They sold me a car after 5 years paying for it I still owe so much money that I even can't get out of it so much trade negative

Went in to purchase a vehicle on Saturday, DO NOT recommend working with Ashley, she was awful to deal with and didn't seem like she knew what she was doing almost like it was her first day but her name tag said she's been there since 2021. She entered incorrect information on the credit app and duplicated incomes, she clicked through all the paperwork super fast and we actually had to tell her to go back because she wasn't going to offer gap. We got there at 5pm and did not get out until 8. Getting our hopes up of being approved for a vehicle then when submitting the credit app our down payment MORE THAN QUADRUPLE!! Mind you when we decided not to get the MAXCARE she got a nasty attitude and seemed offended. I've bought a car here previously and even recommended my cousin to purchase here, I will only work with JOE he gets 5 STARS he truly goes above and beyond, when working with him I was in and out within a couple hours he didn't make any mistakes and always kept me in the loop. JOE IS AMAZING TO WORK WITH HIGHLY RECOMMEND! read more

I had a wonderful experience here! Celyn was my sales consultant and she was nothing short of amazing. The process was so smooth in trading in my car. I loved I was able to do most of the work online before coming in, it saved a ton of time. Everyone was so friendly, even one of the girls wished me and my girlfriend happy pride :). I love my new car and would definitely recommend this carmax location! read more

CarMax - Used Car Dealers Near Me - San Diego, California

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Joe Stein was the best salesperson! He made buying our 2016 Toyota Highlander super fun and easy. I highly recommend you ask for Joe at Carmax :) read more

CarMax - Used Car Dealers Near Me - San Diego, California

I bought a car from this dealership in late August, and it has continued to randomly shut off during operation, creating a serious safety issue. When I contacted the dealership, the response was disappointing. Instead of working toward a solution, the conversation focused on defending why the issue would not be covered, with little concern for the customer experience or safety implications. There was no sense of ownership or urgency to help. Unfortunately, after reading other reviews, my experience does not seem unique. I will not be returning, and I strongly recommend potential buyers do thorough research before purchasing here. read more

Sold me a vehicle w/ the most severe fire risk recall. Ended up going to Mercedes dealership to get my car key added to my app and they told me about it. They were so concerned. Told me to return it immediately and I should have it towed. They should never have sold the car to me. Thank goodness I was within my 10 day return window. Went back to Mercedes and got a better car w/ a better lender & better rate. Obviously, they do not inspect their cars before selling. Do you own research. Even if your credit is not the best, they only have subpar lenders and the sales team know nothing about how to get a loan pushed through. Took me 3 weeks to get the car/loan because of the constant back & forth. I literally had to provide my phone bill, utility bill, marriage certificate, original ss card, car insurance w/ the car included before i left the lot. This was only 1/2 of what they requested! Went to Mercedes and provided my DL. Got car in 2 hours & its certified w/ warranty. read more

The DMV of car sales. Made an appointment to sell my car, waited hours anyway, and they made up an imaginary transmission problem in order to DRASTICALLY lower their initial quote on my car. Basically pennies compared to what it was actually worth. Worse, no one actually talked to me except a sales manager, and he literally knelt in front of me in the crowded lobby (not an office or private space in any form) and talked to me for no more than 2 minutes. Absolutely impersonal, crowded, loud, and unpleasant. Went to a dealership and sold my car for more money than CarMax offered, in a fraction of the time I waited at CarMax, and with friendly, personal service that I absolutely did NOT get at CarMax. I will never sell or buy a car at any CarMax location. Yuck. read more

First time to sell my car there, Sis the appraisal I received a great price. Return to get the car I like online. A sale person text me before I got there Ashley super nice and resourceful person. Drove the car for around 20 min. They paperwork took a little time due a busy day , how we Ashley was checking constantly the waiting list to see the financial person and sign my documents . She was great brought me water and cookies. Also took me picture with my new car. Very professional staff. I do recommend CarMax to buy or trade in. read more

CarMax - My new car Honda CVR - Used Car Dealers Near Me - San Diego, California

We came a few times to test drive cars and worked with Niko. He's very friendly and personable, giving attentive service without being pushy. It was great working with him! I like how we don't feel pressured to purchase a car when we're at Carmax. I felt free to test drive and leave when I wanted to. We did purchase a car and the thought the price was reasonable for what we got. Tip: make a reservation to test drive because it always gets super crowded and you will be waiting for a while if you just walk in read more

