CarMax Opens First Store in Jacksonville, Florida
RICHMOND, Va., April 15 -- CarMax, Inc., , the nation's largest retailer of used cars, officially opened its first store in the Jacksonville area today. The new CarMax superstore, located at 11335 Atlantic Boulevard in Duval County, is more than 50,000 square-feet, employs 95 people and stocks 300 to 500 vehicles of nearly every make and model. This is the ninth CarMax store in Florida.
"We have revolutionized the way consumers buy cars," said Austin Ligon, president and CEO of CarMax. "Jacksonville area residents now can choose to have a no-hassle, no-haggle, fun car shopping experience."
More than 200 local dignitaries and CarMax associates attended a grand opening preview event at the superstore today. The event included a "Road Rally" for charity featuring local television personalities competing in a driving challenge, which included parallel-parking and pack-the-trunk events. CarMax donates $1,000 to each participant's charity, and the winner's charity receives an additional $1,000. The Road Rally participants included CBS47 Sports Reporter Lee Gordon, WJXT Weekend Anchor & Reporter Jennifer Waugh, and First Coast News Meteorologist Julie Watkins.
CarMax opened its first store more than 11 years ago after the company surveyed thousands of consumers to find out what they liked and disliked about car shopping. CarMax was designed according to the survey responses, giving consumers what they asked for:
Low Prices
* No-hassle, no-haggle car-buying experience
Broad Selection
* Nearly every make and model on one lot
* Used vehicles that are generally one to six years old with less than
60,000 miles
Great Quality
* Guaranteed quality cars and no flood or frame-damaged vehicles
* Thoroughly inspected and reconditioned vehicles
* Five-day money back guarantee and a limited 30-day warranty
Customer Friendly
* A For Kids Only(R) supervised play area
* CarMax will buy any car, whether or not the seller purchases a CarMax
vehicle
Jacksonville area residents can also preview CarMax vehicles by logging onto http://www.carmax.com/. The website features actual prices and photos of more than 20,000 CarMax vehicles available nationwide. Prospective car buyers can have a vehicle transferred from another CarMax store location to the Jacksonville store for a fee.
About CarMax
CarMax, a FORTUNE 500 company and one of the FORTUNE 2005 "100 Best Companies to Work For," is the nation's largest retailer of used cars. Headquartered in Richmond, Va., CarMax currently operates 61 used car superstores in 28 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 February 28, 2005, the company retailed 253,168 used cars, which is 92 percent of the total 273,804 vehicles the company retailed during that period. For more information, access the CarMax website at http://www.carmax.com/.
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