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CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: BigK ()
Date: July 28, 2011 01:36PM

I have a very nice and very low miles 1998 Subaru Outback I decided to sell. I own 4 cars and one has to go so I figured I would go. So off I went to CarMax to see what they offer then decide to sell to them or myself. I have done this before and CarMax has always offered Kelly Blue Book trade-in value, or very close to that number. My son sold them his car a few years ago and they printed out the Kelly page on his car and gave him more because it was a much in demand Subaru WRX.

I arrived and waited 45 minutes for the very nice salesman to call me back in with the info. I did all my research on this car and I know Kelly has a trade-in value of about $5500 and private sale price of $6700. The guy offered me $2000 for this car...with a straight face. I was stunned and asked why. He said they don't use Kelly they never have and they do the estimate and look at what the auctions are getting. I called him a liar because I know they always did base it on Kelly. He called in the guy that did the estimate and he gave me the same bull. I told them what I thought of CarMax and left. I can sell this car all day long for $6000. CarMax is just taking advantage of people that need the money.

Has anyone else used them for an estimate??? Did they use Kelly??

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: JBass ()
Date: July 28, 2011 01:51PM

You think you are gonna get $6000 for a 98 Subaru?!? PLEASE let me know when that actually happens.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: BMW ()
Date: July 28, 2011 02:04PM

I brought my 97 BMW 528i in back in 2007 actually. 10 Year old car, I forget what Kelly blue book was set at, but I was offered 2k as well. Needless to say, I listed it on CL for 7k, and sold it for 5.5k. Carmax is a big fat ripoff when it comes to buying your car. If you have an ounce of effort in you, list it on CL. You just have to deal with deleting the idiot spic offers of 500 bucks, and once you find a real offer you're golden. Remember price it higher than you want, and let them feel like they're negotiating you down.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Warhawk ()
Date: July 28, 2011 02:08PM

They don't offer Kelly bluebook. The base it on what is selling for what price in their auctions. For example - nobody is buying Hummers anymore because I'd gas, so they can't get as much at auction, which means they offer you less.

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: BigK ()
Date: July 28, 2011 02:11PM

I expect to get a little over $5000. I will let u know.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Bill N ()
Date: July 28, 2011 02:21PM

I must have missed something-what was the ripoff? The guy simply offered you less for the vehicle than what you thought it was worth.

Side note-If you can get $6K for selling the vehicle yourself, you should probably do it. Unless I knew the driver and the car I probably wouldn't touch a 1990s car for that price...and I own a 1990s vehicle in fairly good condition that I keep around for the kids to drive. No matter how good the vehicle seems to be you are talking about something that is over 10 years old and could end up being a parts source tomorrow.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Hey ()
Date: July 28, 2011 04:40PM

Hi,

I have a 98 Subaru as well.
Perfect shape.
I know I would never get anything close to 5k for it.
It's a 98.

Subaru started getting the s### together around 2002-3.

Certainly can't blame Carmax.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Let's be real here ()
Date: July 28, 2011 04:46PM

BigK Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I expect to get a little over $5000. I will let u
> know.


exactly how many miles DOES it have on it? And what condition is it in?
Honestly

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: crash test dummy ()
Date: July 28, 2011 04:46PM

Like new condition and I want 6k for it or no deal. $6,000 for a 1998 Subaru and you call Carmax a ripoff?!?
Attachments:
imageOne.jpg

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: unreal ()
Date: July 28, 2011 04:55PM

" CarMax is just taking advantage of people that need the money.:

WTF do you think Carmax is in the business for to make people feel good about themselves? They are in it for money, do you expect anything less?
So take your Kelly Blue Book on the private market and see what you get. That is after you put up with no show appointments, clowns who "really want the car" but dont have the credit to buy it, checks that bounce and pricks that try to all day jew you down on the price.

It is worth it to me to take a few hundred bucks less so I know the check is good from Carmax and I get my money without a lot of hassles.

Carmax is of course going to flip the car to some auction house. They wont put a 1998 on their lot and give it the trashy Manassa Park used car lot look. They figure in their time to get rid of your car and what they can make out of it. Your post reminds me of people who go into a restaurant and bitch about them charging $2.00 for a coke when you can get a six pack for that price.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: BigK ()
Date: July 28, 2011 07:16PM

Let's be real here Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BigK Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I expect to get a little over $5000. I will let
> u
> > know.
>
>
> exactly how many miles DOES it have on it? And
> what condition is it in?
> Honestly


This car is in perfect condition with 76,000 miles. It is a 98 but Outbacks hold value and are in demand. You rarely see an Outback at the local dealers and they go quickly. When I bought this car 3 years ago I looked for weeks for a good car to replace the Outback I had totaled. Check Kelly and then go to Cars.com and the other used cars sites. I am pretty sure I can get $5,000 for this car in this condition with only 76k.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: BigK ()
Date: July 28, 2011 07:21PM

