CarMax Appraisal? SEEMS FISHY!

[freddog97]

Hi Everyone!

Im heading to the dealership this week for a new 2020 jl sport. I wanted to shop around my trade to get an idea of the price....

Well I brought my car in, they look it over and they say its in good condition! The associate then says....your car has been in a minor accident in 2015 according to Experian.

We could offer you 6K. which is significant less then KBB trade in/KBB instant cash offer.

I originally bought the car 2017 and was given a CLEAN CarFax...I kept all papers show them and they say well to bad it says an accident. They then say it won't effect your value. Accidents clearly effect value right?

I turned it down went home and bought CarFax on my car again and it comes back clean!! no accidents.


I have a feeling they just made it up as they didn't even show the paper work.

What do I make of this?? Anyone have a similar experience?

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[Arterius2]

Hi Everyone!

Im heading to the dealership this week for a new 2020 jl sport. I wanted to shop around my trade to get an idea of the price....

Well I brought my car in, they look it over and they say its in good condition! The associate then says....your car has been in a minor accident in 2015 according to Experian.

We could offer you 6K. which is significant less then KBB trade in/KBB instant cash offer.

I originally bought the car 2017 and was given a CLEAN CarFax...I kept all papers show them and they say well to bad it says an accident. They then say it won't effect your value. Accidents clearly effect value right?

I turned it down went home and bought CarFax on my car again and it comes back clean!! no accidents.


I have a feeling they just made it up as they didn't even show the paper work.

What do I make of this?? Anyone have a similar experience?

This is how they make money, the sneaky car salesman that is.
You want a good price on the Jeep, or a good price for the trade-in car. They'll get you either way.
My opinion. Get the best price on the Jeep, then sell your car privately.

 

[Durango]

I have taken cars to CarMax and been told that the towing base plates I had installed on them, were "frame damage" and so they wanted to give me less than the KBB Trade Value. BTW - usually the KBB Instant Cash Offer does not work out to be the Trade Value KBB annotates, being less. So right away, a dealer only offering you that KBB Instant Cash Offer is getting a better deal than you, should you agree to it.
Back to CarMax...after selling or trading vehicles to new car dealers, either as part of a package, or just as a way to sell the vehicle, I would once in awhile see what CarMax would give me, and it was always less than other dealers. And as the other poster notes, you will always do better selling it yourself - I just don't have the patience to do that.
I always insist on KBB Trade value when selling or trading to a dealer - but sometimes they will come in a grand less on 40 or 50 grand vehicles...then I have to decide. But sometimes checking with a few dealers you will find some will give up that grand while others will not.
Lastly, I know someone who gets good money (KBB Trade Value, or a little more even) at a different CarMax than the one I have gone to - CarMax uses a complex database that takes into account what like vehicles are selling for at other stores in the same zone, how many of like vehicles are in inventory within X-miles, KBB's values, Manheim's values and so on. New car dealers don't have all that unless they're part of a larger ownership group, and that can make a difference.
Good luck.

 

[Pingbling23]

I like to estimate what dealers are selling used cars for and base my trade in value on that.

 

[Kyanche]

Make sure to check out carvana and vroom as well. They usually offer a little more than carmax does.

 

[Jennalee]

I don’t know if you have Shift in your area but they offered my sister $2000 more on her Dodge than Carmax did

 

[N8213]

Carfax is not infallible. I'm looking at a 2004 bmw M3 right now. Carfax notes damage at one point, but no accident. Dealer said this normally happens if there was something minor like a shopping cart dent, etc. Clean Carfax, but the service history I got from the BMW dealer notes the car was towed in at one point since the transmission would not go into gear - it would not go into gear because the hood would not close due to body damage on both sides. That's certainly not a shopping cart.

My point being - Carfax is not infallible. I also used to work at Carmax many years ago - they do an inspection on the frame and look at paint thickness to confirm body parts were rebuilt if they suspect something from the frame inspection. I remember having a guy come in with a land rover and a jaguar for trade in - both had frame damage and the entire back half of both had been repainted. That was not anywhere on the Carfax reports. If there is no police report/insurance claim and no body shop report then it will not show up on Carfax. To be clear - I'm not knocking Carfax, but relying 100% on any one tool is never a good idea.

