CarMax Also Says Online Searches for Larger Vehicles on the Rise
RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 9, 2006 -- With the recent decrease in gas prices and the approach of winter weather, CarMax, Inc. , the nation's largest retailer of used cars, has seen an increase in online searches for sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.
"One of the ways we gauge consumers' interest in sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks is by monitoring the search activity on our website," said Tom Folliard, president and chief executive officer of CarMax. "We've seen a resurgence in interest in vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Tahoe, Ford F150, and Ford Expedition, all of which climbed in popularity based on searches on the carmax.com website in September. However cars, such as the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, continue to remain popular as indicated by their top rankings in carmax.com search activity."
The following is a listing of the 20 most popular vehicle searches from the nearly 4 million visits to carmax.com this September:
Make/Model September 2006 August 2006 September 2005 Honda Accord 1 1 1 Ford Mustang 2 4 6 Toyota Camry 3 3 3 Honda Civic 4 2 2 Chevrolet Tahoe 5 6 15 Ford F150 6 7 13 Nissan Maxima 7 5 7 Toyota 4Runner 8 9 9 Jeep Wrangler 9 12 10 Jeep Grand Cherokee 10 13 12 Toyota Tacoma 11 14 11 Nissan Altima 12 11 5 Toyota Corolla 13 8 4 Chevrolet Corvette 14 19 27 Infiniti G35 15 15 22 Volkswagen Jetta 16 10 8 Ford Explorer 17 17 21 Nissan 350Z 18 18 19 Ford Expedition 19 24 34 Chevrolet 20 22 40 Silverado
According to CarMax's customer satisfaction surveys, 45 percent of customers who bought a vehicle from CarMax in the most recent fiscal year indicated that the carmax.com website was the most important source of information in their decision to visit a CarMax superstore.
Carmax.com provides actual pricing, multiple photos, and a list of features for each vehicle in the company's nationwide inventory of more than 20,000 vehicles. In addition, CarMax offers a vehicle transfer service that provides customers easy access to the retailer's entire nationwide used car inventory.
CarMax offers consumers a no-hassle, no-haggle car-buying experience, and a broad selection of high-quality used vehicles. CarMax guarantees the quality of the cars sold, does not sell flood or frame-damaged vehicles, and guarantees a clean title and accurate odometer readings on its cars. All vehicles are thoroughly inspected and reconditioned, and CarMax offers a five- day, money-back guarantee and a limited 30-day warranty (60-day in CT).
About CarMax
CarMax, a FORTUNE 500 company, and one of the FORTUNE 2006 "100 Best Companies to Work For," is the nation's largest retailer of used cars. Headquartered in Richmond, Va., CarMax currently operates 71 used car superstores in 34 markets. CarMax also operates seven new car franchises, all of which are integrated or co-located with its used car superstores. During the twelve month period ended August 31, 2006, the company sold 311,241 used cars, which is 94% of the total 330,296 vehicles the company retailed during that period. For more information, access the CarMax website at http://www.carmax.com/.
