mojosodope

Hello all,

I am new here, so please bear with me. So I decided last July that I was going to trade my dream car, BMW m2, for my dad's dream car, 987.2 cayman. He can no longer physically drive a manual, which my m2 was and I was feeling kind of guilty I could not share the car with him. I actually found a cayman through carmax and decided to surprise him with it. Carmax gave me a decent trade, the cayman wasn't unfairly priced and I could save the taxes I just shelled out for the m2. I also decided to purchase an extended warranty through them for piece of mind. I didn't want my dad shelling out boat loads of money on repairs, but I think he could handle a $300 deductible.

So of course as soon as I am driving the cayman home, I receive a check oil level warning. I drive it home, read the manual and it looks like it is full (did not understand that it was overfull yet). I reset the sensor and let my dad have at it. He said he didn't see the warning when he was driving it, but when I went to take it out Monday the same message came up. I decided to do some research and found that the car was actually overfull and why this happens with people who service that don't know about these types of cars. I contacted carmax and asked if they usually change the oil before the buyer picks up the vehicle. They said yes and I informed them that I think they overfilled.

Today, my father took the car out for them to drain some of the oil. They kept the car for quite awhile and informed him that they added the recommended amount of oil and there was nothing to worry about. He told them, no it was overfilled and wanted them to drain some of it out. They said they drained all the oil out of the vehicle (the reason it took so long), measured it and it was the recommended level. They then went on to say, it must be a broken sensor. My father asked if they would like to buy and replace a senor for the car - sarcastically. They gave the car back to him and he checked the oil level - still overfull. He took it to our mechanic who works on an assortment of european vehicle and agreed that the car was overfull and risked blowing the seals if driven. My father returned to carmax and told them it was a problem - they offered to have porsche change the oil on them, which appeased him at the time. He went back to our mechanic to ask if he would change the oil, since carmax was going to reimburse him for the oil change. Our mechanic did not have a filter, but said he would at least drain some of the oil out right then so it wasn't overfull.

They drained over a quart of oil from the car and it now shows at the top full line without being overfull. What is even more concerning is the oil was black, completely filthy. After draining the oil, the car seems to run much better than before and sounds better too. However, I am now concerned about the health of this vehicle being that it was overfilled significantly and that the oil was probably never changed. I went back to carmax this evening to see if I could get my buy back guarantee extended until I could have porsche look over the car for any problems. The manager I spoke with told me he would extend it out a day (laughable), but that I could contact the service manager when I found out when I could get an inspection scheduled. I have no idea how long it will take. I will be calling them in the morning to try to set something up.

I am very unsure if I should even keep the car at this point, knowing what I know and the way I have been treated. I do have the warranty and my father is simply tickled with the car, I know he loves it and 987.2 with pdk aren't exactly the easiest cars in the world to find. Any input or guidance would be greatly appreciated. I am happy to share any details I can as well.

Thanks,

Mike

phroenips

My singular experience with Carmax (on an old, beater, Subaru Outback), was similar to yours in regards to their "mechanics" seemingly not knowing anything beyond what they learned in auto shop class in high school. I became so frustrated with them, that I gave up on trying to have them fix issues that should've been covered under their warranty, and just took it to an independent shop and paid out of pocket to have them do it. After that, I have chosen to never go back to Carmax. With that said, I know people who have had good experiences with them, so YMMV.

I would try to get an independent inspection done on this Cayman, and I would also suggest not counting on the Carmax warranty actually being worth any real value considering they can't figure out an oil change on this car.

daylorb

I bought an M3 from Carmax years ago along with the warranty. For any type of work they told me to take it directly to the BMW dealer, it really had no real issues, but even little things like a seal on the top, or the hazard light switch - they covered. BMW dealer said they were the best warranty they had seen at the time.

If they are giving you an extra day - isn't that enough time to get it checked out and have the oil properly changed? Where are you located? I wouldn't trust the Carmax mechanics - not that an oil change is tricky - but I'd rather have someone who is not motivated to get me to keep the car... That said I think Carmax as a whole, particularly corporate, does not like bad stories/press so I'd work my way up their food chain asap. No reason not to get the head of the location involved immediately.

alvitdk

I bought my car at carmax with a 5 Year warranty as well. You can actually go directly to Porsche, no need to go to Carmax for any service, you just don't get a 25.- discount on the deductible, so the warranty is actually pretty good, just avoid carmax for service.

mojosodope

Thanks for the feedback. I had the Porsche dealership look over my cayman today. Everything was fine. Carmax was willing to extend the buy back, although I had nothing in writing, so not sure how that would have held up. Will be getting the oil changed soon.

Dad is loving the car!

Thanks again.

brur

pretty good son

andy7777

Yeah, what a nice thing to do for your Dad, this situation will blow over and you guys will have a great car.

Marine Blue