Complaint Review: Car Max

I never thought of it like that. If anyone was ripped off it was the warranty provider, but most, if not all those companies are scumbags anyway, so who cares if they got hit up.

Bottom line, you got 2 years worth of repairs worth thousands taken care of. It was clearly time to ditch the car before the warranty ran out, OR it was up to you to have the sense, were you that tied to keeping the car, to take out another extended warranty on your own, as I once did with an aging car, figuring, rightly in the end, it was cheaper than buying another used car whose demons I wouldn't know. Better to stick with the devil you know if your costs for doing so will be capped by some kind of coverage.

If you'd bought this nightmare from anyone other than Carmax, they probably would have given you loads of problems covering any repairs, and even then only up to maybe a month out.

I don't know what you expect from a pre sale inspection, but with many parts it is simply impossible to gauge how much life they have left. Most of these inspections are merely visual for whatever is visibly wrong to the naked eye. Any leaks certainly should have been caught, but they did fix afterward those you listed. Most GM products from that period were made like garbage. That any of these parts lasted a decade was a miracle. Even a garbage car will probably be relatively trouble free if babied to the extreme, as Ken indicated he did with his, but nobody could tell you or Carmax how this car fared before they got it, other than whether it was in a crash.

Stop whining already and deal with your purchase choice. I've had my nightmare cars too. It happens.

Carmax ripping off the warranty company?

NOW TELL ME ITS NOT A LEMON AND THAT THIS CAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN SOLD!
- It's not a lemon...it is a 10 year old car with 70K miles.

Lemon Laws in general only apply to NEW cars.  In most states there are no Lemon Laws for Used Cars.  Now Virginia does appear to have a Lemon Law for Used Cars but it only applies as long as the original manufacturer warranty is still in effect, which on your 10 year old car is long expired.

These are not items that wear out this quickly.
- Oh Really?  So ALL of those repairs are because the car is a "lemon".  So just how long should a Fuel Filter last?  While some of those items should last longer, you have no idea how the car was treated before CarMax got it.  Oh and by the way CarMax has no idea how it was treated either.

If they are trying to Rip you off it looks like they are not very good at it.  Because it looks like they had to fix most of these issues under warranty.

For the sceptics out there, here is the list of items that have been repaired on my  01 Cadillac (70,000 miles) in a 2 year period and this is after the 125 inspection process:

Replacement of the fuel injection system
Intake trottle boot
Manifold gasket
Crankshaft sensor (both A and B)
Fuel Filter
Front window regulator
2x Idle air control valve
Passenger side mirroe
A/C High pressure switch
V C Gasket
3x Wheel Alignment
Valve cover gaskets
Starter
Driver side air deflector
Serpentine belt
Air injector pump
Serpentine belt tensioner
2x Complete gasket replacement (All engine and main seals)
2x Left front wheel bearing
Ignition coil packs
Electrical system wiring trace and reconnection
Computer mother board
Used Engine

NOW TELL ME ITS NOT A LEMON AND THAT THIS CAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN SOLD! These are not items that wear out this quickly.

It's hard to accept Car Max ripped you off when came out a clear loser in this too, or at least the warranty firm did. By your own words, they replaced virtually the whole car over 2 years, including the big enchilada, the engine, and that after open heart surgeries on the 1st engine, all incredibly expensive jobs had you no coverage.

You ripped yourself off more, by wanting and buying such an old GM car. Especially as your warranty was nearing the end, given all the trouble till then, you should have resolved to ditch the car before having to shoulder your own repair costs.

By the way, were the transmission and window regulators among the few things that didn't go while under warranty? If so, you could have expected before long, they'd join their brethren in the death house. Especially the transmission.

Post in bold from "anonymous":

"Northstar engine? Anyone, and I mean anyone, knows not buy: A Cadillac with a Northstar engine,...."

Maybe true before 2000, but bugs pretty much worked out of engine.  Mine (2001) has been very reliable and uses NO oil between changes.

I understand the dynamics of this powerful engine and make sure it gets a round of wide open throttle runs on a regular basis.  This IS a high output engine for it's size and this will help keep it in top condition. 

On the highway at 80+ mph, this car reliably attains 28 mpg and can really scat when prompted.

Something catastrophic must have happened to the OP's 2001.

Northstar engine? Anyone, and I mean anyone, knows not buy: A Cadillac with a Northstar engine, a Dodge Intrepid or Dodge Stratus with a 2.7 or a Ford Contour.

Cars are usually considered lemons if purchased new and repeated repair attempts on the same problem are unsuccessful.
Used cars are generally considered as-is.
 
You were sure right to buy the extended warranty.

Was this a salvage car or flood damaged?  Were you able to check its history?

You don't have anything that an attorney would consider for a "class action suit".

Sorry for your troubles, our 2001 Caddy is our favorite car, but it has low miles and has been well maintained as a 1 owner car.

"I wish a lawyer would get involved and have a class action lawsuit filed for the people that have legitimate grievences against Car Max."

That would exclude you.

They honored the extended warranty. The warranty has expired. It is not a lifetime warranty. You have no grounds for a lawsuit. Not a rip off.