Firstly, this is not ""retail-adjacent" or "better than retail." It's a mix of traditional car sales and retail.
As one of nearly 500+ Sales managers in the company, you are just a number. Your store manager may care, but he is going to be at the whim of the RVP. Sometimes you will be selected to "choose" to go to another store, and the politics are such that you will be looked upon negatively if you don't go "for the company."
Hours are unnecessarily long (min. 10 hour shifts). You are busy every minute of that time. Typically you have the minimum coverage possible (they even eliminated some SM positions a while ago for "efficiency" (some found new positions, some were just laid off). If you are looking for a job that encourages you to spend time with your family, this isn't it. And don't schedule anything on a set day of the week, your schedule rotates and you'll be working some of those days.
When the business is having a tough time, you're getting a tough time from your manager. Stuff rolls downhill and CarMax is no exception. You have a daily budget for how many cars you're supposed to sell and at the end of the month that performance factors into your bonus and review for that month).
Little consideration is given for any kind of training. While their training programs exist, as usual it is simply a lack of execution. You will be asked to conduct training each morning for the sales team that were haphazardly constructed the week before by people who don't work in any store.
Constant change. Sometimes it's for the better, sometimes not. If you are looking for a job that's consistent, this isn't it.
One last thing: Though it only affect Sales Manager indirectly, it should be said: The pay for SCs is consistent across the country; the cost of living is not. In low cost of living states you can make a decent living. If you live in a market like LA or Boston, you cannot survive on only SC pay. Also, it is only commission with a draw, not any set hourly wage that you don't have to pay back. All of this means that you will likely find it difficult to keep SCs, and you will have constant churn. New people to find and hire, to train, etc. This is a major sticking point for SCs; in more expensive markets they will often be struggling financially and unhappy because of it. I would make sure you know this if going to work at CarMax in a more expensive area.
One anecdote to illustrate my frustration: I was a store manager who was driving a demo. I was at the store and the snow was getting worse and worse. I recommended to the RVP that we close the store immediately so people could get home safely. It took 3 hours to get the okay to close, and by then the roads were terrible; luckily, I sent all the staff I could have home. I was the last person in the store, left, and was in an accident in my CarMax demo vehicle (it was not a faulted accident due to weather). If my recommendation was followed, I would have been home. Even better, the RVP wrote me up for getting into the accident.
