I just wanted to express how horrible of an expirience I had at the palm desert Carmax. I applied for a Jeep and to trade in my car and I had 5k at the time to put down. I got approved but for 9k down and the guy I talked to over the phone said I had no other options so I couldn't take the deal. So I was really sad and spent some money on furniture leaving me with 2k. I get a text the next day saying the Jeep was at the palm desert location and that it's ready for me and I replied saying "sorry I can't take the deal I only had 5k and you wouldn't take that" they replied saying I in fact did get approved for 5k down but failed to mention it was without the trade in. And I was led to believe it was with the trade in. But I only had 2k. So a representative called me saying they would take 2k down with a co signer if I could find one. My dad agreed to co sign so I was extremely excited. So I drive all the way to Carmax expecting to get the Jeep. I go to get approved and the lady helping me got me so excited and said I got approved for the trade in with 2k and my dad co signing. But then as I'm printing out paperwork she comes to me and said "oh my god I'm so sorry I forgot to add your trade in, that's why you were approved I'm so sorry!" So we go and apply again WITH the trade in and I get approved but with 9k down. I cannot do that. So I am EXTREMELY dissatisfied and frustrated with my experience at Carmax. I fell in love with the car and now nothing. read more

Do not get a car here!!! Been a loyal customer there since it opened and have had many problems here!! Waste of energy and time here! Most Employees and managers are good people, it just how the system works. CARSHOP SOMEWHERE ELSE! read more

Purchasing the car couldn't have been more pleasant. BUT....it has been nothing but hell trying to deal with them. I say "trying" because I swear to God they do everything in their power to make sure you don't speak to a human and make it as difficult as possible to even make a payment. I made a payment over the phone a couple weeks ago after trying for several weeks prior to even make the damn payment to begin with. I paid two months of payments when i did. Last week i started getting calls again from them asking to call them back in regard to my account. I call the number they gave several times, only to go through the same process everytime - they make you go through no less than 15 minutes of offers trying to sell you unrelated crap, and finally at the end, it asks what company you're trying to reach. I say "carmax" and the automated voice say they have no company by that name. This is the number THEY have given my in multiple voicemails. NOW today I just received a latter threatening to repossess my car claiming I am passed due two months. I am not, so of course I called the phone in the letter. Automated voice tells me my last payment was 2 weeks ago......but get this....my NEXT payment ***Is due a month and a half ago**. Yes. That's right. My next FUTURE due payment is in the past. Screw you, CarMax. You're barely a company. This is nothing a hairy of a total scam. Had i only known the company was going to be doing this to me, I would never have purchased through them. read more

One of the managers is very rude, wouldn't help me one night when my original car I wanted was still there. Had to go back a couple days later to find out the car I put on hold over the phone was transferred and sold. The day I went back I even called and spoke to someone over the phone to make sure it was there, he said it was. After driving 2 hours. I was told the car was no longer there. After being pretty upset I ended up being helped by Israel who was a great guy, even offered to buy us lunch and our gas for our troubles. I'm glad he helped me. We need more people like Israel in life! read more

Just sold my car hassle free got a good price and walked away with a check. No haggling no back and forth let me talk to my manager bs. The whole process took less than an hour. read more