You all totally missed the whole point of this post. I KNOW for a fact that CarMax DID buy based totally on Kelly few years ago. That was very honest and fair. Now they advertise this option like crazy on tv and flat lowball a number that people caught where they really need the money will get flat screwed. I don't care how mkuch y'all think i will or will not get for this car. I am just pointing out the fact that CarMax has changed there policy and lie about it to take advantage of the current financial situation.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: also messed with ()
Date: July 28, 2011 07:40PM

There is no doubt about that. About seven years ago I traded in my Toyota and they gave me a very fair price.
I went in this year and they offered me a joke of a price on my Chevy. I dont know what caused them to change their policy but if they keep it up you can expect business to suffer. I just kept the Chevy.
Maybe they want to get away from taking a trade in, I dont know.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: da market ()
Date: July 28, 2011 10:21PM

BigK Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You all totally missed the whole point of this
> post. I KNOW for a fact that CarMax DID buy based
> totally on Kelly few years ago.

The market has changed in those few years, remember what your house was worth a few years ago...

btw, doesn't Kelly have different 'color' books?

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: BigK ()
Date: July 28, 2011 10:48PM

da market Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BigK Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > You all totally missed the whole point of this
> > post. I KNOW for a fact that CarMax DID buy
> based
> > totally on Kelly few years ago.
>
> The market has changed in those few years,
> remember what your house was worth a few years
> ago...
>
> btw, doesn't Kelly have different 'color' books?


That is what Kelly is to reflect...todays price based on todays market. This statement about the market change and my house foolish.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: kdubz ()
Date: July 28, 2011 11:12PM

if they ever gave kbb trade in values for cars you would have never heard of them because they could not of stayed in business. Your car is worth about $4,500 in a person to person sale unless it has less than 50,000 miles.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: wnrsm ()
Date: July 28, 2011 11:29PM

Your car/house/etc is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, not what it is worth to you.

Right now, that car is worth about $2k. If you sell it for $4k, it will be worth $4k.

CarMax isn't interested in that old of a vehicle, so it isn't worth that much to them. It is like bitching about the lowball offer you got from that drowning guy when you tried selling him a cinder block.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: BigK ()
Date: July 29, 2011 03:56PM

kdubz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> if they ever gave kbb trade in values for cars you
> would have never heard of them because they could
> not of stayed in business. Your car is worth
> about $4,500 in a person to person sale unless it
> has less than 50,000 miles.


I have total proof that 3 1/2 years ago they did give KBB price. My son sold them his WRX and still has the CarMax offer sheet stapled to the printout for the car on KBB. CarMax did it and gave it to him. He returned the next day and took the offer and they cut him a check. So I don't want to hear anything about IF they did it....they did for years and changed the policy and lie about the policy change.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Bill N ()
Date: July 29, 2011 04:26PM

But where is the ripoff?

Best case you've shown that they were following a policy for a period of time and they've now changed the policy. That is their perrogative. Of course it is also possible that their previous policy only applied to certain groups of vehicles, or it is possible that at the time they had that policy they were actually able to get far more for those vehicles than the then current KBB value. So under your best case analysis Carmax is guilty of changing their policy and not notifying you.

As for lying about ever having that policy, perhaps the salesman thought it was an easier way to deal with an upset client than to say something like "Listen. We sell old cars such as yours at auction where they are usually bought by junk yards to be cut up for parts, because the demand for clunkers like this is too low for any reputable car dealership to bother with" or "Look. We used to offer more for old cars like this back when most of you guys were coming back to buy newer cars from us, but with the downturn in the economy we can no longer afford to continue this". Now if you told us that they intentionally damaged the vehicle and then used that damage to justify a lowball offer or if they pulled that old favorite-buying your car and selling you a new car on credit, then telling you your credit app had been rejected so you needed more cash or a higher rate, and BTW they'd already sold your old car" then I would agree that there had been a ripoff.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Warhawk ()
Date: July 29, 2011 04:32PM

My kid needs a car. I'll buy it for $500.

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: ThePackLeader ()
Date: July 29, 2011 05:45PM

I agree with the OP, but I also found other dealerships starting to do the same BS. At least at the other dealerships you can negotiate your purchase price down, though, so it matters less. At CarMax about four years ago, we had them appraise a vehicle of ours, and over the phone they assured me that they used KB. Once we got there, however, they quoted us LESS than 1/4 of the KB value, and they even mentioned that the vehicle had above average wear-and-tear, and they said it had body damage. I gave the guy a funny look, and I almost started laughing. Body damage? Wtf were they smoking? The vehicle in question didn't have a single ding on it, and as far as "Wear-and-tear", that ride was kept in immaculate condition and it was never pushed hard, we always kept up on the maintenance, and it was in top shape. When we finally did sell the vehicle we did it as part of our purchase elsewhere, and we were actually able to get the trade-in price up by almost a thousand dollars, and our purchase price down by over eight thousand (Before we even discussed the trade-in sale).

