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Old 01-27-2014, 12:33 PM
 
Location: Man with a tan hat
799 posts, read 1,543,812 times
Reputation: 1459

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Quote:
Originally Posted by tropicare View Post
Carmax is pretty much no games, it is what it is. Its that simple, your trade is this, the car is this and your payments are this. They have a service dept that will look over the vehicle, change the oil and do some work if needed, send it to detail and sell it.
The dealer knows that vehicle, thats really all they work on if a Fiat dealer, so the tech will know what to look and fix if needed, and do computer updates while in the shop. Then comes the fun part, most dealers will play games, some not as bad as others, but you need to be ready to negotiate. You will usually get a very low offer on your trade, dealer fees, mark up on the interest rate on financing. So just know you will have to do your home work, see what KBB has for a value on your trade, look at what similar cars are selling for, be educated. Get pre-approved at your local bank and see what your interest rate will be. That way you can be educated and make a good choice. I personally buy my cars from the dealer and always buy certified pre-owned so I get the warranty coverage at no extra cost usually. I usually have to leave the dealer and wait a day or two and wait for that phone call, that phone call that the salesman talked to the owner/salesmanager and they can now do this and save you this and get a much better deal. Most of the time people fall in love with a car and want to take it home that day and act with there heart and not brain. They will tell you that there is someone coming in later to test drive the car, and they already talked numbers and might not be here. So just be ready for the games.

This is what I am trying to avoid.

I plan to buy a car, no nonsense, no craziness. I know that some people think haggling is fun, but I would rather just pick my car and drive off into the sunset.
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Old 01-27-2014, 12:42 PM
 
Location: NY
9,131 posts, read 19,866,675 times
Reputation: 11706
Quote:
Originally Posted by whatisthedealwith View Post
This is what I am trying to avoid.

I plan to buy a car, no nonsense, no craziness. I know that some people think haggling is fun, but I would rather just pick my car and drive off into the sunset.
You already said the dealer's advertised prices and incentives are beating the carmax no haggle price.

So you should not have to worry about haggling. If they are willing to sell the car to you below Carmax pricing, then you already have a better deal without the need to haggle them down. This doesn't sound like a concern to me in this situation.
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Old 01-27-2014, 12:49 PM
 
4,497 posts, read 4,992,137 times
Reputation: 13326
You do know that the name FIAT stands for: Fix-It-Again-Tony, don't you ?

Seriously, I've bought 3 cars from Carmax and find them nice to deal with. On the last car I bought, I had a flat tire a week after I bought it, and they put a new set of tires on for me and gave me a free oil change. One thing that I found on all 3 cars was that they did not check the spare "donut" for air and all of them were low on pressure. I brought this to their attention and the service manager made a note of it and said he would inform his service people to be sure to check them. A lot less pressure from them than a new dealership. Plus they will bring in any car you want for you to test drive for free (In most cases).
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Old 01-27-2014, 12:50 PM
 
Location: NH
4,178 posts, read 3,703,156 times
Reputation: 6686
I enjoy buying my cars through Car Sense, pretty much identical to CarMax. They have always given me far more for my trade in than any other dealer even after telling them what other dealers are willing to do. The cars I have purchased have all been less expensive than any other dealers advertised prices and I always get an amazing interest rate. The best part is its no haggle, so these guys areny working for commission so you dont get the typical car dealer feel when you walk in. Another bonus is the amount of time spent there. In and out in less than an hour once I found a car I want to buy.

Regular car dealers are horrible to deal with.
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Old 01-27-2014, 01:34 PM
 
Location: Alexandria
142 posts, read 674,957 times
Reputation: 153
As already stated, if the dealership has incentives which places the price lower than the Carmax no-haggle price, then the dealership is the way to go. But which ever route you take, make sure you have already secured financing prior to walking into the dealership/Carmax.

One thing to consider, if it matters at all to you, Carmax will not replace worn/broken parts with OEM parts, whereas the dealership will only use OEM parts.

I've had mixed results working with Carmax. I've sold 1-car to Carmax and received a better than expected trade-in value and then on my 2nd car, Carmax gave a REALLY low-ball offer... needless to say I didn't sell my 2nd car to them. On both occasions, I declined to buy from Carmax since their prices are higher than what I could get for at the dealership.
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Old 01-27-2014, 01:58 PM
 
4,715 posts, read 10,459,833 times
Reputation: 2186
They all are hit and miss. Shop around - Trade in compare. I used to use CarMax as my trade-in leverage until they started low balling on the trade-in value. If you are getting a certified pre-owned from the FIAT dealer and a decent price you are probably better off. and it is true, CarMax everything is up front and they won't negotiate for anything. The only time I had an appraisal raised was when the appraiser trying to be slick showed me the KBB trade-in prince and had the wrong trim line selected... I then showed him my KBB appraisal with all of the correct options and trim selected...

FWIW, I find that dealers are really knocking up the prices on the 1-2 year old used vehicles. It is also more difficult for me to negotiate that price down. Anyways, I have found it is tough to find one cheap enough in my mind that is worth it being used rather than getting a new one. But I like people that only want used cars, because it keeps my trade in value high.
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Old 01-27-2014, 02:16 PM
 
790 posts, read 1,257,817 times
Reputation: 1029
Quote:
Originally Posted by whatisthedealwith View Post
This is what I am trying to avoid.

I plan to buy a car, no nonsense, no craziness. I know that some people think haggling is fun, but I would rather just pick my car and drive off into the sunset.

This is the difference between Carmax and another dealer. At Carmax you either but it for this price or you dont, and they may give you $500 off but thats it! Thats why people like it, its the price and nothing else.
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Old 01-27-2014, 08:43 PM
 
Location: North Port
113 posts, read 615,727 times
Reputation: 118
Carmax does usually seem to be on the higher end of the pricing structure, I am not sure how they are when it comes to trade in credit. Maybe they give a fair amount for the trade.
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Old 01-27-2014, 09:20 PM
 
2,700 posts, read 4,908,815 times
Reputation: 4576
I bought my last 2 vehicles thru Carmax and I must say I am a customer for life.. No games no hassles just go in test drive and this is what you will pay if you finance.. I have an extended warranty on both vehicles and GAP insurance as well.. They will do the mileage checks cheaper than a dealer and I can take my vehciles to them for any warranty work.. If they cannot handle it they haul it to the dealer.......In and out in a quarter of the time I spent at a dealer.....

And whenever I bought from a dealer I was never offered or even spoken to about Gap insurance or extended warranties.. I even asked a couple of times and was told the warranties were too expensive or they didn't offer Gap insurance....

And the prices I got on both vehicles one was below other dealers..And the other was higher....

But it was a truly relaxing fresh experience and not the in the trenches type of sale I have had elsewhere...
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Old 01-27-2014, 09:51 PM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,025,792 times
Reputation: 13612
Carmax is higher than the dealership. Folks that don't like to negotiate will go there but they end up paying more.

Don't ever buy gap insurance from ANY dealership. It's exorbitant. Your insurance company will offer it to you at a fraction of the cost. Most of the larger, reputable companies will even offer new car replacement.

Used cars at any dealership will always be not of a good deal as new. New cars will have less wiggle room because there is not that much of a markup. But used has an ENORMOUS markup. That's why your seasoned sales people are in used, that's where the money is. You can walk into used, think you negotiated a great deal, and the sales person is doing the butter churn in the back with the manager. Count on it, every time. On face value, that new car deal may not seem all that great - they didn't come down all that much - but you got a far better value.

Anyone that says different doesn't really know. What you or your brother-in-law or your neighbor did is immaterial. Unless you've been or are an insider, you don't understand how it really works.
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