Took the old M3 to Carmax this weekend to see how much they'd give me for it. Of course, they refused to divulge any information over the phone, so I had no idea what ballpark they would be in. After making the not-short drive out there and cooling my heels for an hour and a half, they presented me with an offer that was so low as to be not just laughable, but actually insulting to my intelligence. They based this offer on a Kelley Blue Book report showing 16,900 as the "average" trade in value for my car, and then generously tacked on 1500 or so as an inducement.

That got me to thinking. I know that KBB numbers are, as a rule, low, but that sounded off even for KBB. So I looked it up, and the value (using the same criteria they used) came back as 19K. Hmm. I then tried telling KBB my car was a coupe. Ah! Low and behold, a value of 16,900. Carmax had run the value (and based their offer) on the numbers for a coupe instead of a convertible.

I will let you draw your own conclusions about whether this may have been an honest mistake, but having looked at the KBB database, it's pretty hard to miss the "bodystyle" question. And even the least observant people have little trouble divining my car is a convertible, given the fact that (with the top down) IT HAS NO ROOF.

I will not be returning to Carmax, either for sale or for purchase.