The one thing I'll tell anyone buying a car, is SHOP around. Don't ever feel pressured to buy at the wrong price, or from a dealership that represents a bad experience. Remember, they need YOUR business, you don't need them. Keep looking around until you find that deal you want, and the experience that has you leaving feeling good about the money you just put down. Travel outside of the major metro area if need be too.

==================================================================================================
"And if any women or children get their legs torn off, or faces caved in, well, it's tough shit for them." -2LT. Bert Stiles, 505th, 339th (On Berlin Bombardier Mission, 1944).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2011 05:46PM by ThePackLeader.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: BigK ()
Date: July 29, 2011 06:51PM

All u assholes want to argue over what my car is or is not worth and missed the whole fucking point. Avoid CarMax unless u want fucked up the ass over your car... End of my posts on this subject if all u rejects don't understand the pont.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: SoylentGreen ()
Date: July 29, 2011 08:32PM

BigK Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> All u assholes want to argue over what my car is
> or is not worth and missed the whole fucking
> point. Avoid CarMax unless u want fucked up the
> ass over your car... End of my posts on this
> subject if all u rejects don't understand the
> pont.


Don't go away mad........just go away since you're too stupid to figure out that CarMax doesn't hold a gun to your head and make you sell your car for their price. Regardless of advertising techniques......it's a buyers market.

They aren't taking advantage of your situation......they are taking advantage of their position. They have cash. You don't.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Grandma's Subaru ()
Date: July 29, 2011 09:06PM

BigK Wrote:
> My son sold them his WRX and
> still has the CarMax offer sheet stapled to the
> printout for the car on KBB.

But you now have a plain jane Subaru that every grandma has now..

Kinda like Cutlass 442 vs Cutlass 4 door..

Wah!!!!!!!

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: CarMax Is A Rip-Off ()
Date: July 29, 2011 09:27PM

Last summer, I took my '99 (not saying the make / model) with 150,000 on it to them. It was polished up all nice, great tires, leather interior - all options (sunroof, ABS, upgraded factory stereo, etc.). They offered me $250.00. I walked out and called my wife. Sadly, she then asked me what I planned to do - list it on Craigslist and have all those "tire kickers" come by for a look? I told her yes. She told me to take the offer and just get rid of it.

Hmmm ... come to think of it, I guess I don't wear the pants in our family. Oh, and, yes, CarMax sucks. They'll never get $1.00 out of me - never, ever, ever.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: DCCardude ()
Date: July 31, 2011 11:28AM

I, for one, appreciate the Original Posters comments. Yeah, Carmax is in the business of making money but it is good to read others' experiences and at least go in with some info. I don't expect them to lose $$$ but I do always appreciate heads-up on area retailers/doctors/service providers whatever.

Carmax most definitely used KBB. In fact, they used to advertise how they paid ABOVE kbb and sold BELOW kbb. Every car offered for sale showed how much you were saving vs KBB and it was usually at least a few hundred bucks. I know this because I have (in the past 10 years) bought 3 cars from Carmax and sold 2 cars to them.

Their pricing used to be great. But I guess now that the economy sucks and their brand is established, they don't need to offer good deals anymore. We ended up buying our last car for $5k LESS than Carmax had it listed. Similarly, we sold our last car for MORE than Carmax.

Overall, I'd say that where they used to be my first stop when I looked to buy or sell my car, they are now useful only as a test drive station. Easier to try 3-4 different models on their lot than go to 3 different dealerships.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: BigK ()
Date: July 31, 2011 11:51AM

At least someone understands why I posted this info and appreciates it for what it was to be....information not assholes defending them.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: can o beer ()
Date: July 31, 2011 12:21PM

There is much more money and less hassle in just selling cars than taking in questionable used ones. Carmax will not put older cars on their lot, they have a cutoff date, not sure what it is.
They then have to take your late 90s model and deal with it and send it on to an auction for whatever price they can get. That takes time and money and doesnt guarantee them a profit.
I am not defending Carmax I am just saying their policy has obviously changed.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: BigK ()
Date: July 31, 2011 02:19PM

can o beer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There is much more money and less hassle in just
> selling cars than taking in questionable used
> ones. Carmax will not put older cars on their lot,
> they have a cutoff date, not sure what it is.
> They then have to take your late 90s model and
> deal with it and send it on to an auction for
> whatever price they can get. That takes time and
> money and doesnt guarantee them a profit.
> I am not defending Carmax I am just saying their
> policy has obviously changed.

