I like Carmax's no hassle buying in theory, however they were a pain in the *** to buy from, they said they could not help me because I had come in and walked out?

Eventually I found a car at CARMAX, but they insisted they see proof of funds after running my credit, which is a bit humiliating, I don't ever remember having to show a dealership my bank info?

 

I am a car guy who typically builds all my cars.I have never bought a car from a dealer, always from individuals or just parts. I was looking for a BMW Z4 3.0 6 spMT for my wife and could not find a car with my specs anywhere in the country including following BMW club classifieds. Anyway got the car from Carmax full history, all books etc. The car has been perfect, they were great to deal with, just give them the money and go. They don't screw around with old used car saleman tactics . Very professional. If you act like an idiot trying to play used car sales games they will throw you out.
The cars come from auctions but that is not an issue as hundreds of thousands of cars go thru auctions every week. This is not the local car auction you remember as a kid. These are closed to the public. The Carmax guys go to these and have already picked out the cream of the crop and bid on those to win. They are serious about this. I have steered many people to Carmax for used cars and they have all had great experiences.

 

I paid ˜$1,300 to get a Cayenne shipped from NH to CO. Got lucky and was able to piggy-back on another shipment from same dealer to CO. Prices do vary based on route, so NY to LA may come in cheaper than say AL to CA. . . The industry is very uneven though, so tread carefully with the shippers. . .

 

Here's my experience with my recent purchase of a 2010 997.2 C2S 6MT from CarMax, which I also had transferred coast to coast ($2k from MD to CA). They gave me an estimated arrival date three weeks out, but in my excitement, I kept calling back for updates and found out that even though the car arrived at my local CarMax in two weeks, it took them almost another week to ready the car for sale. Ultimately, I was able to go view and test drive the car one day earlier than initially quoted.

I had bought a Foxwell NT530 so I was able to pull the DME over-rev report in the parking lot, the results which I was happy with (just 22 range 2's), so I purchased the car and took it for a full PPI three days later, which also came up clean.

The actual purchase process in store was pretty painless for me, I already had set up financing with my credit union for 80% of the purchase price, and paid the rest with personal check. The manager just had to check that I had the funds to cover the check (I showed them the account balance in the bank's app on my phone). I opted not to get the MaxCare warranty, as since my car was at 51k miles, the 5yr/100k mi plan with $50 deductible would have been $6.7k.

There's a 90 day warranty, which I've used to have them replace the windshield wipers and tire sealant gel (was expired), as well as fix a rear rattle which was coming from the CHMSL. However, they wouldn't replace my rear tires dated 2013, saying that their policy for tire age is 10 years, unless there is visible wear on them. Maybe if I had brought it up within the seven day return period they would have been more willing?

All in all, I'm quite pleased with the experience so far.

 

Based on what I have read from multiple people, I would say yes. I think the LAST thing they want to do in unwind a car deal after purchase, so they are typically more than willing to do whatever it takes to make you keep the car. Now in your case you were already 2K in, but for most people looking at non-shipped cars, it's a fairly risk-free affair.

 

So what was your credit score? Lots of people come into dealerships claiming their credit is "fine" then when the dealership runs it it comes back in the low 6 or even 5 range, I'm sure it gets old after a while. I was at a high-end exotics car lot a while back looking at a car I had been watching and the salesman helping me (nice kid but couldn't have been more than 25) told me they'd need a cashier's check to release the car. I rolled my eyes and talked to the finance manager who ran my credit and it came back high. Problem solved, I drove it off that day and supplied my own financing.

 

I looked two diff GTS.. was 32 but look 25. They never questioned me.

 

Thanks for the info! Quite helpful.
wanted to ask you a couple questions, but couldn’t PM you. If possible, PM me and I’ll respond with my questions Thanks!

 

I don't think I have enough posts to unlock PMs yet, but feel free to email me at my username @gmail.com

 

Thanks Xegale. Unfortunately e-mail is hidden (only shows the Gmail part)

 

Great post... I’ve been wondering the same.

I have been watching them like a hawk for a 997 MT and they are very few and far between and go FAST.

 

I believe he is saying that his address is his username @gmail.com.

 

A factory quality paint job? The car in this story was CPO so the buyer skipped the PPI: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...-poor-car.html

 

I don't recall reading anything terrible about Porsche purchases from Carmax. And their return policy and warranty both sound ok. Have to say that I always wondered how and why 997's and other later model high end cars end up at Carmax though and why they don't allow a pre purchase PPI. Once you buy the car and drive it off the lot, doesn't that give Carmax the option to blame you for anything or at least a number of things discovered by a PPI even if you have it done the same day you bought the car and therefore dishonor their return policy?

I'm far from the paranoid type but I'm not sure I would be comfortable buying a high end car from a dealer that won't allow a pre purchase PPI. They must have reason for this unusual policy and I'd be curious to know what that reason is. I'm sure they would point to their return policy but like I said earlier, a post purchase PPI will give them some options they would not have with a pre purchase PPI.

 

Jake Raby calls it the Max-attack. I guess because lots of people over the years have filed submission tickets with Flat 6 Innovations regarding failure and remedy. Many people drop problematic or failing cars on Carmax. Better make sure that the warranty covers everything on the engine.