I purchased a 99 Volvo on 14 Feb and returned it the morning of 15 Feb after a total transmission failure. Car was returned to me four weeks later! CARMAX would not provide OEM certified transmission to replace the defective one. The transmission was rebuilt by a local shop. I had no say in the quality of the repair. Afterwards had to take back in again for a defective motor shock mount. The transmission still clunks hard when put into reverse. Still complaining about it.
With a few phone calls to local Volvo dealers, with the VIN in hand, I found out that previous owners took car in two weeks prior to their trade in for same failed transmission problem which they opted to not pay for (out of warranty). The error code was documented in the service computer and with Volvo.
I believe CARMAX concealed the maintenance history for this reason. Yes they fixed it, probably taking a gamble that it would not break down in the 30 days; now I will worry about how long the repair will last.
Bill Kidd Volvo, who serviced the car prior to CARMAX's possession, would not provide any maintenance history after repeated requests through CARMAX. No idea when any maintenance was performed because they won't tell me. However a previous car purchase there was not a problem getting the full history. I definitely won't take it there for service.
Also might add that none of the safety recalls were done. I had to take it in again to Village Volvo to get those done. CARMAX should have reviewed the recall notices during the point inspection and done all safety recalls prior to selling it.
Then I had to take it in again to get the battery replaced. Dead after bringing it home the second time. Yes, they did pay for the replacement, but I had to go find it and install it.
I guess my biggest complaint, besides buying a lemon, is the amount of time I missed from work - calling, waiting, and being distracted. I would not recommend anyone buying from CARMAX unless they're allowed to get the car inspected offsite first.
Two other things, now that I am on a roll. The salesman was dishonest, flat out lied to me about his splitting the commission with another salesman I worked with before. He didn't tell the other guy, so I reported him to his manager. Whatever.
Second, the finance office tried very hard to pressure me into taking their "3 for free" even though I had financing already approved from my credit union. I had to basically beg them to hold the car overnight, and the only reason they did it is because I got a fax for the loan approval. What a scam. Why can't people just be honest?
On the bright side, they did pay for the transmission repair, the battery, threw in new floor mats (after complaining twice) and I did get the car well below KBB avg. Retail. Just be aware of what you might have to go through when buying USED. I'm out of the car-buying business for a very long, long time.
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