I’m looking to trade in my ‘14 GS F Soort for a GS Luxury. Carmax has what may be the only one I’ve seen for sale but I’m wondering if I should be concerned about buying from them.

This forum is where I turn for wisdom about cars so please share any comments you’ve got! And thanks!

 

I would first start by checking out the service information. if you are not familiar, you can register yourself and the car using the vin # on drivers.lexus.com - it will allow you to see everything a dealer has done to the car. Post it on here if you aren't sure and we can give you some opinions.

I've never bought from carmax, but what's the return period? I'd have a mechanic lined up to inspect during that period. Just because it's on carmax doesn't mean anything negative. The could have just been the highest bidder when someone was looking to upgrade.

 

that’s a great idea re: the service records. I didn’t know about that. Carmax has a 7 day return policy. I could actually make an appointment to bring it to the Lexus dealer and have them do a PPI during the test drive. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

I ran the service history report and found that up until one year ago (and 9,000 miles ago), the service records were consistent. Since that time, nothing new was documented. That worries me. I should probably fine out what happened at that point, but I’m thinking this may not be possible. Was she abused for a year? How can I know? Interesting.

 

I would not necessarily be concerned about a year or 9,000 miles. even if service was neglected for 9k miles, it was more than likely a tire rotation? The owner may have been cautious with the Covid pandemic and not comfortable leaving the house or going to a dealer. If the service was good up until that point i wouldn't discount it.

 

Its the dealership experience - Carmax should have a location where the car is physically sitting and you can go and complete the transaction there. It doesn't sound like you would be buying it sight unseen the way Carvana or Vroom does it (as you mentioned going for a test drive) which is a good thing.

They also sell warranties as well if that gives you more peace of mind but since its a GS and likely fairly low mileage, that's probably not a big concern. I did see this on their website which means they stand behind the cars they sell:



I'd be more concerned if it was at an independent local "Benny's Blowout Bonanza" type dealership - most GS owners take good care of their car and your GS you'd be trading i'm sure has been well maintained. I'd look carefully at wear/tear items like tires/brakes/rotors/wheels/seats but i'm sure they reconditioned it a bit ... certainly ask if they did an oil change or tire rotation, etc.

Test drive it, get it inspected by a good mechanic and if it checks out you should certainly consider it. The Lux package is hard to come so its definitely worth a look into! Good Luck!

 

great advice AJ. Yes, The car is being transferred to a Carmax store closer to me and I will drive it, take it to a Lexus dealer to be inspected, and go from there. I would be trading in an F-Sport for the Luxury model, which will get me adaptive cruise and lane departure, along with a bunch of other nice upgrades, while getting away from the staggered tires (cost) and the F Sport brakes (squeak and cost), and yeah, it’s clear that not many people went for the $5,000 luxury package since there are no other luxury versions available. Either that or people aren’t often selling them.

 

Have bought my last 3 cars (all Lexus’s by chance) through CarMax. Overall it’s been a good experience and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. Pricing is a tad bit higher then if you were really putting in some work to find the cheapest but for me the ease and convenience of Carmax along with the lack of pressure that comes with your typical dealer car buying experience is well worth the price difference.

 

I use to work at Carmax. The no haggle price is high because of all the pre-inspections they do before putting a vehicle on the lot. When I use to check in inventory, I would note all the dents, scratches, etc, put a ticket in and they'll send it to PDR, paint, or whoever. That cost is then reflected in the sticker price. So pretty much, you are paying for the work done on the vehicle. It is usually not much though.

It could be that the owner started doing their own work or it could be that the vehicle was sold to a dealer, sat on their lot for x amounts of day with no interested, then sold again at auction, etc. You would need to look at the carfax report for that kind of info. A year is nothing. Especially during covid when not a lot of people went out. You probably won't find a lot of records on my vehicle since I do most of the work myself. Oil change, brakes, all the simple stuff that doesn't require a lift or a motor pull.

 

Helped a few people look over cars at Carmax a few years ago. Condition of vehicles is hit or miss but the financing APR is insanely high, even for excellent credit.

 

The covid factor could be the thing here. Thanks for the reply.

 

From what you’re saying I get the impression that carmax makes the cars look as pretty as they can. What about the mechanical things that an inspection uncovers? Would they do the necessary repairs, or get rid of car that needed a lot done? or do the bare minimum and put it on the lot?

 

thanks for the reply. I’m going in with a pre-approved loan from USAA at 3.29%, so that’s not an issue.

 

Given it's a Lux and those are so rare this may be one of those situations where you just have to do what you have to do.

I've had a few friends buy cars from Carmax, I've never been impressed and I've thought the cars seemed a tad bit worn - just lots of little signs of wear. I would definitely want to see it first.

Also, I would completely agree - have a mechanic lined up and ready to go to give it a once over - could be a Lexus dealer, I'd prefer good independent shop if you know of one.

I wouldn't count it out - I would just go into it with as much info as possible. One of the friends cars (a BWM sedan, I can't remember if it was a 3 or 5) seemed great when he got it. He was having a bit of an issue a month or so after the purchase and when he took it in it ended up that something with one of the rear wheels/hub/suspension was bent. Enough to cause an issue, not enough to be readily noticeable on initial drive/inspection.

Even with my CPO I had an appoinment with my mechanic to spend a couple hours with it during the refund period. It was a little extra piece of mind knowning they had it up on the lift, looked all around, looked for over spray, etc... to see if there was any evidence of anything.

I also totally agree with not being super concerned about the gap in maintenance in the last year - as long as the Carfax, etc... also shows nothing happening. I realize Carfax/etc.. doesn't get everything but still an added source of info.

Also if you haven't already look up the VIN to make sure it really is a Lux and the correct options. We had one member here who had purchased a Lux that turned out to be a Base 350 that had had all of the Lux parts added at some point. The tell here was the fact it didn't have Sport+

 

I had a good experience with Carmax. I would use them again if they had exactly what I wanted. We’re car searching for my wife and she loves being able to get in a bunch of different cars to get a feel for them. She doesn’t know what she wants till she sees it and I’m the opposite. I really enjoyed not having to haggle with an aggravating salesman for hours. Now I would never use their financing, it was horrible especially for someone with perfect credit. Had my own financing, bought the car and picked it up the next weekend. Took it to my trusted mechanic and he gave it a clean bill of health and I was on my way. The car has been just fine since then. It did have some dings and scratches but all of that was listed and pointed out before hand and the price was 4K less than what it would be anywhere else so I couldn’t complain.