Long story short, Bought a car from carmax, At the time everything seemed okay... Tried to trade it in and a accident shows up on the carfax report that wasn't there until last October that took place October 2009 (6 years ago). I was sold the 370Z being told it had a clean history and no previous accidents... Right now, I have just started fighting with Carmax and i'll update as this progresses.
But for now, Here's the detailed story.
-February 2015, I purchased the 2009 370Z Sport/Touring/Nav 6spd for $25K ($29K after everything was said and done, but put a $11K down payment)
-Most of March and early april the Z takes 4 trips to carmax in Modesto for various repairs, a chunk missing in the headlight, front chin spoiler missing, front bumper not aligned properly, missing clips, dead TPMS sensor and unusual scrapes... They fixed all but the scrapes, Found out the bumper had several missing brackets.
-2 CSC's later and $3000 in maintenance, repairs and upgrades that literally only include a TWM shifter, shift knob, wheel spacers, some LED's and window tint... I'm growing tired of the car.
-November 1st I go into carmax to get an appraisal on the Z and walk out with a $17K offer... As they did the appraisal I roamed the lot and found a 2015 Toyota 4Runner Trail Premium for $40K that I really liked. But it's only $1K less than a new 2016.
-November 3rd I go into Livermore Toyota that has a Nautical Blue 2016 4Runner trail premium for $42K... I test drive and hand over the keys to the Z for their own appraisal. After about an hour the manager comes up to me and asks how to start the car... I explain it to him and he runs off but fails again and asks me to show him. As were walking out he's asking questions and mentions an accident on the carfax. That causes me stumble a bit... What?, I had 0 accidents and when carmax ran the autocheck it showed nothing of the sort when I bought it and when I got it appraised.
I asked to see it and he shows me 10/09/09 accident reported with the 1st owner (i'm 3rd), I think it's just a ploy so they lowball me on the Z so when I'm left alone in the waiting area I buy a 60 day subscription to carfax and run it myself... Sure enough it says it right there, But the kicker... in the notes of the incident "Carfax began following this incident 10/20/15".
After some hysterically high and low numbers were thrown around I leave in my Z again but not before the manager tells me they put the car on the lift and found frame damage that he was obligated by law to inform me of the findings... I'm already steaming from the carfax so now I'm pissed.
On the way out I called carmax to speak with a manager who wasn't in...
-November 4th... I write on carmax's facebook wall
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"Last February I purchased a 2009 Nissan 370Z with 25K miles for $25K, Recently I started playing with just the idea of getting something bigger... I got it appraised with carmax in modesto on Sunday October 1st for $17K but didn't feel that was good enough for me to warrant getting rid of it. But I wanted to get a 2nd opinion and see some numbers on a 4Runner at a local Toyota dealership. I went in and when they ran the carfax on my car... Accident reported in 2009 (says it wasn't reported until October 2015, 8 months after buying this car), I bought my 370Z under the impression it was a "CQC" car and I even made the modesto carmax rectify every problem I had with the car which was in itself a pain in the butt to do... The toyota dealership put the 370z on the lift and found previous frame damage. Needless to say, I was lied to believing that there was no previous accidents yet alone any frame damage... I wasted my time and money on this car and I'm stuck doing so now"
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I get a response from carmax
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"Hi Alan, thank you for sharing these details surrounding your experience with our Modesto location, as well as your 370Z. At CarMax, we guarantee that there is no existing, or previous, frame or flood damage on any vehicle that is on our lot. Obviously this is something that we would like to look into a bit deeper and learn more about. Would you please provide your phone number and any further details that may assist with our research via a private message? We are eager to get involved. - Curt, Your Customer Care Team"
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I responded
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On 2/23/15 I went to the Fairfield Carmax and purchased a "CQC" 2009 Nissan 370Z with 24k miles for $25k with a squeeky clean carfax... Immediately had issues with tire pressure sensor, headlight, body scrapes, misaligned bumper and a bunch of missing clips. I had most of it repaired through the Modesto carmax on 3/25/15 and 4/02/15 with the rocker panel scrape apparently in "CQC" spec... I accepted that as the lady helping me (Shauna) was very kind...
I began to play with the idea of getting a bigger car. recently and went to the Modesto Carmax to get an appraisal and was given a $17k appraisal on 11/1/15. I wasn't interested after all. But a SUV on the lot caught my attention and after some research a new one only runs $1k more. So I went to Livermore Toyota yesterday on 11/3/15 and to my dismay, when they ran the Carfax on the 370Z a accident was reported as taking place on 10/8/2009 but Carfax says at the bottom they began reporting it 10/20/2015... 8 months after I bought the car. It explains why paint has began to peel on the bumper and its missing a Vin sticker. Then the techs at the Toyota took the car in and put it on a lift and found Frame damage... I have an appointment at 3PM to get it inspected by a body shop and intend on going to carmax to speak with a manager before I start seeking an attorney and filing complaints with the DMV, BBB and dealership inspector for the area.
