more closely.
They will look into your carâs condition, mileage, history, make, model, and more. CarMaxâs appraisers may also consider taking a quick test drive to learn more of your carâs well being. This includes testing some of the carâs functions. For instance, whether the lights are working, or if anything needs repairing or replacing. This whole process can be done quickly, sometimes within an hour.
4. Accept, or take time to consider CarMaxâs offer
Once CarMaxâs staff have completed the appraisal process, they will retreat to discuss, and then offer you a price to buy your car. This may vary from the original estimation from their website, contingent on the in-person inspection. If you have decided to sell your car to CarMax, they will offer you cash in hand on the spot. One of the things to remember about CarMax is its no-haggle policy, and how that impacts your buying or selling experience.
The price they offer is the price that you will take. Thereâs never been much room for negotiations at CarMax. However, if you instead think that you can get a better offer elsewhere, you could walk away. CarMax offers a 7-day consideration period, while the original offer stands. You can then take these seven days, and decide on whether to sell your car to CarMax. Later on in our âdoes CarMax buy carsâ guide, weâll take a look at some tips and tricks to potentially gain more from your car.
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Does CarMax Buy Cars During The Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic?
Itâs fair to say that the Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc within most of society. Among those that were heavily impacted were cars sales, and the dealerships that have to sell them. In some markets such as the UK, sales of new and used cars were at their lowest since the Second World War. That said, the human spirit has never been inclined to stay down forever. Businesses, painfully so, have learned to adapt to the pandemic.
One of those businesses is CarMax. They have continued to operate for the most part despite the Coronavirus still raging in many parts of the US. Hence, you could still buy, or sell cars with CarMax. As mentioned earlier in our âdoes Carmax buy carsâ guide however, that there are some new ground rules. Some CarMax dealerships require an appointment, and all of them have applied social distancing rules as needed.
CarMaxâs new socially distanced appraisals
The biggest change when it comes to selling your car at CarMax nowadays is the new appraisal guidelines. Granted, the general steps and processes are no different than what was mentioned earlier. With the Covid-19 pandemic, it has forced CarMaxâs staff to appraise your car, and inspect it while also making as minimal contact as possible. Firstly, youâll be required to maintain a minimum 6-feet distance from the appraisers as they inspect your vehicle.
CarMaxâs staff will also avoid sitting inside your vehicle, or touching your carâs most frequently used surfaces. Therefore, their appraisers will kindly ask along the way for you to do it instead. For example, they could ask you to turn on the lights, open the hood, wind down the windows, and so on. This ensures that you could still buy or sell cars on CarMax, while still following health and safety guidelines pertaining to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Does CarMax Buy Cars â What Are The Benefits?
But, you might ask, what can I gain from selling my car to CarMax? That is a natural follow up question to ponder on after asking yourself does CarMax buy cars or not. Besides, there are countless other options made available online, and elsewhere for marketplaces to sell your car to. Among the most popular car marketplaces recently has been Carvana, and Vroom. Or what about using AutoTrader, or CarGurus?
Maybe youâd like to do this personally, and instead have your car listed on Craigslist, eBay, or Facebook Marketplace. In essence, thereâs no shortage of websites to choose from. Meanwhile, CarMax might seem like a more old-fashioned, traditional used car dealership. What could it possible out-do from the rest? Well, in our next part of the question âdoes CarMax buy carsâ, weâll take a look at some of the benefits of selling your car to CarMax.
1. Hassle free, and without needing to haggle on price
One of the better benefits of selling your car on CarMax, is its ease. Most people have reportedly been able to complete the selling of their vehicle with CarMax in under an hour. Car buying, or selling can often be a nightmarish experience. This includes needing to haggle your way to a better price with the dealership. Or, you could try to attain a better price by listing your car yourself. But this will require you having to deal with prospective buyers personally.
