Carmax Lied About Transmission Rockville Maryland
I've been looking for a car for about two months now and decided that maybe Carmax would be a good place to go. My parents both have cars from there and they have a $1400 credit from a lawsuit filed against them. I found a Mazda Mazda3 in Virginia that i liked and asked to have it transfered. It took over a week to hear anything from someone and when we did, WE called them. We were told the earliest it could be in was monday. I called monday and was told "Cool your jets" by one of the sales reps, Gary. I waited until Friday and called again. I was interrupted several times and finally got to talk to my personal sales rep. He said that it wasn't in yet (but when we had talked earlier it was supposed to be in by then) and that it might come in that night or saturday. We waited until Monday when my mother finally called and they said it didn't pass MD inspection because the radiator leaked and the struts were bad. Perhaps Maryland cares more about a working car than Virginia, but i highly doubt it. These guys tried to sell me a 10k car with 99k miles on it, a leaky radiator with bad struts AND WE'RE GOING TO TELL ME. Thank god the inspection guys caught it. More history on Carmax: the reason we were awarded the $1400 credit was because Carmax didn't tell its customers that some of the cars they were selling were rentals or fleet vehicles.
Word of advice: just because they're bigger doesn't mean they're better or aren't going to try to swindle you any less. They were going to let me drive off the lot with a car that potentially could've cost me a lot of money to repair. (i couldn't afford the repair warranty)
I highly doubt that this was VA's mistake in catching the radiator and struts problems, so beware of Carmax.
Kati
woodsboro, Maryland
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Booninator
College Park,Maryland,
U.S.A.
Next time check a small local car dealership. See how good that goes for you when the car falls apart
#3Consumer Comment
Tue, June 09, 2009
I fully agree with IMRight. There isnt a magical MD Inspection fairy that goes around inspecting cars. It was a Carmax associate who did it. Therefor instead of Carmax "Trying to sell" you a car that had problems it was actually Carmax "Refusing to sell" you a car that had problems by doing the inspection to MD requirements. It is well known that VA standards are more laid back than MD standards. If you looked at them online before pointing the finger of blame you might educate yourself a bit and keep yourself from looking silly in the future.
Regarding the fleet vehicle. You know that your parents would have bought it anyways, at least I hope they would have. It was a good deal, because it would have been the same deal. It would not have impacted the sale one bit if they know what they are doing. They would have still inspected and tested the car for themselves and deemed it acceptable or unacceptable. They were just lucky to receive a payment from a class action lawsuit. Its silly to make them out to be the ones who brought about the case.
Imright
Silver Spring,Maryland,
U.S.A.
Where is the Rip Off?
#3Consumer Comment
Sun, May 03, 2009
Where was the Rip off? Did you have to pay for the transfer? If so did you get a full refund? First of all, Carmax did not sell the vehicle which was not in proper condition. Now, every State has different inspection standards, and a car in VA could pass or fail in MD for a variety of reason and vice versa. For example, Aftermarket window tint on a Maryland Passenger vehicle (Sedan, coupe, wagon) would fail an inspection. Also, Carmax technicians perform their own State inspections, and more than likely found the issues with the vehicle. I know this, because My vehicle was inspected at the laurel location, and the address on my copy of the inspection station was the same, as the address of the Carmax I purchased my F150 from.
Now for the Prior history disclosure, it was a class action settlement in which Carmax failed to disclose the prior history of a vehicle in certain categories, such as if it was a Rental, or Fleet vehicle, according to the settlement info I received. However, this does not speak to the mechanical condition of the vehicle. think about it, a vehicle in a rental fleet has to be maintained to certain standards for the rental companies success, as well as state law. Therefore, a rental vehicle, could be in better condition than some other vehicles. Also, the last time i purchased a vehicle at carmax, they went out of their way to disclose the prior history of a vehicle in accordance with Maryland Law, and even gave me copies of the report of after i purchased my Ford. They even had the same report online, so me or anyone could review the history of the vehicle, before i arrived at the dealer.
My advise is to simply ask questions when you are unclear about something, and they will clarify your uncertainty. Also be sure to clarify your confusion before yelling "rip-off"