CarMax Warranty and MaxCare: What CarMax’s Terms Say

The CarMax warranty is really three promises, and only two of them come from CarMax. Every car it sells carries a CarMax limited warranty of 30 days, longer in six states, and a 10-day money-back guarantee. MaxCare is the third: an optional extended service plan sold with the car and run by third-party companies, under a contract CarMax says it isn’t a party to. This page reads all three from CarMax’s own documents: the Warranties and MaxCare page on carmax.com, its Help Center answers, two CarMax articles dated 29 April 2026, and the reports CarMax, Inc. filed with the SEC from fiscal 2022 to the quarter ending 31 May 2026. All were read on 30 September 2026, with the CFPB complaint file for CarMax, Inc.

Two promises, and two different companies on the hook

The limited warranty is CarMax’s own promise. The Help Center says every car CarMax sells “automatically comes with a CarMax limited warranty”, and CarMax’s annual report says a car that needs repair in that period “will be repaired free of charge.” CarMax carries the expected cost of those repairs on its own balance sheet, which is why its filings can show how that cost has moved.

MaxCare is a different kind of document: a vehicle service contract, bought separately. The Warranties and MaxCare page is plain about it: “MaxCare is administered by third-party administrators. CarMax is not a party to the MaxCare or MaxCare Plus contract.” The fiscal 2026 annual report goes further. CarMax sells the plans “on behalf of unrelated third parties, who are the primary obligors,” and says: “We have no contractual liability to customers for claims under these agreements.” The plans were designed to CarMax’s specifications and are run by those third parties “through private-label arrangements”, and CarMax may receive profit-sharing revenue based on how they perform.

So the name and the design are CarMax’s, but the duty to pay a claim sits with someone else, and CarMax’s documents name different companies. The MaxCare page lists two administrators. One is Fidelity Warranty Services. The other is Consumer Program Administrators, Inc., which appears as Motor Warranty Services of North America in California, as Automotive Warranty Services of Florida, Inc. in Florida and Oklahoma, and under trade names in New Hampshire and Texas. In Washington the page names National Product Care Company as provider. Roadside assistance comes from Cross Country Motor Club, Inc., or Cross Country Motor Club of California, Inc. in California, Oregon, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The annual report names a different set: as of 28 February 2026, CarMax’s service plan providers included Assurant, Inc., CNA National Warranty Corporation and Fidelity Warranty Services, Inc. Only Fidelity Warranty Services appears in both, and the two lists may describe different roles. An administrator handles the claim; the obligor is the company bound to pay it. Neither document says which company is the obligor on any one buyer’s contract. The contract itself will. Our guide to who actually owes you the repair explains each role.

The 30-day limited warranty on every CarMax car

CarMax’s Help Center says all of its cars are CarMax Certified and “come with a 30-day limited warranty”, counted from the sale: “If you’re within 30 days of your purchase, you’re still covered by our limited warranty.” CarMax prints no mileage limit for the 30-day term. Six states get longer terms, each ending at whichever limit comes first.

The Help Center promises “coverage on all parts and labor for covered systems during the warranty period, with zero cost to you.” The systems it names are frame and body; engine; transmission and drive shaft; differential; the cooling, electrical, fuel, steering, suspension, restraint, brake and exhaust systems; gauges; HVAC; tires; and wheels. By our count that is 16 entries.

Brakes, tires and wheels are the three to notice. MaxCare treats brakes as maintenance and leaves tires and wheels to MaxCare Plus, so the first 30 days are the one stretch when all three sit on a covered list CarMax itself stands behind. Whether a worn pad or a nail in the tread counts is another matter: CarMax says “some exclusions and limitations apply” and doesn’t publish them. The Help Center says to ask your store for details “or to request a copy of our limited warranty.” Ask before you buy; our guide explains why you are entitled to read a warranty before you buy, and what a dealer warranty is worth.

Claims go through CarMax: the Help Center says to call your nearest CarMax store and select the service option. CarMax’s service page says the RepairPal Certified shops it works with “do not perform repairs under CarMax’s Limited Warranty.” If the car will be far from a CarMax store in its first month, plan for that.

Two things sit alongside the limited warranty. The factory warranty is one: a CarMax article says the 30-day warranty applies “even if it’s still covered under the manufacturer’s warranty”, and on a newer car the carmaker’s cover may run much longer. Checking what factory coverage is left by VIN tells you what a CarMax car already has. Recalls are the other, and they aren’t a warranty at all. CarMax says some of its cars may have unrepaired safety recalls, that it “has not been authorized to complete safety recall repairs”, and it urges buyers to get them fixed by the manufacturer as soon as the purchase is done. Checking for open recalls takes minutes.

