Originally posted by: 49erinnc
I've only tried to sell to them once and they offered me well below market value. I wound up selling for $2400 more via private party.
I think Carmax provides a good service for people who don't care about getting the best deal out there, doesn't have the time/patient to shop around and are poor hagglers. It's certainly nice to see what you want and know exactly what you're going to pay for it. I recently bought a used car and I checked out Carmax but they wanted around $1500-$2000 more than what I could get it for elsewhere. Just not for me but they are usually packed so they must do well.
Well, the issue is that most people see the whole process as too complicated. First, you have to go to 5 different stealerships, compare cars, compare prices, compare rebates and special pricing, compare reviews/ratings online, etc. The process is just way too long and complicated. It's get more confusing when you see 3 different brands selling a very similar car with different paint colors, changed badges/logos, etc. all at different prices.
A lot of people just want to give up on the process and just not bother at all, it's too much effort. For these people, which is a large portion, ignore all the crap I posted above, walk into Carmax, look at a few different cars, and make a proper decision. Everything will be laid out infront of you and you won't to do any of that confusing stuff. Walking out with a car you're honestly happy with and won't regret matters most, $1k here or there doesn't matter compared to a lack of buyer's remorse.
Edit: As for your situation where you got more through private party, I think there are just exceptions where they don't offer a lot. I think 80% of people get a very good deal by selling to CarMax.