A Great Place to Work ... 'Work' being the key... for a short time. Carmax is not a career! - Manager CarMax Employee Review

2.0
Sep 15, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

A lot of great people, non-managerial employees enjoy work and have fun, learn a lot about cars (makes, models, trim levels, etc.) Great job for college students looking to make decent money and work part-time, opportunities for advancement are available (but lead to nothing). Benefits are good.

Cons

AVOID ANY ADVANCEMENT INTO MANAGEMENT! Management is a complete mess, everyone micro-managing each other, extremely stressful and pay is based on what you made prior and you receive a very small increase in pay when you are "promoted". Half the day is spent in meetings that are a waste and take away from valuable time that could be spent training associates and helping customers. CARMAX IS RUN LIKE A TYPICAL BIG BOX RETAILER. Every department is run poorly and inefficiently. People are fired for ridiculous reasons, things that aren't their fault because they literally turn any issue into a corporate investigation. Nothing is handled on a store level by the 15+ managers that are there everyday. Looking back, it's ridiculous and I can't believe I worked there as long as I did!

Explore other reviews about CarMax

5.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Amazing benefits with 6% 401k matching and tuition reimbursement.

Cons

Highly reliant on the quality of management at the store location.

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

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