Buyer beware, I cannot express that enough if I could give neg 8 mil stars I would. Out of all the negative reviews I've written & I would much rather write a positive review than a negative 1, this is the worst, unprofessional, dishonest car dealership in Palm Desert. I like to call them devils. #1 I was excited because I heard such good things about carmax, my husband and I were there for over 10 hours yesterday. We delt with over 7 salesmen and/or finance managers because they all basically had a title of salesman/store manager. we got pre qualified over the phone. With our income, our credit scores & all we had to do was bring in ins cards and prove our income. it would be swift & simplem It became a nightmare, a 10 hr nightmare. I had to get in my car and drive away multiple times because it was so stressful. I even pulled into a shady parking spot because there was no shade at the Palm Desert Carmax .This disturbing, company doesn't even know what they're doing, my husband had to explain his paystubs. If you are a finance mngr you would think they know how to read a pay stub. I definitely know you don't have to have any type of degree.my husband is talking with Paul he called himself a store manager and apparently there's about 6 store mngr per store, per corporate. My husband had to explain to Paul and 7 employees imagine explaining the way you get paid 7 times to 7 different people! Talk about frustration & he had to explain to them that he gets VA benefits, and one of the biggest Marine Corps bases is located about 1 hr and 20 mins from Palm Desert I think there's quite a bit of Veterans coming to that dealership.VA benefits are non-taxable . they did not understand that at all! I'm gonna try to wrap this up, everything that was told us over the phone was completey diff ..our APR % was through the roof.They can sweet talk you all they want but that's we talking does come to an end at some point let me tell you. So now on to Paul the biggest lying, coward, malignant narcissist who stood about as tall as I am and I'm 5' in about 10 years younger than me so he had to have been about 24 years old claiming to be to store manager when there's actually 6 store managers. He insists that I have to have my card that I have it signed for I'm sorry my husband's car that he hasn't even signed for yet and insured at 9:30 p.m. Well everybody knows this that most good insurance companies like state farm insurqnce which is what we have will cover your new vehicle for 14 days and then you need to get the coverage all you do is show the dealership your State Farm Insurance cards. So luckily my Uncle is my State Farm Insurance agent and I called him at 9:30 at night he got on the phone with Paul telling Paul this makes no sense we cover new or used vehicles purchase after 14 days for they add them to the policy Paul then stumbled over his words and said it was store policy then said it was the finance company's policy. Regardless I got that he handled. Then I'm waiting in the car in my husband comes out and says OK we're about to be down they wanted take a picture with us in front of the car with a bow. Talk About gag me with a spoon So Then they asked me to print out bank statements again even though I have already printed them out for them. Then we walked to our vehicle and are expecting to see the car pull up because we have signed the contract and Paul comes up and says it's too late for me to run any funds right now like the down payment so I'm gonna make sure you're taken care of I'm a call you early to morrow morning under shake you out for dinner it's my day off for I'm in a come in and make sure you're taking care of and honestly it's 751 PM by the way. Paul never called, My husband found out that Paul never came in and they put my husband down as a part time employee of home depot even though he works 40 Hours a week. It was one of the worst stressful anxiety driven experiences I have ever so with at a car dealership . I'm so disappointed as I thought carmax would be different. I even changed my insurance and when my husband went to go pick up the car today there was even more confusion on there and I'm not trying to be rude but did that a whole carmax dealership gwt a lobotomy and , at the same time? I reached out to Corporate twice today My next Bbb & the state Attorney General's office Shame on you carmax,you are just despicable , Money hungry,greedy sick individuals and I'm not talking about corporate I'm talking about the Palm Desert location you wasted so much time of my husband and I's. ALL BECAUSE MY HUSBAND wanted a nice carnfor me it's never easy at a car dealership unless you're rollin $. Shame on you a PAUL AND CARMAX, read more

Very satisfied with CarMax, had to 2 cars shipped to Palm Desert, the appointment went well, the only drag was the long paper work and the car took forever to get washed, but it was at closing time so understandable. I had an issue where the advertised Apple CarPlay was not installed. CarMax took care of the 300$ bill and I was able to purchase it and installed it. Another issue 60 days later, my wire harness had a some rodent damage to it. Not able to pin point if it was after or before I bought the car CarMax did not hesitate to pay BMW dealership 3000$ to get my car fixed since it was under 90 days. I really appreciate the easy effort and experience I had from A to Z. Thank you! read more

The staff is very friendly but the store seems poorly ran.

Max was amazing, My wife and I drove 4 hours from Vegas to purchase a 2013 Mercedes Benz c250 and Max was just unbelievable good at his job. He helped us so much and was very knowledgeable. We we're returning a 2017 civic that we had purchased from a carmax out in Vegas and max got us into our brand new Mercedes. Max made our experience quick and flawless. I'm very pleased with the service provided to us at this Carmax. read more

We decided to get rid of our Nissan Frontier, did not want to try to deal with random buyers. I found that CarMax purchased vehicles even if you are not buying from them. I did the online evaluation and got the figure offer right there. I made an appt so they can see the situation with your vehicle. The rep that helped us was Sal And he was a very nice guy. After inspection he walked over to us and said that offer still stands if we wanted to proceed. They cut us the check after some paperwork was finished. It was so easy ! The staff actually seemed like a nice group, they also appeared friendly to each other which was nice! Very easy and the office was kept at great temperature for summer. read more