DO NOT SELL YOUR CAR HERE!! They will make up fake issues such as transmission issues or hearing rattling noises that do not exist. When asked to speak to a manager, another sales associate came out and didn't explain what "failed" the drive test just that they were only offering a low ball number that was way cheaper than originally quoted. Terrible service, terrible wait, terrible mechanics and "test drivers". Just another place looking to make money and not do their jobs. Save yourself the time and sell your car somewhere else. What a joke of a carmax. Would rate less than one star if I could. read more

I sold a vehicle to CarMax in March of 2025, and the process went great. They came and picked the vehicle up, signed paperwork, and cut a check for a reasonable value of the car. I asked if I needed to do a Release of Liability on my side, and was told "don't worry about it, we handle everything". All was fine until two months later when I got two parking tickets on the vehicle because the same license plate was still on it. The dispute process was simple enough, and the city the tickets were issued in took care of everything. I submitted a Release of Liability with the DMV myself since CarMax apparently didn't do it and figured everything would be fine. Four months later I'm getting parking tickets again. I call CarMax and their response is "yeah these things happen since the license plate has to stay with the vehicle in California". Turns out CarMax doesn't do a Release of Liability on their side if they aren't selling it on their lot. If they sell it to an auction, like they did in my case, they pass the buck off to the auction and the person that buys it has to register it themselves. CarMax has no responsibility to make sure the new owner registers the car. So now the new owner of my old car hasn't registered the car in their name 6 months later, and I'm going to keep getting tickets until the vehicle gets registered in the new owners name (which it won't). CarMax's only solution is for me to email them a copy of the ticket whenever I get one and they'll send in a dispute to the city themselves. So if you sell your vehicle to CarMax, there's a decent chance your name will be stuck with it until the car gets sent to the crusher! read more

I am a first buyer with Carmax. It has been a great buying experience and wanted to mention how appreciative i am of the Service team at Carmax Balboa. I actually bought the car from carmax Murrieta during a weekend when service department are close. When back home in San Diego I had to take the car in for a few minor fixes. There was an issue with the paint and I was told that if the issue got worst they would take care of it. Well they actually keept their word and fixed it. I was extremely pleased with the service manager Lupe and the service guy Anthony (Ant) was fantastic. He called me daily just to keep me informed on the progress ! read more

Bought a civic here a few years back and it was a terrible experience. They knew the AC was faulty but just filled it with Freon so the cold air would last a few weeks. Just long enough to outlast the 10 day coverage for free repairs. I brought it back anyways to see what they could do (huge mistake). I also mentioned I noticed one of the speakers was crackling so they offered to look at that as well. 2 hours later they tell me they found no issues with the ac or the speaker and charged me $700! They pumped the faulty ac with more freon and turned down my subwoofer in the audio settings. Something I could have done myself for about $12. Its a scam read more

Excellent customer service kind friendly with no pressure! Vehicles are Clean and plentiful

fantastic experience at this service department! Kevin, the technician who helped me, was incredibly friendly and professional. He ran a diagnostic test on my gas tank system and quickly identified the check engine code. He explained everything in a way that was easy to understand and even let me know that if I needed any further assistance, I could schedule an appointment. I really appreciated his honesty and willingness to help. The entire experience was smooth, and I'll definitely be coming back to this location for future service needs. Highly recommend! read more

I wasn't sure what to expect buying a car from here. Did some research and of course some good and some bad things from what I saw on YouTube. My brother said it was easy for him. I did get a car almost two weeks ago. Nate was very helpful and professional. He answered all the questions I had, was patient, and never seemed like he just wanted to sell me a car and on to the next person. My experience was great! Hopefully this helps someone else looking to buy a vehicle. Ask for Nate! read more

Good is I got a decent truck for my needs the bad is I took it in less than a week after I purchased it to find that it had most likely never had a complete service done. The spark plugs were horrible and arcing and the brake booster cap was cracked from obviously over tightening. Oh and when I took it to my local tire shop it was proven to have the totally wrong tires on it for the truck. Wrong size and weight rating (go figure) so $1700 later for the correct tires and $2100 for a 120k service i should have expected less from them. But on the plus side the advisor helped me find a better car than I was initially looking for so there is that.. be choosy and do your diligence at any of these high volume places read more

CarMax - Used Car Dealers Near Me - San Diego, California

I've already have bought 2 cars from Carmax, my husband bought his most recent new car from here and we were here shopping for a new car for my daughter, it's so easy, hassle free, Dennis is the BEST to work with, he's not fuss and just a honest straight shooter which I love! Most definitely will keep coming here for any vehicle purchases! I've had to bring a vehicle back for service and they were top notch and always super courteous! Want an easy peasy stress free way to purchase a car...go to Carmax! read more

I didn't end up buying a car here but my saleswoman Mia was extremely helpful and attentive when it came to our experience. I would definitely recommend going to her if you want a good honest experience. read more

