Topic 'Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership' in forum 'Automotive' - dslreports.com

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:00:40 EDT

itguy05 posted :

said by RobNyc:

I like the Mustang as well but I hear their live-rear axle really s**Ks especially in wet/snow weather. So let's see if this 2014 mustang changes that.

Has nothing to do with live/solid rear axle. It's the tires. Wide tires suck in the snow no matter what, and the Mustang has them. Best thing for any RWD car is good snow tires. Add a little weight to the trunk and you're golden. Got through many a PA/NJ winter like that in my Mustang and RWD G35.

Owning a couple Mustangs in PA/NJ winters you learn their quirks just like any other car. Ford has tweaked the live axle set up since 1964 and it will hang with much more expensive and complicated cars now.

I really don't expect any difference in the axles nest year. They dabbled with IRS in the late 90's and it wasn't that successful.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 16:30:55 EDT

mityfowl posted :

said by CylonRed:

There is a lot of stuff in the Bimmer's - thigh and side seat bolsters take up a good bit of room as those bolsters are generally larger than on the Honda.

Replacing the water cooled alternator in the BMW just about killed her.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 15:22:42 EDT

CylonRed posted : There is a lot of stuff in the Bimmer's - thigh and side seat bolsters take up a good bit of room as those bolsters are generally larger than on the Honda.
--
Brian

"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 15:18:36 EDT

mityfowl posted :

said by RobNyc:

said by MEDIAN2k3:

Getting financed was NOT easy, my dealer had to go thru hell and high water to get me the loan. One thing I will say is that Toyota Financial Services is a bit more easier to get financed with then other car banks.

They wanted to put me in a 2013 Corolla but I declined as I need the room for my family, plus truck is clean and was very well maintained.

I got approved for $20,000 from Ford. I currently own a 2007 BMW 328xi sedan with 50,500 miles on the clock. Going to try to sell it privately first, or see how much dealers offer before I take it to carmax (60 miles away).
I really like the new ford edge since its not that much longer in size than my current car and thats exactly what I'm looking for a small convenient vehicle 4 door.
I like the Mustang as well but I hear their live-rear axle really s**Ks especially in wet/snow weather. So let's see if this 2014 mustang changes that.

I was really interested in the New Accord Coupe but its such a long coupe might as get the sedan but the features review it's so outdated still to this day.
I had a Cadillac STS V6 2006 before the BMW and was very happy with the car but sold it because already had 127,000 miles. So been attracted to the CTS Coupe and even the new ATS.

How would you be able to re-finance after a year?

Good friend has a older 745 BMW and just bought a 2013 Accord EX.

Loves it. Loves not buying premium. Loves getting relatively good gas mileage.

Actually thinks it's bigger on the inside than the beemer.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 13:18:47 EDT

RobNyc posted :

said by MEDIAN2k3:

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:34:06 EDT

chucky5150 posted : I was in a situation like this when I got my truck. Got a loan via capital one @ 17%

Something you need to think about before you try and get a refi on your loan is no one (well no one I talked to) would loan money while I was still upside down on the truck. I was paying an extra $200-250 a month just to get right side up and it still took 2 years before I could get a refi @ 10%

Hope you have better luck than I did.
--
Member of the US Air Force since May 7th, 2002 To March 29th, 2005

"You sneak up behind yourself and remove your pants before you realize what's going on." KOL

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 22:19:50 EDT

natedj posted : Looks like you're ahead of the game now, but its good practice to check the the vehicle that's a year older than yours to get an idea of how much they depreciate every year.
Some vehicles hold their value well from year to year and others shed value quickly. It doesn't seem to be that way in your case, but just thought Id mention it
--
Good judgement comes with experience...Experience comes after bad judgements

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 22:10:04 EDT

MEDIAN2k3 posted : According to NADA clean trade in value is 15k, The car was sold to me for 12k, looks good to me.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 22:04:55 EDT

natedj posted :

said by MEDIAN2k3:

Thats ok after a year I will refinance and get better payments or trade up for something else.

I hope you truly did get a good price on the Ford Edge and hopefully in a year it will be worth more than what you owe on it, else refinancing will be difficult.
One quick and dirty way it find out is to look up the NADA value of the same vehicle that's one year older than yours. If you'll owe less than that price (by this time next year) you should be okay.
--
Good judgement comes with experience...Experience comes after bad judgements

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 21:27:36 EDT

MEDIAN2k3 posted : Getting financed was NOT easy, my dealer had to go thru hell and high water to get me the loan. One thing I will say is that Toyota Financial Services is a bit more easier to get financed with then other car banks.

