Selling My Car Looking for CarMax Advice

[Money2536]

Well, I bought an F80 M3 that is on a boat right now, so I'm going to have to sell the S4. I still can't believe how reliable/problem free this car has been. I got a darn rock chip on my 911 the first day I got it. This thing doesn't burn any oil, has flawless paint, drives straight as an arrow, etc. I'm hoping I can get it sold in a reasonable amount of time but have been thinking about taking the easy route and selling to CarMax.

The closest CarMax to me is about an hour and a half away, so I was hoping to steal some advice from the forum before I take it to them. For those of you that have dealt with them, I'm wondering how fair their pricing has been for you. My guess is that I'm going to get some number between Trade-in Value and Private Party sale.

I should probably stop being lazy, do a fresh detail, take some awesome photos, and list the car privately.

Thanks for advice in advance.

[saxon]

Do not have any modifications or tune. They do not like anything unless it's stock

[SwankPeRFection]

I doubt you'll get a number higher than normal Trade-In value. People are lead to think you can just go into CM and just sell your car and be happy with the results, but honestly, it's like anything else... you will get lowballed. Be prepared for it. Figure out what it's worth beforehand and go in and see what they offer you. I personally wouldn't hold my breath too much though.

[Money2536]

Do not have any modifications or tune. They do not like anything unless it's stock

I have an exhaust and intake that I will take off and sell.

[MaX PL]

My guess is that I'm going to get some number between Trade-in Value and Private Party sale.

This is what my brother got when he sold his car two months ago.

[mr shickadance]

i sold my car (2013 sti hatch) at carmax, and picked up my s4 at carmax, i think i know the process a little well.

it helps to understand what kind of cars carmax is looking for. They pride themselves on selling newish-used cars with low miles, so if you have that, expect a pretty normal trade in value, maybe a little less than what you intially thought but nothing flat out insulting.

if you have an older car (5 years old) and lots of miles, don't be insulted when you get lowballed, it's just not a car that carmax likes to sell, and you would be better selling privately.

now, I had already gotten a quote from fairfield audi, which they said they would give me $30,000 for my sti, which I personally thought was pretty insulting. I honestly think they mislabeled my car when looking it up because they also told me that there were 175 2013 sti's for sale across the nation, used STIs they meant.

when I searched I only found 2, and the price was $36k each.

when I went to carmax, they offerred 32k, which initially again seems low, but keep in mind I was trading my car in, I get another 2.5k in savings, which for me, puts the value at 34.5k which I thought was more than reasonable for a dealer trade.

you do not have that advantage so it seems, not sure why you would not want to trade in your s4 to get your m3 and reap the tax savings, but honestly, carmax is not the worst place in the world, there is just no haggling, don't like the offer, here is the door.

anyways, that's my story about it, and to me, I think I would buy another car from them it went better than expected.

[poweredbyaudi7]

I have a buddy in Orlando that is looking for an S4/a4 used....PM me what do you want for it, he needs a reliable car and has been eye balling an s4.

[AKPS4]

Carmax blows. They offered me 45% of sticker for my immaculate S4 with less than 15k miles. I laughed at several of the estimators and the guy who inspected my car and walked out. They were clueless. Def do not go there with any mods and do not ever mention any mods in the past. I had a tune and that was their reasoning.

Sure one could argue the car could have been raced for its entire life but regardless of the fact, they don't know anything about cars. They plug numbers in a computer and check boxes for an estimate.

[Money2536]

You guys have inspired me to actually start trying to sell it private party.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/classifieds.php?p[mshow]=listing&p[id]=fs-2012-monsoon-grey-metallic-audi-s-tronic-s4-prestige-titanium-packages-34-100-miles-120001

[chaos2984]

I tried for the hell of it to trade in my B7 s4 that had 70K miles on it and they low balled the piss out of me. I went to another dealer and they gave me 3K more than carmax was going to give me. They don't like speciality cars either. They like cars that are easy to sell and require nothing to pass that states inspections.

Oh also expect to get hammered if your car needs tires or brakes soon. They will ding you for that.

[AC419]

anyone know how does carmax check for a tune?

[Money2536]

anyone know how does carmax check for a tune?

They can't.

[chaos2984]

anyone know how does carmax check for a tune?

if you tell them lol

[trinim3]

In general i find that dealerships don't thoroughly check cars before buying trade ins. If you're doing a private sell you'll need to have everything in tip top shape but trade in they give you such a low price to begin with that if the car needs anything that isn't obvious i wouldn't do any repairs/service. You'll get $0 credit for it.

