# Buying a BMW from Carmax



## newbimmerguy30 (Apr 6, 2008)

Hi,

I am buying a 2007 335i from the local Carmax store. It has remaining 2 1/2 yr yr/30,000 warranty left. 

Is it a good idea to buy from Carmax.

Is buying CPO from dealer better than Carmax. The CPO costs more money, and this car looks in great shape.

What if anything can really go wrong in a 2007 335i with just about 10,000 miles on it?

Thanks.


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## NetSpySD (Dec 28, 2007)

newbimmerguy30 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am buying a 2007 335i from the local Carmax store. It has remaining 2 1/2 yr yr/30,000 warranty left.
> 
> ...


It could be a lemon, repo, who knows. A lot of the 2007's were bought back or lemoned because of faulty fuel pumps and maybe the car could not be repaired in time.

You need BMW to pull the service history. Or ask carmax to let you take into a BMW center for an inspection.


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## Desiboy (Apr 1, 2005)

Post the vin in the ask a dealer forum, ask for the service history. If it's still under warranty, you should be good to go.


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## Linh (Feb 4, 2008)

When buying from carmax just shop around cause they will not lower their prices (not even a penny). When shopping for my x3 carmax had a 2005 with 49k miles for $21,600 and it didn't even have power steering. (BTW a week after I purchased my x3 they ended up lowering the price since no one was interested)

So I looked around and found an 2005 x3 premium with 42k miles and got the price down to $19,800. BTW I found it on cars.com.

I was going to buy it from carmax seeing that they aren't going to lower so I looked around and found the great deal.


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## Clarke (Oct 21, 2002)

It did have power steering.


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## Klamalama (Oct 6, 2007)

I purchased a 2006 330i from Carmax last October. I wanted a fully equipped one with a manual transmission. Perhaps because these are more rare, I found they had a great price.

The car is wonderful. The purchase experience (with the right salesman) was fine. I will consider Carmax next year when I look for a similarly equipped X3.


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## newbimmerguy30 (Apr 6, 2008)

*Thanks for the replies*

This car was leased previously, possibly on a corporate lease. I was going to go in and do the paperwork today, but will ask them to pull up the service history including the original date the car was purchased. If it was bought in Dec '06 then the warranty will be reduced by that much. I am not planning to buy an an extended warranty from Carmax because it costs $1800 for 6 years/85000 and I will only get 3 years. The first 3 years is covered by BMW warranty.

I will also call BMW to pull up history, where it was serviced, etc (if I can get that information)

Thanks for all the replies. The car looks great and drives like a rocket ship. It has everything I am looking for except the navigation system. I can buy the nav separate, and from what I have heard with the iDrive it may not be worth it.

Thanks for all the replies, I just wasn't sure if Carmax cars are lemons or not.


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## NetSpySD (Dec 28, 2007)

newbimmerguy30 said:


> This car was leased previously, possibly on a corporate lease. I was going to go in and do the paperwork today, but will ask them to pull up the service history including the original date the car was purchased. If it was bought in Dec '06 then the warranty will be reduced by that much. I am not planning to buy an an extended warranty from Carmax because it costs $1800 for 6 years/85000 and I will only get 3 years. The first 3 years is covered by BMW warranty.
> 
> I will also call BMW to pull up history, where it was serviced, etc (if I can get that information)
> 
> ...


If it was a BMW corporate lease, they would have CPO'd the vehicle if they could. You need to find out why BMW unloaded it. It is unusual to wholesale off a car like the 335 unless something is wrong with it.


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## hmr (Jul 28, 2002)

Get the car inspected for prior body damage. Seriously. Never bought a car from Carmax but my experience has been that every BMW I looked at (about 3) had some evidence of prior damage which Carmax didn't disclose.


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## newbimmerguy30 (Apr 6, 2008)

*carmax*

I backed out of the deal because I can't get to sleep thinking I may end up getting a car with problems, that too after paying $38K. I have 3 or 4 BMW dealers who are working with me, Plan B is to get either a CPO or brand new from one of them. Getting a 335i on CPO with the options I want is tough because the inventory on this car is very low.

Question: Is 335i really worth it compared to 328i? I could really feel the difference. But just wanted to know how others feel.


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## dolphin77 (Nov 29, 2007)

*335 I have....*

I have 335 sedan, 6sp, prem and sport, less than 6K..........car is perfect. This is the greatest car I have ever driven, but at my age (60) I have found I need something a little larger....if you are interested let me know I can make you a good deal........yes, the 335 is worth it.........if I move up it will be to a 535....the twin turbo engine is really something else....WC


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## SirSterlingGray (Nov 16, 2006)

IMO, u should just buy a new one. or lease it if the payment is too much. 
i've owned 2 used BMWs and learned that either you buy those cars new, or you buy a toyota camry.

for 38k, you can get yourself a nicely loaded 328 with ED. if you're financing it, paying an extra 100/mth for a new 335 is worth it. at least you know the history of the car which is priceless. 
on my wife's sienna i know everything there is to know about it. i know how many times i've been to the gas station, how many times i've revved it to 4k rpm, i have an explanation for every scratch and ding on it, because it happened on my watch. 
on my 01 330 the suspension was shot becuase the car sat in a warehouse after it was repoed. at least the tech said that. my 540 had a bum ABS sensor which if it wasnt for this forum i would have spent 3k+ at the stealership. i'm driving the company 335xi now and it has a ding on the side, the ashtray doesnt close properly and i dont know how the last guy drove it. i thank god that its not my car and i can just give it back soon as i detach myself from 300lbs/ft at 1400 rpm. 
IMO, go for a new car. dont option the car to death so the price wont be rediculous and the piece of mind is priceless.


