Nowadays, people can buy or sell their cars completely online without spending hours reviewing paperwork at the dealerships.
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Thanks to these amazing platforms and websites like CarMax, Vroom, and others. Do the questions always remain which one to choose for online car shopping, CarMax VS Vroom?
In this article, we present the results of our intensive reviews of available customer’s experience using both CarMax and Vroom.
We start with a quick overview of how each website work and the top features each one offers. We then highlight the most relevant and top stories reported by real customers to big review websites like ConsumerAffairs.com, dealerrater.com, trustpilot.com, and others.
What are the main similarities and differences between CarMax and Vroom?
While both CarMax and Vroom promise for making car shopping almost completely online, there are some similarities and differences in the overall approach.
According to Consumer Affairs: “Vroom is worth it to those looking to spend a little less on low mileage, preowned cars. The fact that each vehicle undergoes several inspections to ensure it is high quality provides peace of mind. Fixed pricing is also a relief for people who don’t want to spend time haggling over price.”
They also mentioned that CarMax has a great process for accepting and preparing vehicles: “The site exclusively offers used vehicles. However, there is a moderate amount of cars with very low mileage. CarMax spends an average of 12 hours prepping each vehicle for purchase — each car must pass a 125-point inspection and undergo a thorough cleaning before being put up for sale.
According to Tom Rains, Some of the great features about CarMax include the:
- “Store to store shipping
- 7-day guarantee car testing
- Extended service plan
- Filters to narrow down searches
- Test drive before buying”
Regarding the similarities, both CarMax and Vroom provide a massive list of car inventories for customers to choose from. They both also provide top-rated customer services for all customers.
Both CarMax and Vroom have their great financing options to help customers get their car’s choice while maintaining their payment ceiling.
On the other hand, CarMax started about ten years earlier than Vroom (CarMax 1993; Vroom 2013).
Unlike Vroom, CarMax doesn’t provide car pick-ups for rade ins and doesn’t offer car delivery unless in selected areas.
Vroom has only one partner based in Houston, Texas, whereas CarMax has about 221 dealerships across the United States.
CarMax VS Vroom – Are people happy with their experience?
Many people find it helpful to listen to other people’s experiences before deciding on a service or a website, and that’s true.
As we reviewed almost every customer review when analyzing CarMax VS Vroom, we highlighted some of the top stories. We thought to share with you to provide you a general understanding of what to expect when using any of the websites.
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Customers experience with CarMax
In this section, we cover the most relevant stories about customer’s experience while using CarMax
- Customer #1
“I transferred a car from LA to Tampa CarMax. I took possession of it the day after it came in. I was nervous because I had never seen it. After I hadn’t it a week, It had a small problem with the windshield wiper and I mentioned I thought maybe the brakes squeezed a little. They had me bring it in, gave me a free loaner car, and fixed every little problem and even completely replaced the brakes for free! A few weeks later the defrost had a small problem and the same thing – free loaner and fixed it free of charge. 60 days in, the battery died and it had to be seen at the Land Rover dealer because of the computer component tied to the battery. I called CarMax to see if perhaps they would cover it because the battery was 5 years old. They had me take it to he dealer and paid for everything!! No hassle, no run around – they were there for every little issue. I will get every car at CarMax from now on!!”
- Customer #2
“CarMax had the best selection of used Nissan Leaf electric vehicles. You can select from all over the state of Florida and have them brought (as I did) to Gainesville. The car was in almost perfect mechanical condition (except alignment which was easily corrected) and I am very happy with it. The saleslady (Jess D) was great and very helpful. She was never pushy and let me take my time to get just the vehicle I wanted. There were no “hidden” charges and the financing process was excellent even though I had negative equity in the vehicle I traded in. For electric vehicles CarMax is the best (in my opinion) for buying as you have access to all their dealerships in Florida. For other types of vehicles their prices are generally a little higher than other dealers, but when they say the price is the price, they are truthful and don't try to add in other fees or services. I am very happy with my buying experience, and if I was to do it again, I would again go to CarMax for a Nissan Leaf. And hopefully would be able to deal with Jess D again”
- Customer #3
“Excellent service. Was ready to get out of my 8-seat SUV and get something smaller. I went in just to see what my car was worth and just to see what my options were..I was for sure they would low ball me on their offer but to my surprise, they offered me about what KBB said I should get.. Max was great and patient and found exactly the car I wanted at a different Car Max.. It was transferred here to the Merriam location within days. Went to finalize things and it was so easy. I don't have to do a thing..They take care of the DMV for you. This will be great seeing as going to the DMV is always a pain. What I love about CAR MAX is no dealing with used-car salesmen. NO hassle..No game playing. I did my research on prices of the car I wanted. I got a great deal. Newer car, less miles for less than what other dealers were asking. Got an amazing finance rate thru their financing.. Dealt with Nancy. She was great. Made the process simple. They also told me if I found a better rate in 3 days, i could call and they would switch it over. If I didn't like the car, I have 5 days to return it… Who offers stuff like that? That tells me, they are confident in their cars. Oh and the cars they have on their lot….top of the line. Beautiful cars. If you are not sure about what you want, go to CAR MAX. You will find it.”
