CarMax — Local services in Renton

I drove 3 hours one way for my pre-approved trade in and test drive appointment. I had all documents submitted online and everything was in writing and ready to go. My test drive appointment was at 7:30pm and I arrived on time. I was told by Steve (mgr) that there were multiple walk ins before my arrival that the nice weather must have brought in and to have a seat, they would be with me as soon as possible as all the team were currently assisting others. Steve also offered to pay me and my friend back for the lunch we carried in with us, with receipt proof due to the inconvenience, which was very nice of him and this information was provided to him for the $50 reimbursement. After about 30 minutes of eating and waiting to be helped, Steve gave me the opportunity to go look at the vehicle but just could not test drive it yet since the associates were still unavailable to help me. I was not given exact location of the vehicle but just a proximity and after looking around and asking for help when I finally saw another associate, I was able to find the vehicle and loved it. I went back inside and we waited another 2 hours before we were able to be helped and by this time it was 930pm. Frederick was the associate who took over the paperwork portion of this and even after showing everything and it was all exactly as it was sent to me, being approved for $0 down, another representative came out from the office area, and questioned if Frederick entered the information correctly, which then management was involved because it "didn't look right" and they suspected because even though I was a military non-resident I should still owe money. Management then told Frederick to re-process and it reflected I owed $2k down. I disagreed and told them that I would not be paying that as it was initially approved for $0 and all info was put in and correct. The back button was hit and the amount went up even more, stating I know owed close to $4k down. I was super frusterated and confused but could not get answers as the manager advised banks were closed (by now it was 1130pm) and they would have to revisit in the morning. I handed my plates back and they brought my trade in back out front, taking the new car that I was supposed to be driving away in back to the lot. It was a bit humiliating, not to mention I had to drive another 3 hours back home. The next morning I received a call from Steve, the manager, who advised he thinks it was a system glitch (which is what I had been stating had to have happened, especially since the numbers changed twice) and I agreed he could re-run the application (hard hit to my credit 3 times, but was told it would go away eventually) and everything was back to where it started with $0 down. I set an appointment to drive back 3 hours to finalize the paperwork again and was told I would be VIP, and to pull up to the bay area for service and they would have me in and out in 20 minutes. I cannot remember this guy's name in the office but he was very rude, just very cold, when I approached the service desk and told him I was there. I think his name was Dustin? Anyway he told me I was late for my appointment and they had other people to help before me (again). I tried to explain I had hit traffic but was returning from the night prior but he just stared at me and told me to have a seat. He was the same person who said there was an issue with the paperwork when there wasn't and caused the madness in the first place, questioning Frederick. I sat and I ended up getting my car 4 hours later!!! I drove back home 3 hours and all was well, but I received a call the following day asking me to come back due to a missing form. I told them absolutely not, that is quite the drive and I've had a very exhausting experience and I would not be able to go back right away due to my work schedule as well. He offered to overnight the form and I was able to get that sent back a couple days later. Just wanted to highlight my experience at the Renton office. Frederick was a rock-star and Steve was great but this...

Wanted to 5-star CarMax, but after 60 days with my new car, I’m noticing that not everything lives up to what’s advertised. Here's a detailed honest review, hope it helps anyone considering Carmax.

Intro: I was happy to pay the premium price for the ease of purchase and financing, and the added security of their 120-point inspection and 90-day/4,000-mile warranty. I chose CarMax expecting a higher standard and greater peace of mind, but I’m now questioning the quality assurance behind the sale.

Ease of Purchase: 4 ⭐️ • Super easy online process. Clear, thorough photos, 360° views, service history. This part was honestly great and it totally beats sitting at a dealer negotiating for half a day. • Trade in was great as well, simple and hassle free online, fair price • Being at the office to pick up actually took much longer. They told me approx 30mins since I had everything in order already, but it ended up taking 2.5 hours, most of it sitting around. I had to send my sleepy baby home with dad.

Customer Service: 3 ⭐️ • pre-purchase: good, lots of communication and updates via phone, email, text. I did have 2 agents calling me at about the same thing a couple times, so it seems like they both grabbed my case by accident. • post-sale: Professional and helpful overall. We had a few communication and expectation mishaps that got sorted out eventually, but they cost extra time and energy. Also, this is now the second time the Service Department hasn’t returned voicemails I left during business hours—which makes me question the consistency of post-sale support.

