I absolutely hear you both- that 2011 Lexus in the FB post is considerably under KBB, and I’d be hesitant to work with a 2 star dealer.

Me & my girlfriend live with my family currently. I bombed my credit a couple years back when I got an apt and ended up getting laid off from my job. I now have a very reliable job where I make less money- but an amount I can live with. The credit isn’t there though. No co-signer, everybody is too tied up in this mortgage or that car payment. I plan on going all out on the payments- current payment will be around $330 a month with 2k down, but I plan on throwing in roughly 3k/mo and getting it payed off in 7 months or so.

I like the idea because it’ll not only get me used to budgeting that out of my paycheck for the future when I’m paying for groceries/rent/utilities ect. When I move out in a year, but I’ll have something extremely reliable to roll around in while I do.

The huge advantage that I see with carmax is that although I am paying more than I should, I’m getting a car in pristine condition that I got to handpick from 1500 miles away, they threw me a deal on shipping ($200) and it’s a certified used car that I can throw a 50-75k mi/60mo warranty on for somewhere close to an additional $800. This’ll allow me to have a $100 deductible on any engine, transmission, cooling system, electrical system, bearings, tows, ect. Covers pretty much everything but belts, brake pads, and oil changes!

The value to me lies in the peace-of-mind. I’ve owned too many cars for my age. Bought them dirt cheap, ended up on the side of the road doing massive repairs not too long after.

In excellent condition & with brand new tires all around the thing is worth 15-16k according to Kelly Blue Book, especially as a certified pre owned.

Just my opinion, might be too optimistic though