Ethical company but low pay for sales consultants - Sales Consultant CarMax Employee Review

2.0
Mar 24, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Decent training program. Basically Sales 101 with a dedicated mentor. Friendly and helpful co-workers, none of the "cutthroat" mentality typical of car dealerships. Low pressure sales environment, not necessary to be knowledgeable about cars, they basically sell themselves. Everyone is guaranteed a minimum amount of customers through "ups" system and web leads. Benefits are better than average.

Cons

100% commission pay, only guaranteed income is a minimum wage subsidy that has to be payed back from your next paycheck. All commissions are "mini" commissions of a relatively small amount of money compared to the amount of work that goes into each sale. The only way to increase this amount is to up-sell the extended service plan. Average sales are 10 cars a month with 50% success with the service plan. This equals out to an average of 2K per month or 24K a year, about half of the average dealership. Although it is a commission based job you are tracked for tardiness. You accumulate "points" for each time you are more than 60 seconds late and will be terminated on the spot once you have accumulated a certain amount of points. This system also applies to anything else that a manager deems a "mistake." No flexibility on the local level, this system is enforced by corporate and does not take into account successful sales numbers or years with the company. Little job security due to these point systems. Even if you have above average sales you can be terminated for not increasing your numbers on a monthly basis. High turnover rate.

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

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All