I've been searching for a clean 1st gen Mazda5 for a couple weeks now. Looking on Carmax's site, there are a couple 1st gens with around 70k miles...but there are a berkeley-ton of 2012's with 50-60k miles. What gives? Are they an outlet for rental car companies or something?
Wouldn't surprise me if they were...
Yes. Probably either rental, or former fleet vehicles. They probably pick them up at auction.
i like new high-mileage cars, provided they're priced accordingly.
belteshazzar wrote: i like new high-mileage cars, provided they're priced accordingly.
Yeah, I'm kinda on the fence on that one. I have beaten the living E36 M3 out of my fare share of rental vehicles. That said, the maintenance on those things is typically really good versus your average numbtard owner.
Well the other thing is that CarMax doesn't berkeley around with the inspection process.
Here is another thought about the '12's with high mileage; check the build date.
There was no '11 Mazda5.
In Feb of '11, we bought my wife a '10 Mazda5, new. There were good deals on leftover '10's and the new models were in the showrooms and they were called '12's (in Feb of '11.)
My point being that these '12's you are seeing may not just be one year old but really two years worth of driving on them.
My Carmax ex rental Caravan has been fantastic. I have done oil and air filter in my years ownership thus far.
I think Carmax tends to the most common buyer, autos with mid mileage which are fairly new. Older stuff, stick shift, cheaper stuff, they tend to not stock. They almost never have anything far below 10 grand.
The Kia Rondo was a popular fleet/rental vehicle that showed up at many Enterprise Car Sale places. Mine was a former Kia fleet vehicle, and it has been trouble-free. I got the full 10 year/100,000 mile warranty though, what does CarMax offer?
Klayfish wrote: Yes. Probably either rental, or former fleet vehicles. They probably pick them up at auction.
I am a former Max. That is exactly what they do...by the truck loads
poopshovel wrote:belteshazzar wrote: i like new high-mileage cars, provided they're priced accordingly.Yeah, I'm kinda on the fence on that one. I have beaten the living E36 M3 out of my fare share of rental vehicles. That said, the maintenance on those things is typically really good versus your average numbtard owner.
beatings dont scare me. i beat my cars too. neglect scares me.
my old 2003 maxima was a rental for 30k miles. you can't tell me a 255hp rental sedan didn't get kicked in the guts a few times. never had a problem.
poopshovel wrote: ...That said, the maintenance on those things is typically really good versus your average numbtard owner.
I'm not so sure I agree with that statement. Rental companies change the oil at semi-regular intervals, top off the wiper fluid, and that's about it.
I had a former rental car for a short period of time. That car was a basketcase.
Datsun1500 wrote:SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: Well the other thing is that CarMax doesn't berkeley around with the inspection process.You keep thinking that, had a buddy buy a truck there in Jan. Returned it with issued in 2 days, got #2, returned with issues in 3 days, got #3, had issues on day 2. Returned that and said nevermind...
Interesting, because I know several people that have bought CarMax vehicles and never had any issues right off the bat, random issues as the miles pile on yeah.
the carmax in my area is shady......not to mention overpriced.
Carmax is equation driven. If they are shady that is a management issue. Pricing is very straight forward once you understand the equations and pricing process.
Well, they're all "overpriced," but they're coming right out and saying: "Hey, we're berkeleying you on the pirce, but at least we're not doing it with creative math. Get berkeleyed here, get berkeleyed down the street, whatever." 
There are 2 that are listed on ATL CL privately. One is waaaaaay overpriced (moreso than carmax) and is blue. The other is priced right, but is a berkeleying turd. According to their websites, not a SINGLE Mazda dealer in Atlanta has a 1st gen.
the big thing anymore is 50k to 60k is low mileage on a car today. the average car on the road today is 11 years old with a 160k on it........the days of "i have to trade the car in before it hits 50k are long gone". when you are trading in a car with 160k to 200k on it 60k looks really good. new car dealers would never have a car on their lot with anything over 50k now i have seen 100k cars on their lots
poopshovel wrote: Well, they're all "overpriced," but they're coming right out and saying: "Hey, we're berkeleying you on the pirce, but at least we're not doing it with creative math. Get berkeleyed here, get berkeleyed down the street, whatever."
If it is a "hot" seller they put the price up, if not way down. I have sold on the both side of Black book depending on how popular cars are at that time.
The front lot is fairly straight forward. Go online and look and see if you can find the same car somewhere else in the Carmax system. That will tell you if the local guys are manipulating the system.
they do tell you where you sit with them, but on the other hand, ask me about the trade in process. Not as straight forward. Only the price is fixed.
In reply to cutter67:
Carmax says "low mileage" on any car with less than 10K a year average, more than 20K a year is high mileage.
Average is now looked at as 15K a year.
CarMax is one of our biggest customers. They send plenty of purchase managers to every auction and scoop up EVERYTHING. This has lead to a lot of the other dealers to get pissed off and become bottom feeders.
Good luck getting around KBB/NADA trade-in for your vehicle from them... LOL..
Flight Service wrote: In reply to cutter67: Carmax says "low mileage" on any car with less than 10K a year average, more than 20K a year is high mileage. Average is now looked at as 15K a year.
Correct. So even if it's a 2 year old car with 60k, that's double average mileage. Jesus. Here I am contemplating buying new again just so I don't have to play automotive CSI. Not a big deal on a $1k car. A little more frightening on a $10k car.
Yeah, prolly not. Thanks though. I'm patient. I need to make mama check out that sweet MPV this weekend, then a mazda5. Twice the car for half the cash, far as I can tell.
In reply to poopshovel:
I checked out the last-gen MPV's, too. They are a superb van. The problem is, they are a real van, with all of the plusses (seating, storage, space!) and minuses (MPG, drives like a garbage scow, big) that entails. The 5 is a tall wagon with sliders. Different vehicles for different needs.
I'm more than happy to do a PPI for you and drop one off at a shipper's though if you think you'd like one from up here. (MPV or 5)
I'm looking for the same thing around here. They seem to be depreciating like a stone, so I'm wanting an 06 - 08 with 80k for $7 - $9k vs. a 10 with half the miles for twice the money.
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