I have sold 2 cars here and I've had a really positive experience both times. The first time I had a little positive equity in my car so they gave me a check before I walked out the door. The second time, I was just under my payoff so they just had me pay the difference with my debit card. Super easy. I accidentally underestimated the mileage on my vehicle when I did the online quote by 4000 miles but they did not lower my offer when they saw it in person. My cars are always in excellent condition (no kids and no pets in the car) so I think they really do offer top dollar for them. The chairs in their little waiting area need some TLC but other than that I think they are a really great place to sell to. read more

I went to Carmax to buy a car that I pre qualified for. When I go inside to let them know that I'm here to buy this certain car. They go on the computer and they tell me that this car is reserved already. I asked them did the person buy the car? They said no it's just reserved to come look at it. I told them I'm willing to buy it today. They unfortunately we can't since there is an appointment already. This just doesn't make sense to me. Does Carmax want make money or not? read more

Great employees easy to buy a car experience I would not go anywhere else to buy a car

Horrible experience! The wait is ridiculous and low ball pricing for my car! I would try and independent buying service before returnibg here. read more

Carmax gave me an offer to sell my car for $17,000. My car was in the body shop and my registration had expired. I called Carmax to ask if I needed to update my registration, and I was told that in California I needed to update my registration (which turned out not to be true ) so I went to the DMV and paid over $400 because of their bad advice, sell my car to them, until I got my paperwork from California, which was roughly 2 weeks. When I got my registration, I went to Carmax and asked to speak to a manager and told him about their bad advice. They did absolutely nothing for me and now offered me $15,000, so their advice cost me over $2400 and a lot of inconvenience. Needless to say, I turned down that lousy offer and terrible service. read more

This review is specific to the service department. Always alwaysss nice and professional! I for some reason can't remember the guy who helps me the most but I digress, they're very patient, informative and professional. I'm the type of person who will hear a squeak and bring my car right in.. *insert a shrugging gif lol* At this point I call when having an issue (or perceived issue) so they can help me over the phone lol. Unsure of the other departments as I've only ever checked in at the desk and interacted with service. What I can say is that they seem to be nice and engaging with the customers who walk in. 10/10 read more

This is the 2nd time we have used Carmax Both times have been awesome 1st time was a purchase 2nd was to sell my truck Taryn was truly a pleasure to work with Definitely will keek recommends them to friends and family Thank you Taryn read more

I signed up and did all required paperwork for express pick up . I kept getting the runaround very unprofessional staff at CarMax. The whole Carmax buying experience is not fast and easy. Do not believe anything that they say all Lies I had my Credit ran four different times because they couldn't get my address correctly. I asked to speak to a supervisor I still haven't got a return call. Waited over two hours just for them to wash the vehicle when they did bring the vehicle back they had to go and take it back to rewash. Very unorganized. read more

I found a car I liked on CarMax's website and I requested it be transferred here from Murrieta so I could test drive it. The next morning a nice lady from CarMax called me and talked to me on the phone for about 30 minutes to take all my information and talk about the car and test driving it. She said I could even test drive the car for up to 24 hours for free. A couple days later I received a text message from someone at CarMax who didn't identify himself or herself, letting me know I can come in for the test drive. I replied to the text saying I would come in after work. The person replied with a "Sounds good, thank you" So after work I took a $17 Uber to CarMax Palm Desert to pick up the car. I brought my driver's license and auto insurance card with me, assuming they'd want to see it. I was helped by an older man working there who took my insurance card and questioned me about it. "What kind of insurance do you have?" I told him it was a middle-tier liability only policy. He asked if I have collision coverage and I said no. So he called my insurance company while I waited to confirm. Then he simply told me, "Sorry, I can't let you test drive my car if you don't have collision coverage. I can't risk something happening to it." And that was that. No offer to help me in any other way. Not wanting to spend another $17 on an Uber, I walked the better part of a mile to the bus stop and waited in the cold for my bus. So now I'm freezing on a bus trying to get home. It would have been nice if one of the people helping me could have told me what I should bring with me when I come to test drive one of their cars, or at least what the basic requirements are. Or maybe the guy working there could have offered to sit in the passenger seat while I test drive the car for 15 minutes or at least let me see the car...? Many people who want to buy a car don't have auto insurance at all, let alone collision coverage. read more

