Is CarMax a Good Place To Buy a Car?

So you want to buy a car. What make and model do you want? And perhaps a tougher question: where should you buy your vehicle?

Options are plentiful. You can visit a local dealership. There’s always Craigslist. You can consider no-haggle companies such as CarGurus, CarMax, Carvana and Vroom. Some people use Autotrader.

Money expert Clark Howard has a specific point of view on the car-buying process.

Does he think CarMax is the best possible option to buy a car? That’s what a listener of the Clark Howard Podcast recently asked.

Is CarMax a Good Place To Buy a Car?

How good is CarMax? That’s what a listener wanted to know on the April 25 podcast episode.

Asked Andrew in Virginia: “Is CarMax a good place to buy a car?”

Clark is such a big CarMax fan that he knows off the top of his head that the defunct electronics store Circuit City started it in Richmond, Virginia in the 1990s.

“CarMax is awesome. And it has become a thriving enterprise,” says Clark, who loves no-haggle vehicle sales.

“I like the clear disclosures. The price is laid out for you. You know exactly what the vehicle’s going to cost. They don’t play any games with you.”

Why CarMax Shines for Used Vehicles

Traditional car brand dealerships or used car lots often imparted a “you buy it, you keep it” policy on used vehicles. That’s where CarMax and its competitors really excel, Clark says: used car sales.

The best part? If you don’t like the vehicle, you can return it for a refund as long as you meet some basic conditions.

According to the CarMax website, you have 30 days (up to 1,500 miles) to decide to return your vehicle.

During that time, Clark wants you to follow a few key points:

• Review the terms. In addition to the right to get a refund, CarMax offers a 90-day warranty (up to 4,000 miles). You should probably know these ownership boundaries and rights before you drive a CarMax-purchased vehicle.
• Go for a few joy rides. Make sure that you love the car and that it lives up to your expectations. Consider it a real-world extended test drive.
• Bring it to a mechanic. A good mechanic is a secret weapon when it comes to buying a used vehicle. You absolutely should get an independent mechanic to check out any used vehicle that you want to buy. “If there’s a problem you were not aware of that’s going to bite you in the wallet later, then use that time period to return it,” Clark says.

Clark rejects the old no-refund way.

“Sellers of used vehicles who don’t give you the right to return a vehicle for a full refund within a period of time? That’s poison to your pocketbook,” Clark says. “And they are not deserving of your business.”

Final Thoughts

Clark’s no-nonsense approach to buying vehicles has some practical logic.

Buying from a traditional dealership may not be as risky as it was pre-internet. But there’s still an art to negotiating well — and to dodging those wallet-sucking extras in the finance and insurance department.

A successful car purchase always starts with research. That can include studying cars with great value, safety ratings and that last a long time. But it also means understanding the current market — and market pricing — for the make and model you want.

However, CarMax is a great place to buy a used vehicle according to Clark.