Just sold our 2007 Infinity M35 to CarMax. Mathew did a great job helping us with the appraisal of the car and all of the paperwork. Went online first to get an estimate of what they would give us, and they offered us $3,400. When they appraised the car at the dealership, Mathew offered us $4,000. Very happy with the deal and transaction! read more

We drove by CAR MAX on a beautiful Sunday, and found the store closed. We entered the lot from the east end. No where is there a sign that says "no trespassing" during the day when the store is closed. After a few minutes on the lot, mind you, the cars are locked, we are just looking at the inventory, there comes an extremely loud voice over the loud speakers from "security" telling us to leave the lot immediately! It went on and on! IT SOUNDED LIKE A PRISON RAID! I'm literally plugging my ears it is SO loud. So, of course we left. But you know what (?), there are gentler ways to inform non threatening customers that they shouldn't be looking at the cars. We have gone on many car lots in the valley and have never encountered this before. What a bunch of crap cars! You are not ALL THAT Car Max. read more

Went there to buy a 5.0 mustang- Javier, Marq, and Paul all helped me through the whole process even helping me get an amazing rate on my insurance! These guys rock and I have my dream car, if you need help buying from someone these are the guys. Can't thank them enough. read more

CarMax - Car Buyers Near Me - Palm Desert, California

I have had two interactions with them in the past three years. In each case they purchased a car from me. Each was a smooth transaction. They go over your car from underneath to top and from bumper to bumper. They take many pictures and ask questions. They are hooked into databases so they know if the car has been wrecked. All you have to do is stand and watch. The initial appraisal took about 30 to 45 minutes. They then gave me an offer to purchase. The numbers seemed fair but were less than I probably could get by advertising in eBay or Nextdoor. Having said that, the hassle of showing a vehicle and dealing with getting paid etc. didn't seem a good use of time and accepting risk.. In my most recent experience, I slept on the cost overnight and made a few phone calls to people who I knew were interested in this particular car. Took the car in the next morning and in the process from arriving to walking out with a check was about one hour. The best part was I knew the check wouldn't bounce. Since I used Carmax at two locations it was possible to judge their staffing. The one in the Oxnard area was jammed with people. This was pre-pandemic so it was a smooth transaction but I preferred the one in Rancho Mirage which was less crowded. In each case the people were polite and friendly. read more

Amazing service! We sold our car to Carmaxx and could not be more happy with the outcome. Carmaxx made this process seamless in paying off the loan with the bank AND cutting a check for our positive equity before we even left the building! I want to thank Jessica for her assistance in this, outstanding customer service. She thoroughly explained the process to us every step of the way, is very curious and added a personal element to our experience. Thank you Jessica! read more

Don't waste your time on this store if you are a Canadian snowbird who owns a place in the desert. Was told they will not take a trade- in even on a vehicle titled and licensed in California and that in order to purchase a car from them a Canadian has to have a US passport. This is utterly ridiculous and they jacked me around when they should have cut the process short when my buddy showed them his drivers license from Manitoba Canada. Really moronic. read more

My wife and I came to look for a car the parking and driveway is covered sand my wife turned her ankle in the sand when she got of the car there is pile of sand near the entrance instead of shoveling the sand the put small orange cones up it a dangerous situation the sand storm was last weekend we going to urgent care if it serious we will sue car max I called the corporate number and let them know clean up the sand idiots! read more