I have sold about 25 cars to CarMax and always have a great experience... This is all around the worst version of carMax.. I would recommend CarMax- however I would not recommend anyone use this location read more

Based on my experience buying a car from CarMax, don't. If you want to get good$ for your used car selling to CarMax Is good.they sell shined up pieces of crap for top dollar. I bought a jeep less than 2 years ago transmission already died and I owe more then the car is worth still. So $430 a month payments on a car I just bought and can't afford $4000 for a used transmission. read more

The online purchase offer was more than I had expected and it was not reduced in person. I was getting rid of a car I'd driven for over 12 years and not replacing it. The store was very friendly atmosphere and my agent was thorough and outgoing. read more

I posted a review on Google reviews but was so impressed I decided to come here and let the fellow yelpers know it too. These guys were phenomenal. I got there right before closing and they were able to get my final appraisal numbers to me before end of day which led to me driving off in my new to me 15 colorado. We barely made it in time and I didn't know if Stuart and Bill were going to be able to deliver such a request on such little notice but they did and I'm very grateful. They were understanding of our situation and carmax gave me exactly what they quoted over their website. I was able to roll over max positive equity as a down and I'm very comfortable knowing my colorado is protected up to 90 days through Carmax! This was such a breath of fresh air as I had already been to a few places who undervalued my trade in or bait and switched up my numbers on me. You won't get that here and to me that means the world. My wife and I are thankful for the professionalism and willingness to go above and beyond for their customers. Carmax isn't just the easiest way of handling car buying but it really sets the standard for how all businesses should operate. Do yourself a favor and check in with these guys for your next appraisal and or purchase, you won't regret it. Thank you guys again! read more

CarMax - The way car buying should be speaks for itself. - Car Buyers Near Me - Palm Desert, California

I prequalified with my ***excellent*** (very high 700s/800s) credit at about 10% APR. When the paperwork was done, it was about 12%. Bogus!! Talk about bait and switch!! There hiccups with the date of the delivery, too. Very disorganized. The car was in near perfect condition, though. I still wouldn't use them again, and I want to warn others. read more

So far so good looks like I'm going to make some $$$... the only disappointing thing is Honda makes it so difficult to buy out a lease but I'm buying out the lease and selling it to Carmax. Looks like gonna make a couple thousand dollars to put towards my next car. read more

My car is in great shape, a popular car in California. I went to CarMax cause I want to buy a Subaru and the dealership doesn't sell my car (MINI) so they full out told me they can only offer a low trade in because they don't sell MINIs and they tell me try CarMax. Fine. I go to CarMax. They give me the same crap offer. My car is actively advertised at dealerships for $23,000. They offered me $16,000. Even Edmunds says my car is worth $17,900. TOTAL rip off. And a COMPLETE WASTE of my time. (It was a 40 min drive there and back.) Why don't they offer the option to get an appraisal online like lots of other places? Cause they think I'm gonna look at their overpriced car lot? (See article here: https://jalopnik.com/heres-why-carmax-makes-more-money-on-used-cars-than-any-1826415410) Not my first lowball experience at CarMax but def my last. Selling my car privately. It's a pain but I can get $20,000 at least and no money goes to this scam company. read more

the manager mark did not even try to help. sales team was more helpful than anything.

I've been buying cars since 1965 and have never had an experience where you left after a test drive and never received a call from salesperson or manager asking if there's anything to make a deal. I had an online quote for my trade in, the salesperson valued the trade at $1,000 less than online with an explanation of " the online estimate was a week old" ??? When I bought the vehicle back after 24 hour test drive, I was ready to make a deal but they weren't interested in any negotiations on the value of my trade, or the price of their car, which in the week since my estimate, remained the same price. Interestingly the car I wanted to trade was newer and has less miles and in checking around sells for 3-5,000 more than the car I wanted. All around bad experience. read more

Only giving 5 stars because of Julius! We came in to sell our Nissan Sentra. Was helped by someone who I guess was leaving soon and said someone was going to help us once the appraisal came in (about 30 min). Waited for a while and received a call from CarMax saying to come in because the appraisal was ready, even though we were sitting right there. He asked who's helping us and I say oh the original guy had to leave and said someone else will be helping. They had NO clue. Which was annoying but anyway it turned out to be a pleasant experience because of Julius who helped us the rest of the time and made the boring act of selling a car, very enjoyable!!! read more