That is all I was saying from step one. The policy sucks for the consumer. And they alsways did take any car and always gave KBB price....period. It didn't matter if they could sell it or not, the same deal was offered. My neighbor took his 3 year old Ford in and was considering a trade last week at CarMax and they bigtime lowballed him also on a 3 year old car. He has bought and sold a few cars with them in the past and they still tried to screw him over. He laughed and walked. They will not be around long with these DEALS.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Bottle of Whiskey ()
Date: July 31, 2011 02:31PM

can o beer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There is much more money and less hassle in just
> selling cars than taking in questionable used
> ones. Carmax will not put older cars on their lot,
> they have a cutoff date, not sure what it is.
> They then have to take your late 90s model and
> deal with it and send it on to an auction for
> whatever price they can get. That takes time and
> money and doesnt guarantee them a profit.
> I am not defending Carmax I am just saying their
> policy has obviously changed.


Yeah, but there's also a side that you're not including in what you've stated. CarMax employees have a certain period of time after a car is purchased, to buy the car "at cost". So, there's some incentive for the appraiser to offer a low bid, even if the car is a beater in the chance that one of their employees will buy it at cost. It's a cheap employee benefit that costs CarMax very little money if you think about it.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: can o beer ()
Date: July 31, 2011 02:51PM

How many employees do they have that could sustain that practice unless the employees are also selling the cars on their own? If Carmax took in 20 used cars a day that would be 140 cars a week that employees would have to buy to stay ahead of the game. That is a whole lot of cars to turn over.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Bottle of Whiskey ()
Date: July 31, 2011 03:54PM

can o beer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How many employees do they have that could sustain
> that practice unless the employees are also
> selling the cars on their own? If Carmax took in
> 20 used cars a day that would be 140 cars a week
> that employees would have to buy to stay ahead of
> the game. That is a whole lot of cars to turn
> over.


I'm sure it's quite possible by many of them. Heck, if they're offering $250 for a vehicle that could fetch $1,000 easily, then as a CarMax employee, they've got to be awfully stupid if they're not taking advantage of the situation. Now, I'm not sure if CarMax has a set limit on the number of vehicles an employee can buy. They might have a policy in place. But, my thoughts were more along the lines of the actual appraiser forcing the price down because he / she has their eye on the vehicle. It's all possible.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: BigK ()
Date: August 04, 2011 03:10PM

UPDATE

I did the online survey that CarMax sent me on how they did. I hammered them in a few areas. They called me that day to discuss it. In the discussion it was determined that they did an appraisal on my car as a Subaru Impreza Outback and not the Subaru Legacy Outback that it is. They said that the CarMax Certified Appraiser screwed-up and asked to see the car again and give them another chance. I went there this morning and they wrote me a new offer up from the $2000 they offered to $3500. That is better and almost worth considering. I will have to think about it. I then told them that the Certified Appraiser should be fired for a mistake like that. He totally got the car model wrong then was an ass when I tried to discuss it with him. At least CarMax did follow-up on a problem and is seems they do read the surveys they send out.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: DDS ()
Date: August 04, 2011 03:44PM

Good for you. Now sell your piece of shit car and shut the fuck up about it. I hope the give you a block of cheese too.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: DDS ()
Date: August 04, 2011 03:46PM

And besides, look around the only people driving Subarus are bull-dykes. So make sure you get your strap-on from the glove box.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: More Complete ()
Date: August 04, 2011 03:55PM

BigK Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have total proof that 3 1/2 years ago they did
> give KBB price. My son sold them his WRX and
> still has the CarMax offer sheet stapled to the
> printout for the car on KBB. CarMax did it and
> gave it to him. He returned the next day and took
> the offer and they cut him a check. So I don't
> want to hear anything about IF they did it....they
> did for years and changed the policy and lie about
> the policy change.

You have total proof! So? They are allowed to change the policy. Perhaps the people working there were unaware of the policy change. I’m sure they were grateful that you told them all about it though! Nice job informing the CarMax employees that you know more about their company than they do! Way to go! Mind coming to my work and calling me a liar and telling me the way things use to be?

BigK Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I then told them that the Certified Appraiser
> should be fired for a mistake like that. He
> totally got the car model wrong then was an ass
> when I tried to discuss it with him. At least
> CarMax did follow-up on a problem and is seems
> they do read the surveys they send out.

Don’t like the offer, go somewhere else. Or, alternately, you could call people liars, and get all fed up, and stomp your feet, and start a thread on a message board, and post all over the interwebs about this “ripoff” – all because CarMax didn’t offer you what you expected. On second thought, that would make YOU the ass.

Anyway, thanks for the update. We were all holding our breath and praying that this terrible wrong was made right.

