Anyone have experience with CarMax Extended warranty ?
11-14-2017, 09:56 AM
#21
Le Mans Master
A few yeara ago I bought a 2005 4.6 Liter V8 F-150 pick-up from Car Max and added their warranty. It paid for replacing the AC fan motor then later the alternaror. But, when the engine spit out the # 3 spark plug (which damaged the threads in the cylinder head and the coil for that cylinder), they would not pay for that (I paid the $478.00 for the repair). They claimed the spark plug was defectiave. My research into the issue showed that the Ford modular V8s from 1996 through, I think, 2010, have a cylinder head design issue (the aluminum heads) which causes these engines to blow out plugs, and that it is a known design flaw. In a lot of cases, part of the plug will fall back into the cylinder causing catastrophic engine damage costing thousands of dollars to repair (or replace the engine). They (Car Max) spedifically told me the warranty would not cover such damage caused by the spark plugs blowing out. I immediately got rid of the F-150 and bought a Silverado.
The warranty I purchased (Max Care) had a $100.00 deductable which was reduced to $50.00 if the repairs were performed at Car Max.
In fairness to Car Max, the local Ford dealer told me that Ford would not cover these spark plug blow outs under their warranty either and he said they had seen a lot of them. Ford's official position is that they are caused by "defective spark plugs". It is interesting to me, and probably worth noting, that of the 30 odd vehicles I have owned in my lifetime to date, the only "defective spark plugs" I have encountered were those in that Ford V8.
The warranty I purchased (Max Care) had a $100.00 deductable which was reduced to $50.00 if the repairs were performed at Car Max.
In fairness to Car Max, the local Ford dealer told me that Ford would not cover these spark plug blow outs under their warranty either and he said they had seen a lot of them. Ford's official position is that they are caused by "defective spark plugs". It is interesting to me, and probably worth noting, that of the 30 odd vehicles I have owned in my lifetime to date, the only "defective spark plugs" I have encountered were those in that Ford V8.
Apparently CarMax follows the mfg on what and what's not covered. Good info.
11-14-2017, 03:46 PM
#22
Exception ID 10T
So I just test drove some C6s at the local Carmax, including a '09 Z06.
Carmax offers a warranty - "Max Care" that is administered by The Warranty Group - that costs $1300 for 6 years/75K miles.
The warranty has the regular exclusions - maintenance and wear & tear and body panels etc, but the warranty DOES cover engine problems including catastrophic engine failure like a dropped valve.
I talked to the manager about this to confirm, and he got out all the related documentation and was confident that some manufacturing defect causing catastrophic engine failure would 100% be covered by the warranty.
So simply take the car back to CarMax and for whatever they can't fix in-house (such as replacing an LS7), they will send it to the local Chevrolet dealer and CarMax will deal with all the paperwork and bills in regards to The Warranty Group, the customer will never be expected to deal with the bills or to seek reimbursement from The Warranty Group, as the warranty is essentially CarMax's warranty.
This seems like a great deal, i.e. if someone is buying a 2007 Z06 with 40K miles and 3 previous owners, to be able to have a 5 day no-questions-asked period; 30 day bumper to bumper warranty; and then a 6 year drivetrain warranty (the latter costing $1300).
Has anyone actually bought this warranty and successfully had major work done on it?
Carmax offers a warranty - "Max Care" that is administered by The Warranty Group - that costs $1300 for 6 years/75K miles.
The warranty has the regular exclusions - maintenance and wear & tear and body panels etc, but the warranty DOES cover engine problems including catastrophic engine failure like a dropped valve.
I talked to the manager about this to confirm, and he got out all the related documentation and was confident that some manufacturing defect causing catastrophic engine failure would 100% be covered by the warranty.
So simply take the car back to CarMax and for whatever they can't fix in-house (such as replacing an LS7), they will send it to the local Chevrolet dealer and CarMax will deal with all the paperwork and bills in regards to The Warranty Group, the customer will never be expected to deal with the bills or to seek reimbursement from The Warranty Group, as the warranty is essentially CarMax's warranty.