I Dont feel safe driving this already small car that I'm still paying for and I feel deceived that I was lead to believe it was a perfectly safe car with the 125+ point inspection and spotless Carfax. This was our 3rd carmax car and wasn't going to be our last...
I was asked to give my contact info its (***)***-****
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They replied
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Hi Alan, thank you for this additional information. I work alongside Curt in our Customer Relations team, and as Curt mentioned, we are eager to look into this situation for you. We will be doing some further research and partnership with our store management team, and as soon as we have some more information about next steps we will reach back out to you. Thank you again for the opportunity to look into this. - Jen
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And later
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Hey Alan, I have notified our management team in Modesto of this and will continue to connect with them to see how we can look into this. If I receive any updates, I will certainly reach back out to you. - Curt
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-At this point I've made an appointment for a visual inspection with Cooks collision repair in Tracy at 3PM
-- 2:40PM I get a call from "Francis" at Carmax who is the service department manager and asks me to bring the car in so they can check it for frame damage... I agree, I will after I get this place to check out.
- Cooks finds no frame damage fortunately but points out that there's clear indications of a left front hit... Bumper cover is aftermarket, fender has been repaired and repainted, Hood has been replaced, headlight wasn't OEM, bumper reinforcement bar was cracked on the right side and the bumper foam was held together with tape.
- I take it to carmax and bring my mother as a witness and to be the voice of reason as I'm very calm and emotionless.
-- They put it on a lift and the mechanic with the manager watching explains to me what they're looking for, starting at the rear... He reaches behind the bumper cover and says "we check the bumper support bar for any visible signs of dents or cracks" where I pointed out the front is cracked... He shoots over to the front and unbolts the splash guard and I point to the crack... They mumble to each other and he keeps going along with the inspection and finds nothing out of the ordinary.
Our conversation went back and fourth, They kept quoting their guarantee is for frame or flood damage. While I point out that they did a "125+ point inspection" which checks for these kind of things, That the guy who did the "125+ point inspection" over looked the paint peeling off the bumper, missing vin sticker, missing brackets I had to get them to replace, the over spray and dust in the paint on the hood and fender, the non OEM headlight and bumper cover and the cracked support beam... He offered to replace the bumper support but nothing else.
My mom started off pissed, then we traded and I got pissed and loud for the first time in my life... They offered nothing to do about the now tarnished carfax or an explanation how they overlooked the clear signs of damage and he incriminated himself by saying that they bought a Porsche Boxster from auction that passed everything they do with flying colors only for a service writer to recognize the car from his last job as having the entire front end including parts of the frame repaired. but they couldn't tell before they had the car on their lot being sold to someone else who got their money back.
As of this time, the guy "Francis" left it at "we'll just fix the bumper support" but offered nothing on the carfax despite me explaining... I was told and showed that I purchased a squeeky clean car and paid full non previous wrecked price for it... I am supposed to get a call from a sales manager tomorrow and I left a message to the people on carmax's facebook
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I went and got the car checked out at a body shop, they found signs of previous damage in the fender, bumper and hood and missing parts but also found cracks in the bumper reinforcement support... I bought the car being told it had no prior accident and a clean Carfax while clearly that wasn't the case... The CQC inspector failed to identify the clear signs and I paid full price for a non wrecked car that I believed to have had a clean past with faith in the 125+ point inspection. I'm done with the car and just want the car out of my name with the deposit I put on it to go towards another car, I Dont care if another carmax car or from somewhere else. Im willing to overlook $3k in improvements, critical repairs and maintenance. The car was a lie given by a carmax employee and has left me stranded multiple times in the 13k miles I've had it. The car max employee "Francis" couldn't/didn't offer any resolution, compensation or solution to the problem with the Carfax. As of right now I'm extremely disappointed that this is our 3rd carmax car, that I trusted this company to offer more security than a private seller and whole heartedly regret my decision... I hope a resolution or solution can be met without much further action.
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I have been getting messages from my friends on facebooks referring me to their attorneys who cover this sort of thing aswell as a friend who works at the DMV there who told me to file a complaint with their investigation department and the BBB. I'll also send this to the local news outlets if nothing will be done to rectify the problem... I just want the car out of my name and my deposit back at this point, I wasnt going to be heart broken if I had to keep the car until finding out it was in an accident.