Carmax
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2016
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Carmax
I went to their website hoping to be able to do a search of their inventory to see what C5s they have. Their search criteria only goes back to 2006 for Corvettes, so apparently they don't have any C5s...
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2017
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From: Hickory NC
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Wasn't aware of this. Just looked and it appears the cutoff for all cars and trucks is 2006. Not sure if that's all they carry or if they carry older vehicles and only advertise those to the markets near each individual location. It would appear they're missing out on potential sales.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,496
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From: Little Rock Arkansas
Well.... honestly it's not incredibly surprising. 2006 was 11 years ago. Even 10 years is pretty old for most modern vehicles when the average owner keeps their cars for roughly 5 - 10 years. Plus I can't see too many Corvette owners taking their cars to CarMax to sell them unless they don't mind completely losing out on money and just don't want to hassle with a buyer. CarMax buys most every car well below it's value. You'd probably have a better time going to a Chevy dealer and working out a deal on a new C7...
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While the Corvette is a popular sports car, places like CarMax try to turn over their inventory fast and sometimes a Vette, especially an older model, just doesn't sell that fast.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2005
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From: NW Chicago
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My wife and I stopped at a carmax to kill some time and see what kind of cars they offered. No cars were less than 10k. While looking, they offered to give us a quote on our 03 Suburban, $4k. We thought not to bad until a few weeks later it was totaled and our insurance gave us $7650, other driver had off brand insurance, so settled with ours and they go after other. Just a little shocked. 
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 882
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From: Jacksonville FL
If you decide to deal with CarMax, be careful. This article says a lot:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/quart...125048939.html
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/quart...125048939.html
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2016
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From: Jacksonville FL
Am I missing the part in that article that pointed out that carmax was or was not informing the customers of the unrepaired recalls?
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2017
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Carmax sucks, but they do sometimes offer well on cars. I saw where a guy bought a truck (truck being the important factor here) and they offered to give him exactly what he gave for it about a year earlier. But Corvettes aren't trucks, so not apples to oranges of course. The nearest Carmax to me are a bunch of douchebags, every time I've tried to look at something there never had anyone available to show anything. I never see people buying cars there either.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2017
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From: Hickory NC
2025 C5 of the Year Finalist - Modified
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If you decide to deal with CarMax, be careful. This article says a lot:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/quart...125048939.html
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/quart...125048939.html
Disappointing, but to be fair, is this an across the board problem? If you buy a used Chevy at a Chevy dealership, or Ford at a Ford dealership, will all recalls always be completed?
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 142
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From: NC
I've been shopping for a second fun car the last few months and yes it is an across the board problem. I'm sure some dealers handle it better than others... but I've been to Dodge, Ford, Chevy, and Toyota dealers and always get a service history of a car I'm interested in. A lot of them have open recalls. Some minor. Some major like airbags. So this wouldn't stop me from purchasing a car from CarMax at all.
Last edited by NCVette1; May 4, 2018 at 03:47 AM.
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 142
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From: NC
Which is why credit unions are awesome. Navy Federal will go back 20 years without questions on their preapprovals. A car over 20 years old is still a go but has some extra hoops to jump through.
Advanced
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 90
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In California at least, DMV will not allow a registration transfer if an emmission recall is outstanding. Finding a C5 on a dealer lot is one thing, getting it financed is quite another. I bought my C5 from an independant lot. 1999 with 63000 miles. They bought it from a dealer because the dealer could not get it financed through the banks they deal with. Most banks will not finance a car older than 6 years.
Racer
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 285
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From: Marshall Il
In California at least, DMV will not allow a registration transfer if an emmission recall is outstanding. Finding a C5 on a dealer lot is one thing, getting it financed is quite another. I bought my C5 from an independant lot. 1999 with 63000 miles. They bought it from a dealer because the dealer could not get it financed through the banks they deal with. Most banks will not finance a car older than 6 years.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 4,346
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From: Greensboro Nc
Carmax won't sell a car with an open recall that isn't safe to drive, such as an airbag or seatbelt recall. If it's a recall that isn't an urgent safety recall, the buyer will be informed and told to take the car to the local dealer to have it fixed. The volume of cars that pass through carmax means that they simply cannot take every recall for things like the HVAC screen being dim on a car in.
I cant stand carmax, wouldn't buy from them ever, but to fault them for that and act like they're doing something wrong is ignorant.
Also they only sell cars 11 years old or newer on their front lots, so you won't see any c5's. Anything over that goes straight to auction, so if you bring in something old, don't expect top dollar.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 382
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From: Sunnyvale Texas
Every time I go to carmax to look at a car I'm interested in its always scratched and dinged up. Curb rash, door dings, cigarette burns. I get the impression they don't spend any money on refinishing used cars.