Moreover, you might need to entertain requests such as test driving, or per-purchase inspection on your own time. Meanwhile, CarMax makes this much easier, and more predictable. Drive down to their lot, and have a free appraisal. Afterwards, theyâll announce a final offer for the car. You can take then this offer on the spot, or take seven days to consider it. You wonât ever need to negotiate back and forth on the price. However, this âno haggleâ policy can also be considered a negative.
Another positive side effect is not feeling significant amounts of anxiety or pressure. CarMaxâs âno-haggleâ policy means that thereâs little incentive to mark up, or down the price of a car. This way, you can sell your car to CarMax, without feeling as though youâll need to have an intense bidding war with the dealer. In contrast, most other car dealerships donât have a (nearly) fixed pricing model that is used by CarMax.
2. More time efficient
One other benefit of going to CarMax to sell your car, is that the whole process saves a lot of time. CarMax has drilled their appraisers and staff in prescribed methods for inspecting, and then buying a particular vehicle. A vast majority of people wanting to sell a car on CarMax neednât wait more than an hour. At most, it will take two hours for a more complex purchase. This is helped thanks to CarMaxâs extensive experience with a huge variety of different vehicles, makes, and models.
In contrast, selling a car yourself, or going through most dealerships might take more time. Some dealerships may not accept your car, or would need time to consider before adding it to their inventory. While selling a car yourself would be limited by your experiences in trying to sell something. As a result, listing a car yourself might save money. However, it may also take days, weeks, or months before it can be sold.
Advantages Of Buying A Car From CarMax
For the most part, that concludes the benefits for selling your car in our âdoes CarMax buy carsâ overview. But for a more complete guide, we may as well take a brief glimpse into the flip side of things. What are the benefits of actually buying a car on CarMax? Itâs worth noting that CarMax offers a trade-in option for cars as well. So, instead of selling your car outright, you might want to trade it in for something different.
Maybe youâve found another car on the CarMax lot that suits your tastes. But still, CarMaxâs âwe take any carâ approach doesnât require you to buy anything from them. But we want to try and help give a better idea for if you need to. So, here are some of the benefits of choosing to buy a car from CarMax.
1. Long test drives, and money back guarantees
Buying a new car can be a nerve-wrecking experience. This is especially if itâs used, and not understanding what issues it mightâve had before you bought it. But CarMax does offer options to make this easier for you. You can opt to take a long, 24 hour test drive period to know of the car suits you. This can help to further give your judgement a second thought, on whether the car is right for your lifestyle.
If you choose to buy it, CarMax also offers a money back guarantee. It is limited up to 30 days or 1,500 miles, whichever one comes first. At which point, you can then return the car to CarMax, and have your money returned. This highlights the peace of mind factor that CarMaxâs overall experience bestows. You could always renege on purchasing a car from them, if it proves unsuitable, or if there are problems with it.
2. In-house financing, and warranty made available
Being a fairly large corporation, CarMax naturally offers a wide variety of different services. This is done to accompany the usual buying, or selling of a car, to enhance the ownership process. Among those being offered by CarMax is an in-house financing option. This is a big benefit for most people, as we often choose to buy cars on finance. CarMaxâs financing rate are easy to apply to, and are extremely competitive to other financing options.
CarMax also offers warranty for the cars that it sells. Every car leaving the lot will come with a limited warranty of 90 days or 4,000 miles, whichever one comes first. This is helpful, since most used cars can cause their new owners problems within the first few miles. If this isnât enough, then you could optionally choose to purchase a MaxCare extended warranty service. This will cost more, but it offers far more warranty coverage, for a lot longer, and for many issues that could happen over time.
Does CarMax Buy Cars â What Are The Drawbacks?
Right, by this point in our âdoes CarMax buy carsâ guide, weâve learned that selling your car to CarMax entails many benefits. In conclusion, both the buying and selling at CarMax is assuredly a headache-free and time saving experience. For many people, these reasons alone are worthy of choosing CarMax over any other dealership. Thatâs not to mention the myriad of services, both standard and optional, that makes car ownership better.