CarMax Certified isn’t a manufacturer program: the annual report says its standards “were developed internally by CarMax and are not affiliated with any third party or original equipment manufacturer program.” The Why CarMax page promises a 125-point inspection, tires and wheels checked 15 ways and no salvage history; a CarMax article says 125+ points. A carmaker’s program is a different product, as our guide to certified pre-owned cars explains.

The 10-day money-back guarantee

The return policy is now 10 days, and the Help Center states the main condition in one sentence: “As long as the vehicle’s condition is consistent with when you purchased it, you can bring it back within 10 days to the store where you purchased it and we’ll help you complete your return.” Refunds are typically mailed within 2 weeks of the return date. Three details can cost money:

• The store that sold it. The car goes back there, which matters if it was shipped to you from somewhere else.
• Shipping fees. Fees paid to transfer the vehicle “are separate from your purchase and nonrefundable.” CarMax adds that beginning 1 October 2026, some shipping fees may be refundable in California.
• Negative equity. If your financing included negative equity from a trade-in, you either repay it or finance it with a different vehicle, subject to approval. How CarMax values a trade-in is covered in our guide to the CarMax appraisal.

None of the current return answers prints a mileage limit; the test is the car’s condition. None says what happens to a MaxCare plan on a returned car, so ask for its cancellation to be written into the return paperwork.

Ten days is also your window for an independent inspection. CarMax’s own inspection is the seller checking its own stock; a pre-purchase inspection by a mechanic you choose, booked for the first days of ownership, is the one check that doesn’t come from CarMax. Returns are routine for CarMax: its annual report shows vehicle return reserves of $41.2 million at 28 February 2026, against $36.5 million a year earlier.

What CarMax used to promise, filing by filing

CarMax’s annual and quarterly reports date the changes, because each one restates the guarantee and the liability CarMax holds against the warranty. Our Carvana vs CarMax comparison leaves return windows out of its tables because they change. This is what the changes look like from CarMax’s side; our Carvana warranty guide reads Carvana’s own terms the same way.

The annual reports for fiscal 2022 and 2023 describe what CarMax called its Love Your Car Guarantee: 24-hour test drives, a 30-day/1,500 mile money-back guarantee and a 90-day/4,000-mile limited warranty. The fiscal 2024 report added: “In May 2024, we will replace our 30-day money-back guarantee with a 10-day money-back guarantee.” The fiscal 2025 report describes the 10-day guarantee, still beside the 90-day, 4,000-mile warranty.

The warranty change came later. The quarterly reports to 31 May, 31 August and 30 November 2025 all still describe 90 days and 4,000 miles; the last was filed on 23 December 2025. The annual report for the year to 28 February 2026, filed on 15 April 2026, describes “our 10-day money-back guarantee and a 30-day limited warranty.” It drops the Love Your Car Guarantee name and the 24-hour test drives, and the old guarantee page on carmax.com now renders blank. The consumer pages read on 30 September 2026 match it.

The liability moved with the terms. CarMax books a provision for repairs it expects to make under the warranty, estimated from historical trends for each car sold. At 31 May 2025 it was $31.5 million; at 31 May 2026, $14.7 million, down $16.8 million or 53.3%. Year end to year end it fell from $28.8 million to $21.7 million, down 24.7%. Those subtractions are ours. CarMax gives no reason; the shorter warranty is the only change to the guarantee its filings record between those dates.

So a promise of 90 days or 4,000 miles now describes either the old terms or a car bought in Massachusetts, New Jersey or New York.

MaxCare and MaxCare Plus: what each one adds

MaxCare is sold as cover by exclusion. The Help Center says it offers “named exclusion coverage as opposed to named component coverage,” so “if the item in question is not on the exclusion list, it is covered,” and that causes of loss such as corrosion and abuse are also excluded. The MaxCare page names the systems: engine, transmission, drivetrain, steering, suspension, electronics, electrical systems, cooling systems and climate control.

Beyond repairs, MaxCare includes emergency roadside assistance, “available 24/7, 365 days a year, effective the day your plan begins”, cover anywhere in the United States or Canada, and money toward a rental car or rideshare during a covered repair. MaxCare Plus adds three things MaxCare leaves out:

• Tire protection: repair or replacement of a tire damaged by a road hazard.
• Wheel protection: repair or replacement of a wheel damaged by a road hazard, or a fix for cosmetic damage.
• Dent and ding repair: minor dents taken out of body panels by paintless dent repair.