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## Bart001 (Apr 9, 2005)

Linh said:


> When buying from carmax just shop around cause they will not lower their prices (not even a penny). When shopping for my x3 carmax had a 2005 with 49k miles for $21,600 and it didn't even have power steering. (BTW a week after I purchased my x3 they ended up lowering the price since no one was interested)
> 
> So I looked around and found an 2005 x3 premium with 42k miles and got the price down to $19,800. BTW I found it on cars.com.
> 
> I was going to buy it from carmax seeing that they aren't going to lower so I looked around and found the great deal.


What happened -- the power steering pump had fallen off??


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## Linh (Feb 4, 2008)

Clarke said:


> It did have power steering.


I meant power seat must have been drunk of something at that time.


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## newbimmerguy30 (Apr 6, 2008)

*Service history*

I pulled up the service history on this vehicle by calling BMW who directed me to the Dealer who serviced last. It was serviced at BMW of Fairfax, VA, has warranty until 12/26/2010, and had three problems:

1. wiper insert
2. high pressure pump replaced
3. check engine light once, could not start

Last service 9500 miles approx. right now it is at 10100 approx.

They said #2 is not same as fuel pump problem, anyone know what this is. According to them it looks in good condition.

Out of the door price at carmax just under 38,000.

Meanwhile I have great offers from 4 dealers for brand new 335i with all the above features at great price (close to invoice).


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## SpaceRoach (Jan 3, 2008)

I bought an 04 545 from Carmax and the thing has been great. Mind you i shopped around for a 545 for about a year before. I ended up buying this one because it was in flawless condition. 

Just look at the free vehicle history report they offer. You can see if it was in a major accident or leased.

Also, i bought the CarMax "max care" extended warranty and it has covered a few small items that the BMW dealership fixed. Cool thing is that the BMW dealership told me that their CPO warranty would not have covered the work.

This is my second carmax purchase and i have been happy.


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## Salvator (Oct 14, 2003)

Something to keep in mind... at least in VA, if you buy a used car, and it turns out to be a lemon, you have no recourse in regards to Lemon laws... We bought a 323iT from Carmax (Dulles). Car ended up having vapor barrier issues... water would leak in during rainstorms and flood the carpet... Car was still under warranty, BMW fiddled around with it for months (literally). Eventually, they got it straightened out, but the interior had been in and out so many times (also they replaced the entire carpet, per our request) that it squeaked and rattled... We tried to lemon it at one point, and they pointed out that we were not the original owners, so no dice. To their credit, BMW handled the situation well, eventually fixing it to our satisfaction. However, our faith in the car was shaken, and we sold it BACK to Carmax... Mind you, the repair history by this time was "pages" long... They didn't blink and sold it on to someone else... Last I saw, it had moved to FL... :dunno: Long story short, I won't buy anymore vehicles from Carmax... Much happier with my CPO 325Ci that had 9K miles on it when I bought it... :thumbup:


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## erdoran (Feb 29, 2008)

If you end up doing carfax, you should do both that and autocheck. I had been looking at used cars online and running their histories, and there was one car that autocheck said had major frame damage that carfax passed as no problems. I saw another one (bright red 07 z4si LOADED) that autocheck showed was a lemon law buyback. The more info the better. Save a few bucks, ask carmax to run both of them for you, preferably in your presence.


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## newbimmerguy30 (Apr 6, 2008)

*Bought new!*

Bought new today from dealer at $251 above invoice + tax, and tags. Great car, 335i with Premium Pkg, Navigation, Steptronic, Cold Weather, Comfort Access, and iPod/USB. Out of the door at around $46K. Can't wait for the weekend to enjoy driving the car around.


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## billygoat777 (Dec 24, 2007)

im only 16 and dont know too much about purchasing vehicles, but the carmax near me seemed to be charging much mor that the value of the car IMO, because if u search on autotrader, local used car places selll for a few K's less, but like i said, maybe CarMax gives u a gaurantee that they cant


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## dubis (Dec 30, 2006)

I bought my 325Ci from Carmax at 22K miles, along with an extended warranty up to 65K miles. The warranty has already paid for itself. The CPO premium is pretty close to what you'll pay for an extended warranty. If you want to shop around on EBay, and arrange for the car to get shipped, you can get a better deal. But if you want to walk out in two hours with a car, you can't beat Carmax. If I recall correctly, they will buy back your car at the price you paid within a few days (7-10?). They are also a very good price reference when talking to dealers. I'll take a hard look at them the next time I buy a car.


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