As some of you know, I'v been here on the forums learning about Vettes. My wife and I decided to go and test drive a 2010 Grand Sport that I found on Auto Trader. The price and mileage seemed right so we thought we would give it a go. Car Max was selling it so I emailed them last night and told them that I was coming today to test drive it. A salesman called me at 9am and left a mess. About 1pm I called them and told them that I would be there around 2:30 to test drive the car. When I got there the car was still in side and the salesman told me to wait 5 minutes. In the mean time the wife and I are going over the car. 30 minutes later the guy shows back up to get the car out of the show room. Car does not start. These guys are fooling around with the car for another 15 minutes and could not get the car started. Wife and I left. The car was a nice JSB Vert, auto, 3LT with nav, and tan interior. I might have bought it if the people at Car Max were better on top of their game. I would of had the car outside and ready to roll if I knew a perspective customer had an appointment to come in for a test drive. I was just a little disapointed with my experience there. Can anyone else comment about their experience at Car Max?

Thanks,
Dale in San Antonio

 

I got mine at Carmax last year. I found it on Autotrader and they had it delivered from CA to NV no charge. When I got there it was sitting outside right next to the door, spotless and not a scratch on it. The sales guy hands me the fob while he went to find a temp tag to put on it. I'm sitting in the car checking everything out for about 15 minutes. He comes back with a tag and we take off for a test drive. Car starts right up, I take it out on the road which is all city traffic. We turn on to a street with no traffic and he tells me to punch it. I punch it, take it on the highway for a few miles, go back to Carmax, sign paper and drive it home. Never one regret. The price was really good but they low-balled me on my trade in.

 

I've test drove plenty of cars at CarMax to include a '07 tripple gray vert C6 (silver paint, gray leather, gray top) and always enjoyed the experience. That car also wouldnt start (I'm guessing somebody is leaving the door or trunk open and the interior lights on too long) but after a few minutes with my help and a jump box from their service techs, we had it up and running. I've also had CarMax offer to buy my Lexus GS400 for a very fair price. And finally my father has bought a year old '04 C5.. and sold the same car back to the same CarMax all within a year. He was very pleased at the outcome.

While its a bit dissapointing the car wouldnt start, understand that CarMax employees dont work for commission and also show 100's of different cars, from different manufacters daily. A Chevy dealer would be much more informed about the car.. but I'm guessing you didnt choose to buy from a Chevy dealer because you were trying to save a few $$$. Its quite possible that CarMax employees were busy that day and didnt have enough background info on the C6, to know it has a semi-complicated key fob procedure. Theres 100's of stories many people who couldnt even get into (or out of) a C6 to jump start it, because they couldnt figure out how to manually get in the vehicle. You have to first use the physical key to unlock the cargo/trunk, then pull on the manual door opening to the left, then open the hood to even get to battery.

CarMax will eventually sell the vehicle so I'm sure they arent too concerned about losing a potential customer who was a bit impatient that day. But in the future you should also have advanced knowledge about the car you are purchasing, and maybe you could direct them as to what to do. Remember that eventhough the seller should be well informed about the vehicle they are selling.. Its still the buyers responsibility to know exactly what they are purchasing.

 

CarMax purchase here too, Henderson, NV. EVRose, did you get yours at West Sahara CarMax? I had a very good experience too. My first visit they didn't have a C6 that I was looking for, 2008 or newer with the LS3. The salesman, Jerry, got on the web site and there was a 10K mile 08 C6, auto, HUD and some other options (2LT I think) but was at the Irvine, CA., CarMax. Free transfer to the Henderson office. I request it be brought up. Two days later I look on the Henderson CarMax web site and they now have a 2010 C6, 1LT, MN6, black on black targa top with 6800 miles. I call Jerry and go down for a test drive and love it, like a brand new car. I ask Jerry to hold it till the red 08 from Irvine arrives and he puts it to the side so no one else gets it. The next day I'm thinkin why wait for an 08 when they have a 10 on hand that I like. Called Jerry and told him to wrap up the black 2010. When I get there it's ready, full tank of gas, they give me what I thought was right for my car and I buy the black 2010. All around good experience. I agree with you Dale In San Antonio, I would've walked too.......come on guys, get your stuff together.

 

You have to remember, even though you were on the up and up and really wanted to see the car. There are many people that call and say one thing and then never show. So going through that effort for someone who doesnt show, most dealers just wait till the prospective buyer arrives. I would however have made sure the car started.....big SNAFU on their part. I wish you the best of luck on your search and if thats really the car you want, dont let that inconvenience keep you from it....See it from their side......Just my .02

 

Yep, West Sahara. I live only 3 miles from there so it was simple. One thing that kinda pizzed me off was they gave me $4500 for my 2000 Daytona 500 Grand Prix with only 70K miles. It was as immaculate as the vette. A week later I see the GP on Autotrader at the Henderson Carmax and they have it listed at $9K. I actually sent an email to them letting them know how I felt and they said that price was wrong. Anyway, I'm more than happy with what I got now.