This seems like a great deal, i.e. if someone is buying a 2007 Z06 with 40K miles and 3 previous owners, to be able to have a 5 day no-questions-asked period; 30 day bumper to bumper warranty; and then a 6 year drivetrain warranty (the latter costing $1300).
Has anyone actually bought this warranty and successfully had major work done on it?
11-14-2017, 04:59 PM
#23
Le Mans Master
Read the terms. I got mine this past August at Carmax in Jacksonville, FL. Mine says that I need to get pre-authorization from Carmax before any work can be done. Sales guy told me I could take it to the Chevy dealer and the Chevy dealer would honor it. Since I have not yet had the misfortune to need to use mine, I am not sure how this works if I were to go directly to the Chevy dealer for a repair. I have the plan where you pay Carmax $50 if they do the work, and my copay is $100 outside of Carmax. It looks like a pretty good warranty considering all the electronics in these cars.
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Null Pointer (11-14-2017)
11-14-2017, 05:33 PM
#24
Burning Brakes
The CarMax warranty is pretty good from everything i've read and well worth the cost.
The great thing about it is that you can take the car to either CarMax or the manufacturer's dealership. However you have two deductibles based on which you choose for the repair.
Go to google and type in "Doug DeMuro Range Rover CarMax" warranty and enjoy the articles.
The great thing about it is that you can take the car to either CarMax or the manufacturer's dealership. However you have two deductibles based on which you choose for the repair.
Go to google and type in "Doug DeMuro Range Rover CarMax" warranty and enjoy the articles.
Last edited by jaredtxrx; 11-14-2017 at 05:33 PM.
11-14-2017, 07:36 PM
#25
Advanced
I’ve used it several times on different cars, including a new engine on a 2005 CTS and new differential and transmission in my C6 because they couldn’t fix the whine. Both times I took it to CarMax who wrote up the repair, got authorization from MaxCare, and immediately took it across the street to the Chevy or Caddy dealer for repairs. At least at the CarMax here they don’t tackle anything but pretty basic repairs. Anything specialized goes to the OEM. They did the same thing on my wife’s A4 Cabriolet when the multimedia head unit went belly up. No argument, just paid for a $2200 OEM nav unit. Each time we have purchased the MaxCare it has paid for itself.
There is no requirement that you go to CarMax for service. I do my own and they didn’t even ask for receipts for oil changes when the rings on the Caddy took an early retirement. Confirmed the problem, got the OK, fixed the problem, plus set me up in a rental.
The only issue I have is sometimes you have to be patient, the turnaround isn’t always the fastest, especially when CarMax/MaxCare is the dealership’s customer, not the owner of the vehicle. Like the old saying goes, “quick, good, or cheap, pick oneâ€.
There is no requirement that you go to CarMax for service. I do my own and they didn’t even ask for receipts for oil changes when the rings on the Caddy took an early retirement. Confirmed the problem, got the OK, fixed the problem, plus set me up in a rental.
The only issue I have is sometimes you have to be patient, the turnaround isn’t always the fastest, especially when CarMax/MaxCare is the dealership’s customer, not the owner of the vehicle. Like the old saying goes, “quick, good, or cheap, pick oneâ€.
Last edited by Apexbutcher; 11-14-2017 at 07:37 PM.
11-15-2017, 02:40 PM
#26
I got their Maxcare on mine. Was really surprised they offered a 5 yr exclusionary (aka bumper to bumper) policy on a 9 yr old car. The 3rd-party company I ususally use only offered me 3 yr named-item policy(those ones are a lot easier for them to deny claims) and the price they quoted was a thousand more than Maxcare.
11-15-2017, 08:13 PM
#27
-----
The CarMax warranty is pretty good from everything i've read and well worth the cost.
The great thing about it is that you can take the car to either CarMax or the manufacturer's dealership. However you have two deductibles based on which you choose for the repair.
Go to google and type in "Doug DeMuro Range Rover CarMax" warranty and enjoy the articles.
The great thing about it is that you can take the car to either CarMax or the manufacturer's dealership. However you have two deductibles based on which you choose for the repair.