I dealt with Shannon at the Palm Desert location. She is a gem! I was referred to CarMax by my local Porsche dealer who didn't give a fantastic price. Shannon did a great job and offered me a fair price, even working through some technical glitches along the way. In the end a Porsche dealer in Riverside offered to pay $1,000 more than CarMax so I took it there. I wouldn't hesitate to sell or purchase with them. read more

Still waiting reserved a car, paid to ship it going on 3 weeks now. Shipped on the day I paid then went 250 miles in the wrong direction. Sat for a week before it moved west. Truck drive right past Palm desert to get to Fontana where it will sit for another week. Tracked it last night only to find the delivery day has changed. It is now going take longer to deliver. The car is an hour away no excuse for the crappy service. Extremely disappointed never never again. Would not recommend read more

Staff is super professional and helpful. Can't recommend them enough. The entire process was easy and they made every effort to expedite it. Fair market pricing offered for vehicle. read more

would give no stars if it were possible! DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM ANY CARMAX ESPECIALLY THIS STORE.! i purchased my car 3 years ago. as soon as i drove off the lot my radio would not work, i took it back to carmax and they said they could not do anything since i already purchased the car. so i took it to best buy and it cost me $560 to get the stereo and speakers replaced. 1 year into having the car the fuel pump was messed up and i had to replace that (luckily max care covered it and i only had to pay a deductible). now here we are on year 3, my transmission went out WHILE i was driving which is extremely unsafe. i called max care and carmax and they said my warranty is "expired" what a coincidence that my transmission goes out RIGHT when my warranty expires. they sold my a crappy car that i am STILL paying for but can't even drive. don't buy a car from here, save your money and go to an actual reputable car dealership. read more

I took my car to the dealer to see how much they would give me then I went to Carmax and they gave me a considerable amount more. It was a pretty painless exchange and Stuart was awesome. I also went back and bought a truck from them a few months later. Everyone was so nice. The sales and service department has been excellent and what they couldn't fix they set me up at the Ford dealer. Hopefully my truck will be OK. I'm still waiting to hear from Ford. I'll keep you posted. read more

Our experience with CarMax was painless. I made a call to CarMax to make an appointment for an appraisal on our Mini Cooper whose timing chain needed to be repaired. The car was also not drivable. We had it towed over to the CarMax in PalmDesert and Angelina saw us on time. She gave us the best possible price and we walked out with a check less than an hour later. Thank you Angelina for your kindness. read more

CarMax - RIP Mini :( - Car Buyers Near Me - Palm Desert, California

BEWARE! Experian auto/accident report is not accurate when given with the sale of the car. I bought a Mercedes E400 coupe from the Roseville branch. At the time of the sale, I was given an accident report from Experian that showed 0 accidents. A couple of months after buying this car, I didn't feel right about it, so I pulled up a CarFax report. Sure enough, there was a moderate accident to this car. The front, left and rear had been damaged. I brought this to the attention of Rob Roe one of the salesmen there to forward to his manager. I didn't get much of an answer, except " I sent it to my manager" I didn't hear anything, so I called them and spoke with Zach a manager here, asking what he can do to take care if this, since I bought it, not knowing it was in an accident. He said to come down and he would take care of it. I advised him I moved to Southern California. I told him to contact the CarMax in Palm Desert and he said he would send them an email about this. After spending three hours with them, I was told that Zach told him to handle it the way they want. They didn't resolve the issues in Palm Desert. When I try to explain how frustrated I was, James the salesman tried to hold in his laughter. Him and the sales manager very disrespectful. The sales manager kept making excuses why the reporting was the way it was and that they cannot fix it. The Roseville manager Zach basically lied to me telling me to go the dealership in the city I live in now. I called Zach and he said they will stand by the Experian report. How many people have purchased cars from CarMax with reports that are not correct? This dealership should have taken the car back and try to make it better. instead Zach was pompous and did not help and I should have been told weeks ago that there is nothing I can do. Instead Rob did nothing and Zach made me waste my day. CarMax is dishonest and does not stand behind it's core values. They should do the right thing and take this car back. PLEASE PULL A CAR FAX WHEN BUYING A CAR FROM THEM! Everyone who has ever purchased a car from them should as well! read more

Poor service, was fine with the situation we came in for but the attitude we got from Angelina kochell was shocking we don't know if she was having a bad day or that's how she talks but it definitely wasn't an attitude you want for sales. You're supposed to be comfortable and not feel bashed. read more