Have a nice day. :)

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: BigK ()
Date: August 04, 2011 05:31PM

More Complete Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BigK Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I have total proof that 3 1/2 years ago they
> did
> > give KBB price. My son sold them his WRX and
> > still has the CarMax offer sheet stapled to the
> > printout for the car on KBB. CarMax did it and
> > gave it to him. He returned the next day and
> took
> > the offer and they cut him a check. So I don't
> > want to hear anything about IF they did
> it....they
> > did for years and changed the policy and lie
> about
> > the policy change.
>
> You have total proof! So? They are allowed to
> change the policy. Perhaps the people working
> there were unaware of the policy change. I’m
> sure they were grateful that you told them all
> about it though! Nice job informing the CarMax
> employees that you know more about their company
> than they do! Way to go! Mind coming to my work
> and calling me a liar and telling me the way
> things use to be?
>
> BigK Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I then told them that the Certified Appraiser
> > should be fired for a mistake like that. He
> > totally got the car model wrong then was an ass
> > when I tried to discuss it with him. At least
> > CarMax did follow-up on a problem and is seems
> > they do read the surveys they send out.
>
> Don’t like the offer, go somewhere else. Or,
> alternately, you could call people liars, and get
> all fed up, and stomp your feet, and start a
> thread on a message board, and post all over the
> interwebs about this “ripoff” – all because
> CarMax didn’t offer you what you expected. On
> second thought, that would make YOU the ass.
>
> Anyway, thanks for the update. We were all holding
> our breath and praying that this terrible wrong
> was made right.
>
> Have a nice day. :)


Well I am sure that if you had been in my shoes you just would have bent over and taken it right up the ass...with a smile. Have a nice day. :)

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: DDS ()
Date: August 04, 2011 08:41PM

Still offered you about half of what you said you could get in your original post. I say you still got fucked, douche.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Morons ()
Date: August 04, 2011 09:47PM

CarMax is a company made for those with awful credit.

The rest of us don't care about your problems.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Bottle of Whiskey ()
Date: August 04, 2011 10:40PM

Morons Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> CarMax is a company made for those with awful
> credit.
>


I thought Eastern's was the company for bad credit customers. No? Remember their ads "where you job's your credit"?

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: joesmith ()
Date: October 12, 2012 02:42PM

they offered me $700 for a 2000 mitsubishi galant in great condition with 62k miles. kbb said in fair condition would be $2,800- 1/4 of the listed worth. I am happy to say I left with my car.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Throat Slitter ()
Date: October 12, 2012 02:56PM

Their tactics have changed a lot. In the last 4 years, I've sold 2 used cars to Carmax. A 2000 Chevrolet Impala which was 10 years old and a 2004 Saturn Vue which was 4 years old. They gave me BlueBook, I took their cash.

Then I went in 2 months ago and also tried selling a Subaru and was offered HALF BlueBook. I went home and sold it on Craigslist. It took me 3 weeks of no-show test drives, brown savage low ball offers and cheap hipsters but I sold it for $500 above BlueBook.

I think it's all about supply and demand. If they're stocked and demand is low, they aren't going to offer any more than they have to. If they're low on stock and demand is up, they'll pay BlueBook.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Bottom Line ()
Date: October 12, 2012 04:08PM

Carmax isn't in business to acquire your car, whether for cash of as a trade-in, at a 'fair' price.

The cheaper ANY dealer can buy its inventory, the profit they'll make.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Car Salesman ()
Date: October 12, 2012 04:21PM

We try and make a trade-in and new car purchase into ONE transaction (your monthly payment). That way we have FOUR opportunities to fuck you for as much cash as possible.

1) As stated above, the less we spend on a trade-in the more we can make when we re-sell it.

2) The more we can charge you on your new car because you don't have the sack to negotiate your price down.

3) Don't look for financing ANYWHERE else but right here at the dealership! Our 19% finance rates for people with bad credit let us "discount" that down to 12% for our "best" customers.

4) I'm going to spend a great deal of time telling you how reliable your new car is...and THEN? I'm going to spend TWICE AS MUCH TIME selling you a 20 year extended warranty you'll either NEVER use or...our "helpful" service department will always explain away that since you hoon your car you've voided that 20 year extended warranty.

5) Don't even THINK about getting your vehicle serviced ANYWHERE but the dealership. Nobody's going to give you a smaller loaner car, keep your car in the shop longer, sell you more "exhaust bearings" and other shit you don't need, spray more motor oil around your pan seal which clearly is "leaking" to sell you on a new gasket and charge you more...than the very dealership that sold you the car.

OOOOOPS....I guess that's 5 ways...

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: kevster ()
Date: October 12, 2012 04:36PM

People;


Keep in mind Kelly Blue Book is an approximation. It doesn't reflect local trends and supply and demand.

Carmax offering you 1/4 of what you **think** you can sell it for private makes sense. They have a business with overhead. They have to clean your car so its like new, let it sit on the lot for weeks or months, pay employees, overhead, etc...

I could see them buying a $30k+ car for closer to 50% of kbb or more since there's more profit, but the amount of effort to sell a $10k car probably isn't a big money maker for them.

No ones stopping you from selling your car yourself.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: FloorIt ()
Date: October 12, 2012 06:44PM

I would never buy a car from an individual. Only from a dealer with a warranty.
Virginia Lemon Laws are great.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Department of Redundancy Dept. ()
Date: October 12, 2012 08:21PM

kevster Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They have a business with overhead. They have to clean your car so its like new, let it sit on the lot for weeks or months, pay employees, overhead, etc...