What are the specs of your F80? I have a SO/SO M4 also on a boat and honestly I'm expecting it to be 4 weeks from now before I take delivery. It's plenty of time to do a private sale. That said I'm waiting till I see it/drive it before I sell my RS5 in case I don't like it. Hopefully you've driven it already because I have and I know many others who have and weren't that impressed. It's good but not GREAT like M cars of the past. But if you really need something new it'll definitely suffice. I just want a car with full leather, adaptive suspension , HUD and reddish leather which you can't get on the RS5.

[mr shickadance]

maybe I am missing something, but why are you folks who have these cars on order not trading in your s4's and saving some tax money on the sale?

i would struggle to think that the difference between a dealer trade-in and a private sale would be significant enough to justify the private sale?

taking this further, homeboy has a 2012 s4, lets pretend this car has average miles on it, which would put it in the 40k range (average 20k miles per year is more than fair, and allows for a little extra given the half year in 2014) I think a reasonable price would be around 42-44k?

lets say 43, now the FL state sales tax is 6% so of that, you are looking at a potential tax savings of 2.5k (roughly)

so are you saying that private party sales, and dealer trade-in are going to be 2.5k apart from eachother? no way.

now, you can find 2012's

[s4buckeye]

In general i find that dealerships don't thoroughly check cars before buying trade ins. If you're doing a private sell you'll need to have everything in tip top shape but trade in they give you such a low price to begin with that if the car needs anything that isn't obvious i wouldn't do any repairs/service. You'll get $0 credit for it.

What are the specs of your F80? I have a SO/SO M4 also on a boat and honestly I'm expecting it to be 4 weeks from now before I take delivery. It's plenty of time to do a private sale. That said I'm waiting till I see it/drive it before I sell my RS5 in case I don't like it. Hopefully you've driven it already because I have and I know many others who have and weren't that impressed. It's good but not GREAT like M cars of the past. But if you really need something new it'll definitely suffice. I just want a car with full leather, adaptive suspension , HUD and reddish leather which you can't get on the RS5.

Unless you give it away, uhhhh.....no.

[trinim3]

Unless you give it away, uhhhh.....no.

I'm on my 8th vehicle in 6 years. Never took me more than a month to sell a car. Even sold my S2000 for more than I bought it for

[s4buckeye]

I'm on my 8th vehicle in 6 years. Never took me more than a month to sell a car. Even sold my S2000 for more than I bought it for

bro, you need to open a CarMax.

[trinim3]

maybe I am missing something, but why are you folks who have these cars on order not trading in your s4's and saving some tax money on the sale?

i would struggle to think that the difference between a dealer trade-in and a private sale would be significant enough to justify the private sale?

taking this further, homeboy has a 2012 s4, lets pretend this car has average miles on it, which would put it in the 40k range (average 20k miles per year is more than fair, and allows for a little extra given the half year in 2014) I think a reasonable price would be around 42-44k?

lets say 43, now the FL state sales tax is 6% so of that, you are looking at a potential tax savings of 2.5k (roughly)

so are you saying that private party sales, and dealer trade-in are going to be 2.5k apart from eachother? no way.

now, you can find 2012's

The best trade in quote I got for my 2012 S4 with 33k mi and was in excellent condition was $38.5k and I tried 3 different dealers. They do not look at kbb trade in values at all bc my kbb trade in was $42k+ and private party was $45k (btw my lease buyout was $35k)

[s4buckeye]

The best trade in quote I got for my 2012 S4 with 33k mi and was in excellent condition was $38.5k and I tried 3 different dealers. They do not look at kbb trade in values at all bc my kbb trade in was $42k+ and private party was $45k

Yes, KBB means nothing to them. They will use Black Book, Nada or Manheim.

http://www.cudlautosmart.com/Researc...eInValues.aspx

[Money2536]

In general i find that dealerships don't thoroughly check cars before buying trade ins. If you're doing a private sell you'll need to have everything in tip top shape but trade in they give you such a low price to begin with that if the car needs anything that isn't obvious i wouldn't do any repairs/service. You'll get $0 credit for it.

What are the specs of your F80? I have a SO/SO M4 also on a boat and honestly I'm expecting it to be 4 weeks from now before I take delivery. It's plenty of time to do a private sale. That said I'm waiting till I see it/drive it before I sell my RS5 in case I don't like it. Hopefully you've driven it already because I have and I know many others who have and weren't that impressed. It's good but not GREAT like M cars of the past. But if you really need something new it'll definitely suffice. I just want a car with full leather, adaptive suspension , HUD and reddish leather which you can't get on the RS5.

I have an F80 M3 coming for Performance Center Delivery on September 9th. I know I have plenty of time to sell the S4, but was wondering if it's worth the hassle to get $500 more. It sound like it's going to be thousands.