I purchased a vehicle last December. The process ordering and picking up car was good. Backseat and rear windows had not been cleaned, but rest ok. My problem is that it's now been 4 months and I still haven't received my permanent plates or registration. I called a couple of times and was told to be patient, that it would be any day now to receive them. After the temporary plates expired a month ago, I called DMV and was told the car isn't registered to me because they've not received the paperwork from CarMax. So I'm making payments on a car that really doesn't belong to me I guess? I called again to the business office and was told that there's a "middleman" company that they send all their paperwork to who sends to DMV. They were supposed to email and call them for me to see what the problem was. That was over two weeks ago... still no response. So now I can't drive a car I'm supposed to be making payments on because the plates are expired, and its not officially registered to me.... Somebody help please! read more

These people are horrible liars. My brother ordered a truck 22 days ago, from Oregon. It arrived 10 days ago and they have been putting him off ever since, saying they are preparing it. Turns out there is no mfg sticker on the car. They can't do a vin verification without that. They have to order the sticker or try to go through the hwy patrol for vin verification. In the 10 days they have had it they've done neither of those things. These people suck read more

We had to sell two cars at the same time since we were moving abroad. The online quote processes for selling cars on both CarMax and Carvana were very easy and straightforward. CarMax offered us substantially more for one car, but less for the other compared to Caravan, so we used both services. The CarMax process requires you to upload a couple of documents online (registration, title, driver's license, etc.) and there were a few hiccups with this process. But when we walked into the CarMax location in Palm Desert without an appointment, they immediately found our quote and documents and the issues were resolved quickly. We were in there for probably 20 minutes or so and the process was done. The team was very friendly, accommodating and efficient. My only preference would be that they offer ACH/wire (as Caravan does) so you don't have to deposit a check in the bank and wait for clearance (This is a special check that can't be cashed, only deposited, so the hold was only one day). All in all, this was a very smooth process on our last day in the US! read more

Best car selling experience ever! Not only was it easy, there was no pressure to buy a car from them, and everyone was extremely nice! read more

I appreciate all that Carmax has done for us and our car buying/selling experience. They are up front, honest, and no pressure. However I had an experience this past week I had to record here, because it was completely unacceptable. In the process of selling them my car, and there were probably a dozen or so customers in the store. Across the room, one of the sales reps leapt to his feet, erupting with obscenities, screaming curses at an elderly couple (70s/80s), calling them a bleep-ing two word vulgar term, and asking them why they were being so bleep-ing difficult. He pushed his keyboard at them and flung papers down on the desk in their direction. He was escorted out by other employees to the back as he continued to shout, while the elderly couple shuffled out of the store. I do not have any clue as to what was said by the couple or what caused this explosion. Still, aside from one of them hitting the sales rep (which did not occur), there is no real behavior that should receive this response from a company representative. I am certain that the sales rep will not be employed there any longer, but the store needs to provide additional training to employees if they are not familiar with appropriate behavior. Everyone in the room was, of course, shocked by this behavior, including the employees. Pretty much darkened everyone's evening. read more

This would have been first time using CAR MAX. I wanted to sell a car to them and went on line and submitted the details ( including the dent on one door) after receiving a "offer" of $6900.00, I made the appt. And because of having such low mileage 52K for my 2013 KIA Sedan, and CAR MAX offered me $3K after I took it in. The interior is like new, tires are new new, new battery, new tinted windows and the paint is like new. I consider CAR MAX's methods as the ole, "bait and switch". I am only writing this review because, I dont want anyone to think that their online appraisal means anything, because IT DOESNT! Good to know moving forward not to recommend them to anyone. Very interesting on the website for CAR MAX all the reviews are 5 stars, yet though YELP it shows all their reviews including the other 1 Star reviews. read more

We purchased a car a month ago, we went to service it 1week ago. Everything went great and they ordered the parts, we received text to make appointment. Fast forward to this morning I call as my 1st time calling for appointment. Was transferred a couple of times. I ended up with Max (store manager) in the front desk. I explained I needed to make an appointment and I had been transferred around. His tone changed and stated let me explain how things work here our service dept is 3 technicians and they are the ones that make the appointment and they are in lunch and they will call you. I explained thank you for all the information but I didn't appreciate the tone used to deliver it. He then proceeded to state I was yelling didn't let me talk and stated I am hanging up on you and when you calm down call back. Then I call back after I gather myself and ask to speak to the manager and he answers I ask if it was him and did not respond. I did proceed to speak about the matter were he then stated I know the situation they will call you for an appointment. I stated I was calling to complain and he did not disclose that he was the person involved. I asked for the manager above him and he gave me the name Mark and I am now expecting a call back. It's sad we just started our journey with Carmax and me and my husband already have a very bad taste in our mouths. read more

