Action 9

Action 9: Customer says Carmax's color description threw him off

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bryson Clark was very excited about getting a BMW convertible, red with beige interior.

"For the wife and myself, and we could haul the pets and grandkids," he said.

He went to Carmax.

Carmax said it had one in California and would ship it to Hickory, where Clark lives, but he would have to pay a $949 transfer fee.

Clark said he agreed, but when the car came, the interior wasn't beige at all. It was much closer to white.

He didn't want the vehicle, afraid that white wouldn't hold up with his "pets and grandkids."

He said Carmax didn't make him take the car but told him he was still responsible for the $949.

Action 9 went back and forth with Carmax for about two months and finally got it resolved. Carmax agreed to give Clark his $949 back.

As for other customers, Clark wants them to know how Carmax lists colors.  After all, Carmax sells more used vehicles than any other dealer in North Carolina.

Carmax uses common color names -- like red, black, and blue -- to describe vehicles. It could use the fancy color names automakers come up with, like Alien 2 -- what Kia calls a certain green- - and Fresh Powder -- what Nissan calls a certain white. But customers may not know what those are and may have a hard time if they are searching Carmax's website by color. So Carmax tries to make it more simple.

Clark said that makes sense, but, in his case, the color name Carmax chose -- beige -- threw him off.  He wishes Carmax listed the color BMW uses, and he could have looked up what that looked like specifically.

"If Carmax would do a better job of advertising the vehicles as what they truly are, you wouldn't have these issues," he said.

He also feels he should have asked more questions.