Skip to main content

A Quarter of the Vehicles Sold Through CarMax Had Unresolved Safety Issues, Study Claims

Over 25 percent of the used vehicles sold through eight CarMax locations in the United States had recall defects that were not addressed, according to a recent safety report.

The 2017 study, conducted by the Center For Auto Safety, the Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety Foundation and the MASSPIRG Education Fund, noted that vehicles with unresolved safety recalls  had more than doubled since 2015 at the five locations surveyed in both years. That is worthy of a raised eyebrow or two.

Questions remain, however. While the review cites numerous locations selling vehicles with what many would consider unacceptable issues, we don’t definitively know if this is indicative of CarMax as a whole. But lets face it, there were 64 million vehicles recalled for safety problems last year — exceeding the total for the previous three years combined.

That said, consumers should not be sold vehicles with outstanding recalls without being informed in advance. While CarMax does provide an “AutoCheck” report and the option to go over VIN-specific recalls with a sales associate, it’s not obligatory for customers to pay attention. Likewise, the report may not include any recall information outright.

Brought to our attention by Jalopnik, the study states that at least 45 of the 1,699 vehicles surveyed contained recalled Takata airbags, which have been attributed to 16 deaths and countless injuries. That’s a little less forgivable than a loose seat or faulty drink holder, despite the recall’s massive scale.

Dealers passing off lemons as quality automobiles isn’t an uncommon practice but CarMax presents itself differently than your average no-title-no-problem sketch artist. Its recent influx of duds could be attributed to the abnormally high number of recalls within the automotive industry. Honestly, we’d have been surprised if the research found fewer cars with outstanding problems this year.

Of the sample, 461 cars contained some unresolved issue — which accounted for 27 percent of all vehicles currently for sale between the eight locations. Those would be poor marks even if the study was intentionally choosing bad apples, however, the report doesn’t go into great detail about its methodology. Assumedly, it wanted to look into the five previously selected sites and picked the other three out of convenience.

Here are the shops in question, in case you were curious: In Massachusetts we have CarMax of North Attleboro, Danvers, Norwood, and Westborough. California locations included Oxnard and Sacramento South, and Connecticut’s East Haven and Hartford were also part of the study.

All of the cars in the sample were individually assessed based on the inventory available through the CarMax website and are available in the full report.

CarMax issued a response to the study, saying it “provides the most transparent and integrity-driven car buying experience in the industry. Our approach to recalls is no different. CarMax has led the industry in recall transparency and shares vehicle specific recall information in-store and online.”

It then went on to provide a link to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall lookup website, with the VIN pre-populated, allowing customers to obtain open recall information on any used vehicle for sale. This is true and incredibly easy for anyone with thirty seconds to spare.

Finally, customers are required sign a form acknowledging the NHTSA recall information prior to signing sales documents. At this point, whether or not they actually did kind of doesn’t matter because the legal burden is off the seller.

Sure, we’d love to see CarMax taking care of problems prior to sale and shouting out recall details to unaware consumers. But they’re operating within the boundaries of the law and giving shoppers the tools necessary to make informed decisions — if they are willing to take advantage of them.

The only serious issue we see is that some CarMax locations seem to be more willing to take on a sketchier inventory. In which case, buyer beware. Of course, if you do hate your purchase the company does offer a five-day money-back guarantee.

This article first appeared on thetruthaboutcars.com

The post A Quarter of the Vehicles Sold Through CarMax Had Unresolved Safety Issues, Study Claims appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2x3jWGC
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...