Carmax Praise and Potential Lemon. Need your input!

[Morphyne]

Ok so I have owned an 07 SR5 with some mods for about 4 years. I love working on my truck, I know its body and suspension components pretty well. Not so much the engine (6 cyl) bc other than changing the oil and plugs it has been rock solid.

Fast forward to 25 days ago I bought my wife an 05 Lexus gx470, no KDSS, 97k miles and here is how it went.

Known issues: Brakes, radiator, and timing belt.

Radiator is new, brakes and time belt are not.

Check the brakes they were frozen, messed up got one piston stuck out and had to call CarMax. They paid for the tow and paid for the parts and labor for the stuck caliper, they said the other was fine. So I offered to pay for duralast calipers (lifetime warranty) if they would pay for the labor, they agreed. While working on the brakes I killed the battery. so when CarMax had it they tested the battery and said it was weak. so they replaced the battery. they also replaced about a dozen missing interior pieces (cargo net, hooks, drivers footrest was broke, window switch etc...) all free of charge.

Well I went to drive it yesterday and the CEL came on and the traction control lights etc... I thought it was a bad cell in the battery but it turns out to be a bad secondary air pump. also, of course the dashboard is cracked and I am on the waiting list to have that fixed.

So here is my question. I bought this thing because if its so call reliability, but I am worried that this thing is a total pile of shit. Here is a list of things broken and fixed (or promised to be fixed) with the first 25 days. Is this it? or are there more issues that I should look for?

Radiator (Already done)
Time Belt (needs to be done)
Brakes
Battery
Hood Struts
Window Switch
Secondary Air Pump

I love this vehicle but I am scared that it is going to cost me a fortune in repairs.

 

[WEAK_E90]

father in-law actually bought a 4runner (98 if I remember right) from carmax for his son (my brother in law).

Had it for a month and then the thing was falling apart. Wheel fell off randomly, brakes seized, transmission issues (wouldnt go into reverse), and lots of minor issues (window mechanism broke etc).

He got carmax to buy the car back for the same price. He took it to a toyota dealership and got it all estimated and then slapped carmax in the face with it.

Ive heard nothing but issues from carmax regarding cars purchased from there.

Best of luck!

 

[KidVermicious]

Any vehicle can turn into a pile of shit if it isn't maintained, and it sounds like yours wasn't. Most of what you see on the lot at Carmax is going to be a pile of shit. Get rid of it, and don't be lazy when you replace it, buy private party and you'll pay less and get a better car.

 

[wadle5]

Agreed personal experience from family and close friends is carmax is garbage. Even more is the way the dealership obtains their cars. They go to auctions and clearly bid over the assessed value. They do this for a particular reason and it is to say that we bought it at auction for this amount a steal(not really a steal, they jacked the price up), and we are only selling for $500 over what we purchased the vehicle for. It's a scam as they are way overpriced, and numerous people have had horrible issues with cars they have bought there, from minimal issues to complete transmissions problems. I agree with the other posters, toyotas/lexus/hell most foreign automakers are reliable low maintenance as long as they were/are properly maintained, I'm thinking your Lexus wasn't by the previous owner.
I say due to the issues take back and wash your hands of it. No shame in admitting you got the wrong car, of course the salesmen will fight you to keep it, but he doesn't have to live with it. If you aren't thinking the vehicle is up to your standards return, and properly research private parties with a proper inspection.

Good Luck

 

[cashmoney]

Our friends and family have had the exact opposite experience at carmax. Been great to work with and the cars have been great as well. Maybe it's like everything else and some are better than others.

 

[Blue Seat Lyfe]

Carmax can afford to take it back because of their overall higher prices.

And if you get their warranty, they will repair anything no questions asked. Depending on the crappiness of your vehicle (LAND ROVERS LOOKING AT YOU) you can recoup the cost of the warranty very quickly and have new OEM parts all over.

 

[9494runner]

We bought my miata from carmax. She runs great and no issues other than normal maintenence and wear and tear. Almost have had her for 9 years

 

[Morphyne]

My experience with CarMax has been nothing but positive. they are Johnny on the spot for everything. They have never pushed back on anything I have asked. They are replacing all kinds of random shit that I would have missed on a private sale. This issue specifically would not have been apparent in a private sale and I would have been on the hook for the repair. I think the stories from CarMax you guys have is why they try so hard these days.

Everything so far is more or less expected given the known issues that I am aware of on this forum. I am specifically asking if there is anything obvious that this lexus may need.

As far as the price/value I think I did well. The only thing I found better is an awesome deal on an 08 in florida being sold by a private car dealer that has an 88% approval rating... See here. this thing is beautiful
Lexus GX Base Sport Utility 4 Door | eBay

 

[Lester Lugnut]

Drivers foot rest broken...dashboard cracked...

