I know everyone has better thing to do than listen to my personal rant but I'm so pissed off at these corporate thieves that I need to tell somebody. Pretty pissed off at myself too. What was I thinking, that adding a corporate overlord to the already questionable dealings of used car sales would somehow improve things?
I wasn't even going to bother until a friend called me today and told me he traded in his car for $500 more than the Car Max "no haggle" offer I got. His car is the same model as mine but five years older, not an upgrade model, the body has cancer, the convertible top needs to be replaced and the interior is torn seat cushions with worn carpets and a scratched up dashboard. But he got $500 more than I was offered!
It's all over now except the crying and the $245 that I shelled out in good faith to CarMax. I gave them $245 to have the car of my choice shipped from one Car Max dealer to another for another that is 100 miles away from my home, then ruined my Memorial Day weekend driving up there. I was a fool for thinking it would be worth the trip. My best guess now is that the closest CarMax is 100 miles out of town because the New York City area is just too smart for their games.
Let me start from the beginning. I'm not going refrain from disclosing names. If CarMax wants to sue me for telling the truth then so be it. Besides I still have the printout of their offer for my car.
I haven't purchased a used car since the 1980's but after three Chrysler convertibles that are followed by the word "Limited" in a row I've grown fond of them, perhaps "addicted" is not too strong a word. When I went up to Chrysler for a new one, I found out that Chrysler got out of the convertible business this year and no amount of searching could come up with a left over.
So since late winter with a few dealers promising to call me when a Chrysler 200 Limited convertible come in and the phone never ringing, I test drove a few convertibles from other companies that are still in production and started doing my research on buying a used one. White ones in great condition seem easy enough to find but if you like a little color and don't live in Florida these cars with low mileage are a tough find.
Browsing the internet I came across the perfect car for me on a CarMax page. The car VIN#1C3BCBFG8CN213242 was perfect for me, the colors I would have picked if I could have bought a new one and low mileage on the odometer. The price for this 2012 Chrysler 200 Limited was $22,998, well above market value but I wanted it. No haggle policy made it even more expensive because if you go to a reputable used car dealer and pay what they are asking, that on you and CarMax only sells it for the price on the sticker. I knew I was already taking a shellacking but I knew what I wanted and I was a motivated buyer.
So I contacted Pat Santa Barbara at the CarMax East Haven location. After a few discussions and having him check a few details on the car in Virginia I made it very clear that I didn't need to haggle but I would not put up with them offering much less than the mid-range Kelly Blue Book trade in value on my present car. Once he assured me they would come within $1000 of the $4,550 listed I offered my credit card number to pay for the transfer to Connecticut.
So my phone rang and I made the road trip to what I hoped would be my new car. I arrived, gave the keys to my car for an estimate then took the 2102 out for a test drive. Came back to the office and said "Let's Just do the paperwork, get the insurance transferred, subtract the value of my old car and I'm out of here. That's when the screwing came.
Now I should mention that I'm no fool. I knew I'd be taking a bath on the trade in because they know I'm wasn't driving two cars back to New York City and I was certainly not going to drive home in one take the Metro North and a taxi back there to drive home again. Like I said before I paid the $245 transfer fee "I'll accept up to $1000 below the mid-range Kelly Blue Book trade in value."
When this salesman started in with the computer screen presentation, a game where instead just handing you the offer they scroll down through the screen pointing out every flaw before unveiling the low ball offer I kind of felt sorry for him because he was coming up empty. He let out a sigh of relief when he got to the two "dings," tiny marks from people in shopping mall parking lots opening their car into mine. But that was the only flaw in my cream puff garage kept convertible.
Then he finally got to the number on which they will not budge, $1,500. I should point out that my car is not new but low mileage, one owner and a spotless carfax. I should point out something that Pat knew even before I paid the transfer fee, a Ford dealer offered me $4,200 the week before. I probably should also point out that I had gotten a mailer from my regular Chrysler dealer of $2,850 sight unseen "even if I had to push it there" but here's this joker trying to keep a straight face and saying "$1,500" for my 2002 Chrysler Sebring Limited convertible like it was a serious offer.
I wish I could say that I told him "Take your offer and shove it up your ass" then walked out of the place. I wish I could say it but I embarrassed myself even further by trying to reason with him and asking to see a manager. It was just more time wasted listening to stupidity like "discontinued cars don't do as well." The manager never showed but when I got home I gave it another try, like talking to the walking dead. I sent letters to the dealership and CarMax corporate but no reply and nine or ten days later they found another buyer.
I’ve been actively shopping for a late model Chrysler 200 Limited convertible ever since and dealers have explained to me why CarMax offers so little on cars they are not planning to sell themselves. But I’m not writing this to understand their actions nor do I care. They screwed me, they wasted an entire day of my life and ruined my holiday weekend. The title is my point “CarMax Really Sucks.”
If a few people here read this and don’t use CarMax, that would be great.