Don't forget the...you know...overhead, shitstick.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: SoylentGreen ()
Date: October 12, 2012 09:48PM

Department of Redundancy Dept. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> kevster Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > They have a business with overhead. They have to
> clean your car so its like new, let it sit on the
> lot for weeks or months, pay employees, overhead,
> etc...
>
> Don't forget the...you know...overhead, shitstick.


What about it?
Attachments:
417SEWKSXHL__SL500_AA300_.jpg

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Stones. ()
Date: October 12, 2012 09:53PM

We brought a car in, they offered us $800 for a car that was valued at well over $5000. It was when punked was on and if I was famous, I would have thought I was on the show.

We later sold the car at a great deal to a very happy buyer for $4500

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: lolzzzzz ()
Date: October 12, 2012 10:20PM

Why would you be mad about the low ball offer? It's like going to a pawn shop, expect to be ripped off. They have the choice to offer you any price they desire. LMAO. I always like the guys on CL that offer you 200 bucks for a junk car. Part it out yourself and get a bunch more

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Gunrunner ()
Date: October 13, 2012 10:36AM

I would sell it myself.I have never sold or traded a car to a dealer.It sounds like you have a cherry Subaru.a 14 yr. old car with only 76k.Thats great.Do you have all the maintenance records you can show a prospective buyer?That could make the sale.I would put a $7,500 price on it.You can always lower it if it doesn't sell.It may be a tough sell as it IS 14 yrs old but it does have only 76k and it is a Subaru.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: dobbsstrong ()
Date: October 14, 2012 12:18PM

Great point unreal. Selling your car on Craigs List can be a hassel, if you have something that really nobody wants.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: fucarmax ()
Date: January 25, 2013 09:42PM

My carmax experience

I went to carmax because they had more variety then where i live. I ended up finding a vehicle me and family both loved.
It was a mercury mountaineer fully loaded. My wife and i go to pick this upon leaving the dealership the sensor comes on.
I was so fucking mad I wanted to bring the vehicle back. So I take it to my auto mechanic of 20 years
and he tells me the back brakes are shot the back rear sensor that controls the fuel pump from turning off when fueling
was not working. I call the car max back up and report the problems.
They informed me to bring it in and take a look at it. I brought it in 25 days later!!!!!!!!
They can not figure out the problem, they say they brought it to the ford dealership and event the mighty ford can not
figure out this fuel pump sensor problem.

How a vehicle does not go through a
quality check of some sort blows my mind. My mechanic took 2 hours and found the problems. So carmax either does not do
quality checks or knowingly lets cars go off their lot with problem hoping their customers to not notice.

bottom line the people i talk too seem like they are trying to fix problem while doing nothing to do so. Then because they
can not fix the problem said they could offer me my money back or a older model vehicle.

http://fuckyoucarmax.blogspot.com/

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Weirdosviller ()
Date: January 26, 2013 07:39AM

Ford bought my honda element 2004 for $8,000

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: wnrsm ()
Date: January 26, 2013 09:12AM

Here's what I don't get about the OP's insistence that he is merely informing us about CarMax and not bitching about them. He's calling out CarMax for a lowball offer on his vehicle. They took the time to inspect the vehicle and determined what it was worth to them and made an offer. That offer would have been payment on the spot with all paperwork done right then and there. You got rid of it in very little time with confidence that you'll never have to deal with the car again.

I sold a vehicle on CraigsList. Almost all the offers were obnoxious lowballs from pricks who wanted something for nothing.
I was convinced that if I had listed it at the same price as the lowball offer, some fuck would offer me a third of that price. I sold it for asking price to the first and only person that showed up to look at it.


Here's what you DON'T get with your CarMax offer through no fault of your own:

You have to waste time with the obnoxious lowball offers were made without looking at the vehicle. You can ignore email, but some want to get you on the phone before wasting your time. You can state your price as firm and specifically discourage lowball offers. It makes you look like a jerk and you still get them anyway.

You get several people that arrange a time to look at the car only to not show or call to let me know they're not showing. I'd bet you would want to spend your time doing something else, even if it is watching "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo"

The colorful diversity of the internet showing up at your house. You all are fine, really. It is all the other fucks on the unwashed internet I worry about. If you show it in a public place, you waste a lot of time on the common no-shows. In the end, the buyer has your address on the title.

Do you take checks? Can I give you half now and send you the rest when I get paid? My grandmother had shingles before she died in '82, can you cut me break?

I'd like to pay your asking price, but I'm $500 short, will you accept this? BTW, look at all of these cheaper vehicles in New Jersey I found on my iPad with a data plan.

It is reasonable that a potential buyer would want to test drive the vehicle. So you have to awkwardly refuse if they look like a shithead and hope you can pick out the shitheads. Then there's the chance of an honest accident that happens while driving an unfamiliar car while conversing about its history and features.

