A woman got a $17,000 online quote from CarMax and was sure that it’s not going to be the final offer. Then she went in person to see if the company would honor it.
TikTok creator Emily (@emilymccranie94) recently posted a video about the CarMax experience.
“So we’re at CarMax trying to get rid of my car,” she says to start the video. “We’re gonna see what they would offer us. I did an online quote and it said $17,000. Honestly, I don’t believe that.”
Emily explains that she owes $19,500 on the note for her 2023 Kia Forte GT. “So we’d have to pay $3,000 at most to get rid of it,” she says. “And then we’re getting my aunt’s car this week which will save us $700 or $800 a month. So I’m OK with paying $3,000 to get rid of a $700 payment, hands down.”
Viewers React to the Woman’s $17K CarMax Quote
In the comments section, Emily revealed that CarMax honored the online quote and gave her $17,000 for her vehicle.
“CarMax has to honor the online price as long as it’s not [too long since] you did the quote,” wrote one viewer.
“Once you don’t have a car payment, you’ll never want one again,” a second viewer wrote.
“I printed out the online [quote] and they agreed without any hassle,” a third person said. “Easy process.”
“I just did this for a family member,” another person wrote.
Is the CarMax Online Offer Real or an Estimate?
According to CarMax, the online offers it provides are real and valid for seven days. Once car shoppers get the online quote, they can redeem it at any CarMax store. CarMax will verify the car’s condition, use, and history matches the information provided during the online quote process. If everything lines up, shoppers will leave with the offer in-hand.
But there is fine print. And in this case that is the fact that the offer is contingent on shoppers providing accurate information to the online portal. Any differences between the information provided and the vehicle’s actual condition can impact the offer.
A Reddit user posted to r/CarMax a year ago asking if the online offer from CarMax is real or too good to be true. In the thread, commenters generally agree that CarMax will generate accurate online quotes as long as the information the seller inputs is correct.
“CarMax gave me an online estimate for $10K where other estimates I got were for $6K,” wrote one person. “When I brought the car in to sell, I was so nervous they were going to scrutinize my car and find some reason to lower the value. They barely looked at the car. Just wrote up the paperwork and gave me my check.”
“They gave me exactly what they bid me,” a second person agreed. “Don’t go anywhere else. They are straight shooters. I was stunned.”
Motor1 contacted Emily via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We'll update this if she responds.
Update May 6: Via email, CarMax told Motor1 "At CarMax, we use the same appraisal criteria online and in-store and verify every vehicle’s condition in person when an online offer is redeemed. In most cases, the online offer remains the same, with adjustments made only if a car’s condition, use, or history differs from the information originally provided."
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