My M3 specs:
Mineral White
Sakhir/Black Extended Leather
19" Black 437M Wheels
Carbon Ceramic Brakes
Adaptive M Suspension
LED Lighting Package
Harman Kardon
6MT

I purposely haven't driven one. I don't want to spoil the surprise. I'm guessing those that are unimpressed are Audi guys.

[mr shickadance]

The best trade in quote I got for my 2012 S4 with 33k mi and was in excellent condition was $38.5k and I tried 3 different dealers. They do not look at kbb trade in values at all bc my kbb trade in was $42k+ and private party was $45k (btw my lease buyout was $35k)

ok, 38k, still 2.28k in savings.

my assumptions were wrong but the practice is still the same, if you are selling a car, to buy another car, it usually makes sense to trade it in in rather than sell privately.

[Money2536]

maybe I am missing something, but why are you folks who have these cars on order not trading in your s4's and saving some tax money on the sale?

i would struggle to think that the difference between a dealer trade-in and a private sale would be significant enough to justify the private sale?

taking this further, homeboy has a 2012 s4, lets pretend this car has average miles on it, which would put it in the 40k range (average 20k miles per year is more than fair, and allows for a little extra given the half year in 2014) I think a reasonable price would be around 42-44k?

lets say 43, now the FL state sales tax is 6% so of that, you are looking at a potential tax savings of 2.5k (roughly)

so are you saying that private party sales, and dealer trade-in are going to be 2.5k apart from eachother? no way.

now, you can find 2012's

I hear you. I leased the car, so I have only paid tax on the difference between what I owe and what it's worth. The car is worth more than the residual plus remaining payments, so I'll be fortunate enough to reduce my overall cost of ownership quite a bit. Sometimes leases work out in your favor. I have 7 months left.

[Buckeye_S4]

Carmax blows. They offered me 45% of sticker for my immaculate S4 with less than 15k miles. I laughed at several of the estimators and the guy who inspected my car and walked out. They were clueless. Def do not go there with any mods and do not ever mention any mods in the past. I had a tune and that was their reasoning.

Sure one could argue the car could have been raced for its entire life but regardless of the fact, they don't know anything about cars. They plug numbers in a computer and check boxes for an estimate.

They are complete idiots. I took a car there once years ago and they offered literally half what the car was worth at the time. I asked them to explain and the guy said it was wrecked and repaired (it was not). I told him it was never wrecked or had body work and I asked him to explain how he came to that conclusion and he pointed out a couple bolts that had been turned in the engine bay. I then explained to him that I turned those bolts myself by mistake when installing my intake. He still didn't believe me and said they could use some IR gun thing to measure paint depth and all this jazz and that factory paint would be x thickness (thicker than repaint) so I told him to bring out his magic gun. Low and behold the paint thickness was perfect...BECAUSE IT WAS NEVER WRECKED. They didn't change their estimate and I didn't really care because I had no intention of selling, was just bored and decided to check them out.

If you get a decent price then go for it but I wouldn't expect it.

[mr shickadance]

I hear you. I leased the car, so I have only paid tax on the difference between what I owe and what it's worth. The car is worth more than the residual plus remaining payments, so I'll be fortunate enough to reduce my overall cost of ownership quite a bit. Sometimes leases work out in your favor. I have 7 months left.

that would be the key missing detail bahahah

[mr shickadance]

They are complete idiots. I took a car there once years ago and they offered literally half what the car was worth at the time. I asked them to explain and the guy said it was wrecked and repaired (it was not). I told him it was never wrecked or had body work and I asked him to explain how he came to that conclusion and he pointed out a couple bolts that had been turned in the engine bay. I then explained to him that I turned those bolts myself by mistake when installing my intake. He still didn't believe me and said they could use some IR gun thing to measure paint depth and all this jazz and that factory paint would be x thickness (thicker than repaint) so I told him to bring out his magic gun. Low and behold the paint thickness was perfect...BECAUSE IT WAS NEVER WRECKED. They didn't change their estimate and I didn't really care because I had no intention of selling, was just bored and decided to check them out.

If you get a decent price then go for it but I wouldn't expect it.

he used a paint meter, and they actually exist, they are actually REALLY useful when buying a used car, as exactly as the tech said, they tell if you ever had body work because the thickness is not uniform.

http://www.defelsko.com/applications...aint-meter.htm they are not crazy expensive, and they can seriously weed out the liars

you just happened to deal with a complete idiot who was overly skeptical.

[Hansel]

Throw the s4 on ebay.

[RPMtech147]

I think it's funny when people get mad at dealers for trying to rip them off. You should respect them for fucking you missionary and with consent, as apposed to gangraping you in a back ally like say like every other Item we purchase from a conglomerate with a smile.

