Anyone have experience with CarMax? Nissan?

[charlie and algernon]

My current car is near death, meaning it's at the point where repairs are starting to cost as much as the entire car is worth. So I have an appointment at a CarMax store to have them appraise my car. I'm not expecting to get more than $500, but that's probably more than I can get if I sell it myself.
Anyone have experience using CarMax or know someone who has? Are they good with their offers? How are the cars they sell?

I'm also leaning towards getting a Nissan Sentra. They get good mileage and even the new ones are relatively inexpensive. Anyone have a Sentra? Or Nissan's in general?


edit: Meant the SENTRA, have no idea where I pulled the Selantra out of

[raccoon]

1. I bought a car from them in '04. It's been a good car, Toyota Camry. nt

[charlie and algernon]

4. did you sell your car to them too?

Did they give you a good offer?

[raccoon]

5. No, I didn't sell it to them. nt

[bigwillq]

2. I've had three Nissans

and loved them all. Good cars.

[NJmaverick]

3. I have a Nissan Murano. While I like the vehicle

I have to say in terms of fit and finish and reliability it has been under whelming. I see no difference between Nissan and my previous experiences with Ford, Chevy and Dodge.

[charlie and algernon]

6. I'm starting to hear that re: underwhelming

Both US News and World Report and Car and Drive said it's a little under whelming. I'll have to take a test drive and see how it feels.

[seemunkee]

7. Bought my wife's Honda Accord through them

They gave us a good price on our trade-in. It had an oil burning problem and we didn't think we could sell it easily.

[Lars39]

8. We bought a van from them a long time ago.

My husband was so impressed with the sales group that he briefly considered working for them. We found them to be totally up-front about things. Even got things fixed under warranty there.

[MajorChode]

9. Carmax is usually only interested in buying late model cars in good shape

At least that's what they told me when I brought my last car to them to have an appraisal. My car was in good shape and they made me a better offer than what I could have gotten in trade at a new car dealership. I still sold it myself and got a bit more than what Carmax had offered. In retrospect, I'm not sure if it was worth the trouble.

[charlie and algernon]

13. I'm not expecting much for it

I would be ecstatic if I got anywhere near $500 for it.

[MajorChode]

15. Put an ad in the paper

You'd be surprised at how many people are looking for a cheap car. I had to sell a car for my in-laws that I figured was only worth about $500. I put an ad in the paper for $1,000 just to see what happened and sold the car by noon on the day the ad came out and my phone was ringing off the hook all day long.

[Beer on a stick]

10. One word for you, over and over: Honda Honda Honda Honda Honda Honda Honda

Nissan's are OK, but nothing comes close to the reliability of a Honda.

[charlie and algernon]

12. I like Honda, but they're a bit outside my price range.

The local CarMax has a 2006 Ford Fusion that looks really good. Car and Driver had very little bad to say about it, only that they didn't like the interior. I'm going to check that car out and some of their Mazdas.

[EndersDame]

17. I am a big Mazda fan

They are fun to drive and are pretty reliable

[Beer on a stick]

18. Mazdas are also better than Nissan.

[MilesColtrane]

11. I bought a 2001 Pathfinder from CarMax five years ago.

Their web site gives you an idea of what they have available near you.

I looked at that, then researched model reliability through Consumer Reports.

I went to the lot and looked at a couple, then test drove my car...went home and pulled a CarFax report on it to check it out more thoroughly.

When I went back to buy it, I had intended upon having my credit union finance the car, but CarMax beat their interest rate, so I went with them.

Salesmen were low-key and I never felt pressured. They gave me all the time I wanted to read through the paperwork.

Except for a computer problem that cropped up a couple of years ago, the car has performed excellently.

Only thing I would have done differently was to buy an extended third party warranty while I was still making payments.

[elana i am]

14. carmax is good

i have no opinion on nissan.

carmax exceeded my expectations, which were low to begin with. you have to sign a shitload of papers, but they do everything for you. when i had to get a copy of the title for the old car i was trading (93 pontiac grand am - 12 year old beat up piece of shit - i got $1000 dollars for it!), they called the title holder for me and gave me a ride over to the bank that had it. and of course there's no pushiness and haggling.

[Fleshdancer]

16. My mom sold her car to carmax and got more than she expected

Just because they appraise your car doesn't mean you have to take their offer. If you don't get what you want for it, try to sell it on your own. I think their appraisals are good for a few weeks.

I can't say enough good things about CarMax. No pressure, no stress, good cars, etc. Good luck!

[charlie and algernon]

20. They said I'd have 7 days to decide if I want to accept their offer

I'm glad the reviews here all seem to be positive about CarMax. My appointment is tonight, so I'll have to update everyone how it went.

[Fleshdancer]

22. I thought it was longer than that

My mom was offered more than the blue book value so I would be surprised if you didn't get a decent deal out of it.

[WCIL]

19. We had a 1991 Sentra

It never gave us any trouble in the 10 years we owned it, and my nephew still drives it. It is not a luxury car by any means, and knobs would fall off every once in a while, but it started every time and never left us stranded. We wished we had kept it for our teens to drive.

[Rambis]

21. 1996 Altima 175,000 goin strong

best car I have every owned-

[charlie and algernon]

23. nice, my current car is a 1997 Chrysler Cirrus 150,000 and it is dying

[ChickMagic]

24. We got our car from CarMax

And it's been great. They offer a fair price for the old one.

[mnhtnbb]

25. I bought from CarMax in 2003 and sold my car to them. I got more

than I was hoping for at the time for my "trade-in".

I sold that car back to them last spring. I didn't get as much as I would have hoped, but that was
because I had some minor hail and paint damage which I hadn't fixed.

I have had several Nissans over the years and loved them. We bought an Altima for our son
in 2003 and Nissan honored their warranty for engine replacement when his engine died.

[poiuytsister]

26. I bought a new Sentra last year.

I have a 60 mile a day commute and kind of splurged to get a brand new car. My best friend has a 2010 Maxima, her husband has a Nissan pick up and their daughter has a Nissan SUV (?). I love my Sentra and and am happy with the mileage -33-34 mpg.

BTW I would have bought a Prius but I went shopping when gas was at it's worst last year and there was not a Prius to be had, and if there was I could not have afforded it.

[nytemare]

27. Car Max offers more than car dealerships in my experience.

I've had 2 cars appraised at car max, and each time they offered 1500-2000 more than the car dealerships offered. I ended up selling private party for more than they offered, but it is good to know they offer so much more than a dealership.

[charlie and algernon]

28. ** UPDATE ** I bought a 2006 Ford Fusion SE from Carmax tonight

I got the 500 for my old car. I ended up getting a 2006 Ford Fusion SE. It's a beautiful black, get's decent gas mileage at 32 hwy/24 city. I paid a little more than I wanted, but its worth it, I love this car.