A Stop by Carmax Might be Worthwhile

[Kos]

Figured I would share on this forum as a lot of people are trading in/selling their cars right now.

My mom had a spare vehicle (Audi A6) that was just collecting dust in the garage. Given the used car market I finally convinced her to sell the car. Spent the morning taking the car to various car dealerships to get offers. Got everything from insulting to reasonable offers. 2nd to last place I went to gave me the best offer I had received up to that point, but as he gave me the offer he says to me "I really want your car, but I'd go across the street to CarMax if I were you."

So I go to CarMax (it was my next planned stop anyway), takes about 45 minutes and they give me an offer for the car. $3,000 over the next closest offer (about 7%). It was also $1,000 over my "if we get this offer I'll shake their hand on the spot" price. 30 minutes later the paperwork was done and had a check in my hand.

I usually do this anyway, but I am definitely taking my car to CarMax before I trade it in on my Bronco. They give you a written offer that is good for 7 days and there is no pressure. At the very least it gives you a floor for your trade in value during negotiations (CarMax offers are take it or leave it). Just keep in mind, in many states to get credit for your trade in against the new vehicle's purchase price for tax purposes, they have to be on the same transaction so factor that into any offer.

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[Axe]

Good deal!
They offered me 30 for my FJ and Carvana offered 34......on the other hand Ive heard some say they got better offers from CarMax.........moral of the story - well, I'm not sure there is one.

 

[Kos]

Good deal!
They offered me 30 for my FJ and Carvana offered 34......on the other hand Ive heard some say they got better offers from CarMax.........moral of the story - well, I'm not sure there is one.

Moral of the story is information is power and a few hours time might be worth a few thousand dollars.

 

[palley6]

Back in August last year they offered me $5k over my lease payoff for my Challenger R/T. Wouldn't have ever imagined a ROI on a lease term lmao.

 

[WCP-82]

I checked Carmax, Vroom and Carvana for my 2018 VW Passat. All were fairly close offers within about $1500. I went with Carvana. They were the highest. I bought out my lease for $11,800 and sold it to Carvana three weeks later for $21,950. Some leases can't be bought out from Carvana, Carmax, etc. VW had to refer the buyout to the dealer for local adjustment fees. The buyout went from $11,800 to $23,500 with the dealer market adjustment. I had to individually pay cash for the buyout before selling it.

 

[ne2000]

Figured I would share on this forum as a lot of people are trading in/selling their cars right now.

My mom had a spare vehicle (Audi A6) that was just collecting dust in the garage. Given the used car market I finally convinced her to sell the car. Spent the morning taking the car to various car dealerships to get offers. Got everything from insulting to reasonable offers. 2nd to last place I went to gave me the best offer I had received up to that point, but as he gave me the offer he says to me "I really want your car, but I'd go across the street to CarMax if I were you."

So I go to CarMax (it was my next planned stop anyway), takes about 45 minutes and they give me an offer for the car. $3,000 over the next closest offer (about 7%). It was also $1,000 over my "if we get this offer I'll shake their hand on the spot" price. 30 minutes later the paperwork was done and had a check in my hand.

I usually do this anyway, but I am definitely taking my car to CarMax before I trade it in on my Bronco. They give you a written offer that is good for 7 days and there is no pressure. At the very least it gives you a floor for your trade in value during negotiations (CarMax offers are take it or leave it). Just keep in mind, in many states to get credit for your trade in against the new vehicle's purchase price for tax purposes, they have to be on the same transaction so factor that into any offer.

i just priced my potential trade in and they are 4k over next closest

 

[kput]

Keep in mind when *trading in for a new purchase* if you sell the vehicle to CarMax, rather than trading in at a dealer, you will likely lose any sales tax credit you'd have by trading (depending on the state).
In Omaha, it's a 7% tax rate, so you'll lose 7% of the trade value of the car if you sell it. Just make sure CarMax's offer is at least 7% higher and you're fine lol.

P.s. CarMax can and will offer more on vehicles than a local dealer can 90% of the time, because they have a Nationwide market, and the ability to ship the vehicle to wherever the market is hot. If you walk into your dealer demanding what CarMax is offering, he'll probably tell you to take it there and come back with a check.

 

[Kos]

Keep in mind when *trading in for a new purchase* if you sell the vehicle to CarMax, rather than trading in at a dealer, you will likely lose any sales tax credit you'd have by trading (depending on the state).
In Omaha, it's a 7% tax rate, so you'll lose 7% of the trade value of the car if you sell it. Just make sure CarMax's offer is at least 7% higher and you're fine lol.

P.s. CarMax can and will offer more on vehicles than a local dealer can 90% of the time, because they have a Nationwide market, and the ability to ship the vehicle to wherever the market is hot. If you walk into your dealer demanding what CarMax is offering, he'll probably tell you to take it there and come back with a check.

I mentioned that at the end, and the offer sheet from CarMax had a the very bottom in large print what the tax benefits would be to use the car as a trade in on a new car from them. On this deal I want to say it was $1,600. So I would still be $1,400 better off than my next highest offer and it would be part of my "floor" calculation for negotiations on my Bronco purchase.

 

[TheKim]

Carmax and a few others offered me between $8k and $10k for my 2014 Fusion. Found a private buyer for $15k and am pretty happy with the spare $5k I made on it. Paid for my PPF, tint, and ceramic coating. Just saying, check the private market as well, and consider selling privately for a few extra grand if you're willing to do the work for it.

 

[Swordofthemorning]

Back in August last year they offered me $5k over my lease payoff for my Challenger R/T. Wouldn't have ever imagined a ROI on a lease term lmao.

Carmax must love challengers, I sold my 2017 Scat Pack Shaker about 6 months ago and I ended up getting very close to what I paid for it brand new! It had really low miles but still, the car market right now is wild!

 

[westyer]

Carmax also has some 2 and 4 door Broncos listed for sale on their website. Over MSRP but they are there.

 

[Cornbred]

Try autonation as well, I sold a F250 to them in the middle of the “pandemic.” I had it listed on autotrader and they called. So I drove up there and the manager asked what I wanted, told him my amount and he said let’s do it. They had one used truck on the entire lot at that time.

 

[Sassy BD]

Go ahead and snicker at the name. I know I did. I sold a 16 Ford Explorer to Vroom.com.

I was skeptical about the online trade-in at first. However, Ford dealer I purchased the Bronco from only offered $8k and scrutinized the hell out of a perfectly sound, well taken care of vehicle. Random used dealer offered $5k (ahem).

Then came the online appraisals, which I am glad I took the time to explore. Carmax was $16k-ish and had hoops to jump through. Carvana was a lower $16k. But as soon as I got the Vroom appraisal I was satisfied and stopped trying to make heads or tails of the spectrum. Vroom.com, FTW, was over $17k with no hassle, no pre-inspection, no long delay on net proceeds, no post-closing issues.

I am sure it is all relative. Check them all. It doesn't cost anything but time to shop it around.

 

[Roger123]

I’m jealous of these states that allow a tax break for trading in. In VA if you buy a brand new car and trade it the next day you pay full sales tax again but our sales tax on cars is pretty low, 4.15%

 

[4xFord]

While my Bronco was being shipped I was checking edmunds.com daily to keep up with my trade-in value. As some may know Edmunds is now owned by CarMax so before I received my value I was always prompted with "We have something special for you!" followed by a CarMax offer. Nothing exciting there but what was interesting was the fact that the offer changed every day! Within a two week span I received offers ranging from $18,600 to $20,200. Offers are good for seven days so just redeem the best one at CarMax or ask your dealer to match (less any tax savings). Worked for me.

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