CarMax reviews

3.5

60% would recommend to a friend

(8,198 total reviews)
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Keith Barr

55% approve of CEO

50% positive business outlook

CarMax has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 8,198 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The CarMax employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

8K reviews
4.0
Feb 4, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

A company with integrity, something that's unheard of in the car buying industry. Great associates, fun work environment, and a management team that truly cares about you as a person. They also provide you with a great benefits package, which includes company contributions. If this means more than money to you, then Carmax is the place to work.

Cons

Non-competetive hourly wage (this is the ONLY reason I left the company). Yearly merit increase has a cap of 3.5%. The only way to make a decent living is to move into a salaried position. Growth opportunities ARE there for the taking, but their interview process for growth candidates is grueling. Unless you are able to sell yourself, there's a distinct possibility you won't pass MAP (Management Assessment Panel). I've found that the best "talkers" are the ones that pass MAP, not necessarily the most qualified. The assessment panel consists of 3 or 4 senior management employees that have never met the growth candidate before. They assess the candidate solely on the full day of questions that are conducted at a regional location. The candidate also compiles a presentation "selling" himself on why he should move up with the company. The panel has no idea how the candidate handles day to day activities in the store. P.S. This is not a rant from a previous employee that didn't pass MAP. I was a growth candidate, but declined the opportunity due to the MAP process. I worked at Carmax for over 3 years and saw entirely too many valuable employees FAIL the assessment while undeserving employees PASS the assessment all because of their ability to sell themselves ( AKA: lie about their core values and work ethic).

4.0
Oct 16, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The position has flexible hours, decent pay (I average about $17 per hour), surrounds you with fun people to work with (the interview process ensures this is the case), and offers a situation where every day is different from another. The company takes care of its employees, but this is a sales job - so stress is part of the deal. I really get the feeling every day that my management team cares about me and my progression in this business.

Cons

Constant training processes, growth meetings, and inventory tasks take you away from the only thing that makes you money - selling cars and extended service plans. That is my only real complaint. If my job is to sell cars, let me do that. Also - promotions can come from within, but you have to be willing to move or wait sometimes a decade for a promotion in your store.

2.0
Feb 8, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Most customers really like the no haggle pricing that CarMax offers. The sales process is easy if the customer has good credit. The dress code is really relax. This company is pretty good about working around your hours. A sales consultant at CarMax gets every 5th weekend off which is rare in retail sales.

Cons

Compensation for sales here is very small. If you want to make over $30,000 a year you HAVE to work at least 50 hours a week if not closer to 60. It is very easy to get fired, about 1 sales consultant gets fired every month. When I was hired I was told I had to sell a minimum of 6 cars a month to keep my job. That number has been moved up to 10 now. That is a store policy and not a companywide one. It is too easy to lose money at this place! Just because another sales consultant spoke to a customer within 3 days should not entitle them to half the commission! They think it is OK for Sales Consultant A to do 10 minutes of work and Sales Consultant B to do 3 hours of work and they get the same wage. That sounds like communism to me. WAY too many meetings! At least 1 a day and sometimes 2 a day. That is a lot of wasted time that you could be making calls or selling cars. They makeyou do inventory jobs that you do not get paid for every Saturday morning for an hour. They are really understaffed on Saturdays in inventory. Saturdays are the busiest day of the week! Why do they only have 3 or 4 kids prepping the cars. This makes the customer have to wait more time. The work atmosphere is so un PC it is ridiculous. That place is a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen.

Viewing 79 - 81 of 8,198 Reviews

Glassdoor has 8,367 CarMax reviews submitted anonymously by CarMax employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if CarMax is right for you.