Seven days ago, I paid to transfer a 2019 BMW 540i from Bakersfield to the Palm Desert Carmax dealership, based on the specifications, features and packages listed on their web site. If the test drive went well, I was going forward with the deal as the price was fair and within the KBB range I was willing to pay. Upon the test drive, I realized the vehicle did not contain a key package, which was the Premium Package at a retail cost of $1,950. It was listed in the specs, but did not contain the features typically included with this package. After speaking with Bill, the Manager, he explained to me that the packages listed on the CarMax websites do not necessarily match those packages offered by the original manufacturer, even though the package names listed in the CarMax website matched identically to the manufacturer package names. It is the buyer's responsibility to look at the list of features, one by one, to determine if it contains everything you are looking for, as opposed to relying upon the package name itself to encompass all of the items this type of package would normally include. Apparently, CarMax packages and manufacturer packages could differ. In the end, I passed on the vehicle because the lack of this Premium package reduced the value of the vehicle by approximately $2,000. Bill was not able to reduce the cost of the vehicle, comp a MaxCare plan or raise the offer on my trade-in, due to corporate guidelines. Because of these guidelines, they lost a sale that day and I wasted 2/3 of a day of my time. However, on a positive note, the staff, including Bill, were very polite and tried their best to remedy the situation, under the circumstances. They do not seem to have the typical used car salesman mentality and Bill did reimburse my transfer fee of $199, along with filling my tank with gas. He also offered to comp my transfer fee up to $1,000, if I located a different CarMax vehicle nationwide. So, hopefully CarMax corporate reads this post and considers changing their policies to provide more flexibility to their local dealerships and managers to make adjustments to car prices, extended service plans and trade-in amounts, when justified and warranted. A local manager should have this discretion. This was my first experience with CarMax and in the end was not a satisfying experience. I have not decided if I will continue to search other vehicles in the CarMax network or go back to BMW dealerships. For those considering CarMax for your next purchase, be sure the specs list all of the features you are wanting and not just trust the package names listed to contain everything you would expect. read more

I am so grateful to the team at Carmax for my new Toyota 4Runner. After a disastrous relationship with Chrystal Chrysler Jeep maintenance department and Grand Cherokee that spent more time in their maintenance hub than with me... sometimes because I found repair parts rolling around in the vehicle when I left after a repair... but that's a story for another review. Also 4Runners are hard to find... and the local Toyota Dealerships know the market right now is shallow and they are overpricing and then doing addons to used cars that people don't want... so the market is tough and I didn't expect to find something for quite a while. Then I connected with Carmax. The experience I had at Carmax and what I saw as I sat there during the process of trading in my jeep for the new SUV, just demonstrated top down customer service at the highest level. First, I saw the manager walking around checking on customers, not hiding the maintenance office (at jeep I requested to speak to the manager 3 different times, but he was never available) at Carmax, the manager was cleaning up stations, rearranging chairs, talking to customers, building up his team... if there was anything going wrong, he was VISIBLE, which is crucial for a successful business. They were super busy and they kept checking in on everyone waiting, explaining where they were in the line, in the process. It was impressive. Everyone was happy even while waiting. I had the good fortune to be working with Athena (sales) and Jake (maintenance) and they were both stellar! Above and beyond in customer care. I realized they were working even in their off hours, offering assistance after work hours, which I appreciated... but seriously these two need a little more home/work life balance ;D. There were (not surprising) some abnormalities that needed to be dealt with on the jeep, and they bent over backwards to make sure I was taken care of. Every glitch on my end was met with, don't worry, we will figure this out. It's all good! Constant communication over the two day period of sorting things out (not their fault... all had to do with the jeep). A very different experience than I had had in several years with Chrystal Chrysler. This was really wonderful. No pressure, no dismissive attitude. Got a very fair price on the jeep, no complaints at all. These are people who love their job and work as a team and it was very visible! Whatever they are doing there, they are doing it right. Thank you Athena and Jake for sending me home in a car that I know will not be in the shop every other week! And treating me like a valuable custromer. Carmax is lucky to have you both! read more

We were looking forward to this place opening up. Pack your patience and bring snacks - you will be in for a day. I would have expected them to still be in the "honeymoon" stage - nope. read more

Did my research about car dealerships before i arrived at carmax. I was assisted over the phone initially arrived at location and started to process paperwork. I was surprised how all the research i did about car dealerships doesn't apply to carmax very honest place. Ricardo was excellent made me feel comfortable and at ease. Was in and out within 30 minutes. Everything went smooth. Miguel was great as well, the whole team seemed to work together to get paperwork done quickly. read more

