So I wasn't really looking when I got my Dakota. Went to a couple places just to get a trade-in value on my '03 s10. It was terribly hard to get them to JUST give me a value without dicking me around. So when I got to Carmax I was surprised to have them get an inspector on my car right away.

They still wanted me to look at their inventory, but I figured since they had me tied up while mine was inspected.. it couldn't hurt, right? We thought of Sedans because we wanted newer, but still in our price range. Out of curiosity I looked at the pickups too. Saw some Colorados, Tacomas, and just a couple Dakotas.

Then I saw this one, in my favorite color, with the best number of cylinders, quad cab (got a baby,) practically immaculate condition. Hardly any wear in the bed and on the Class III receiver. 58k on the counter and just a smidgen out of my price range. "Well let's test drive this one" I said, and looked to my Wife.

Well anyways, we bought it. Got the 6 year 100,000 mile warranty on top of the price. The staff didn't pressure me at all. If anything, I pressured myself. They gave me $2500 for the '03 s10 with 123k on it. Which is a tad low, but it had been rear ended recently and had frame damage, head gasket leak, slipping tranny, and shot water pump.

They even let my insurance adjuster on the lot to inspect it and I was able to pocket $1300 on the claim

That wasn't the end of my dealings with them though. The truck wasn't in such immaculate shape as I had thought. It leaked tranny fluid the first day after purchase, rear passenger window sill was deformed, cupped tires made the front end vibrate, and a few stains appeared that weren't visible under the dark cloudy light that day.

They ended up taking the tranny out due to front AND rear main seal leaks. Putting a new sill in, buying two brand new tires for the front, and fully detailed the interior with a full shampoo. All free of charge.

Bought it the 13th, returned it for warranty work the 19th. Got it back the 27th... it was an agonizing 8 days. But they gave me a '08 Chevy Impala as a loaner. The guys in service were so friendly it was like The Stepford Techs. I was waiting for them to reveal their Robotiness.

I bought it with a full tank, gave it to service with a quarter tank, the Loaner had a full tank which they told me I didn't need to refill, and they returned my truck to me with a full tank! It was practically 3 full tanks of gas. Only had an 8th of a tank in the s10 I traded them.

So that's it. Carmax was a good place for me. The only downside is that their prices are firm. As they say, "No haggle pricing." But that's not too bad considering their starting prices are the same, if not lower, than other dealers. Takes a painful step out of the process.

So here it is, my 2005 Dakota SLT Quadcab 2wd. Before the new tires. I'll post better pics in the pic thread once I get it washed and such.

IMG_20110116_145357.jpg

 

Good looking truck man! Ive thought of Carmax before, but I always fear that the previous owner traded it in there quick due to a major problem. When something major goes wrong, the first thought people think of is "trade it in!"

But atleast they back up their stuff. Any dealer wouldve possibly fixed the tranny, but I highly doubt they would put new tires on or clean the interior. They would just state those are normal wear items.

Oh, and I forgot in the other threads you've been in:
Welcome to the forum!

 

Thanks for the welcome, I appreciate it.

I'm not sure how the other lots are, but at the Carmax here, most (if not all) of their trade-ins go to wholesale auctions. So chances are, you'd never even see a car there that has been traded in there. My s10 was auctioned off on the 24th. Gone for good. Probably won't even see it in Utah anymore.

Buying used is always somewhat of a risk though. If you buy used from a place that stands by the customer like these guys, all you need is a good ear and a good feel for your vehicle so you can catch the issues before they are problems. Judging by these forums I can tell most everyone here already has that feel.

Handy bunch of mod junkies. I'm looking forward to showcasing my mods with you guys, maybe next spring when I have more cashflow. But for now I'm lucky to have enough fuel. Might have to run it on a few of these bad boys.

 

I have bought two vehicles from them, an 2001 Windstar (wifes) in 03 and my Dakota last April. I am very pleased with them. It is a completely no hassle buying experience, none of this "let me go talk to the manager" crap. The prices are listed on the window sticker and thats the price, take it or leave it. Even the financing portion is a piece of cake. I bought both vehicles w/o warranty, the windstar had @30k on it and when we sold it last year it has over 100k and all I had to do to it in that time was put an alternator on it, brakes and tires. The Dakota has had no issues (knock on wood) other than a bad front end shimmy which they took care of under their 30 day 3000 mile standard warranty. Whats nice about carmax is you can search for Dakota's from all over the country and if you find one you like, they will ship it to your store (for a price sometimes, depending on if it is out of the store "zone". My truck, for example, was in Charlotte, NC, but is was in the Winston Salem, NC zone, so they shipped it from Charlotte to Winston Salem for free. I'll definitely buy from them again. Im always going on their website just to search for Dakotas and see whats out there....

 

nice lookin truck man welcome!

 

Glad to hear that Carmax took good care of you. Good luck with the Dak, and Welcome to DF.

 

Thanks guys. Glad to be here.