- Customer #4
“I recently purchased a car from carmax, everything went smooth, it was unbelievably fast. I called in on Monday and I had my car within a couple of days with the keys in my hand. My concern was that I wouldn't be approved by a bank due to my poor credit but my consultant assured me that I will and shockingly I was approved by 4 banks. He really worked hard for me and it wasn't overwhelming at all. My car is in good condition interior wise, has a few scratches but nothing too major. Service department are excellent!!!!! Heard some strange noise in the car whenever I brake, I called them Thursday and took my car in the next day, they gave me a car to loan and within hours they was done, free of charge. They really know their stuff and was very friendly and welcoming. I will highly recommend Carmax to anyone interested in purchasing a car especially the branch in Sterling, VA. Jim Fleckenstein was my consultant and Jack Fox was the one who serviced my car.”
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Customers experience with Vroom
In this section, we highlight the top stories about customer’s experience with Vroom.
- Customer #1
“I sold my 2019 Tacoma to Vroom about a month ago. I didn’t think selling my car online could be this easy, it was almost scarily easy. I filled out maybe 4 or 5 documents that took loss than 30 minutes of my time and 2 weeks later a truck came to pick up my Tacoma. They sent a check to Toyota Financial yo payoff my loan and sent the remainder to me once I emailed them a copy of the BOL proving the vehicle was picked up. I can only imagine the buying process is just as easy. If you are selling your vehicle, I 100% recommend Vroom.”
- Customer #2
“After deciding to sell my 2008 Dakota I was agonizing over listing it in FB marketplace and dealing with tire kickers & low ballers. Out of curiosity I decided to give Vroom a look. I went through the extremely easy process of giving my truck a honest assessment. At the end Vroom gave me an offer $400 above what I thought I would ask. I decided to take a chance and go with them and I can't believe how easy and seamless the transaction was. After the truck was picked up by their carrier I sent them a picture of my bill of lading and I had my check two days later. I highly recommend Vroom if you want to avoid the hassle of selling your vehicle traditionally.”
- Customer #3
“Great way to sell a car. Very professional staff who were always available to provide information. The price I received was $3000.00 more then another buyer and at the higher end of Kelly Blue Book. I was a bit concerned about sending the title and key prior to payment but felt that a publicly traded company would be reputable. And they were. I was notified immediately when the title was received and again notified the day after my vehicle was taken that it arrived in the right location. Mt vehicle was picked up 3 days after title was received. My check arrived the next day”
- Customer #4
“I would have never thought to sell my car via Vroom 6 months ago. I saw a tv commercial and thought I’d try it. Within minutes I had a quote for my car which was higher than any other place, even dealerships. I went all in. A few emails later I was sending In Keys and title. Two days later the transport company picked up the car and the extra key. They did a thorough check of the car, mileage, vin number, if any alerts were registered with the car, dings, scrapes et. As long as you are honest up from on the condition of the car the inspection should be a breeze. The carrier emailed my receipt out which I forwarded to Vroom and literally the next day I had my check for the quote provided. it was hassle free. It was all done via email. The only person I talked to was the transport driver and that for less than 30 seconds. Introverts rejoice! I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Conclusion
Deciding to buy a new vehicle is critical and must be made based on thorough knowledge about your future car.
Many companies promise to provide complete online car shopping, whether you are buying or selling.
Some of the biggest names in online car shopping are CarMax and Vroom. In this article, we evaluate which company to choose for your future car shopping CarMax VS Vroom.
Since one of the best resources to evaluate which website is better is customer reviews, we conducted an in-depth analysis of all customer reviews listed on big websites.
According to our analysis, both CarMax and Vroom and great companies, and most people are happy with their experience.