Wow! What an easy, painless process when buying a car at CarMax! This was my second experience buying from CarMax and you bet that I will be back. My customer specialist was Ricardo Zamora. He was very kind, extremely knowledgeable and personable. He was patient and resourceful, especially when it came to making decisions about extra coverage on my car. Not once was he pushy or made me feel like he was ready for the next "sale". In fact, the entire CarMax team at the Palm Desert location seemed to work in perfect harmony with each other. And if that isn't all, I recently moved to California and they switched my tags and sent my paperwork to the DMW for me!? One less dreadful step that I have to do myself. Thank you for much CarMax and Ricardo! read more

My boyfriend and I visited the PALM DESERT location around 6pm yesterday (9/27) to get his car appraised to potentially sell to them. We were set up with FRANK HARRELL to get my boyfriends Toyota Corolla appraised. While FRANK HARRELL was outside taking photos and checking the car to appraise it, my boyfriend and I walked around the lot for about 10 minutes to see a potential buy. We come back inside and a few minutes later we are given the keys back. My boyfriend didn't immediately notice the broken key since of course he wasn't expecting that, HOWEVER, he goes outside to his to smoke a cigarette and then noticed the key was BROKEN when he went to open his car door which was actually left unlocked by the way. He looked to see if it was left in the ignition but no it was STILL wedged in the trunk key hole! We immediately inform them the key is broken which was only purchased a month ago. My boyfriend Was told by Sales Manager ALLEN that he was going to "see what he could do" so we sit there waiting. We followed them outside to our car since we could hear FRANK HARRELL saying it "just broke off". That doesn't just happen with keys. We came to a conclusion, when trying to inspect the trunk, he didn't fully insert the key and twisted it trying to open it which made it break off. That is why the key is still wedged in there. The Sales Manager ALLEN acts like he is going to help us but then comes back from talking to FRANK and says he can't do much. We were flabbergasted, we couldn't believe they didn't care to replace it. Mind you, my boyfriend can't even get into his trunk now. They just started blaming us like we did something wrong. Anyway we called corporate and hope they can help us. Steer away from this Carmax and by other reviews looks like they've damaged other people's cars too only a month ago!!! Beware!! read more

CarMax - THEY BROKE MY BOYFRIEND'S BRAND NEW KEY TRYING TO OPEN THE TRUNK. - Car Buyers Near Me - Palm Desert, California

Found exactly what I was looking for! Loved that I could reserve a vehicle to test drive and no one else could buy it before I could test drive. Very enjoyable experience! The price you see is the price you pay! No haggling or snake salesmen. Everyone is friendly and helps each other out. Very happy with my purchase! I do however suggest you shop around for your loan and come pre-approved. CarMax has a high interest rate if you are not above 800 Fico score. Same Fico score found a better interest rate with my bank. read more

I had a horrible experience there recently. I was given incorrect information by several staff members as to what I needed for them to buy my car after I paid off residual value of lease. Then when I had what they said I needed, they then said I needed documents from the DMV, which would take me a couple months to receive. When I tried to talk to manager there, he was very non caring. I called their corporate office/customer service and they also did nothing nor did any follow up that they promised to do and get back to me. I ended up selling my car to a dealership for quite a lot more money than Car Max appraised it for (which was far below Kelly Blue Book value) AND did not require all the things Car Max said I needed. Horrible customer service!!! read more

We brought my hub's truck here for an outright buy Dec. 2020. The staff made everything super easy and seamless. We showed up without an appointment, so we did have to wait. They offered us water, though, and we didn't have to wait long. Our offer was actually a bit better than we expected, so we were happy to accept the deal. This is our second experience with CarMax (first at this location), and both experiences have been great. read more

We purchased a Camero from CarMax and were so happy with the service we received from Stuart. He went above and beyond with his customer service. We are so happy with our purchase! Thank you Stuart, you were a pleasure and a joy to work with! read more