And Durango is correct - occasionally I had inspections when I worked at Carmax that claimed frame damage for something minor like the seams under the frame rails being bent over a bit from where someone did not use spacers when jacking the vehicle up and simply bent the rail seam over.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

Carfax is not infallible. I'm looking at a 2004 bmw M3 right now. Carfax notes damage at one point, but no accident. Dealer said this normally happens if there was something minor like a shopping cart dent, etc. Clean Carfax, but the service history I got from the BMW dealer notes the car was towed in at one point since the transmission would not go into gear - it would not go into gear because the hood would not close due to body damage on both sides. That's certainly not a shopping cart.

My point being - Carfax is not infallible. I also used to work at Carmax many years ago - they do an inspection on the frame and look at paint thickness to confirm body parts were rebuilt if they suspect something from the frame inspection. I remember having a guy come in with a land rover and a jaguar for trade in - both had frame damage and the entire back half of both had been repainted. That was not anywhere on the Carfax reports. If there is no police report/insurance claim and no body shop report then it will not show up on Carfax. To be clear - I'm not knocking Carfax, but relying 100% on any one tool is never a good idea.

And Durango is correct - occasionally I had inspections when I worked at Carmax that claimed frame damage for something minor like the seams under the frame rails being bent over a bit from where someone did not use spacers when jacking the vehicle up and simply bent the rail seam over.

THIS!

Carfax can’t get reports from every state. Texas, for instance, doesn’t allow insurance companies to share history information.

 

[Loki Kai]

Work your BEST deal on the Jeep with NO trade and then see IF they are interested in buying your car. Two separate negotiations but the dealer may feel more pressure to make you a good offer to get the deal done. They will obviously work it into the same deal but by separating them it takes away the shell game. This is how I have purchased my last several vehicles.

 

[Fire Burns]

CarMax is notorious for lowballing prices. Obviously an extreme (and somewhat prankish) example, but there is a YouTube video where a guy took his vintage $3 million Lamborghini Miura to CarMax and received a legitimate $199,000 offer from them. Needless to say, he didn't sell it. But guys, this is how they make their money - well not buying Lambos for pennies on the dollar, but indeed by purchasing everyday rides for pennies on the dollar. Call it a convenience tax. Most folks just roll up to a CarMax, hoping to trade up, and take end up accepting the undercut offer on their trade-in as not to have to deal with selling their vehicle privately. That way you roll out of there with the car you want - instant gratification. However, you certainly pay for this convenience!

 

[kkuntz01]

Hi Everyone!

Im heading to the dealership this week for a new 2020 jl sport. I wanted to shop around my trade to get an idea of the price....

Well I brought my car in, they look it over and they say its in good condition! The associate then says....your car has been in a minor accident in 2015 according to Experian.

We could offer you 6K. which is significant less then KBB trade in/KBB instant cash offer.

I originally bought the car 2017 and was given a CLEAN CarFax...I kept all papers show them and they say well to bad it says an accident. They then say it won't effect your value. Accidents clearly effect value right?

I turned it down went home and bought CarFax on my car again and it comes back clean!! no accidents.


I have a feeling they just made it up as they didn't even show the paper work.

What do I make of this?? Anyone have a similar experience?

Carfax reports are about as useful as used toilet paper.

I’ve bought two vehicles that had “clean” Carfax reports, only to learn myself a year or so later they were involved in accidents that caused serious damage. Hell I traded in a JK that had made an expensive trip to the body shop after an off-road if mishap that showed a clean Carfax when I traded it in.

While possible I’d say it’s not likely they’re making anything up. The report they’re getting from Experian likely pulls from an insurance database where as Carfax pulls from state filed accident reports, dealer service records and dmv records if memory serves me right.

 

[SecondTJ]

Not fishy at all.

CarMax does not use KBB to assess value. They use data from their own auction and retail sales results, as well as MMR and Black Book.

Where a traditional dealer will inflate trade in value to make the numbers on a deal work, CarMax will not. They will only pay you auction value.

CarMax does not use CarFax for vehicle history because of too many reporting issues. Instead they use AutoCheck and NICB.

 

[MKC JL]

My only experience with them they offered me several thousand more then the dealer would. Didn't go that route but was surprised at the offer.

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