I love this place I always refer people to go to their nearest Car max to get a great deal and fast service but today was especially great Marq at the palm desert location was amazing I tagged along with my sister to get her a car and even though we got there at 715 and they closed at 8 he never rushed or pressured us and she drove off in a great car in less than 2 hours. Thanks again Marq he was truly amazing. read more

Newly opened and FANTASTIC customer service. Personally dealt with Paul the general manager, and customer specialists Naki J. and Max F. Everyone was very pleasant to deal with, and the transaction went much more smoothly than I had anticipated. The appraisal they gave me for my car was more than the payoff amount which was a nice surprise. So great that they have decided to open a location out here in the Coachella Valley! Best dealership experience I've had yet. read more

So where does one begin. Carmax has great marketing and the idea is great. The problem is that they hire people that dont make any commission and call them sales people. This staff in Palm Desert has zero customer service skills and they must throw away more money than being made. I bought a BMW from carmax 3 yrs ago and after the purchase, they sucked ass completely. No response, call and put on hold and rude beyond words. Buying another BMW and had it shipped from LA. Had a schedule appointment to see and drive. Arrive and as usual, nobody walks out to us on the lot to look at the car. Spent 30 minutes looking and went in to grab keys and drive. Was told that we must get in line and there is a 1.5?hr wait. What? I have a scheduled apt for this car you had trucked in? Sorry i was told. Ok so had another BMW trucked in a few days later and scheduled an apt to see and drive. Not one bit joking, they pulled the same game! Schedule an apt to be blown off. What must it cost to have outside trucking co. Move cars for no reason? THESE GUYS ARE IDIOTS. DONT WASTE YOUR TIME! Then they talk to me like im a retard and oh well they say. read more

I would give them 0 stars but I got pre approved twice online and on the phone but when I get the dealership I was told I made less then I really do on my gross income and the customer service was terrible, no one cared and I advised anyone please don't come here as a first time buyer... read more

I came to sell my Kia Optima and got excellent help from Taryn. She was professional and helped me with my car sale. Highly recommend buying and selling at CarMax ( and ask for Taryn !!!) read more

My partner and I sold our 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited minivan to the CarMax Palm Desert store on 9/28/2019. Alan took great care of us, and the allowance was very fair. We got a check for the van on the spot. We could not have had a better experience. The inventory was unlocked and we sat in at least 10 cars while the paperwork was processed. Absolutely no pressure. We live in Palm Desert and we are very happy to have CarMax here in our beautiful city! Welcome!! read more

CarMax - Car Buyers Near Me - Palm Desert, California

Well well well. The service and communication from staff to customers is very unprofessional and unresponsive. I was sold a vehicle that has problems with it and originally purchased the vehicle on may 28th. On that same day the vehicle gave out and I had to get the car sent back to CarMax and have it serviced.... Didn't receive the vehicle back until June 22nd and drove it for little close to two weeks until it messed up again. They were able to get the car picked up July 6th and I still haven't heard an update on my vehicle and it's been over a week. I asked the General Manager Xavier if he could start the return vehicle process and get a different vehicle and he told me NO. I still qualify under the 30 day and/or 1,500 miles warrant policy for every vehicle purchased from the lot received. He told me I couldn't return the vehicle because I agreed to put work into it the first time and since it "costed a lot" they can't return it. He's Basically telling me I'm obligated to keep the vehicle even though I'm not. I never physically signed any papers stating I'm not able to return the vehicle due to the amount of money getting put into it which was only $3000. Compared to me paying $14000 for the car over several months lol. AND TO TOP IT OFF IM A FIRST TIME BUYER LMAO. Time stamp 10:38 July 15 2021 and still no response from either of the three managers that were on duty when I called about 20 minutes ago again. read more

My car was an auction car. found out after the 90 day period that it had a bent frame and was rated 1 out of 5 ( 1 being lowest by the auction company. ) Car fax doesn't give you the complete story. If you buy an auction vehicle you need more info than the car fax report! CarMax doesn't provide that so beware! read more

Great value, great service, phenomenal customer focus. We wanted a used minivan to keep in Palm Springs for winter and did our research with Consumer Reports, Car Gurus, etc. Saw two great deals at the Palm Desert location. You can place a hold on your car so it won't get away. Appointments are honored which is great. Decided to buy but had a delay to arrange funding. They held the car for three more days. In the interim we found a better deal at the Oxnard location. We put on a new hold and they shipped the car to Palm Desert with no obligation to buy. This all took a week and Paul the GM kept us updated the whole time. I am close to retirement and have never paid for a service plan. The Carmax 5 year plan was so competitive we snapped it up. We will likely be back for a (much smaller) 2nd used car in the future. read more

CarMax gives you the most for your trade in by far! Awesome customer service and fast so you get outta there ASAP!