Condition as Described: 3 ⭐️ • The car looked immaculate in photos, but when it arrived, it was clear that the “deep clean” had missed some pretty obvious spots—splatter on the ceiling, dirty cupholders, grime on the door panels. I was in a rush to get home, so I let it go and wiped it all down myself. • The exterior also shows signs that the clear coat was buffed out in areas, revealing basecoat swirls in certain lighting. That wasn’t visible in the listing photos. • Mechanically, I expected everything to be in excellent condition, especially because of the 120-point inspection they highlight. I purposely paid more than I would at a typical dealer trusting that CarMax holds its vehicles to a higher standard. My last car (from a Honda dealer) had only a basic safety inspection, and I ended up paying for more inspections and repairs almost immediately. So this time, I skipped getting a PPI during the return window (my mistake).

Within the first 60 days, I’ve noticed: • A missing tire valve cap • Passenger window shakes when rolling up • Headlight flickers intermittently • Squeaking in drive • Rattling in the passenger door

I took it in to Service for the squeaking and door rattling and they did some work on it based on their diagnosis, but the issues were not resolved so I need to bring it back and get them to address the other items. I am grateful for the 90-day warranty, it's just annoying to have to keep going back, I'm a busy mom.

I also read someone else’s review where they got a 3rd party inspection and found fluids weren’t even topped off. That stuck with me, especially since CarMax doesn’t actually provide any documentation or disclosure of the inspection they claim to have done. Now, I’ll be getting a 3rd party inspection myself—and I really hope I don’t find more issues that should’ve been addressed before it ever hit the lot.

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Final Thoughts: CarMax promotes a premium buying experience built on trust, transparency, and quality. That's exactly what I was willing to pay for. But the lack of follow through on basic details, combined with the absence of proof for their 120-pt inspection makes it hard to fully recommend them in good faith. If they want to stand behind their brand, they need to provide actual disclosure and accountability, not just marketing buzzwords. Strong concept, but in the end it’s the follow through and integrity that really matter.

Still, I love my car. It's everything I wanted (except for the dirty...

This was our fourth car we had purchased from CarMax. We started out our search online and made sure to filter specifically through for vehicles that had all of our needs. We found what we thought was the perfect car about 4 hours from home (and out-of-state). We could have paid $99 to have it brought down to us but we decided to make a day of it and drive up. We filled out all of the contracts in advance and expected a quick '30-minute pick-up'. This 30-minutes turned into closer to two hours... no big deal, just not what we were told. When we did the contract prior to coming up we were told CarMax would be handling our DMV paperwork (even though they made us sign a POA for them to handle things with the DMV before telling us this) and even were charged for the DMV fees. When it came to finishing the signing of our paperwork we were asked to sign a paper saying all DMV fees were our responsibility. I pointed out that the fees had been included on our contract and they ended up giving it back to us in cash. They also gave us only a three-day DMV permit... which we weren't told about until signing was over. We managed to make it work, just more stuff they didn't tell us about in advance. We get home and find out that one of our key features that CarMax had quoted wasn't in fact included in the car. I reached out to CarMax about it and was told "it should be there" and to take it to my local dealer to confirm. Meanwhile, I get an email from the business office asking me to provide proof I went to the DMV... even though they had a POA that allowed them to reach out to the DMV themselves. I replied to the business office with the proof, and wrote back about the missing feature being confirmed by the dealer to not be included in the vehicle. I also talked about how the cost at the DMV was more than double what they told me it was going to be. This was all 10 days ago... CarMax has never replied back to me since. I can forgive a lot of things... most of what's listed here is an inconvenience above all else. The lack of customer service however, that's something I think everyone should know about and is a big part of the low star rating.

Overall, I don't regret purchasing from CarMax again. While the missing feature was part of our needed options... we love the car and really aren't looking to return it at the same. It'll suck, and it'll be a reminder of how CarMax handled this situation... but it is what it is. I don't discourage people from going to CarMax, and their warranty (MaxCare) is unlike anything I've ever seen (a big part of why we purchase from them)... I just want people to know that if there is an issue during the sale, CarMax may be less than helpful with a resolution/may completely drop off the face...