A Lexus driver who no longer needed her vehicle opted to sell it to CarMax. Summer (@summerardon) documented her process in a viral TikTok that’s accrued over 86,000 views as of Friday.
Pretty good shape
Summer begins, “Today I’m going to sell my car to CarMax and see how much we get for it. I’m not trading it in or anything. I’m just strictly selling it and taking the money. So, let’s see what we’ll get. I’ll show you my car right now.”
She then shows off the Lexus crossover SUV she’s intending on selling to the popular automotive retailer. “We’re here already this is my car,” she says. “It’s a 2016 Lexus NX200t, F Sport. Let me show you the inside.”
Following this, she cuts to the interior of the vehicle, which sports two-tone red and black seats. “This is the inside of it. I love the red interior,” she says. “I’m really sad to be getting rid of this car. But it just makes sense for us financially.”
After showing off the front seat, her clip then cuts to the back of the vehicle. It appears to be clean and in good condition. “Honestly, I think it’s in really good condition for being a 2016,” she shares. Lastly, she shows off the driver side and dashboard.
Time to sell
At this point in the video, she records herself outside of the CarMax location. “Let’s go see how much they’ll give us for our car,” she says.
Then, she records herself sitting in a waiting room and it looks like she’s the only person there. This detail seemed to worry Summer. “Is it a bad thing that this place is empty?” she asks in a text overlay of the video.
She doesn’t record the actual sales process of the vehicle, however. Because the next portion of the clip shows her walking away from the CarMax. Back in the parking lot, she speaks into the camera again.
“They bought my car for $13,600, which I guess is a pretty good deal,” she says. “I’m gonna wait till they post it and see how much they sell it for. So bye to my car.”
At the end of the video she adds what CarMax listed the vehicle’s price for $21,000. “They posted it for 21k. Do you think I made the right choice?” she asks her followers.
Private selling always best?
When it comes to companies that purchase vehicles, CarMax has usually been lauded as giving the highest offers. The Daily Dot previously reported on a car selling grudge match between Carvana and CarMax. The TikToker chronicling her sales journey was shocked to see that the latter company offered $4,000 more.
Numerous folks online, like the folks on this forum, believe that selling vehicles privately is the way to go. Dealerships and companies like CarMax are attempting to make margins on their automotive purchases. As a result, they offer to purchase cars, as one commenter stated, at “wholesale prices.” Furthermore, commenters on this Quora post also believe attempting to sell it yourself is the way to go.
The one benefit of selling your vehicle to a business like CarMax, however, is the seamlessness of the process. You can go online, punch in details about your vehicle, get a quote, and instantly have a check cut. Many may find this less of a hassle and a more stress free means of selling their vehicle.
According to Kelley Blue Book, an excellent condition, 2016 Lexus NX 200t F Sport can be purchased between $14,260 to $17,571.
Viewers were divided
One commenter thought Summer made the right choice selling her vehicle to CarMax. “No one has cash for 13.6k on them made right choice,” they said.
Another conceded that while she may have made more if she sold herself, the amount she got for it was respectable. “Maybe you would of gotten more privately. But, $13k is pretty good,” they wrote.
But one TikToker said he would’ve offered her more for the vehicle. “Damn I would’ve given you 15k in a heartbeat,” they shared.
And then there was this user who seemed happy with selling their vehicle to CarMax. They wrote, “We just sold our 2016 GMC sierra and they gave us 28k for it.”
In the comments section, Summer also added that she had listed her car on Facebook Marketplace before. After two weeks of fielding offers on the app, she opted to go with CarMax.
The Daily Dot has reached out to CarMax and Summer via email for further comment.
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