Even a simple warranty option goes a very long way in preventing heartaches down the line. However, it wonât be a fair review if there werenât any downsides to selling your car at CarMax. So, for our overview here, weâll be taking a look at some of the drawbacks that hinder from an otherwise perfect experience.
1. No price negotiations, and fixed pricing
As weâve mentioned earlier, CarMaxâs âno-haggleâ policy is both a pro, and a con. On a positive note, it means that you can get fair pricing on any car you want to sell (or buy). A downside, is that you canât ever negotiate or argue for a better price. Whatever CarMax says your car is worth; that is what youâre going to get. Compared to other methods of selling your car, CarMax will for the most part offer less money for it.
So, even if you disagree with some of their appraisals, thereâs often not much choice in being able to push the price any higher. For a large company that needs to cover significant overhead, this is perhaps expected. Although, there are ways you could potentially try to get a better appraisal. We will be covering this in more detail a bit further down in our âdoes CarMax buy carsâ guide. You can then learn more on trying to get the most from selling your car.
2. Requires an in-person appraisal
This can be an inconvenience for some people, especially in our day and age of minimal contact, and lockdowns. This is in contrast to some other car marketplaces that can offer to come to your place of residence. But with CarMax, youâre required to drive to one of their dealerships in order to get an appraisal and inspection done. Even with more than 200 dealerships across the US, a more versatile option for selling your car would be even better.
Tips For Getting The Most Amount From Selling Your Car On CarMax
At this point in our review, we can take a deeper dive into ways that you can try to game the system. This way, weâll be teaching you on how to get the most dime from selling your car. CarMaxâs no-haggle policy leaves little room for negotiations. However, you can at least try to make a good presentation before the appraisal process is complete. After which point, there is no easy way to get CarMax to up the price of your car.
So, what could you possible do to try and get more from selling your car? Well, as they say, first impressions are ever lasting impressions. So, here are a few tips and tricks, so that you can leave CarMax with as much money as is possible.
1. Prepare, and compile service history
The condition of your car is important in determining its final value. This applies to every dealership, including CarMax, or if youâre selling your car privately. A buyer, including CarMax in this case, will always be open to paying more. But this is only so if theyâre confident that your car is in perfect, or at least good condition. So, try to compile a complete service history book to up their trust for you. Try to include your service intervals, and any other work that youâve done on the car.
2. Maintain your carâs condition
Double check your carâs wellbeing before having it appraised at CarMax. Even the little things, let along a full blown âcheck engineâ light, can have detrimental effects on your carâs value. If youâre handy or knowledgeable, go around the car to check if its at least in a serviceable condition. For instance, monitor the engine oil, or if there are any puddles leaking underneath your car. Notice any weird noises or rattling while driving? If so, have it checked and fixed before selling it.
3. Give your car a good detailing
CarMax doesnât require a full detailing to be done for your car during the appraisal process. In short, it doesnât have to be clean for CarMax to put a value on it. However, first impressions are important. That effect alone, could give them a psychological boost to consider upping their price. Itâs amazing to see how a bit of soap could increase a carâs value by so much. So, before selling your car, make sure its as spotless as it can be. Inside and out, give it a wash, polish, and vacuum where needed.
Does CarMax Buy Cars â Conclusion
Itâs now time to summarise, and end our little guide here. So, does CarMax buy cars from you? Absolutely, they do. CarMax certainly does, for the most part, live up to their motto of âwe buy any carâ. And they offer a fairly convenient selling experience, without any psychological fatigue or needing excessive amounts of time. Just drive up to any CarMax lot, and wait for their quick and cost-less appraisal to be done before a final offer is tabled.
This does come at the cost of being able to have the flexibility of negotiating your way into a better value for your car. Whether thatâs a deal-breaker or not, weâll leave that to you. But it does highlight the leaps and bounds that weâve seen since the old days of having to get into verbal fights just over price. Whether itâs through CarMax or elsewhere, the wide selection of marketplaces available means that selling (or buying) a car could never be any easier.
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