Worst customer service, bought a 2018 Mazda Cx-5 drove it 40K miles in 4 years. It had a cracked cylinder head which I found out later was common in that year. Maxcare would not cover the $5700.00 for the repair. They are great when you walk in to buy a car and then when you need help they turn their back on you. Multi billion dollar company not willing to help out a customer. Carmax mission statement is complete BS, to provide our customers great quality cars at great prices with exceptional customer service - I received non of this!!! read more

DO NOT buy from this place. The most incompetent group of people in the business who can't get ANYTHING done very well at all. Even worse is the service department.....this place needs to clean house!! read more

Service department was very helpful. Great price on new tires and an alignment, had my car done in one day. Very friendly too.

These clowns sold my car that I had reserved .. the guy they had helping me supposedly Nate was trash and unprofessional.. Glad I didn't get a car there read more

I wish I can do 0 stars, I bought a truck from them and the transmission blew a few days later, in the middle of an intersection with my daughter in the back, there's no way that if the team did a proper inspection they couldn't see on a 7 year old truck what was going on with it. yes they did do everything to get me into a loaner in another state so I do appreciate that, but the vehicles here I feel like arent properly serviced. I even brought my truck back in to get serviced it was there for almost an entire week just to change one brake hardware and few days after that is when my transmission blew. some hell of a mechanic they got here. read more

I found a nice car that carmax had at this Kearny Mesa location. I been looking for multiple weeks for this specific vehicle with very specific options, year, color, speaker system etc. I finally find it and I made an appointment last night that I missed due to traffic, etc. I called back to make the appointment again. Which was made by the person over the phone who confirmed that the car was here. I drove 40 miles to come see the car and they tell me "due to the system and the way it works the car is being shipped out to Fremont" then said they couldn't do anything about it... even tho it was still here. I was so angry I was even ready to eat the insane interest rate for that car. I wasted my time and gas which carmax gives no crap about. Terrible system and no one trying to help, NEVER coming here again. they lost another sale AND I hope many more are lost read more

Went to get a quote for selling my 2012 Toyota Rav 4 Limited Edition, no mechanical issues, no accidents, full life of vehicle serviced at Toyota dealerships, only minor cosmetic yet expected wear and tear on a 13 year old vehicle. They quoted $3500. Went over to Carvana and sold it for $5300. Pretty disappointed at the low ball offer. My advice would be don't waste your time, go to Carvana or sell privately. Gave two stars because sales person was friendly and professional, and was seen quickly on a Friday afternoon as a walk -in. read more

I bought my 2016 Kia Forte here!! The car only had 16k miles on it, practically brand new! The man helping me, Jeff (or Geoff.. not sure of spelling but the man is SUPER TALL) was so helpful and explained things clearly for me (someone who has never bought a car before). I got to test drive the car (after providing my drivers license and proof of current car insurance), but unfortunately the test drive was only 20 minutes. You are not allowed any more time than that. The sales people do not come with you on the test drive, so you can drive anywhere you want or test the car how you want in those 20 minutes. You can shop online before coming in person (i highly recommend), and I even more recommend you MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.... Do not come as a walk in.... the wait time to be seen is a long time, even on a random weekday. Overall great experience! Buying a car here is way easier than going to another dealership because they do all the title transfers and DMV paperwork, smog check, recall check, and more before as you buy! You do not have to go to the DMV or submit any other paperwork after....besides signing up for car insurance with AAA, USAA, or somewhere else after you buy the car (which takes 30 minutes or less). I will definitely be back!! I have another car i might bring here to trade in, since you can, buy, sell, or trade here. They have EV cars, hybrids, and gas powered. I did not see any motorcycles here, but doesn't mean they don't have them??? Parking is free here and they have wheelchair accessible parking spots, entrance, and bathrooms inside. read more

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Bought my car it was a great experience. Never regretted the purchase. Very helpful and knowledgeable sercice

Selling a car here is great. This is the second time we've had a five star experience on that end. As you can see in my last review, buying here was more frustrating. But this is our second great experience selling a car here. They are very organized and they honored their online price. read more

Bought a vehicle for my son and a couple days after their return policy ended the check engine light came on. I took it back in because it was still within the 30 day warranty. It's been two weeks and every time I get someone on the phone after hours of trying to reach someone I'm told their waiting on a part and attempting to duplicate the issue. The first week Angelique girl would call to give me the same exact update. A week ago was the last I heard from her and she the part was in and would be replaced the following day. I never heard from her again! After trying to get someone on the phone for an update for a full week I get Angelique on the phone and she gives the same update from the week prior. She also tried to tell me she had called me and left me a message which was a complete lie. She had no update to provide! Either my car is sitting there with no one working on it or they sold me a piece of crap and don't know how to fix it. DO NOT BUY FROM CARMAX! I'll have to drive 30 min to go in person and find out what is going on. read more