I love CarMax. In general. But not this specific one. We came in everybody was STARING. My husband felt uncomfortable because he said some woman was giving me dirty looks? My husband said it's because I'm a white woman with a Hispanic man but all in all it's regardless it's RUDE to stare at people. Anyways I like doing everything online and I'm a long time customer since 2019. But as of my family's experience it was a super bad experience in general. First off we drove 3 hours to go and look at this vehicle. Then I was hurried to get in it and drive it, but I wanted to inspect the vehicle, look at it see the features in person. Turns out Things on the vehicle were broken and or missing, and it was brushed off with a "oh we will fix it / we'll order it" and the man also kept asking who my husband was AFTER stating he was my husband and he wouldn't be going on the load , he was asking Wether he was my boyfriend or my real husband when he took our son to the bathroom. And kept asking if we're military to I'm assuming add him on the loan or get commission. The sales person clearly had trouble with everything he was inputting and key clicking through everything so fast he though I wouldn't notice that he raised my down payment a few hundred dollars 1. And 2. Was trying to click through so fast he was having to go back and actually read things. I don't care how long you've been selling cars, I want to see the paperwork that's being filed and done in my name. And he then got to financing AGAIN and was like oh look the rate dropped, and if I was a silly billy senseless woman I would've been like WOW GREAT! But I realised things had changed in the financing and the loan amount and the apr amount. So I told him to not click it because the payment may have went down but the down payment was getting way higher then I was comfortable with and to manually adjust it to the normal amount. He went inspected my car and came back inside and acted dumb whenever I was confused about my appraisal amount being 1,000 less. He could've explained that the lady I did my pre approval ppw with out a extra letter upfront. Because as soon as I asked he said I don't know let's see we'll call and ask about it. He called some other store and he asked for the people who do that ppw. And he got off the phone and turned to me and said ah yeah here's the problem and showed me that my car said SEL and not SE so the trim was different. So he knew the entire time. He was infront of me and we could hear the person on the other side of the phone. ALSO, if you're looking to close a deal and sell a vehicle maybe you could put somebody up front who knows how to spell, isn't working through it so fast and is trying to just push you out of the door. Then we get to almost signing the dotted line and my trade in the tags were expired! Which I was like ok ! They expired a few months ago, let me pay it right now. It's one of those things out of sight out of mind. He threw the paperwork down and was like we can't do this caught a attitude and treated us kind of bad. I said ok I'll pay it right I didn't even know it was expired, like Why would we drive 3 hours north so see a vehicle with a snow storm and trying winds if we KNEW it was expired. I had JUST gotten the vehicle maybe a year ago from CarMax. He said yeah go ahead pay it but you'd till need those tags. I was like ok, wow. I said I'd pay right then and there and he caught a attitude immediately he told us to come back tomorrow. I told him we won't be coming back up here for the vehicle we drive hours up there and we won't be staying there till morning because we're from out of town. He told us to ship it or pay the shipping fee to the closest store near us. But the thing is, is that the shipping fee is 99$ ontop of putting thousands down for a down payment? No thank you we don't have the extra money or we would've done it in the first place I said if you waived the fee we can ship it down there. I'm going to the dmv tomorrow morning and he told me he would but it's not CarMax issue or fault so he won't. Said he'll hold the car for me like he sold us on the car, he didn't even ask me if I liked it or anything I came inside and he was already starting all the paperwork. His attitude at the end 100% killed our mood. Id rather take my business somewhere else to a different CarMax then to go back there. And I get it a deal fell through but I did EVERYTHING before I came in. All paperwork, appraisal stuff and financing which he tried changing while we were in the store. He was quite literally pressing buttons and not reading anything trying to make my down payment bigger... and I'm not saying I was putting 1,000$ down and he tried bumping it up 500 and I was Upset. No I was already putting over 4,000$ down. So this was a huge issue as well. read more