They wanted to put me in a 2013 Corolla but I declined as I need the room for my family, plus truck is clean and was very well maintained.
--
If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's your's. If it doesn't, it never was to begin with.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 20:44:18 EDT

RobNyc posted : Median, I am in a similar situation.

I am also 26yrs old, but when I was 20 I got 2 CC and maxed them out didn't make any payments till a year later i paid them off and closed them. Just paid off a small college loan I had and via Smartcreditdotcom I requested "Request a goodwill removal of a negative on this account" and got in the mail that they will.

My score is 602 and after 30 days I will check again to see my score. I really like the 2011+ Ford Edge and really thinking on getting one. Right now I got denied when I applied for CC, so I was thinking about getting secured CC but something tells me I should just go ahead and try to finance/lease a car.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 08:49:41 EDT

CylonRed posted : Yea my loans started in 1993 or so and paid off in about 2010 (thought I think it was earlier) and these still show on my credit report. Your loans should be on your report.
--
Brian

"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 08:30:37 EDT

MEDIAN2k3 posted : Loans were umm possibly 2007ish

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 08:29:27 EDT

CylonRed posted : How many years ago was the college loan? My college loans still show up years after I have paid them off and more years since I got them.

You can get a secured credit card to help on that end but I would decidedly look into why the college loans are not on the report.

Personally - I think you would have been off buying a car for cash while working on the credit score.
--
Brian

"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 08:26:36 EDT

MEDIAN2k3 posted : Well I am 26 and I have never had any credit cards (always been denied), I have not had any loans since my college loan which has been paid for quite sometime now and has since fallen off my credit report.

Basically my credit report shows nothing but my personal information.
--
If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's your's. If it doesn't, it never was to begin with.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 19:41:27 EDT

robbin posted : It may help others if you give a brief description of how you have no credit history. I doubt that is very common.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:25:06 EDT

MEDIAN2k3 posted : Yeah I was completely unaware that I had no credit report, I thought I had bad credit which oddly would have been better lol

Thats ok after a year I will refinance and get better payments or trade up for something else.
--
If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's your's. If it doesn't, it never was to begin with.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:20:11 EDT

Warzau posted : Gdamn! 23%? Too bad you couldn't get your credit in line before you had to buy.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 21:56:33 EDT

MEDIAN2k3 posted : Just an update to this thread for those who were interested.

I ended up not going to CarMax and at first went to a local dealer who was not able to get me financed at all.

However, a co-worker of mine who's husband works for a very big dealership was able to bring me in pick out a car and get a good deal for me.

Turns out I have No credit history, not bad not good but not worthy of credit.

He was able to get me in a 08 Ford Edge w/ $1,500 down, my APR is severely (23%) high but that's due to my poor credit standing which after a year of on time payments will change.
--
If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's your's. If it doesn't, it never was to begin with.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:44:10 EDT

chucky5150 posted : We just got a 2011 Mazda CX-9 from carmaxx. Financed through Carmaxx @ 2.45%. Talked to Chase bank about financing and they said the dealers beat them all the time. The car is that it used to be a rental so it has alot of miles for one year. Got it with just over 30,000 miles. That being said a car in the shop every week wont have that many miles on it. Had my mechanic check it out and said it was a clean car.

The only issue we had was with the was the keys. They gave us one of the real keys and a valet key. The only door the valet key could open is the driver door, none of the other door / rear hatch has a key hole to open.

Ended up calling carmaxx back about the keys and they said there was nothing to do as we got 2 "working" keys. Talked to the salesman and he said there isn't much to do. That to the letter of the policy Carmaxx held up their end.

We found a 1-800 number to their corporate customer service or something and ended up getting the issue fixed. They fixed the issue and even followed up with us to check in to make sure everything got fixed and people called back who said they would.

The local offices don't seem to have much wiggle room if things don't go as planned. Just work your way up the chain of command and any problem should get worked out.
--
Member of the US Air Force since May 7th, 2002 To March 29th, 2005

"You sneak up behind yourself and remove your pants before you realize what's going on." KOL

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 22:20:37 EDT

RobNyc posted : OP, I found this place too »www.expressautolease.com/affilia···do/index

Heard good things about them

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 21:39:16 EDT

CylonRed posted : Get financing before you go there....

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 21:13:09 EDT

ke4pym posted :

said by RobNyc:

wouldn't mind getting a 2009+ 335d (diesel), or Cadillac ATS, CTS Coupe, or Accord 13'

I wonder if carmax offers financing/leasing?

