CarMax Danvers, MA - 2012 C70 T5

[kcodyjr]

Overall I have to rate it a pretty good buying experience.

It's a Platinum with dynamic and climate packages, only 30200 on the clock when I took delivery, and the only defect worth mentioning was some moderate ablation on the door handles and other plastic where hands make contact. Apparently, one of the two previous owners and their passengers liked to wear lots of chunky rings. For all that, they priced it at $25K. They don't haggle. It had to be a bit over a $50K car when it was new, with all the toys and extras.

I found the car, and a couple of others, on their cross-country-wide website, and had the car shipped in from LA. That alone cost $1100 extra but it seemed worth it for a car that had never seen road salt.

The car arrived sooner than expected, and the day after I test drove it, I was driving it home.

High points on the convenience factor. They had all the financing in house (less than 1/2 the interest rate RoadLoans gave me) and were also able to roll the tax into the loan and issue the plates right there in the building. I would not expect a conventional dealership to put such time and attention to detail into a used sale.

There have been a couple issues with the car; a couple bulbs burned out shortly after I got it, and the tires developed a noise that sounded like wheel bearing, but turned out to be bad cords in the tires, along with two out-of-true rims on the passenger side. (Someone did some curbsurfing with it? Suck at parking?) They had the rims straightened, replaced all four tires, and gave me a loaner (CR-V, ugh) while they did the work. They also replaced the cupholder rubber fingers that had dry-rotted and cracked off, all under the 90-day warranty.

The tires they chose were "IronMan" which I've never heard of, but sounds suspiciously like some cut-rate Chinese sweatshop jobs to me. One failed catastrophically a month later, at highway speeds, leaving me pulled over right where the onramp from US3-S to RT-128S ends. After a AAA tow, CarMax replaced it with only the slightest fuss - the guy on the phone felt compelled to mention that tires were a wear item, until I mentioned they'd only put it on a month ago.

It did not come with a complete maintenance history, only CarMax's own less-than-comprehensive report. They did throw in the free CarFax, of course. They were either sloppy or thoughtful enough, depending on your point of view, to leave the previous owner's registration card in the glove compartment.

Overall, would buy from CarMax again. One doesn't buy a used Volvo of any age without expecting a few glitches - the previous owner unloaded it for a reason, right?

I did spend $2500 (or $50/month) on a 100K, 5-year, $300-deductible extended warranty, in case I ever blow an engine or a tranny or something. Jury's still out on whether that was worth it. They knock off $50 on the deductible if you take it to CarMax for the work.

I do get the distinct and unsurprising impression that they're only as good as their reference books when it comes to Volvos.