Go to google and type in "Doug DeMuro Range Rover CarMax" warranty and enjoy the articles.
11-19-2017, 01:59 AM
#28
I got the 150k warranty for 3700 I think w 300 dedeuc
I’ve gotten full radiator replacement due to end cap leaks around 800
1 starters around 700 total
Replacement fuel pump around 3300
Got my end tie rods, ac control module and starter for 2200ish
I could have gotten a new rear leaf spring to get new bushings and tried to get them to sell me the z06 one but ended up doing that repair myself
Each above I payed 300 deduct, so pretty much has payed out already for itself after my fuel pump change. I’m at 118k miles currently and have been using my work car mostly to Keep my warranty. There’s a YouTube guy Doug who tests the limits of CarMax warranty w good effects lol
All in all it’s well worth it and this corvette has been the most unreliable car I’ve ever owned lol compared to my other 100k import cars. But it’s cheap and fast so has still been worth it to me albeit the unreliability
I’ve gotten full radiator replacement due to end cap leaks around 800
1 starters around 700 total
Replacement fuel pump around 3300
Got my end tie rods, ac control module and starter for 2200ish
I could have gotten a new rear leaf spring to get new bushings and tried to get them to sell me the z06 one but ended up doing that repair myself
Each above I payed 300 deduct, so pretty much has payed out already for itself after my fuel pump change. I’m at 118k miles currently and have been using my work car mostly to Keep my warranty. There’s a YouTube guy Doug who tests the limits of CarMax warranty w good effects lol
All in all it’s well worth it and this corvette has been the most unreliable car I’ve ever owned lol compared to my other 100k import cars. But it’s cheap and fast so has still been worth it to me albeit the unreliability
Last edited by lendellmm3; 11-19-2017 at 02:00 AM.
11-19-2017, 08:10 AM
#29
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St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
I got their Maxcare on mine. Was really surprised they offered a 5 yr exclusionary (aka bumper to bumper) policy on a 9 yr old car. The 3rd-party company I ususally use only offered me 3 yr named-item policy(those ones are a lot easier for them to deny claims) and the price they quoted was a thousand more than Maxcare.
12-04-2017, 12:13 PM
#30
Le Mans Master
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St. Jude Donor '15-'16,'18
In MD the CarMax offer needs to be 6% higher than the dealer trade offer to make it a wash since you pay 6% tax on the difference between the selling price and your trade.
12-04-2017, 02:20 PM
#31
12-04-2017, 04:16 PM
#32
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St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
^^ Every industry has their own definitions, so I do understand some of what you're saying. But, I'm confused because, except for readily-known wear items, B2B means everything on a new car. And could even mean the known wear items if it's extremely premature failure like wiper blades, brake pads, etc.
Those known wear items might be what is considered "exclusionary" but being so relatively obvious wear items, there's usually little fighting about them esp. if they're "wearing out" in/after 2 years or some such. The only time it becomes a fight is if a dealer says they're not going to cover a brand new car with wiper blades that are hardened and similar issues with other components which are known wear items. In that case, it's obvious that the item should be covered if only because of time on the car, a new car.
On a used car, I don't consider calling out known wear items which may likely be worn or not new as an exclusionary warranty while still calling it a B2B warranty. It is a warranty of some variety though but not that similar IMO to a new-car, B2B warranty. Not trying to split hairs; just wanting to make it clear that there is a difference. I can be convinced otherwise if I'm wrong.
Those known wear items might be what is considered "exclusionary" but being so relatively obvious wear items, there's usually little fighting about them esp. if they're "wearing out" in/after 2 years or some such. The only time it becomes a fight is if a dealer says they're not going to cover a brand new car with wiper blades that are hardened and similar issues with other components which are known wear items. In that case, it's obvious that the item should be covered if only because of time on the car, a new car.
On a used car, I don't consider calling out known wear items which may likely be worn or not new as an exclusionary warranty while still calling it a B2B warranty. It is a warranty of some variety though but not that similar IMO to a new-car, B2B warranty. Not trying to split hairs; just wanting to make it clear that there is a difference. I can be convinced otherwise if I'm wrong.
