Pros
There are a handful of pro's when it comes to working at CarMax. The dress code is business casual. You can wear shorts when it's hot outside and you're able to wear sneakers which helps when you're on your feet all day. The 401K is decent but nothing spectacular. The employee stock purchase plan is also average (15% buy discount at market value after 1 full year). You'll also work with some really great like minded people. CarMax used to be a fun company to work for, where you would be proud to work for them however over the past 15 months the company has really taken a tumble which you can see with their consistent decline on the top 100 companies list. I have learned a great deal about interviews and interviewing.
Cons
1st off... CarMax sales managers compensation is at the bottom of the industry. An average sales manager at a typical dealer should be making minimum 80K a year. At CarMax you'll be lucky to clear 65K AFTER bonuses. The micromanagement that has developed at CarMax is horrendous. If you do not respond well to micromanagement then please seek work elsewhere. On the other hand if you strive in a micromanagement environment (which you know you do or do not) then you'll be plenty happy. CarMax doesn't want leaders, they want bosses. The company does not want managers who are leaders. They want managers who can put a check in the box (literally) regardless of the result. Where leadership and forward thinking were once promoted the environment has shifted to a job where everything is managed off of reports instead of behaviors. They now literally hand out worksheets that give you step by step instructions on how to do your job and if you try and give feedback on how to make those better then you are seen as someone who is not bought into the program and your feedback will not be heard. Instead they want managers to validate their processes even when they do not work. They have taken the individuality out of the role of the Sales Manager and replaced it with check in the box processes. The downturn of the company seemed to coincide with the drop in stock from $75.50 down to the mid 40's in less than 12 months. The company lost billions in market cap and now have rushed out programs that would be great for new stores and newer sales managers to everyone in an attempt to bring share value back up. The only issue is these "plays" aren't a one size fits all and is now driving away tenured associates who wanted nothing more than to see the company succeed. These associates are now being replaced with check in the box managers who don't have the business acumen to take CarMax to the next level. Because of this you will see negative to minimal comp growth in stores with 5+ years in their markets and all growth will rest heavily on newly opened stores. Since the sales managers won't have the ability to truly train associates to sell then not only will unit sales decline but you'll see a decline in service plans and GAP plans sold. Another con is that as a manager you will learn the absolute minimum about the car business. You won't learn about financing, profits, gross or credit. This will hinder you when you want to remain in the business but don't have the skillset to move to another company. CarMax doesn't teach you these things on purpose because they feel the less you know about the business, the better. To anyone seeking employment here I recommend you look at other dealership groups. The pay would be better and the culture at CarMax has completely changed. People sacrificed pay for culture and it was fantastic but not anymore. I am currently seeking employment outside of this company.