"I should get a discount for the gearshift breaking off in my hand... and it was on there good!" also "The headlight lenses are foggy and a marker light is burned out, so let's knock $600 off your price that already accounted for these flaws" (then add the game of overpricing to offset this bullshit)

You know and believe that your car has no major or minor issues, but the buyer could come back and bother you if they want - even if they broke it. Stating that the sale is "as-is" doesn't prevent some pissed off buyer from doing something about it.

The buyer could get into an uninsured accident while it is not completely out of your name. You could be completely without liability, but you could have to spend a lot of time and money making sure of it. (note: In California, the plates stay on the vehicle forever - so your photo violations and parking tickets are sent to you until the state's computers are updated, assuming the buyer transfers the vehicle.)


How much the above adds value to the CarMax offer is a matter of personal opinion.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: 3rd Pedal ()
Date: January 26, 2013 11:00AM

@wnrsm: That, sir...was one of the finest posts I've ever read on this "blog" as people like to mis-name it. I completely agree with everything you just said. Getting slightly less than market value to be rid of a car free and clear with cash (ok, cashier's check) in hand well...there's value on that. I mean, how many no-shows or time wasting looky loos does one have to deal with in a private sale before you off-set market value paid?

The ONLY caveat I would add is that if you are selling a unique, special or otherwise significant automobile...CarMax is definitely NOT the way to go. Last year, I sold my low mileage 2006 Corvette Z06. This was the first year for the Z06 so, it was by no means "just" a Corvette. I took it to CarMax just to get a feel of the market but, I ended up selling it to a privately owned Corvette specialty re-seller in Pennsylvania and got $2,000 more than CarMax offered. And they even agreed to take care of shipping...free.

But yeah...if you've got a Honda Accord or Ford Taurus or Chevy Impala which is less than 7 years old, just take it to CarMax and pick up your check and be done.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Doug Brauner. The CarCzar ()
Date: January 26, 2013 10:01PM

I know you can get jobbed at times for trading a car in or selling it to Car MAX. Has anyone ever donated their car to a charity? I hear those commercials on the radio all the time. We will do the paperwork and tow your car for free. Any reactions or information?

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: wnrsm ()
Date: January 27, 2013 06:23PM

You used to be able to claim the car's full value as an income deduction. It was a bit of a scam going there.

The charities just sell the car to a wholesaler for a very low price. Now you can only claim what the charity got for it when they sold it.

I heard one charity claim that they use the cars themselves by giving the cars to their beneficiaries, so the full value deduction applies. They are probably much pickier regarding what they will accept.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: bph ()
Date: February 22, 2013 05:15PM

Sir:

It is not their job to make you happy. It's their job to buy it as cheap as possible, and then turn around and sell it for a lot more.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: hammerhead9999 ()
Date: February 24, 2013 11:24PM

It amazes me at the way some people look at things. Most dont consider the cost that it takes to put a car thru the shop and to repair the "hidden things that sellers cover, not that anybody wouuld do a thing like that. They are going to offer you auction prices, minus the repairs they see to be done, SO, if your car has a trade of $4000.00 and it needs 4 new tires and a full detail, then dont expect it to bring $4000.00, and a full detail cost more than $12 at the local car wash!!! I detail cars, as a side job and sometimes the bill can be as much as $300.00. I do quality work and my customers are satisfied. Sure, I have a friend that buys my cars for me at a auction and I pay him a fee of $300.00 over the cost( real cost, because I go with him). I know that its my baby once I buy it, no backing out. Over the years I have done pretty well, but I have got bitten once or twice also. Two cars ago, I bought a vehicle which I though had a tire out of balance. Drove it a little bit before I got them balanced! Guess what..not the tires, but the driveshaft was out a little. $2000.00 i was fixed. Alll that being said, Your car or anything else for that matter is only worth what you can get out of it, period....And by the way, the $2000.00 was to rebuild the Transmission and transfer case and have the driveshaft fixed. That little vibration caused a lot of damage. Was I able to recover my cost, yeap. Why??? Because I Had a high demand vehicle, that was the right color combo, with all the bells and whistles, and I was honest with the Buyer. I told him what I had done and he wanted to take it to his Mechanic... Sure!!! He came back and said.. I dont "dicker" around, I want your bottom dollar. If I don't like it, I say thank you and go. I told him what I would take, and he bought it because I was honest with him. I made a whooping $176.00, but I did drive it for 6 months 4k miles. So he got a good deal and we were both happy......

