CarMax's selling FAQ never says whether CarMax buys cars that don't run. Its pages say CarMax wants to make an offer on almost any car and may test drive one to check its mechanical condition, which a car that won't start can't do. So ask the store before paying for a tow, and line up a second offer.
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CarMax comes close to the question twice. A 2021 CarMax article says it will buy “pretty much any car, even if you've debated repairing or upgrading it,” and gives the example of “a well-loved station wagon that's on its last legs.” Its offer FAQ says that “in some cases, we may need to test drive your car to check on certain mechanical conditions.”
Neither one covers a car that won't start, won't move or has to arrive on a truck. We read all 19 answers in CarMax's selling FAQ on October 25, 2026, and none of them mention non-running cars, towing to a store, or what an appraiser does when a test drive is impossible.
Elsewhere on carmax.com, a general selling guide by an Edmunds writer says dealerships “will expect your car to be running and safe to drive,” and CarMax's articles on fixing versus trading up and trading in bring up a blown engine or failed transmission only as a reason to weigh a repair against a newer car. None of that is a CarMax rule about what it buys.
The closest CarMax comes is its annual filing with the SEC for the fiscal year that ended in February 2026. The filing says most cars at its wholesale auctions were bought through its own appraisals and fell short of its retail standards, and that it discloses “major mechanical issues” on the cars it sells there. So cars with serious mechanical faults do pass through the lane its appraisals feed. The filing doesn't say whether that includes cars that won't run, and it describes CarMax's auctions rather than a buying rule, so the honest answer stays the same: CarMax hasn't said. We aren't affiliated with CarMax and can't speak for its stores.
CarMax doesn't name transmissions anywhere in its selling FAQ. A car whose transmission slips but still drives can at least be test driven, and CarMax says it may test drive a car to check mechanical conditions and that its offer weighs the car's condition along with its history and use. A transmission that has quit entirely puts the car in the same unanswered spot as any non-runner.
Before you take any offer, find out what has actually failed. A control module or a fluid problem can look like a dead transmission and cost far less to fix; our guide to selling a car with a bad transmission lists the checks and the repair prices.
CarMax's selling FAQ and guides never use the word “junk.” The closest they come is the FAQ's statement that CarMax wants to make an offer even on a car bound for its wholesale auction rather than a lot, and a CarMax article that describes that auction as where cars below its standards are sold to other dealers. A car worth only its metal is a different case, because its scrap value starts from its weight; our junk car value guide shows how to work out that floor before you accept any number.
If the car runs badly but does run, CarMax's appraisal is free and you are under no obligation to sell, so it costs you only the trip. Get the number, then compare it. For everything else CarMax's pages rule in or out, see what CarMax won’t buy.
A buyer that brings its own truck takes the towing question off the table. For who will take a dead car, what each kind of buyer pays and how the paperwork goes when it leaves on a truck, see selling a car that doesn’t run. Peddle, our buying partner, lists engine failure and transmission problems as “eligible for sale” and says on its sell page that it buys “running or not.” It arranges pickup for free at a time that suits you, and the driver checks the car before handing you a check.
If CarMax can't take the car, or won't say until it sees it, get an offer for it as it sits. And if the fault might be small, check that first: a car that won't start is sometimes only a battery, and our guide to why a car won’t start helps you tell. If a cheap fix gets it running, get CarMax's offer too: a car it can test drive gets the appraisal its offer FAQ describes, and that number may well beat any offer for a non-runner.
CarMax's pages don't say. Its pickup answer says most stores can collect a car from home or work, with possible distance limits and a fee, but it never says whether that includes a car that can't be driven. Ask the store before you book.
You can try. CarMax says most cars qualify for an online offer and some it will ask to see in person. Describe the fault honestly, because an online offer is adjusted if the car's condition differs from what you entered.
CarMax doesn't say. Its selling FAQ mentions neither engine failure nor non-running cars; its articles raise a blown engine only as a reason to weigh repair against replacing the car, never as something CarMax will or won't buy. Our partner's sell page says vehicles with engine failure are eligible for sale, which gives you a second number to weigh against anything CarMax offers.