carmax wants it

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Carmax comes through again. They offered $2K more than the dealer was wanting to give me. Puts it more in the ballpark, and definitely might be the time to get out of the VW before it freefalls some more.

Still not sure on A3 v. WRX. Although I gotta call the insurance company again...they gave me a crazy high number on the WRX wagon.

onewhippedpuppy · 06-06-2007, 12:15 PM

How does it compare to book trade-in and private party?

kaisen · 06-06-2007, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nostatic
Still not sure on A3 v. WRX. Although I gotta call the insurance company again...they gave me a crazy high number on the WRX wagon.

Feb 2007
NHTSA "relative average loss payment per insured vehicle":

100 is a baseline

99 for Pontiac Vibe
170 for VW GTI 2dr
108 for Audi A3 Wagon
137 for Subaru WRX Wagon
242 for Subaru WRX Sedan
437 for Mitsubishi Lancer EVO

onewhippedpuppy · 06-06-2007, 12:38 PM

Ouch. I'd hate to insure an Evo.

kaisen · 06-06-2007, 12:42 PM

Yeah, 437% of the 'normal' car.

BTW, a new Boxster is 134 and a 911 coupe is 137

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

Carmax is fantastic. Nothing but good things to say about 'em (other than their in-house financing sucks, but you can always use your own).

onewhippedpuppy · 06-06-2007, 01:10 PM

The prices seem a bit high, but I'm impressed with them. I checked out an E46 M3 for a Minnesota BMWCCA member at Carmax, their inspection was actually honest, they had touched up the few rock chips, the car was very clean, and overall totally as described. The car had a slight ticking noise from the rear end, but it was a weekend so they were unable to have it inspected. When the buyer returned home, an inspection revealed that it needed a new differential. Carmax replaced it, no questions asked, under their warranty/satisfaction guarantee.

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

kaisen,

Where did you find that info? Just curious, as I recently changed the registration (and insurance) for my cars from Oregon to Massachusetts. In OR, the 20 yr-old 930 cost about as much to insure as my daily driver 12 yr-old Nissan. However, here in MA, I'm paying more than double that amount for the Porsche (while the Nissan costs about the same). We're always told that premiums reflect claims data. So I find it odd that there's such a shocking difference from one state to another.

B D · 06-06-2007, 03:24 PM

I beat CarMax everyday of the week on my lot. Take it to Carmax get there offer in writing and then take the car and printed offer to any other dealer and they will usually beat it or match it. They just put a friendly face on trading your car in, they still get you.

FYI they also give you a draft check that takes a week to get paid.

kaisen · 06-06-2007, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Noah930
kaisen,

Where did you find that info? Just curious, as I recently changed the registration (and insurance) for my cars from Oregon to Massachusetts. In OR, the 20 yr-old 930 cost about as much to insure as my daily driver 12 yr-old Nissan. However, here in MA, I'm paying more than double that amount for the Porsche (while the Nissan costs about the same). We're always told that premiums reflect claims data. So I find it odd that there's such a shocking difference from one state to another.

Noah-

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/Vehicle%20Safety/Articles/Associated%20Files/2007CostofInsurance.pdf

The *cost* associated with a claim (what you drive) is not the same as the *likelyhood* of a claim (where you live and drive). Own a Lamborghini in Compton and you're gonna pay.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by B D
I beat CarMax everyday of the week on my lot. Take it to Carmax get there offer in writing and then take the car and printed offer to any other dealer and they will usually beat it or match it. They just put a friendly face on trading your car in, they still get you.

FYI they also give you a draft check that takes a week to get paid.

They're paying off a note, so not an issue for me. I doubt my dealer will match their offer but I'll float it by them. They were pretty insistent at a number $2K lower. One of the dealers already said, "take the Carmax offer."

Problem is there isn't a book value on the car yet, so it is pretty fluid.

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by kaisen
Noah-

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/Vehicle%20Safety/Articles/Associated%20Files/2007CostofInsurance.pdf

The *cost* associated with a claim (what you drive) is not the same as the *likelyhood* of a claim (where you live and drive). Own a Lamborghini in Compton and you're gonna pay.

Thanks for the link.

I just find it a bit odd that the Nissan drivers of downtown Portland are about as likely to file a claim (and the costs associated with such claims) as the Nissan drivers here on sleepy Cape Cod. However, the Porsche drivers (which were on the same cost/likelihood of claim scale as the Nissan drivers in PDX), are apparently raving vehicular lunatics here on the Cape.

kaisen · 06-06-2007, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Noah930
However, the Porsche drivers (which were on the same cost/likelihood of claim scale as the Nissan drivers in PDX), are apparently raving vehicular lunatics here on the Cape.

Could be the theft factor too.

Sorry to highjack the thread Todd

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

Apologies, too.

LeeH · 06-06-2007, 10:36 PM

I put up a post about Carmax beating my bid on a 350Z. Now, they're going to take it and mark it up and sell it retail... I was going to take it to the wholesale auction. They can afford to pay a little more.

What exactly are you selling? I'll look it up on the auction's web site to see what it's selling for at auction. On the Z I had offered KBB "fair" trade in value. Carmax was closer to the "good" value.

kaisen · 06-07-2007, 05:57 AM

Lee, if you took the Z to the auction the only motive is to make a (small) profit there (~$400?). You would have considered your seller's fee (~$300) and the buyer would have paid a fee too (~$250). Then the buyer has to transport the car 'home' to their lot (up to $700 if outstate). So if you paid, say, $20000 that next dealer paid $20950 with fee and owns it, shipped, for up to $21650.

The Carmax model kinda says, 'hey, if we're gonna own an un-known out-of-town car for $21650, we might as well buy the local guy's for about the same money.' They look like a hero for giving the guy $1650 more than the last dealer. But Carmax has a local car with history.

Not a bad business plan.

JavaBrewer · JavaBrewer's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by nostatic
Still not sure on A3 v. WRX. Although I gotta call the insurance company again...they gave me a crazy high number on the WRX wagon.

So have you sampled a few of the 3 series yet?

LeeH · 06-07-2007, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kaisen
Not a bad business plan.

No doubt... it works for a lot of people. Interesting though, the Carmax in Phoenix closed a few years ago. The one that got my Z was in Tucson.

I'm new to the car business (wholesale license only) and trying to figure out a niche.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by dmoolenaar
So have you sampled a few of the 3 series yet?

looked at a few, haven 't driven one. But frankly I'm not interested in anything other than a wagon, and there just aren't any 3 series wagons out there with a stick. Well, there was *one* up in the bay area some time back.

Gotta have a hatch...