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: StickyJ ()
Date: February 25, 2013 07:21AM

This whole thread is stupid. The only people I see driving a Subaru Outbacks are lesbians anyway. Just go down to Dupont Circle and wear your cut-offs , with the tips of the pockets showing and hold a for sell sign. You can seel it to a dyke passing by, they you can seel your booty to any man passing by, homo.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: wickedsexlesssunuvabitch ()
Date: May 29, 2013 12:12AM

Every poster on this thread is a fucked up piece of shit.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: orc ()
Date: June 10, 2013 01:04PM

Kbb used to have much lower pricing which was much lower than other guides. They changed a few years back and kbb is no longer condusive to dealers trying to buy a vehicle.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Steve Gregory ()
Date: August 06, 2013 01:42PM

A friend of mine was an appraiser at Carmax. What they don't tell you is that what the appraiser enters into the computer as the value of your car is automatically reduced by 10-20% arbitrarily by the computer. So what the sales guy sees and shows you is less than what the buyer offered by several hundred to over a grand.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Lee ()
Date: August 07, 2013 01:02AM

Way back when around the Mid 90's, Carmax did buy cars outright for surprisingly generous prices. It must have been close to blue book.

Recently I was disappointed with a Carmax offer on my car. However, carmax was correct. Thinking I was doing a good deed I sold the car to a person in need for less than that price and it needed a new rear end within two weeks.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: ppojnopdfopadf ()
Date: August 07, 2013 01:51AM

CarMax offers are a joke...and have been for years. If you sell your car to CarMax, you are pretty much an idiot.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: lolwtf ()
Date: August 07, 2013 09:48AM

They are a business, not a charity. If you don't like their price -- move on and sell it for more. They give you an appraised value that works for 7 days. It seems plenty of people still come back.. because they fail to sell their car for more in that period of time.

Unless your car is real new and decently low on mileage.. they're not even going to put it on the lot. They are going to auction it off -- to other car dealers.. who have to then mark it up and sell it. They're not going to give you top dollar possible with that business model.. just think about it.

Also, your (this is aimed at anyone reading and not just the OP from 2 years ago) deluded version of the KBB value isn't true. Most people declare their car with warping rotors, a few dents and scratches, and all kinds of other non-optimal under the hood conditions as "EXCELLENT" shape. Nah bro. Nahhhhhhhhhh.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: dumm dumm ()
Date: October 29, 2013 01:43AM

you went on kelly blue book? yes so when you enter the car info your suppose to enter the correct information!!!! kelly blue book its all based on miles!! so if your car has 165 miles and you put 110 miles of course its going to offer you more money the less the better? i have a 2006 nissan altima with 165 miles and kelly is asking $2000 for it ill take it in a heart beat..carmax are kool and they play right dont get mad just accept and use the money for a down??

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: gerry3 ()
Date: October 29, 2013 04:08AM

What carmax does is sell it at auction for you. They dont make a killing. They churn the 98 Suburu's. Im surprised they offered u that much. 6 grand for a 98 Suburu, i dont care how many miles it has especially because you failed to mention. You better take that quick you idiot.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: derpppp ()
Date: October 29, 2013 06:42AM

This thread hurt my head....dealerships go by what they can get at auction and what blackbook says its worth since that is the same tool that the banks use to finance it. Second, these are not high in demand cars that I am reading about, a legacy wagon and a galant. They aren't going to fly off the lot. If you are so hard pressed on the KBB value you should probably ask Kelly to sell it for you and get that money that she says it's worth. If not have fun with all that comes along with selling it on craigslist or whatever on your own.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Eye Color ()
Date: November 18, 2013 03:35PM

Good Lord, it's as if the original poster pooed on the American flag.

The business model of Carmax is to be in contrast to the rest of the industry -- total integrity. I like to hear consumers' perspectives, take it all with a grain of salt, and make up my mind accordingly. Thank you to the OP for being willing to share and take all the crap. Some people need whack off my fragile ego by trying to kick others in the face for their opinions -- always has been and always will be so. (Unless, I suppose, if I work for Carmax and I'm sleazy-cheesy enough to try to invalidate negative customer reviews. Good luck with that in the long run.... but I don't think that's what's going on here.)

Anyway, I agree, I'm hearing enough anecdotes, paired with my own experience, to believe that CarMax is losing it. That's too bad, they had a good thing going.

Thank you all, and cheers. -e

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Eye Color ()
Date: November 18, 2013 03:41PM

(Mangled sentence should read: "Some people like to whack off their fragile egos". Heh. Old way is more entertaining, though.)

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: Keep Alive ()
Date: November 18, 2013 07:12PM

Keep the thread alive its a good read about scams when trying to sell a car

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: John Curtis ()
Date: April 09, 2014 07:30PM

Carmax is a great place to sell cars to the gullible, simple-minded morons who live in NOVA.

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Re: CarMax....buy your car ripoff
Posted by: fuck face ()
Date: April 12, 2014 12:58AM

So Big K, what your saying is that KBB will send you a check for $5500 without even looking at your vehicle? yeah didn't think so, welcome to the car business fuck boy. I'd love to throw that in your face if you ever tried to come buy a car from me. Another thing people don't understand is that this is Virginia, and KBB is based on the West Coast. So take KBB and shove it up your ass. Every dealer will say fuck you in a nice way.

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