Tom Folliard was promoted through the buying side of Carmax not the selling side, and it shows. - Sales Consultant CarMax Employee Review

1.0
Mar 2, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The best reason to work for Carmax is that if you are tired of lying to and stabbing customers in the back, pretending that you are going to talk to a manager when you are not, being ripped off by your sales managers and finance managers, and so on.; then you will enjoy the no haggle, no hassle approach of Carmax. Carmax considers itself a low pressure sales environment, as opposed to no pressure or high pressure. You will pay a price however in that Carmax sales consultants earn far less money than their counterparts at the traditional car dealerships.

Cons

Sales consultants are paid a flat commission which has not risen in over ten years. At $150 per car, imagine how many cars a salesperson would have to sell month in and month out to support a family. Turnover is continuous. Also, advancement is virtually non-existent. Carmax hires and promotes friends for upper management positions. Some sales managers have been waiting for years to be promoted while others who have never sold cars before are immediately thrown into assistant store manager and location general manager positions. The benefits, which were too expensive and too limited to begin with, are now being slashed as sales drop dramatically under the current ecomomic downturn.

Explore other reviews about CarMax

5.0
May 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You are your own boss

Cons

Slow days can be demotivating.

4.0
Jun 13, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The perks of working at CarMax are quite extensive. Associates are offered an aggressive 401k program, Stock Purchasing Plan, in store discounts on sales and service, access to the CarMax Wholesale system, excellent healthcare, plenty of PTO, and at my location we are given as much OT as we want. My coworkers are generally good people, that I enjoy being able to work along side day in and day out. Management is very understanding in regards to calling out sick family emergencies, and schedule requests.

Cons

Despite doing the work of 5 people, and very politely asking for a raise management will not give me more than my 3% annual raise which is the single biggest let down. The bonus change of 2025 being labeled as "exciting" was straight corporate gaslighting unlike anything I've ever seen. Since the start of 2026, as of this review being written we have lost 7 associates largely due to pay, and I am soon to join those associates. Management from the store level up to corporate needs to understand that to retain their top performers they need to be compensated like a top performer. Some members of management are cliquey and moody which is very frustrating to deal with. Quality of Management varies wildly from store to store as well

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All