This was our first time going to a Carmax. We ended up trading in our 2018 BMW 240i to a 2021 M2Competition. We were amazed at how pleasant & accommodating, professional & knowledgeable the staff is. The management was true to their word. They paid off my vehicle within a few days. The car is like brand new. We never ever thought we would get a car from Carmax. The process was quick & smooth. The store manager, Bill Martinez is amazing. D'Kari, who did our contract was very informative; Ricardo, who did the preliminary paper work & Xavier, who helped with the final contract & the maintenance guys who made sure the car was spotless are all part of a perfect trade in. Thank you all for your time & efforts. Base on this experience, we will definitely recommend Carmax to our friends & family. read more

We trusted Carmax, Owned by Warren Buffett/Berkshire Hathaway who wouldn't be mixed up in anything shady right? Their slogan, "The way car buying should be" if false. We purchased a vehicle from the Palm Desert, Ca Carmax in January. The only thing that was done correctly and seamless was the processing of our cash payment. Five months later they are still unable to process the registration and we have no license plates! Each call has been a 30 minutes hold time, transferred around several times only to be blown off each time. Now we have a unregistered car sitting in our garage we can't drive. The temporary plates expired in April. Their response, oh it's ok, the temporary plates are still good as long as we're still working on it. BS! I called the DMV and they said no. They're only good for 90 days. We have jack-squat in writing that Carmax F'd this up and are still working on trying to get our car registered in Ca. Nothing. After five months, we get call that the car has to be taken to the DMV or Sheriffs office to verify the VIN, because the car came from another state???? How can you be a car dealer and not know this had to be done? Why has it taken five months to figure that out? We take the car to the dealer, wait an hour while someone takes to DMV, and we're told it's done and taken care of. Where's the plates? Oh this has to be sent to corporate. It's BS from beginning to end! This is transaction is total negligence on Carmax's part. I really don't think anyone there knows what they're doing. This social media comment is only the beginning. We've been more than patient. If we don't have our plates in two weeks, we're taking this story to the local new paper and the local TV stations. Interesting one has to piggy-back on others comments because there's no place to write one's one comments on their FB page. Buyer beware. This is NOT the way car buying should be. Not at all! Total horrible experience. And to make matters worse, they don't care! read more

"reserved" a car on wednesday - got a phone message that night and then nothing!!! i've tried to call, to chat and email twice - no reply - horrible - guess they really don't need to sell cars read more

Very disappointed innthe service, trafed our car in which we still owed on so the loan balance got cafried over to our new car and the old one was supposed to get paid off. Well something didnt happen correctly and our old loan is still active and now 4 months behind in payments. Im so mad because we were in the middle of trying to fix our credit to buy a house and now this loan is late. We have never missed or been late on any payments. Was assured it had been takin care of but we got another late notification in the mail. Without fail nobody returns my call like they promised. Im sorry but this is not because of covid. This is our credit we are talking about! We are still in the process of trying to qork this out i hesitated about posting because i understand things do happen but this is really bad. I just want you guys to be cateful qhen making a purchase make sure things are done properly read more

The experience i had with this company has been an ongoing nightmare ever since i drove my truck off the lot!! My truck is a 2009 Chevy Silverado and i noticed in the parking lot as i drove off a big chip in the windshield. then 2 days later i went out to start my truck and the battery was dead! also both back doors don't lock or unlock. and the cruise control doesn't work. oh and my oil pressure is very low. I have only had this truck for two weeks and guess what happened 2 days ago? the lifters in the engine are bad and knock really bad so now i need a new engine. so i have had it for 2 weeks and haven't been able to drive it for 1 week already and they said it will take 2 weeks to fix it. and to top it all off i cant even get a rental from them without paying for their vehicle to get put on my insurance!! what? i cant believe they sold me a bad truck. and i want a totally different truck i don't want that truck back at all, and do you think they are trying to get me into a different truck? NO... oh i forgot to mention i took it to the Canoga Park store and they told me they wanted me to leave it there for 2 weeks so they could work on it here and there when they have time!! OMG! this place is ridiculous. i cant believe the way they treat people. I need a car to get to work and now I'm totally out of a vehicle completely and they don't give a crap they want to take their sweet time doing everything!! i will never ever refer anyone to these people. and its sad because i have heard some good things about this company that's why i went to them but NEVER AGAIN!! you guys are horrible and very RUDE they don't put the customer first at all! read more

