Car"min" is More Appropriate!
Written: Oct 18 '02 (Updated May 10 '05)
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Carmax.com is an automotive web service designed to assist its customers with buying new and used cars, selling cars, and researching information on automobile features and financing. This company has expanded to include more than just a mere presence on the internet. It now has actual sales/service locations in 12 states and it is traded as a public company on the New York Stock Exchange.
What Does This Service Have to Offer?:
Although Carmax.com has physical locations, I will concentrate on just the web service itself, since I have never visited one of the actual dealership locations. This on- line service is divided into the following sections:
Used Cars- This is where you should go if you are interested in buying a used car. To search for a car, you just enter your zip code, and then indicate if you want to search by make & model, vehicle type, or price range (you can also search by stock#, if you know the number of a vehicle that is listed in the site). On the next page, you need to select a more specific location (from the approx. 15 that are listed) along with a price range. The results page will list the vehicles that fit your criteria, that are either in your requested city or somewhere in the vicinity. If you want to see more information and a picture, you just click the link.
All used vehicles come with several guarantees, including a certified quality inspection, 5- day money back guarantee (for those who get cold feet), 30- day limited warranty, clean title guarantee, and an optional extended warranty. Directions (including a small map) and the phone number of the Carmax location that has your chosen vehicle are included at the end of the page.
New Cars- This search function works in a similar manner, but the selections for location are much more limited. Carmax has only a few new car sales facilities, offering a total of just eight different makes to search for: Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Jeep, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Toyota. Unless your desired vehicle is included in this short list, you’re out of luck.
We buy Cars- Carmax.com will buy your used car, and this section of the web site is devoted to the ins and outs of trading and buying used cars from customers. Here, you can lookup the estimated Kelly Blue Book value of your vehicle and get some answers to a few basic questions. To complete the selling process, you need to take your vehicle directly to one of the Carmax used sales outlets.
Research Tools- This section includes vehicle reviews and photographs of vehicles from 1993 to the present, written by writers from another web service, newcartestdrive.com. There are also a few facts on new vehicle rebates, car buying tips, extended warranty information, payment estimator, payment to price converter, tax, tag and title estimator, and insurance quotes. You can also find a few bits and pieces of automotive news, if anything has come off the presses as of late.
Company Info- In this area, you can learn all about the Carmax business. You can find questions and answers relating to the site, lookup the latest stock quote, find a Carmax location on a United States map, and even look for a job position with Carmax or Carmax.com. This string of dealerships is expanding its presence around the United States, but it still has a limited marketing area that it serves, with stores in only a dozen states.
Final Thoughts:
This is an unusual automotive web service. It doesn’t include any direct links to buy anything, and it doesn’t include any links to dealerships across the nation, to help you find a vehicle. Instead, it’s just an independent web site that includes automobiles only from one of the Carmax stores. In that respect, it’s very similar to logging into the web site of one of your local car dealerships.
Unlike other automotive web sites, Carmax.com doesn’t help its customers find new and used cars from all over the nation. It doesn’t provide an area to place your own classified advertisement either. It’s an exclusive site that lists only those vehicles that can presently be found on one of its own lots. If you don’t have a location near you, it will search for your desired vehicle among those locations that are in closest proximity. But don’t hold your breath. Depending on where you live, the nearest location could be several hours away. For example, if I search for, say, a used Mazda, the one that pops up is on a lot in Milwaukee, which is more than 500 miles from my house! Am I going to hop in my car and drive eight hours to get a used Mazda? I think not!
Other automotive sites provide links to enter your contact information so that your personal needs and profile can be e-mailed to a dealer. The dealer then contacts you to discuss the vehicle that interests you and to make a possible deal. Carmax.com doesn’t work this way. If you find a vehicle that you like, it’s up to you to do the rest. The site will let you know where the vehicle is located and it will give you a phone number to call, for more information. But no one at Carmax.com will contact you.
The other services in this site are just as limited as the sales function. Take the vehicle reviews, for example. If you want to find some facts on a new, 2003 model, you will likely be stopped dead in your tracks. There are only four choices on display, and that’s pretty lousy, considering that this is October of 2003 and there are dozens and dozens of new 2003 models that are currently available for sale. The other years are a little better, but there are still countless numbers of car and truck models that are not represented at all. 2002 lists a pretty good number of models, but the further back you go, the more scarce they become.
There are no other services to utilize in this site, other than what is mentioned up above. You won’t find any vehicle match function, to help you browse for a car or truck that fits your needs. You won’t find any newsletter. You won’t find any tips on service or maintenance. You won’t find any personalized service of any kind.
I enjoy accessing and browsing through automotive web sites, but this one is so weak and so lacking in data, I have to throw it at the bottom of the trash heap, among auto web services. It’s really nothing more than an individual dealership web service, with very little information to help the prospective car buyer. I can’t speak for the actual Carmax stores, because I have never visited one, but the web service is lame to the max!
Be Sure to Click on the Links Below to Read More Reviews on Related Web Sites:
Cars Direct.com
Autoweb.com
Invoice Dealers.com
Discount Tire Direct.com
Car Prices.com
Cars.com
Pricequotes.com
Autonation.com
Recommended:
No
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