CarMax Auto Superstore to open next year

A company that bills itself as the nation's largest retailer of preowned vehicles says it will open a southeast Tulsa location.

The state's second CarMax Auto Superstore should be ready by the middle of next year, said Trina Lee, the Richmond, Va.-based company's public relations manager.

The store and car lot will be built on a 12-acre site at 9131 S. Memorial Drive. Building permits list the price tag at almost $7 million for the main building, some tanks and a smaller structure.

"We are in the early stages of construction," Lee said, noting that the main store will cover more than 35,000 square feet.

CarMax has been named three times as one of Fortune magazine's 100 best companies to work for. Stores typically employ 60 to 100 associates. Hiring should begin in the spring, Lee said, when "people can apply online" at the company's Web site.

CarMax says that when its store is up and running, consumers will find a different way to purchase used cars.

"We offer a no-hassle, no-haggle experience," Lee said, which includes posted prices on all vehicles at stores and online, extended service plans, financing and a cash trade-in offer good for seven days whether or not the customer buys a car from CarMax.

Locations typically carry 300 to 400 vehicles to choose from and, except for five locations selling new models, sell used cars and trucks that are generally one to six years old with less than 60,000 miles.

"We carry most makes and models," Lee said, including domestic and import brands. "There will be a nice variety."

More than 25,000 vehicles are listed online, and CarMax transfers any used car to the store closest to a customer. The retailer has its own service department.

Store inventories undergo a stringent 125-point inspection, and the company does not sell vehicles with previous frame or flood damage, Lee said. Vehicles come with a clean-title guarantee and accurate odometer readings, she added.

Customers also receive a five-day, money-back guarantee and a limited 30-day warranty.

CarMax has become well known for buying customers' vehicles even if they don't purchase a car from the retailer, Lee said. Those vehicles are reconditioned and then sold locally.

"That's how we'll fill our inventory," she said, with about half of each store's inventory coming from area purchases. The other half is obtained from vehicle auctions.

Inventories vary from location to location, she said, with each store adapting its offering to area customers' preferences.

CarMax, which was initially part of the Circuit City electronics store chain, opened its first store in Richmond more than 14 years ago after the company surveyed thousands of consumers to find out what they liked and disliked about car shopping.

The company operates 86 stores -- including an Oklahoma City location -- and is growing at a rate of 15 percent to 20 percent a year, Lee said. About 10 stores are scheduled to open before the Tulsa operation is ready.

Debbie Blossom 581-8387
debbie.blossom@tulsaworld.com