Dude. I got to drive a 2011 335d on the race track at the BMW Performance Center in Greer, SC.

That's a fun little car to drive. A little slow, compared to the other goodies we got to drive. But it would kick you in the pants with torque!

I have problems getting into the front seats of the 3 series cars. I have to almost fold myself in half. It is actually easier for me to get in the back seat over the front. Once I'm in, I'm good. Plenty of room. I would have considered getting one if it weren't for the in/out thing.

And yeah, CarMax will finance. They shop your loan around to a ton of banks and find the best fit for your situation.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 19:09:32 EDT

pmohr posted :

said by RobNyc:

I wonder if carmax offers financing/leasing?

Yes.
»www.carmax.com/enus/carmax-auto-···ult.html

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 21:44:21 EDT

RobNyc posted :

said by MEDIAN2k3:

I am not too brand biased but I would love to end up in a Honda, but I wouldn't mind driving a VW Jetta or even a Dodge Avenger.

I currently have a 2007 BMW 328xi sedan just hit 50k miles, that I'm trying to sell before I do last minute option trade-in.

wouldn't mind getting a 2009+ 335d (diesel), or Cadillac ATS, CTS Coupe, or Accord 13'

I wonder if carmax offers financing/leasing?

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 19:31:24 EDT

MEDIAN2k3 posted : I am not too brand biased but I would love to end up in a Honda, but I wouldn't mind driving a VW Jetta or even a Dodge Avenger.
--
If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's your's. If it doesn't, it never was to begin with.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 20:21:09 EDT

ke4pym posted : I got my F-150 from CarMax back in 2003. I'd consider shopping with them again. It was a good experience.

Had to use them for warranty work 1 time and it was a no-questions-asked deal.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 18:59:20 EDT

RobNyc posted :

said by MEDIAN2k3:

I am planning on making the purchase end of March start of April so thats not an issue.

What are you looking to get ?

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 18:15:47 EDT

MEDIAN2k3 posted : I am planning on making the purchase end of March start of April so thats not an issue.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 12:49:59 EDT

Karride posted : Went through CarMax for my wife's 2010 Odyssey and had a good experience. She started out wanting a VW Routan (And I'll be dammed if I'm gonna buy a re-badged Caravan) and I steered her towards the Honda by test driving about 4 other vans.....sales people did a good job of just letting us come to our own decision, and offered input without seeming pushy.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 11:52:23 EDT

RobNyc posted : I'm myself in the same boat looking at the 2013 Accord or Cadillac ATS and Carmax is looking interesting.

I currently own a 2007 bmw 328xi sedan ( horrible mpg ) and trying to get rid of this premium gas.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 04:46:25 EDT

Bob posted : If you can wait until February, Honda typically has good financing deals (0.9% or 1.9%). Right now, there aren't any on the Accord or CR-V.

»automobiles.honda.com/current-offers.aspx

A friendly dealer will tell you what financing offers are coming up in the near future.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 21:39:24 EDT

nightdesigns posted : I picked up my 2012 CR-V for less than invoice (which is identical to the 2013) because they were trying to clear them off the lot. Also offering below 2% financing right now as well.

By the way, had both the 2010 and 2012 CRV (2010 was totaled, replaced with 2012). The 2012 has some very nice upgrades (blue tooth audio, rear seats fold down better, much more storage, and a pretty significant increase in gas mileage (30+ highway)).

The accord is also very nice, and the Civics are very reliable (my wife has a '06 with 110,000+ miles on it).

If you are interested in the Honda Care extended warranty, you can order it through an online Honda dealer for quite a bit less).
--
This Space for Rent...

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 21:22:57 EDT

MEDIAN2k3 posted : A friend of mine has a 2012 Accord and I do love it but I am still on the fence, in the end my monthly payment will determine everything so we will see. I am going to go to my local honda dealer before I go to CarMax just to see what kind of deals they will have on 2013's, I do love the look of the 13 Accord.
--
If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's your's. If it doesn't, it never was to begin with.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 06:42:34 EDT

Bob posted : We have a 2010 CR-V. The thing is underpowered, downshifts on the slightest incline, gets lousy gas mileage, and comes with very noisy tires. We get 21 mpg around town, and 24 mpg on the highway. It has a small gas tank, so the range is only around 300 miles or so.

My 2012 Accord (4 cyl) is much better. It has the same engine as the CR-V, but since it's lighter and has less wind resistance, has more power and gets 32 mpg on the highway (range is 550+ miles). It's also quieter and has a better sound system.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 00:22:39 EDT

Snakeoil posted : The only dealings i ever had with Carmax was to off load out old cars. They tended to give a better deal then a dealer.

