My wife and I went to the Miami Lakes Carmax after doing much research online about pricing, service, warranty and GUARANTEE! We found a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica Touring and decided to purchase this vehicle.
We noticed that the passenger side door had been severely scratched (The old owner apparently locked him/her out and used a cloth hanger to open the door). The salesperson said that "carmax does not sell cars this way and that service dept would fix it". We saw some other small details and again, we were told that service would fix it. They did a great job in selling and offering very amiable customer service.
I got a little "concerned" when I was signing the contract and they make you sign the 'OFF LOT VEHICLE REPAIR LIST" I advised them that I did not have the car {it was being detailed - (this detailing stuff is so funny)} and I would prefer to sign this paper when we got the keys and before we drove off the lot. They also offered us a form that if we missed any of our scheduled maintenance, the warranty would be voided. Naturally, I asked them when were the scheduled maintenances and could I get an exact schedule (this was a used car and the maintenance does not start at 0, so I asked when would it start to be in effect).
Adrain Vega said that I would need to find that info out on my own and in any case I could get the financing company to cancel the warranty and they would refund the warranty fee at the end of the contract. (This means that I would be paying interest on the $1699 for 5 years). I then asked for the maintenance manual. They did not have one and Adrian said that I could buy one. (woo-hoo).
The time to get the car back from detailing came (a guiness world record of 15 minutes later) and we noticed that the seats and floor were dirty, the black leather seats had white stains (not from the leather cleaning product), there was a hole on one of the door frames, etc. I ended up polishing the seats on the spot.
I called the manager to show him the hole on the frame and he assured me that this was a "dent repair hole" but that they would fix it later. We drove off into the sunset...
Once we got into the highway, the car "pulled" us into the median and we almost hit the barricade. We noticed that we had (2) michelin tires in the front and (2) other japanese brand tires on the back?
I called on Monday, June 23 (we bought the car on friday June 20) and when I tried to schedule the service repairs for the dents, door scratches, hole on frame, alignment etc, the service lady stated that whatever was written on the "OFF LOT VEHICLE REPAIR" would be repaired. I calmly explained to her carmax's procedure and that I would see a manager and explain to him the reasons as to why we could not possibly write all these defects before we have signed the paper. (THEY PREVENT YOU!) The lady finally saw that I was not going to fall for this "bush league save a repair cost trick" and said that they would take care of the car. We dropped off on Wednesday (June 25) and they tried to give us a thousand reasons as to why they could not fix the car. I also requested (for the third time) the 125 pt inspection, since who could possibly "PASS" a car with a hole on the frame, severe scratches on the door, white stains on the seats, non-alignment of vehicle, and who knows what else could be wrong with it?
I highly recommend that you get them to show you the 125 pt inspection before you buy the car and see who signs off on them. They are fixing my car, but this simple service (detailing) and minor stuff has me worried for the next 36 months of extended warranty... I will update next week..
P.S. I tried to trade in my 2003 Ford Taurus and they wanted to give me $2000... They rated it in excellent condition... DO NOT SELL YOUR CAR TO THEM..
YOSEF
Pembroke Pines, Florida
U.S.A.
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