My store is not a true reflection of carmax as a whole - Reconditioning Associate CarMax Employee Review

2.0
Aug 19, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some positives of my store are a consistent work schedule, and mostly pleasant coworkers.

Cons

Carmax from what I’ve heard is a great company to work for. I believe this, but the specific store I work for in Puyallup is a very poor representation of carmax standards. My store is driven to hit their target. That’s great, but morals and pride in our work is thrown out the window. The cars we produce are NOT quality. Why? Because we’re short staffed. The employees that show up seem to be the ones being reprimanded and suffering. We have a pace time of 22 minutes to clean a car. We are pushed to do it even quicker to hit goal, and are told to pass cars that are not within our standards. We have been in mandatory overtime since the grand opening of this store- since 2017. “Optional” overtime doesn’t really come across as optional. Management is inconsistent in their policies and what they say constantly changes. Nobody wants to be here, the morale is crumbling, all I hear is about how everyone wants to leave. I had high hopes for this store before but not anymore. A main manager held a meeting awhile back for us to discuss issues and change we wanted to see, it boosted morale for about 48 hours but dived back down once it was made obvious that we weren’t being listened to. Nothing brought up has been truly fixed yet, we’ve only gotten excuses or an ineffective step toward change and then the whole idea gets dropped. I understand change takes time, but I’m not seeing any fix to a single issue that was brought up. The work environment is TOXIC. The training is a joke. Everyone is quitting- for good reason- and we aren’t hiring enough to replace them. And those that do get hired, aren’t trained properly and end up leaving soon after. Nobody here from what I feel or have heard others feel, feels respected. Nobody feels respected, listened to, valued, trained, happy, or hope for the company to improve. They don’t feel pride in their work. They don’t feel pride in their company. I used to enjoy working here and my coworkers are great, one of the only reasons I haven’t brought myself to leave yet, but despite them I’m writing a review in hopes that it’ll encourage someone higher up to take a look at the Puyallup location’s production building and reevaluate how it’s being handled.

Explore other reviews about CarMax

5.0
May 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You are your own boss

Cons

Slow days can be demotivating.

4.0
Jun 13, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The perks of working at CarMax are quite extensive. Associates are offered an aggressive 401k program, Stock Purchasing Plan, in store discounts on sales and service, access to the CarMax Wholesale system, excellent healthcare, plenty of PTO, and at my location we are given as much OT as we want. My coworkers are generally good people, that I enjoy being able to work along side day in and day out. Management is very understanding in regards to calling out sick family emergencies, and schedule requests.

Cons

Despite doing the work of 5 people, and very politely asking for a raise management will not give me more than my 3% annual raise which is the single biggest let down. The bonus change of 2025 being labeled as "exciting" was straight corporate gaslighting unlike anything I've ever seen. Since the start of 2026, as of this review being written we have lost 7 associates largely due to pay, and I am soon to join those associates. Management from the store level up to corporate needs to understand that to retain their top performers they need to be compensated like a top performer. Some members of management are cliquey and moody which is very frustrating to deal with. Quality of Management varies wildly from store to store as well

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