A CarMax article says these MaxCare Plus repairs carry a $0 deductible. MaxCare Plus is not available in California or at the Dulles store.

The page’s headline figures, 5M+ customers served and $3.5B+ in claims covered since 2016, are program totals; neither says how often a claim like yours is approved.

Term, mileage, and your one chance to buy

The MaxCare page offers “up to 5 years of coverage available on most cars,” and a footnote narrows it: “Five year term only available for cars with less than 60,000 odometer miles at time of purchase; plan also subject to mileage cap.” The annual report says plans “provide coverage up to 60 months (subject to mileage limitations).” No CarMax page prints the mileage cap for any term.

Below that ceiling the plan is built around the car. A CarMax article says MaxCare is available on “any CarMax car you choose, no matter the year, make, model, or mileage,” with plans “tailored to the specific vehicle and odometer miles on the vehicle.” Read with the footnote, a car with 60,000 miles or more can still get a plan, just not a 5-year one.

The timing rule is the part to settle before you sign. From the Help Center: “MaxCare can only be bought when you buy a car from CarMax. It can’t be added after the sale or extended once your coverage lapses.” The FAQ still lists a question about buying or extending a plan later, but on 30 September 2026 its page showed no answer. The one answer that loads says no.

What CarMax doesn’t print is when the clock starts. Its article says MaxCare “provides protection after the 30 days covered by the CarMax Limited Warranty,” and roadside help starts the day the plan begins. Neither says whether a 5-year term counts from the purchase date or from the end of the limited warranty, or whether the mileage cap is an odometer reading or miles added. Both change what you are buying, so get the contract’s expiration date and mileage in writing.

Deductibles, repair shops and making a claim

CarMax says MaxCare deductibles run “as low as $50”, and that “the higher the deductible, the lower the cost of your plan.” You pay the deductible for each visit for a covered repair, and CarMax describes it as the only out-of-pocket cost of a covered repair. No page prints the other deductible options.

Where the work is done changes the deductible. At a CarMax Service Center or a RepairPal Certified shop, “your deductible will be reduced by $50 (state limitations may apply).” Otherwise you can use “any licensed service facility in the US or Canada that offers a 6-month/6,000-mile warranty on parts and labor.” The annual report says every CarMax store repairs cars under the plans it sells, and that plan holders can use thousands of independent and franchised shops. RepairPal shops are third-party businesses, and CarMax’s service page discloses that CarMax “receives compensation for this relationship.” On its own qualifying repairs the shop, not CarMax, provides the warranty: at least 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first.

The benefits with printed limits:

• Rental car or rideshare: up to $50 a day for up to 10 days, for covered repairs that keep the car in overnight; in California and at the Dulles store, $40 a day for 7 days. At those caps that is $500, or $280, by our multiplication. The page doesn’t say whether the day limit applies per repair or over the life of the plan.
• Roadside assistance: around the clock, but it doesn’t pay for the fuel on a fuel delivery. On MaxCare, tire costs aren’t included: a CarMax article says a flat-tire call covers removing the flat or fitting the spare.
• MaxCare Plus dents: dents larger than 4 inches long or in diameter aren’t covered.

Claims run through the CarMax app. A CarMax article says to log in to see “your provider’s name and contact information, your plan’s coverage details”, book service, and “make sure the repair is covered by referring to your contract” before paying the deductible at the visit. For roadside emergencies the Help Center points to a MaxCare Roadside Assistance line open around the clock. For plan questions it says to contact CarMax, “and we’ll help connect you with your MaxCare provider.” CarMax connects you; the provider decides.

If a claim is refused, the dispute is with the administrator and the obligor, not CarMax. CarMax’s pages describe no appeal route or arbitration terms for MaxCare; whatever exists is in the contract. If the obligor won’t engage, the state regulator is the next stop, and our guide to state service contract registers shows where to look.

Price: not printed, and what CarMax’s accounts show instead

CarMax doesn’t publish a MaxCare price. The Help Center says the cost “varies by car and is based on factors like year, make, model, mileage, and the coverage term and deductible you choose.” You can put the plan in your monthly payment or pay up front by credit card, cash or check. A financed plan carries the loan’s interest, so ask for the plan’s own price, not its effect on the payment. Our guides explain why there is no sticker price and where the markup comes from.

The annual report shows what selling the plans is worth to CarMax. Extended protection plan revenue, which covers service plans and the GAP product CarMax also sells, was $448.7 million in fiscal 2026, after $451.7 million in fiscal 2025 and $401.8 million in fiscal 2024. CarMax reports it net of estimated cancellations, with no cost of sales against it, because it is money paid to CarMax by the plan providers. Spread across the 780,684 used cars CarMax sold in fiscal 2026, that is about $575 a car, by our arithmetic.

