Anyone bought Carmax Maxcare?

[Boozer]

RDP brain trust I need some advice.

I’m in the process of buying a 2019 Ford Edge from Carmax. I know, Carmax is overpriced but in this case they were the best deal I could find on what I wanted without having to go out of state.

I usually change my cars every 1 to 2 years so I’ve never bought an extended warranty. After looking back at how much money I’ve spent on cars as a result, it makes me sick so I plan to keep this one for 4-5 years.

Carmax offers an extended warranty called Maxcare. The car currently has 56K miles on it. For $2400 Maxcare will cover the vehicle bumper to bumper to 100K miles or 60 months with a $300 deductible, I only drive 8-9K miles a year so it should be covered for pretty close to the 60 months.

The last few vehicles I bought brand new, some of them were luxury vehicles and all of them wound up in the shop at some point so I’m thinking an extended warranty is worth considering but I’d like to hear other peoples experiences.

Is the coverage as good as they claim? Are there better extended warranty options? And yes, I know, I get the calls everyday about extended warranty coverage as well. One of those companies is actually a client of mine and I’d never buy a warranty from them.

Thanks in advance.

 

[HALLETT BOY]

The consensus usually is just put the money in the bank and spend it after you sell the car . Repairs done under a 3rd party warranty, authorized by 3rd party warranty people are usually not performed like you’d like …JMHO

 

[lbhsbz]

Any shop indy shop worth a shit won't deal with 3rd party extended warranty companies because they're a pain in the ass and dictate how the shop is to fix the car. I'd pass on it unless you plan on taking it back to Carmax service centers for any warranty work....and even then, I'd walk up and talk to one of their service advisors about Maxcare before you do anything....they very well might have to go through the same bullshit process that an independent shop does, depending on who is behind the program.

 

[Done-it-again]

I would take it. Any work done these days is 1500. Just make sure you read what is included or not.

I bought a Ford plan for 2500 on an explore and so far it replaced 2 turbos, transfer case, strut, seat warmer, bad catalytic converter, and some other small stuff.

 

[samsah33]

I've bought from Carmax and would do so again for the convenience; same with selling a car to them, not the highest price I could get on the open market, but certainly convenient. I've never gotten the extended warranty, but do your homework ahead of time to see if you can get it aftermarket for a better price, that way you can make an informed decision when the F&I guy tries to pressure you into buying one. Make sure you can really use the warranty and that it's not limited to CM locations only. Also make sure that you know whether or not the 60 mos/100K is from the day you buy the car or from the original sales date of the car (e.g. some warranties say 100k miles in coverage, but it doesn't give you an additional 100k, it extends the mfg warrany up to 100k, so in your case, you might only be getting an incremental 44k miles coverage and then coverage ends when the car hits 100k...).

 

[Xring01]

I wouldnt own a Ford Edge without a warranty.

PERIOD.

 

[JDKRXW]

Find a Honda Pilot.
Have a major service (incl. timing belt) done on it.
Forget about warranty (and Ford reliability)

 

[thedan]

Had it. Transmission went out on an 06 Yukon with 50k miles in Victorville on the way home from the river. Towed to the Chevy dealership in town. The covered transmission was 7 days out. I paid an extra 2-300 dollars to use a rebuild from the dealer. If I towed it to CarMax, I’m sure it would have been taken care of. It was an ok experience. Got my $ out of it.

 

[Sandlord]

I think thats the one I got.
When I traded in the car, back to Carmax, the warranty was prorated and applied to the new vehicle.

 

[ka0tyk]

Would I carma… nope!

 

[jetboatperformance]

I started Our warranty and service contract inspection business in 1986 and we work as a contractor or 30 plus warranty and service contract administrators and underwriters . Perhaps in the early days of that aspect of business the industry gained a bad rap however the companies I work for work very hard to pay for claims as opposed denials

 

[Cooter01]

I would put a $1-200 a month into a savings account so IF a repair comes up have the cash. I have heard many horror stories about folks using carmax extended warranty service. The go with the highest price to the customer for the lowest work to the tech, aka not stellar work.

 

[Boozer]

I

I've bought from Carmax and would do so again for the convenience; same with selling a car to them, not the highest price I could get on the open market, but certainly convenient. I've never gotten the extended warranty, but do your homework ahead of time to see if you can get it aftermarket for a better price, that way you can make an informed decision when the F&I guy tries to pressure you into buying one. Make sure you can really use the warranty and that it's not limited to CM locations only. Also make sure that you know whether or not the 60 mos/100K is from the day you buy the car or from the original sales date of the car (e.g. some warranties say 100k miles in coverage, but it doesn't give you an additional 100k, it extends the mfg warrany up to 100k, so in your case, you might only be getting an incremental 44k miles coverage and then coverage ends when the car hits 100k...).

So far this is looking to be the easiest car purchase I’ve ever done. Did all the paperwork online and going with their express check deal. From the way they explained it, I go in, inspect the car, test drive it, and if I’m happy with the car I give a couple signatures on an iPad and drive away. If it works out that way I’ll be very pleased.

The Maxcare is 60 months or until the car hits 100K so it’s a 44K mile warranty with a $300 deductible.

 

[PokerRun388]

I wouldn’t pay $2400 for that warranty, OP. I like CarMax however it’s just another way to suck another $2400 out of you.

If warranty is a concern, then just spend $2-3k more & buy an Edge w/ half of that 56k miles & still under a 3/36 or 5/60.

I like CarMax & bought my current car through them, however at no point did I consider spending another $2400 for a dealer ‘add on’ to get more money out of me.

If it’s a one-owner vehicle, with a good maintenance history & no accidents, then you probably have nothing to worry about.

 

[Justfishing]

Dont those smaller ford engines have head gasket issues

 

[HALLETT BOY]

I took a friend to buy a suv a while ago , first stop was a GMC dealer had a brand new one , list 36K , 3K rebate and 3K discount = 30K , decent deal . She wanted to go to Car Max , same vehicle , 3 years older , 60K miles , no warranty , 33K ! I asked about negotiating, salesperson said price is price . It puzzled me how they stay relevant…