CarMax — Attraction in Burbank

I am part of management where I work, and part of my role has been to occasionally seek out good, low mileage used vehicles for our org to purchace. In fact not only did we end up purchasing one over the last 3 months, we currently need another; and last week I did a 24 hour test drive of a 2024 Nissan Kicks, with less than 20K miles. The car checked out great with our company mechanic, and all the staff who would be driving the vehicle gave me the thumbs up. I thought we were going to be good to go and there was only one very small but very important detail, which was that this 2024 vehicle had some kind of cheesy aftermarket car mats that did not fit the car properly and that covered the anchors that keep them from being pushed over the gas pedal. I brought up to the salesperson that would be the only thing keeping us from buying it, and I honestly thought it would not be a big deal since they're not expensive, not even for brand new ones from the dealer. I was shocked to find out that even after he talked to his manager they wouldn't get the proper, safe, floor mats for the vehicle. Just a side note, those anchors exist because people have died because floor mats can slip up over the gas pedal. You would think that with such a huge safety concern CarMax would not want to risk somebody's life or a lawsuit that could come from them not putting the proper floor mats. When I brought the vehicle back the sales guy confirmed that they wouldn't be doing that to make the sale. I also found out during that trip to CarMax that the previous car that we bought only came with one key, and that this one has only one key as well. The salesman mentioned to me that it has become pretty common for vehicles to only have one key and that CarMax policy is they now charge the customer to make a second key fob. They also released the reserve I had on the vehicle as soon as I left the lot. This has all left a very bad taste in my mouth. The sales guy I worked with was awesome but you could tell by his demeanor he is also not happy with recent new policies that are making his job tough. In my personal life over the last several years I have sold cars to CarMax and also test drove cars that I wanted to possibly purchase, and went back there with my company because of how impressed I was with their business model. However this experience has caused me to not only rethink CarMax, but also do some research and what I found out is that recently CarMax's focus has shifted to meeting sales targets and cutting costs, which may have led to a decrease in quality control and service. Some customers report issues with vehicle quality and communication with staff after the sale. Additionally, economic factors like inflation and rising interest rates have made cars less affordable, impacting the used car market as a whole. It definitely shows CarMax, I'm probably going to go try to go elsewhere for our company's current need for a good low mileage used...

I arrived at Carmax a little after 2pm, letting my sales agent know I had to leave by 4:30pm at the latest as I had a work meeting. I was also selling my old car. At 4:25pm he finally got the ball rolling on the sale of my old car only to tell me there was a problem with the title. I had to cancel my meeting and race to the DMV in order to fix this before they closed. WHY this took 2 hours to check is beyond wild, it could have been done the moment I arrived as the car I was purchasing was one I had shipped from another location and on hold for me. When I returned I was extremely frustrated with him and the situation, luckily all was fixed at the DMV but he had the nerve to speak with me in a rude tone claiming he was matching mine. Dude you had me waiting and going over things instead of checking important paperwork and honoring my time.

He also refused to show me the information before or after I purchased a MaxCare plan and said that would be included in the paperwork I receive after signing everything and purchasing the car. How can you ask someone to purchase something only there and then without giving them the terms and information about what they are purchasing?? He made it a point to say he had to get approval from a manager to have it printed so I could read the terms! He also seemed annoyed that I read over all of the terms of the contract in both selling my old car and purchasing the new one.

I was finally out the door just after signing everything with the new car after more than 5 hours (left at 7:40pm) and noticed I couldn't connect to the manufacturer's app. I walked back in and was told that it took a few days for Carmax to send over. It wasn't. I had to contact the manufacturer because the old owner was still registered and took a week to fix.

I was also told by the sales agent anything missing from the car, to let him know. The next day I noticed the trim was missing and the charger. The stock photos Carmax had also showed the missing trim. I emailed and called two times each (noticed the trim midday and the charger in the evening) but no response. The next day a different representative called and asked me to resend the images of the missing trim then said they couldn't open the files and I needed to bring the car in. I asked her to check the stock photos that clearly showed the missing part and was told once the car leaves it doesn't matter. I asked for a supervisor, who then apologized and said the stock photos were more than sufficient to show the...

EDIT * 2/27/25 * IN RESPONSE TO CARMAX'S REPLY -

YOU USE YOUR PAYING CUSTOMERS TO EXPENSE YOUR OWN INTERSTATE TRANSPORT OF VEHICLES.

YOU ARE NOT "HERE TO HELP" WHEN YOU HANG THE PHONE UP, OPENLY MAKE FUN OF, AND HARASS A CUSTOMER THAT HAS PAID YOU $700/MONTH SINCE DECEMBER 2020.

"We're here to help" is simply a JOKE where every single employee that I attempted to speak to regarding this issue for MONTHS has done NOTHING but repeat the baseless, generic statements re Carmax's right to refuse to do business. You are handing the title of "manager" to individuals who cannot even speak on the issue of stolen funds that you request, accept, and keep for the "shipping" and "reservation" of a specific vehicle from another State where you decide to send a random cancellation of my appointment, refuse to allow me to proceed with the purchase, AND IGNORE EVERY SINGLE QUESTION AND ATTEMPT MADE TO REQUEST OR INQUIRE UPON THE STOLEN $200."

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

Misleading Communication and Unexpected Service Denial at CarMax [Burbank]

As a loyal CarMax customer since 2020 (PAYING IN EXCESS $700 PER MONTH), I recently attempted to purchase my second vehicle in February 2025. My experience revealed concerning business practices:

After initiating the purchase process for a second vehicle, I received written communication indicating there would be a phone call to discuss the vehicle purchase. However, this call was actually used to inform me of an unexplained refusal to do business - a classic "bait and switch" communication tactic.

During the process, I was charged $200 for interstate vehicle shipping without proper authorization. This charge remains unaddressed despite multiple attempts to resolve the issue.

A CarMax representative who introduced himself as "Manager Manuel" refused to provide full identification or credentials when requested, despite my status as a 5-year customer. This lack of transparency is particularly concerning when dealing with significant financial transactions.

The company's actions raise several concerns: Misrepresenting the purpose of official communications Unauthorized shipping charges Lack of management accountability Unexplained denial of service to an established customer

I have documented all communications and charges related to this incident.

Potential customers should be aware of these practices before choosing to do business...