Sounds like Sasquatch was a previous owner.

In my area, CarMax gets hammered in the review dept. Some people in this thread are pleased with them. It just goes to show it's not about CarMax, but the people who are working for them at a given location.

 

[Nervo19]

Morpyne did you run a Carfax on it to see if it had been maintained? Did it come from a flood area? All those CEL related problems make me think of it.
I'd probably try to get them to buy it back.

I live in the city where CarMax was founded. It's an offshoot of Circuit City. Remember them? My experiences have been great.

In 2003 my paid off '97 4Runner that I bought new was totaled during a period of snow. CarMax had a bunch of 4Runners I could not afford. There was one black 2000 4Runner listed as 2WD priced thousands less. It had 30k miles and I'd never bought such a high mileage used car before. From the photos I could tell it was 4WD. I ended up getting it for the insurance check and about $3k cash. Twelve years later I still have it and was just complimented on its' appearance yesterday. I'm still happy with CarMax's mistake.

For the past couple of used cars I've bought I've started with them online and found what I wanted cheaper elsewhere.

 

[jdtaylor42]

Wow that's a bummer to hear! I have bought 3-4 cars from Carmax over the years. Always got a great deal (well under blue book), and always had awesome customer service on repairs. I bought a W8 Passat Wagon from them and I asked to replace everything that was even slightly damaged (like the wooden shifter handle that had a tiny scratch on it) and they did it all no questions asked! We had a V6 Passat from them for over five years and no problems either.

However I will say that all the cars we bought from them had less than 25k miles so not a lot of chance for previous owners to mistreat them. But honestly I have nothing but good things to say and experiences with Carmax

 

[Morphyne]

Sales guy ran a carfax AND he had me register the vehicle as mine with lexus before the sale so I could see everything g that was done at the dealer. PO had it Mai tainted pretty well. But they declined the 90k service.

I think we have gotten lucky and Sussed everything out. As for the broken footrest, have no clue. Wtf is that l about.


And maybe it is a store by store thing. Bc this thing came from Fayetteville and those people suck hard.

 

[williamlv282]

I've purchased three cars through Carmax and I've sold them two vehicles. I've had nothing but amazing experiences with them each time. They'll make it right eventually. My buddy bought a 350z with a ton of problems and they ended up sending it back to Nissan to have a ton of stuff fixed on it. He kept bringing it back every time there was another problem and they took care of everything.

 

[rdswriter]

I've only bought one car from Carmax and it was an extremely positive experience. We got a 2006 loaded Navigator in 2008 with 14k miles.MSRP was $54k new and we paid $23k because of perfect timing (92 octane was about $5/gal at time of purchase). The car had only been owned for 16months prior to us purchasing.

We bought a 6yr/75k bumper to bumper warranty that started the day we drove off lot. We just traded it in to a Lincoln dealer last year, right at 89k miles for $10k. Nothing but positive buy/repair experiences in those 6 years... Including the loaner cars from Carmax.

 

[sntryplt]

In Summer of 2011 we bought a 2008 Honda Pilot AWD from OKC Carmax, for our daughter to take to school in Des Moines. Great experience, and a solid vehicle. Absolutely no issues, and she's put almost 100K miles on it in the last 4 years. We've also sold them two vehicles, in both cases, higher than dealer offer on a proposed trade in. Would use them again.

 

[Ezlife45]

One friend had purchased a GMC from them and it was great, the next guy bought a '14 loaded pathfinder from them and it was total crap. Within a few weeks of owning the vehicle, the suspension was making popping and grinding noises. Carmax said "you still have a factory warranty, bring it to them."
Well when bringing it to the dealer, they refused the warranty due to "abuse and neglect". This car was 1 year old and was supposedly put through a 120 point inspection. sure the paint job looked good but it obviously was not inspected. Looking under it a neophyte could tell it was abused.

Car max never went through that vehicle. Afterwards, they started playing games saying they were not going to fix everything, only suspension/transmission related items. My friend had to start dealing with Car max corporate because of the games the local guys started playing.

Now on the 3rd vehicle, still trying to work out details. Reminds me why I am very nervous to buy anything used. All of this happened before his first payment was due.

 

[Morphyne]

Update: Carmax still has my car. Been 8 days. they said the secondary air pump is being a ***** and its gonna be a while. plus it took forever to get the parts in. so i jokingly said "Yeah my wife wanted to know if you guys were gonna pay our first payment since you've had it so long." Hi response. We might just do that. At the very least carmax is going to reset the 30 warranty on my gx470.

The car has been a problem but carmax has been great! Just wish that thing would come out of there with a new timing belt.