...Fast Food places? $11 for a Burger meal, Eh, the fucks that charge $6 for a box of cereal. It's essentially 'Bread' with sparkles, why is it 6* more then a loaf of bread.. and $7 for a pack of smokes without issue, like 70% of that is tax. so you can thank your different levels of government for that one, don't get me started on Phones and gadgets and shoes/clothing....Fucking chinese garbage. You don't even realize the markup on that kind of stuff.

PS fastfood is such a fucking rip, but damn it's tasty, Except Jack in the Box, Damn their food has gone to shit and got expensive.

[Money2536]

Throw the s4 on ebay.

Yeah, I'm going to detail the car next weekend and work on marketing it.

[Dr Chill]

Carmax has been good to me, but only from February to April since that is tax refund time when used car sales peak. Prices drop over the summer. They also place a much higher value on low mileage cars. They use Manheim as their guide.

Two suggestions before taking it to Carmax. First, really detail the heck out of the car, inside and out, and under the hood. Second, if the tires are worn or nearing replacement, buy a set of used tires with 80% tread for about half the cost of new. If they have to replace the tires before selling the car, they will deduct the cost of tires from your appraisal/offer.

If the car has had any paintwork or bodywork, they will know and their offer will not be favorable. Same goes for a dirty Carfax. They wholesale those cars.

[Dr Chill]

Here's the most recent Manheim results for 2012 S4 Prestige.

[ncbimma]

I have an exhaust and intake that I will take off and sell.

Be sure to cover up your work well.

I brought my e46 to Carmax with the Turner Motorsport subframe reinforcement installed and they told me it was a modified frame and would only give 4k for the car as they cannot sell modified vehicles.

[Money2536]

Here's the most recent Manheim results for 2012 S4 Prestige.

Thank you for this!

[bombdiggity]

I bought my car from Carmax with Apr stage 1 in it. Just FYI. They had no idea it had it.


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[chaos2984]

I bought my car from Carmax with Apr stage 1 in it. Just FYI. They had no idea it had it.


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Score. I would take it bad and say its modified and get more off hahah. What a deal you got though.

[rani_aridi]

Carmax offered 13,500 for our 911 with only 66,000 miles. 9,500 for our Lexus which I posted for sale that night and sold for 11,000 the next morning. And most recently about 11,500 for our GMC Sierra which I sold soon after for 18,300. I just use it as a baseline now hahaha. Their prices for used cars are fair, but it's often a joke how low they quote to buy a car. Their goal (I was told by one of their salespeople) is to make at least $500 on a car when they sell it at auction, which is where they sell many of the cars they buy that they wouldn't put on the lot.


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[chaos2984]

yea thats the problem with carmax they only give you top dollar for cars that they can sell easily and have low milage.

[StevenH]

I sold my car to them about two weeks back... I walked in expecting ~$19k (KBB for $25k in excellent shape to a private party, but my car MAY have qualified as 'good condition': all 4 wheels had curb rash, the car had been keyed and there were some dings and scrapes on the bumper); anyhow, they offered $21k in my pocket so I took it and ran. I'm sure they fixed all that damage in house for ~$200, but it would have cost me at least $1,500 to get the car in the same condition. I think it was a fair deal to all parties; I have my money and they now have it listed for $24.9k. My car was sub 25k miles with 6 months of warranty left so I'd imagine its an easy sale for them. Your mileage may vary.

[Chiguanodude]

whatever you do dont go to carmax. they were offering me something like 30k on my excellent 2012 s4 fully loaded with only 14k miles on it... then i went to the audi dealership where i got my 14 n their offer wasnt much better but my payments changed like 15 dollars so not really a big deal i went with the newer better car... but i would just do a private sale cause i say its nearly impossible to get the price of what your car is worth with any dealership. did the same thing with my x5m, i was getting low balled like 5k from what my lease buy out was but it was my fault adding 8k in rim/ tires with the dealer but still.. stick to private sale if you have the patience for it.

[Dr Chill]

whatever you do dont go to carmax. they were offering me something like 30k on my excellent 2012 s4 fully loaded with only 14k miles on it... then i went to the audi dealership where i got my 14 n their offer wasnt much better but my payments changed like 15 dollars so not really a big deal i went with the newer better car... but i would just do a private sale cause i say its nearly impossible to get the price of what your car is worth with any dealership. did the same thing with my x5m, i was getting low balled like 5k from what my lease buy out was but it was my fault adding 8k in rim/ tires with the dealer but still.. stick to private sale if you have the patience for it.

The OP leased his car. To sell it privately he would have to purchase first and pay tax on it. No reason not to give Carmax a shot at it. It's free to get an offer and takes 20 minutes. Offer depends on many factors and mostly on the appraiser.