I went into CarMax of Rockville, on Sept. 19 and purchased a 2003 Hyundai Sante Fe. It had about 70K miles on it, and cost 12998.
After driving the car for a few days, the check-engine light came on and I returned it to the CarMax service department for inspection. As it turned out the car had a laundry list of problems including gas leaking from the fuel injectors and worn out spark plugs - something that should have been caught in their "120-point" inspection they tout so much about. They do not allow pre-purchase inspections that reputable used car dealers allow. So if you buy the car, you only have five days to determine if it has serious problems and bring it back. You also have to take out a loan even if the car is substandard - that means a hit on your credit report.
I returned the car and asked for a refund of my $2,000 down payment which they said would come in the mail in 10-14 days.
Three weeks later, it still had not come, so I called. I was told that my bank had not honored my check. I called my bank, got a copy of my cancelled check and faxed it to them. They had cashed my check THREE DAYS after I gave it to them.
Still they said that my copy had to be "verified."
Calls to their home office (804-747-0422) in Richmond was a series of voice mail recordings. I finally recieved the phone number for the CEO's office from a friend (same number, ext. 2002.) No one in that offie bothered to return calls either, which means it is corporate culture at CarMax to rip people off.
I have had to file a lawsuit in Montgomery County District Court to get my downpayment returned.
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