The $575 isn’t what CarMax makes on one MaxCare contract. It is averaged over every used car sold, including the roughly half whose buyers took no plan, and it mixes in GAP, which CarMax sells for a different company, Safe-Guard Products International LLC (our GAP insurance guide covers that product). What it shows is scale, earned the moment you sign: CarMax recognizes the revenue at the time of sale.

The share of buyers taking a plan has been falling: about 60% in fiscal 2022 and 2023, then 58% in 2024, 54% in 2025 and 52% in fiscal 2026, down 8 percentage points by our arithmetic. The GAP share moved between 16% and 20%. The filings don’t say why. CarMax also says it may receive profit-sharing revenue “based upon the performance of the ESP policies administered by third parties,” without defining performance.

What MaxCare leaves out

The full exclusion list is in the contract, which CarMax doesn’t publish. For MaxCare, the page gives these examples:

• Maintenance service and parts, such as batteries, brakes, trim and wiper blades
• Aftermarket accessories or equipment installed after the vehicle purchase date
• Breakdowns caused by abuse or misuse
• The cost of fuel for an emergency roadside fuel delivery
• Tires, wheels and dents, which MaxCare Plus covers if they meet its requirements

Other CarMax pages add corrosion; component failure or breakdown “caused by misuse or inadequate maintenance”; and overheating caused by abuse or misuse. One article also lists wheels as maintenance. CarMax says routine maintenance is the owner’s responsibility, so keep every service receipt for as long as the plan runs.

MaxCare Plus has its own exclusions. The page lists damage from a collision or other accident, weather hazards such as hail, or off-road use; tire repair or replacement due to lack of maintenance or normal wear and tear; paint repairs on the body; dents larger than 4 inches long or in diameter; and repairs to plastic or fiberglass panels, such as a plastic bumper or fender. A CarMax article dated 29 April 2026 gives the same list without the plastic and fiberglass line. Both defer to the contract.

Set against the limited warranty, the pattern is clear. For 30 days, brakes, tires and wheels are on CarMax’s covered list. After that, brakes count as maintenance, and tires and wheels are covered only under MaxCare Plus, and then only for road-hazard or cosmetic damage, not normal wear and tear.

Cancelling, transfers, and where a refund goes

The MaxCare page promises “Cancel anytime”, with a footnote: “After 30 days (longer in some states), the amount of your refund is calculated based on a pro-rata term and/or mileage and may be subject to a cancellation fee.” The footnote covers only the time after 30 days. No page says what a refund inside the first 30 days looks like, how large the fee can be, or which states allow longer. Get all three from the contract.

The annual report shows cancellations are frequent enough to need a reserve. CarMax records a refund liability for expected cancellations, meaning it expects to hand back part of what it was paid, and says they “may result from early termination by the customer, or default or prepayment on the finance contract,” a sentence that covers GAP as well as service plans. In fiscal 2026 it charged $78.6 million of cancellations against the reserve, after $92.1 million in fiscal 2025, and ended the year holding $131.1 million. It says its risk from cancellations is limited to the revenue it receives.

If the plan is in your loan, ask where the refund goes. CarMax’s pages don’t say whether it is paid to you or credited to the loan balance; get the answer in writing. Our guides cover how to cancel a plan and how cancellations go wrong.

Transfers aren’t mentioned at all. No CarMax page or filing read for this article says whether a MaxCare plan passes to the next owner, or at what fee. If you may sell before the plan runs out, check the contract’s transfer clause.

What the CFPB complaint file for CarMax shows

No public database records how MaxCare claims are decided. Loan complaints are public, and because MaxCare can be rolled into the monthly payment, complaints about add-ons sold with a loan land in the lender’s file. On 30 September 2026 we pulled every vehicle loan or lease complaint the CFPB holds against CarMax, Inc.: 1,192, received between 26 June 2017 and 21 September 2026, of which 1,132 are about loans and 59 about leases. Of 1,147 companies listed under vehicle loans and leases, CarMax has the 22nd-largest count. The file doesn’t separate CarMax Auto Finance loans from deals CarMax arranged with other lenders; CarMax says its own finance arm financed 42.4% of its used-car unit sales in fiscal 2026, after 3-day payoffs and returns. A complaint is an allegation, not a finding.

CarMax answered 1,189 of the 1,192 on time. It closed 1,161 with an explanation, 18 with non-monetary relief and 13 with monetary relief: 31 with relief, 2.6%. Across all 103,865 vehicle loan or lease complaints in the database, the relief rate is 9.4%. On this measure CarMax closes complaints with relief far less often than the product as a whole, though each company labels its own responses.

