Hey all,

Just moved and don't need 2 cars anymore so I'm thinking of selling the CLS to Carmax (to eliminate the headache of selling myself--still have 2 or 3 payments left on her). Probably taking it to the Carmax at Dulles (VA).

I've heard that while they 'say' they give you near Kelly Blue Book for your car, its never really that good. Anyone sold their car to them? I've seen some CLS's on their website selling for $14-to-$20k.

I've got 75k miles, koni/comptechs, and xm. She's in great shape and a joy to drive but just not a good economic decision anymore.

Any ideas what I can expect for a sell to carmax? (I know I could get more from private sale but the simplicity of taking it and walking out with a check is what I'm talking about)

 

If the CLS is not stock don't bother. They will give you nothing for it. They don't like modded cars. I tried with my 6 speed. Offered $12K. They climed since it's modified they can't sell it on the lot for warranty & safety reasons. Plus 75K miles to boot. They don't like to get newer cars with over 50K on them.
However if the car is stock they are ok. Or at least they were a year ago. I sold 2 cars to them & they gave me close to book, but still higher then what a dealer would give.

 

Hey, I work at the Dulles Carmax off of 28. Just pm'ed you.

 

You won't see much, I can promise you that.

Maybe the offer will be 12K. Just a guess...

 

Scrib,

At 70,000miles he will be very luck to get that. watch and they will go offer him 10K

 

i say ebay it!

 

it is worth the headache to sell it yourself unless you want to get

i went to that carmax before i bought my cl to sell a 99 gti vr6 with 70k miles on it...

they offered us $2900, $5K below book value, which we sold on autotrader to some guy for 8500...

and he was ecstatic, drove down from pennsylvania to pick it up, no offense to anyone here who works there, but that place is a huge rip, just like any other dealer


edit: we posted it on autotrader and got several responses quickly, that is the third car i have bought or sold on autotrader and had positive results..

 

yeah, that carmax sux.


I work out by there. You're much better off sellin it on your own.

 

Haha, you guys are hurting my feelings! I have been working at Carmax for 2 years, and I know the buying dept very well and how the car market works very well. Please, please anyone that uses KBB, Edmunds, or NADA, use them as a general reference only!! They do not buy or sell any cars through their own organizations. THey gather nationwide statistics and often they are not accurate to true market value. Most people also look at what other people are listing their cars for and looking up retail and private party values on KBB and expecting them from Carmax.... What gives! Carmax will give you exactly what your vehichle goes for in a wholesale auction. Why would we give you any more money then what we can get the exact same car for in an auction??? We buy anywhere from 600 to 900 cars a month FROM CUSTOMERS and that's just from my store (Dulles). This doesnt include what we buy at offsite auctions. I could go on and on but i have to go to work and rip some people off haha JK

 

01 blue, since when does " wholesale" determine the worth of a vehicle. Your logic is one of a car salesman. Carmax prices suck on used cars and the whole we will buy your car marketing effort is BS.

 

That's just awful

 

So how much would the value go up if I swapped parts with someone?

Those of you in NOVA/DC area...stay tuned. I have Comptechs and Koni Yellows (put on fall 03), rotora slotted front rotors and axxis ultimate pads (put on 2 months ago) and XM radio.

If it helps increase the trade in value I could be persuaded to make a deal with someone.

 

I didnt say wholesale determines what your car is worth, wholesale value is what your car is worth TO CARMAX. ANYTHING is worth what someone is willing to buy it for and what the other party is willing to sell it for.

Carmax simply makes buying cars from customers an easy process. If you dont like our offer then go elsewhere!! Dont sit there and try saying that a dealer sucks because you dont understand how marketing works. There are VERY FEW if any dealers that will buy your car outright without you buying their car and also very few dealers if any, that will buy your car outright for more than what carmax offers.

Im not gonna get into the whole Carmax talk again....simply put, if you do not like what we offer then dont sell it to us.

 

My uncle recently sold a car to carmax. Their price was more than 50% higher than the 3 Nissan dealers (he was buying a new Altima) wanted to give him on trade in.

I also traded in my '93 Ford Explorer to them a few years ago. It had 120+k miles, a slipping transmission, a locked up automatic transfer case gear (wouldn't go into 4WD), and the radio stopped working. I still got $1,000 for it.

 

Sundance,

How much would you like to get for your car @ Carmax ? And what condition is it in ?

 

i just sold my 1997 3.0CL with 169k miles on it for $4k. took 3 hours on autotrader ad. no joke. 4 calllers in a half day. bought my '03 CL-S from a dealer and they told me they didnt want it but if it took somethign to make a deal they would give me $1500. i bought the CL-s for cash and sold the 97 through autotrader.

go autotrader.

my only carmax experience was about 5 years ago in richmond virginia. i had a 1994 trans am gt (mint) and they offered me almost $5k less than I ended up selling it privately for (sold for $13,200, they offered $8500). carfax has fair prices on the cars they sell but dont offer anywhere near private party value on trade in.

 

Carmax will obviously low ball you the are in BUSINESS to make money. They just tend to give a you a better price than what a dealer will offer. Lot's people don't want the hassle of having to sell their car. my :2

 

01blue, I have been in the car business and I was a marketing major so I know carmax uses the buy your car a marketing tool. Personally, I have no problem with carmax. As a whole I think they have higher than average prices and the trade in values they give are not always fair or accurate. I think it may be a good solution in some cases.