Had a great car buying experience and I am very happy with that, but the service in the maintenance department is less than ideal. Save yourself and go somewhere else! Kearny Mesa Infiniti, here we come! read more

I had a car shipped from Louisiana based on photos on the Carmax site. I was charged $995 only to arrive at Carmax Oceanside with a car that was switched early damaged on the outside with undocumented scratches to the back of the car and scratches to the passenger seat and door interior. I tried to file a complaint with no response. The phone number on the website was not operable. DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM CARMAX read more

Great selection of used cars. Most of the parts work well together. Salesman was constantly going to get help with the process. We bought the Great car. But it wasn't easy. read more

Quick easy fast all describe the sale of our car we were in and out in about 1 hour. The selection of cars for purchase is large and this was the easiest sale I have ever done read more

Barb (sales rep), Paul (Sales manager), Koo (sales manager) and Esteban (Sales Manager) failed. I'm a returning consumer to carmax. No one can provide a realistic time frame of getting my vehicle to me. They keep blaming it on emission test, a test that takes less than 30 minutes to complete. Every word they speak is just nonsense and contradictory to what the last says. If I even decide to move forward with the purchase I will NOT consider carmax for my next purchase nor will I recommend them . Instead I will share my experience and recommend their competitors like Carvana or a commercial car retailer. Now as of today 4 days after the car was delivered to the Kearny mesa location, they are reporting the 30 minute emissions is not going to be completed until Monday. No one can seem to do their jobs here. That's evident based on their plethora of 1 star reviews read more

Some of the rudest staff I have ever encountered. They had an offer on my car. I asked for just an appraisal and they asked why and I said well I wanted to see how much I can get before I just sell the car. He pushes my papers back at me and says well I do not need this then. After a supposedly 10 minute wait which they told me would take but I had it marked as an hour. They told me my cars worth. The staff argue amongst each other whether it is the kelly blue book or black book pricing. I agree with the pricing and he begins to ask me what happened with my other offer, and I said well I have been here for over an hour and just want to get this over with because I missed all other appts. He laughs and the process of payments took another hour. I got there at 4:40 and left a 6:40. read more

I went to look at a listed car and watched some employees on the first level of the garage rev a car and proceed to peel out while exiting the garage. I then saw a second driver come up the 1st floor garage ramp at a high rate of speed and turn into the maintenance garage, squealing the tires. Im not really sure how I feel about this place if this is how their employees treat the cars in front of customers. read more

Customer service was excellent! Dominique helped me out with the appraisal of my car, he explained everything thoroughly. Then there was Brandon who was polite and friendly setting up my appointment for the sale. Ashley was so kind and efficient, time flew getting the paperwork done with the sale of my car. All 3 were awesome! Thanks CarMax for having professional and polite employees! read more

Wow, what an INCREDIBLE experience. I made the mistake at a young age of getting into revolving debt by not having the money upfront, but being able to make payments so I'd get a new car every 2/3 years. The last vehicle "owned" was a 2019 Toyota with less than 1,800 miles on it. I worked from home & in my off time stayed home anyway, then add in the pandemic I REALLY wasn't going anywhere. January '22, I knew it was time to get rid of the $500 payment for a car that sat in the driveway. Even with owing on the vehicle, I was able to get back a little over a grand since used cars were getting higher payouts. The process was smooth. At home, I punched in the needed information about my vehicle & set up a date for CarMax to take a look at it. Like I said, the car was barely driven. The mileage gained was really from the drive in NV (where it was purchased) & down to San Diego a few times. Inside was pristine. Needless to say, it took the associate hardly any time to have my car looked over, signed over to CarMax, & I was finally free of a car note after almost 10 years. I can't thank CarMax enough for being so cooperative & taking off one of the biggest bills/stressors off my hands with ease. The car I own now was previously owned by CarMax, I'll definitely be using them in the future. read more

If I could give zero stars they still wouldn't even deserve that. We bought a lemon car from them. Spent close to $50k on a Chevy and in the first year had to put $15k in work on it. Third year in and here I am now needing a whole new transmission. Absolute piece of junk. Even worse, we got the extended warranty that does absolutely everything they will to not pay for anything. We've spent the last two weeks fighting with them just to get an inspector out to the shop to see our car that won't run. Don't waste your money here. They lowballed me on my perfectly running Toyota and I never should've sold that to them either. Absolute crooks. read more