54 complaints fall under the two add-on sub-issues, 4.5% of the file against 5.5% across the product; 52 concern loans and 2 leases. Only 2 closed with relief, both with money: 3.7%, against 2.5% for the other 1,138. Across the whole product, the 5,713 add-on complaints close with relief 7.9% of the time.

The file has grown fast, from 13 complaints in 2017 to 297 in 2025. The largest sub-issue is billing problems, with 164 complaints and 8 closed with relief, followed by fraudulent loans (77), trouble getting the title after payoff (74) and balances left after a repossession sale (70). The loan and lease file is 29.8% of the 4,006 complaints against CarMax, Inc.; most of the rest concern credit reporting and debt collection, and 100 older loan complaints sit under the retired Consumer Loan product.

One limit. The CFPB no longer serves complaint narratives, so we can’t count how many of these mention MaxCare or a refund in the consumer’s own words. The sub-issue label is the only signal, and a MaxCare refund complaint filed under billing wouldn’t show up in it.

MaxCare, another plan, or neither

Whether any service contract is worth buying is covered in our guide to whether an extended warranty is worth it. At CarMax the question narrows to four things.

What the car already has. CarMax itself gives 30 days, or 60 or 90 in six states. A newer car may still have years of factory warranty left, and CarMax doesn’t print when a MaxCare term starts, so ask how the plan’s dates line up with the factory cover before paying for both.

Who stands behind it. The plan carries CarMax’s name, but CarMax says it has no contractual liability for claims. Ask who the obligor is, whether it is registered where you live, and who authorizes the repair.

When you must decide. Only at the sale. If you buy the plan to keep the option open, get the refund terms for the first 30 days in writing.

What it costs. Not printed anywhere. Get the price of each term and deductible on paper and compare it with a quote for the same car from another provider. Decline at the sale and CarMax won’t sell you MaxCare later; the remaining routes are a third-party contract or, from some insurers, mechanical breakdown insurance.

Calls saying your CarMax warranty is about to expire are a separate matter. In 2022 the FTC sued American Vehicle Protection Corp., a Florida seller it alleged had falsely claimed to be, or to be associated with, consumers’ carmakers or dealers, and had promised bumper-to-bumper or full coverage that was much more limited than represented. A stipulated order in March 2023 and a further order that July banned defendants from selling extended auto warranties and from outbound telemarketing. In 2024 the FTC sent more than $449,000 in refunds to consumers. See what regulators have done.

Common questions

How long is the CarMax warranty?

30 days from purchase in most states, with no mileage limit printed; 60 days or 3,000 miles in Connecticut, Minnesota and Rhode Island; and 90 days or 4,000 miles in Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, whichever comes first. CarMax’s filings described a 90-day, 4,000-mile warranty up to the quarter to 30 November 2025.

What is CarMax’s return policy now?

A 10-day money-back guarantee. The car goes back to the store that sold it, in a condition consistent with when you bought it, and refunds are typically mailed within 2 weeks. Shipping fees aren’t refunded, though CarMax says some may be in California from 1 October 2026. CarMax’s fiscal 2024 report said a 10-day guarantee would replace the 30-day/1,500 mile one in May 2024, and its fiscal 2025 report describes the 10-day guarantee.

Who is MaxCare through?

Third parties, not CarMax. The MaxCare page names Fidelity Warranty Services and Consumer Program Administrators, Inc. as administrators. CarMax’s annual report names Assurant, Inc., CNA National Warranty Corporation and Fidelity Warranty Services, Inc. as providers and calls the providers the primary obligors. Your contract names the obligor for your plan.

How much does MaxCare cost?

CarMax doesn’t publish a price. It says the cost depends on the car’s year, make, model and mileage and on the term and deductible, and a higher deductible lowers it. Plan revenue of $448.7 million in fiscal 2026 works out to about $575 per used car sold by our arithmetic, but that mixes in GAP and buyers who took no plan, so it isn’t a price. See our guide to extended car warranty cost.

Can I buy MaxCare after I buy the car?

No. CarMax says MaxCare can only be bought when you buy a car from CarMax, and can’t be added after the sale or extended once coverage lapses. The 5-year term is only for cars with under 60,000 miles at purchase.

Can I cancel MaxCare and get my money back?

Yes, at any time, CarMax says. After 30 days, longer in some states, the refund is pro rata on term or mileage and may be cut by a cancellation fee whose amount CarMax doesn’t print. If the plan was financed, ask whether the refund goes to you or to the loan.