CarMax reviews

If you can't stand being "micro-managed" don't work here. Goals can be very difficult to attain if you want to have a life away from work. The people who I saw do the best worked at least 60 hours per week. Ans as far as goals are concerned they are supposed to be mutually agreed to by the sales consultant and the manager but sales managers often just tell you your goal and you are on your way. You are on commission and the economy isn't doing well so your pay can suffer. At times it is very hard to be competitive with new car dealers because of the no-haggle pricing structure (and the buyers paying too much at auction). CarMax may sell a vehicle that is 2-3 model years old for the same price as a dealer would sell this year's model. A prime example would be the Toyota Prius or Corolla. It is very difficult to advance from sales to a management position, you would have to be in what they call President's Club (15+ cars a month average) in order to be considered for management and at that point it wouldn't make much sense because you'd be taking a pay cut.

There is not much room for promotion at this time. We have many people waiting to move up from middle management into senior management with no place to go because the company has slowed expansion. I have seen many Sales Managers who have been promised a promotion, relocated to get said promotion and are still waiting a year or two later because there is no place for them to promote to. General Managers are almost always hired from outside which means they don't have a clue what sales managers and sales employees really experience. Their lack of understanding often leads to a lack of ability to truly lead the store in the right direction. I have been in management for sales for a number of years and would highly recommend thinking twice before moving into a sales manager position with CarMax. We are normally scheduled a minimum of 50 hour weeks which truly become 60+ hours when you count the days you stay late and the numerous phone calls when I'm not in the store. I can't think of how many times I have worked 10 days straight without a day off. We receive very small increases in our base compensation and our bonuses are so well planned by corporate that it is guaranteed to average out to the same dollar amount every year. Bonuses are tied to store productivity, so as a Sales Manager your compensation is in the hands of many people. If the team isn't working well, you are really out of luck. Senior Management puts a great deal of pressure on Sales Managers to make their sales employees perform at high levels, but when these things are achieved Senior Management and the Sales employees are the only ones compensated for the performance. To put it plainly, Sales Managers are overworked, under appreciated and all too often are strung along with promises of promotions that will truthfully never happen.