Looking for a Used Car?
Thinking of shopping CARMAX?
Buyer Beware!!!!!
Let me preface this by saying that no one is more on board with the no hassle approach of selling used or new cars that I am. I have been a loyal customer of the CARMAX in GARLAND, TX for a very long time, having purchased 4 vehicles there over the last 9 years and my wife and I both have recommend them to friends and relatives who have bought cars from them all over the country, but NO MORE. Why the change of heart you may ask?
Simple answer THE REPAIR SERVICE AT CARMAX ABSOLUTELY STINKS.
This was not always the case. Up until about two or three years ago, service at the Garland store was everything you could want. The work was done right the FIRST TIME and I never had any cause to doubt their competence or honesty. UNTIL ....
2007- My front wheel was making a grinding sound and I took it in to have it checked. I was told that the CV joint/shaft combo, that I had replaced about 18 months earlier was bad and needed replaced. I was also told that it was out of warranty. I agreed to the repair, it was finished and on the way home from picking it up the same grinding noise returned. When I got it home, I removed the front wheel and found that a pebble was wedged in the disc brake backing plate and was rubbing on the rotor was causing the problem. It took me all of 2 minutes to find it. When I called the CARMAX service department about it, the service writer said that he was "unable to find the old CV joint to check it out" but that he would look into it. When I called back a few days later, he said "Well, maybe the pebble was making the noise, but I saw the cv joint and it did have a bit of "bind" to it and probably needed replaced anyway". When I asked to see the cv joint, I was told they no longer had it. COST TO ME FOR AN UNNECESSARY REPAIR $300 plus two days car rental.
2007- My vehicle was due for a timing belt replacement, so I made an appointment and took the car in. They also recommended that the water pump and drive belts be replaced at the same time, which seemed prudent. The work took a day longer than promised and then on the way home the car over heated. I pulled in to a parking lot, checked under the hood and found that the service tech had not replaced all of the coolant. Fortunately an auto parts store was nearby and I was able to refill the cooling system before any major damage occurred. POOR QUALITY CONTROL if not INCOMPETENCE almost cast me an engine.
2008- After a long trip, my vehicle was running rough, so I took it into CARMAX to have it checked out. They recommended changing sparkplugs and some other ignition parts. On the way home after the repairs, it was running as bad if not worse than when I took it in. I took it back the next day and after a few hours later I get a call saying I need an additional $120 worth of spark plug wires. I don't have any problem with needing parts, but are they trying to tell me that the tech who worked on the car did not test drive it after he finished it the first time? Thats the only way he could have possible not known that the car was still not running right. POOR QUALITY CONTROL cost me another day's car rental needlessly.
After this episode, I had a face to face meeting with the service manager. We discussed my service experiences visit by visit. I pointed out what had gone right or wrong on each one and he was quick to point out that techs had been let go for exactly the same reasons as I was bringing up. He apologized , paid for my extra day's rental and comped me on the wires and labor. I felt better about things and felt like I had been listened to. Then....
2009- My check engine light comes on. I check the codes and discover that the knock sensor is bad and there is an error on the catalytic converter also. At the same time my air conditioner stops working. I make an appointment and take it in. After discussing repair costs, I decide to have the knock sensor replaced and the air fixed and wait on the catalytic converter to see if the knock sensor is causing the catalytic converter error. The repair took a while, and about a week after I got it back, I started hearing a pretty loud exhaust leak. Since I knew the converter might be bad, I took the car to a local exhaust shop to have it checked out. Turns out that the exhaust leak was not due to my catalytic converter at all, but from bolts on the rear exhaust manifold that were not replaced when the engine was torn down to replace the knock sensor. Incompetence strikes again. I just spent $600 plus 4 days car rental for another shoddily done repair.
Folks, that does it for me, no more repairs at CARMAX and no more purchases there either.
I guess I could still buy there and just have the service done elsewhere, but consider this. The same incompetent techs who were busy not fixing my car correctly are the same guys who do their "125+ point vehicle inspection" on the cars before they are sold. If they were unable to find a pebble sticking out of a piece of metal that was rubbing on my wheel and making a very loud noise, what are the odds that any vehicle is being properly inspected?
You may also ask, is it as bad at another CARMAX store? The answer would be "who knows?" But are you prepared to take that risk?
Don't take my word for it
Here are a few links you can follow to read other people's experiences.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/bycompany/carmax-a1859.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/carmax.html
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/154/RipOff0154193.htm
http://www.screwedcentral.com/ubb/Forum34/HTML/000002.html