 

I bought my '05 from Henderson, NV CarMax about 1.5 years ago. I was searching daily and this one was only on the website for a couple of days. It was a Sunday and the nearby dealership had an '06 black 'vert I was interested in but they were closed. I drove by the dealership and their car was rough on the outside. A couple of blocks later I'm at CarMax and their Monterey Red A4 is impeccibly clean, inside/outside/engine/under carriage. Test drive was smooth, low milage, g/f liked it and drove it home about an hour later. No trade in and flipped the short term financing 2 days later with BofA. Good experience and plan on checking them out often in the future.

 

That is their job to get the car ready. Someone doesn't show, boo-hoo. What else do they have to do anyway? I pretty much sell all of my cars myself and you can be damned sure I am not sitting watching cartoons when a prospective buyer comes to check it out and it absolutely will start and function properly.

I have always found Carmax over-priced and while the cars are nicely detailed, they are not that hot as I looked closer. I have never looked at Vettes though, only daily driver type of stuff. I was looking at used Pathfinders once and out of the three on the lot, one had transmission issues when I test drove it, one was leaking something, and the last one had at least three different brands of tires on it and a couple of them were near bald. Not what you would expect for something passing their "rigorous" inspection. It may also be regional, but they seem to try to impress you with all this BS, and really you just want a good car at a good price. All the BS trade in inspection printouts and smiles and nice showroom must cost something; remember you are paying for that.

 

Gosh car dealerships have absolutely nothing to do.....your so right...my bad for being so mis-informed. Stay away from Carmax....they did you wrong! LOL

 

I can't comment on that CarMax but used cars were selling 3 to every 1 new car sale in July. That's been happening for a while so I think many CarMax locations actually are moving cars in and out. Were they at least busy when you were there OP?

 

Don, I agree 100% with you. Their sales people are very busy and may not always have time to wait on someone that doesn't show up.
I purchased my 2006 C6 Coupe from CarMax in Wichita, Ks. at a price several thousand under KBB. I also purchased their extended warranty and I have had ZERO problems with the Vette after about a year and 8,000 miles.

Only 2 things I didn't like.
1- They gave me a low ball price on my very nice BMW Z4 3.0I
2- I like to haggle on price and this can't be done at CarMax.

Bob

 

We found our 2008 Z51 Corvette searching online at a CarMax in North Carolina. We had it transfered to Austin. We could not have been more happier with the quality of service that we recieved. The car had low mileage and was below blue book value. I'll buy from them again!

 

Do a search on my name and check out my CarMax experience. I bought mine there and it was a wild experience. My car also wouldn't start but they swapped batteries and it's been fine ever since. (If you read my post, you will find the car not starting was the least of my problems).

I think I got good value on my purchase - I haven't seen one with all the options, at that mileage and in that color cheaper - but what I went through to buy it at CarMax is an interesting story.

I think I would do it again, however. I just love the no-haggle pricing. And take full advantage of the no-questions return policy within 3 or 5 days (I can't remember which).

 

You cannot paint all Carmax stores with the same brush. They all have different sales staffs and some are better than others. The salesman you spoke with was probably not going to be on duty when you said you were coming in so he was not concerned and might not have even told anyone you were coming.

Carmax deals with all makes and models of cars trucks and SUV's so they are sometimes lacking on knowledge of a particular vehicle. However, I believe it's the customers responsibility to know about the car they are interested in. If you have to rely on the salesman to tell you the truth or to know what he/she is talking about you are in trouble.

All that being said, I like dealerships that do business like Carmax. Up front no haggle or negotiated pricing. The price in the window is the price the car sells for. If you trade-in they give you one price and that's it. Consequently, they price all their vehicles and trade-in offers fairly.

 

I picked up my 2008 C6 a couple of years ago from Carmax in Henderson, NV via the internet. I initially went to look at it...had a sold sign on it so I moved on with my search, went by the dealership a few days later it was still there and it still had the sign on it, inquired with the salesman and the deal fell through....test drove it, and brought a cashiers check the next day and drove it home. The sell the Corvettes at a pretty good pace...they do not last long on there lots.

 

I've bought a truck form them a few years ago and everything was and has been excellent...When you buy it that five day period is when you get everything fixed you don't like. During that time you have their undivided attention so check out what you have thorough during that time.

Good luck

 

I went to a Toyota dealership in Carson City, NV to buy a SUV. The sales manager wouldn't give my a price because he thought I was just going to price match at the Tahoe dealership. I told him I bought my F250 in Carson but he still wouldn't give me a price. It must be a Nevada thing.

I guess it all depends on who is on duty when you get there. A friend had nothing but good to say about the dealership. Good luck on your search. My C6 is the nicest ride I have had in a long time!