As for a car loan, what about going to a bank? I talked to my local bank and the person there said that they will give a loan, no matter how bad the credit history. Though she added that it will effect interest rates.
Bu you could get pre-approved by a bank, and know how much car you can afford when you go shopping. That way the dealer can't add extras to the paper work.
For example my truck was listed at 28k. A nearby dealer was selling the same truck with hail damage, for 21k. The dealer at 28k said ok, 21k no problem.
By the time the paper work was done, we owed 29k. They managed to tack on 8k in fees onto the paper work. Well, ok, it was called interest. Paid over 5 years.
--
Is a person a failure for doing nothing? Or is he a failure for trying, and not succeeding at what he is attempting to do? What did you fail at today?.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 23:38:05 EDT

MEDIAN2k3 posted : I am very happy with everyone's feedback, I was also considering a Honda CR-V as well as one of the few, I just need to make sure the money is right before I commit to buying the car. This is a great great relief that my fellow DSLr's have dealt with them in the past!

I will report back in a few months time when the car becomes mine :)

Thanks!
--
If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's your's. If it doesn't, it never was to begin with.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 13:49:22 EDT

ilikeme posted :

said by nightdesigns:

I looked at them recently for a 2-3 year old Honda CRv to replace one that was totaled. They had one but the price was just about the same as a new one. They don't negotitate on the price and push their service plans. I ended up getting a new one from a dealership (they made me an offer I couldnt refuse)

By the way, check out the CRV 2010-2013 models, quite roomy.

I have a 2012 and its great.
--

Fiber Optics is the future of high-speed internet access. Stop by the BBR Fiber Optic Forum

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 11:40:36 EDT

nightdesigns posted : I looked at them recently for a 2-3 year old Honda CRv to replace one that was totaled. They had one but the price was just about the same as a new one. They don't negotitate on the price and push their service plans. I ended up getting a new one from a dealership (they made me an offer I couldnt refuse)

By the way, check out the CRV 2010-2013 models, quite roomy.
--
This Space for Rent...

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 11:22:36 EDT

DeltaElite posted : Son bought his last car there and there after sale service was first class.

They replaced the clutch under the extended warranty with after market parts cause Hyundai parts were not available.

I now own the car after he bought a newR-Spec Genesis...

They just replaced a blower motor (dash removed) under warranty and I got the car back cleaner and running better then it was when I took it too them.

I'd shop by price and reputation and I'd recommend these folks whole heartedly.
--
Protect your right to keep and arm bears!

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 03:27:45 EDT

adamtech78 posted : I helped my dad find his last minivan at Carmax. He wanted a Dodge Caravan as he's used to them having two of them in the past. Since I know more about cars than him, he basically was looking for my blessing in a way.

We went to few stores and looked at their inventory. One of them had AC issues (as soon as I turned on the AC the clutch was very noisy), and one may have been hit in the past as the driver side sliding door was sticking out weird.

All in all he was very happy with the purchase he had made. After purchase we were informed that the van was a car rental (which we knew due to carfax).

I purchased my last car at a used car dealership and I had to go through the typical haggling.

I would not hesitate to consider carmax in the future. It was very welcoming to be able to test drive cars, etc without being so pressured to buy etc.

Good luck hunting.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 00:03:10 EDT

ilikeme posted : We bought a car from there once and had no problems. They were pretty nice to deal with.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 20:41:43 EDT

MEDIAN2k3 posted : I am not too fond of the 2012 civic's design, I like the 2011 and older style instead, plus I am a rather large gentleman.
--
If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's your's. If it doesn't, it never was to begin with.

Re: CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 20:35:58 EDT

Bob posted : Honda has 0.9% financing for 2012 Civics and some other models. What other options do you need?

CarMax vs. Good Ol Fashion Stealership

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 20:30:42 EDT

MEDIAN2k3 posted : Evening All,

So as tax time approaches, I find myself looking to purchase a car, whether it be between 2-3 years old or brand spanking new off the lot.

For whatever reason I find myself really drawn to CarMax and their prices and wide range of selections.

I would like some opinions from those who have dealt with CarMax in the past.

I already checked BBB and it's really put me in a tough spot as there were like over a thousand complaints against them, from the recently closed complaints that I read CarMax seemed like it would go above and beyond to help their customer's with any issues.

I really don't want to go the route of dealerships due to limited selection of vehicles and not as many finance options.

Any advise is appreciated, thanks in advance!
--
If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's your's. If it doesn't, it never was to begin with.