Car Max no haggle price

Didn't find any Altima Coupes that I'm gonna buy in the next year.  Maybe two manuals - I know it's par for the course but weird, maybe I'll check later again.  Carfax had more leads esp. for M/T.  And I learned from CF that Malbec Black can listed as purple by an idiot dealer.  But 3.5 SR Malbec Black M/T is the goal and I'd happily buy through Carmax to avoid BS. 

At least at CarMax you can get eyeballs on the car and take it out for a drive if you're interested.

The Carvanna and Zoom sales models are apparently too avant-garde for me. 

CarMax sets the market on prices and their inventory is generally cleaner than anyone. 

Their size across the country as well, and no franchise model, allows them to move cars anywhere. 

So even if that XYZ model car has no market in your area, they'll leave it there and someone in another part of the country where it's popular and limited in supply will pay to have it shipped to their area. 

Buddy in Houston bought his 2012 Z06 from them, found the car he wanted in cali, had it brought to his local carmax, test drove and inspected it and purchased it with maxcare to cover the LS7. 

Rob Pitts said it best on VinWiki car stories on youtube.... Carmax doesn't have sales associates... they have test drive monitors. If you're a no pressure sales channel and don't haggle on price, you don't need real salespeople. 

Carmax also writes their own paper as well, they have a "in-house" finance wing, not something you hear about a lot, but something i learned about because it's popular at their southwest Houston Store on I-59
 

We had been looking for a Jetta for a year.  Went to a dealer in Jan 2018 and got to within $17 of what I was willing to pay and where they were willing to go.  We walked out. That was on a 2017 leftover.

I followed Jetta sales and according to VW Forum, Jetta sales sucked. 

In August we went to a different VW dealer in Macon, GA who offered a 2018 for an unbelievable low price.  We went prepared to get it at the price.  The sale manager ASS said they did not have to honor the price because it was a mistake and there was an statement on the page saying they were not responsible for typos.  I was fed up with dealers and walked out.  Went to a Toyota dealer that was telling me what I would like.  The sales dude kept pushing.  We left.  Same with Honda.

In Jan 2019 I saw a 2018 Jetta with 17K miles for a great price at CarMax.  We went and 2.5 hours later we were driving it home.  CarMax was great.  Never again will I go to a dealer.  It was very smooth process and I highly recommend CarMax to anyone who asks.

TL;DR but I have a CarMax manager friend who said that the way you haggle more value out of your price is to get the extras like free oil changes and floor mats, stuff like that

68TR250 said:

We had been looking for a Jetta for a year.  Went to a dealer in Jan 2018 and got to within $17 of what I was willing to pay and where they were willing to go.  We walked out. That was on a 2017 leftover.

 

I wish I had such a low value for my time and aggravation!

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

Yeah, $17 is lunch at a sandwich place.  If I liked the car I definitely would've bought it, $17 is an inconsequential amount of money.

yeah on the Jetta but hey it's not my moolah.  'The millionaire next door' book detailed how the millionaire next door car shopped.  Over doing your research was not typical of millionaires next door.   I should re-read that book but I really have no desire to be a millionaire other than to piss off the taxman by giving it all to a local parish when I pop my clogs. 

I was prepared to walk over ~$200.  We agreed to an out-the-door price, then they started adding BS "documentation fees."  I knew that was coming so I wasn't surprised.

I said no, they claimed they had to charge, I said that was fine, but if I was paying document fees, that fee was coming out of the price of the car.

Salesman went and got the manager, manager tried to be slick, and friendly, and attempted to fast talk his way into me shaking his hand in agreeing to pay the doc fees.  I wouldn't take his hand, and he was visibly off his game after that.  I guess he expects most folks to just instinctual grab his hand when he sticks it out there?

Then he got  a little defensive, and said something like, "you're going to beat us up over $200."  To which I plainly said, "yes."  Then reminded them that we agreed to a price, and they were now making it more expensive than we agreed on.

He finally acquiesced and took the document fees and process fees and bullE36 M3 shady car dealer fees off the price of the car so that our agreed upon out-the-door price was met.

I don't think I've ever had a pleasant car buying experience at a dealership.

I hat car shopping as much as anybody.  I give them an out the door price which is to include any fees etc.  I did agree once to pay the sales tax in addition to my price.