Major improvement in the used-car buying process. Best part is your ability to find the particular vehicle you want. Their combined inventory is massive and searching is as easy as a few clicks. The car you want is shipped to your local CarMax for a test-drive . If you like it...you can buy it. They stand behind their vehicles as well. I like to haggle but they are one-price. For those who don't like pressure or haggling...it's great. You won't likely talk to the same person more than once which is one drawback vs traditional dealers, but the ability to find the car you want, no pressure, pleasant staff and a simple process make it a winner. read more

We recently sold our 18-year-old PT Cruiser to CarMax in Palm Desert, CA. We were impressed with the operation and first dealt with Tito - Co-Manager. We finished off the sell with Paul Goldstine, Customer Specialist 11. Both gentlemen were very pleasant and professional. We did the online appraisal and were pleased that they honored that appraisal. We highly recommend CarMax, a very efficient company. read more

Well, let's start off on a good note, customer service from the salesmen Israel was good at the Palm Desert branch of CarMax. He convinced me to buy the best maxcare plan informing me that my ford warranty 3 year bumper to bumper was expired and anything such as brakes and clutches wouldn't be covered. I accepted it negligently but he insisted. Fast-forwarding to a couple of months - it went down hill after driving in my new 2019 mustang eco boost (manual) after only a few miles added on it. It wasn't checked with the high standards Carmax says it does. The clutch started slipping immediately after 1174 miles. I was thinking gosh, that's stupid of a new car and I was very disappointed. I met Eugene (Carmax employee) and he fixed it the first time at a different shop, because ford was backed up or so he said... I thought nothing of it. So he contracted it out to a place called realistic Autobody and repair, apparently he really trusts them. After receiving my car that was fixed because it went out within my 90 days or 36000 miles cover warranty. Continuing on, four hundred miles later, the master cylinder went out and leaked fluid everywhere; this left me stranded in the Starbucks drive-thu. A group of kind people helped by pushing my car to a empty parking spot. Again, I thought nothing of it and had that same repair shop fix it. I receive my car the 2nd time, no problem. But now here we are at our third fix at about 8006 miles. My clutch is destroyed. Palm Desert CarMax is refusing to cover it claiming it to be abuse but yet they did no further research into the repair shop that fixed it. The day my clutch was destroyed, I was in stop and go traffic and the master cylinder started losing fluid causing smoke to fume out. I can't even begin to explain my disappointment. I no longer trust the Palm Desert CarMax, and on top of the frustration, I didn't approve them to take it to that same auto repair shop on my last "fix." Eugene sent it there and told me he was going to send it to Ford. Which turns out was not factual, he sent it to the realistic transmission autobody and repair place without my consent. He took my car's parts (separately from the car itself) to ford and said they wouldn't cover them. After a day goes by or so he calls me to tell me I owe him 400 dollars for tear down, plus the assembly of my car. After hearing that, I told him I would call him back. I was in shock that this would happen. I had my dad call him and he told Eugene to re-assemble it and have it ready to be towed. I didn't hear what Eugene said but we had to go to a higher-up (manger) at the Palm Desert branch named Mark. Mark said he would have my car re-assembled and ready to be towed to the CarMax parking lot in the morning. That morning, Eugene shows up late to work, and only then called the tow truck to have my car towed at 3:45pm. It arrives at 5:00pm at the CarMax parking lot. I proceed to have it towed to fiesta ford where they tell me my car will not start and that the master cylinder is leaking. A week goes by and fiesta ford says that they found my car's parts (they were missing), clutch, flywheel etc in the trunk. Something that CarMax did not communicate to me. After finding out (by fiesta ford) that my car would be covered by the 5 year / 65000 mile power train warranty to be voided because of them not taking it to them in the first place. Moral of the story, be aware of CarMax Palm Desert, do not let them do this to you. read more