How Much Is It Worth?

Toyota Tacomas are famous for high resale value. This has people scratching their heads over the price one woman says she accepted from CarMax for her well-maintained 2021 Tacoma. It’s thousands less than they believe she could’ve gotten on the private market.

Summer (@summerardon) posted a TikTok that has drawn nearly 410,000 views. In it, she walks viewers through the process of selling her 2021 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road 4×4 to CarMax, from pulling onto the lot to getting her check at the end of a long afternoon.

The video quickly became a debate about convenience versus cash, and trade-ins versus Facebook Marketplace.

Summer starts the video with a walkthrough of the truck, telling viewers she bought it brand new and has taken good care of it. “It’s in literally like perfect condition,” she says. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this truck. We’re just getting rid of it because we have too many cars.”

The Tacoma had 77,000 miles on it, which is on the higher side for a five-year-old truck but well within the range where Toyotas are known to keep running without major issues. She mentions she still owed $8,000 on the loan.

The process, she says, took far longer than expected. “I thought it was supposed to be like an hour process, but it took three,” she says, adding that they arrived at 11 am and didn’t finish until 3 pm. She also had a broken foot (at one point in the video, we see her on crutches), which meant calling an Uber home rather than driving, and the $40 ride added insult to injury.

How Much Did CarMax Pay For The Tacoma?

At the end of the video, Summer reveals the number. “They gave us $28,400,” she says. “And I owed $8,000 on it. So I got a check for $19,000.”

She asks viewers where she should sell next, but the comments were already focused on the money she might have left on the table.

The top comment summed up the mood in the rest of the thread. “That’s a $32-$33k on marketplaces. Did she even try,” wrote US1.

User Haley claimed she got a much better price on an older Tacoma. “We sold our 2019 for 32. I’m afraid you were ripped off. Same interior, same rims.” Marcela Romero wrote, “You should have sold it to Toyota. I sold my Tacoma 2017 60k miles for 32k.”

Chrisap127 predicted what would happen next, posting, “They’ll sell it for 45 grand.” Summer agreed, “For real lol.” Captain Hotwheels echoed this sentiment. “They are definitely selling it for over $40K,” they wrote.

But not everyone thought the private market comparison was fair. Golden boy pointed out a complication that private sellers with outstanding loans face. “Would you buy a car and not get the title? Hoping the person you just paid 30k will pay the bank the loan balance so you can get the title. Good luck,” he wrote.

With $8,000 still owed, Summer didn’t have a clean title to hand over to a private buyer, which can make the transaction significantly more complicated. It’s possible to sell a car to a private buyer with an existing lien, you need to get the go-ahead from your lender, who may charge early payoff fees, and advise the buyer that it isn’t a clean title, which might put them off or encourage them to lowball.

Summer acknowledged the trade-off in a reply to one commenter, writing, “Carmax just makes it easy so I don’t have to deal with having people come over and look at it. Especially with me having a broken foot rn.”

Did She Get A Bad Deal?

According to iSeeCars data, Toyota Tacomas have consistently ranked among the vehicles with the lowest depreciation rates in the US. The midsize truck has topped resale value charts for years, and even high-mileage examples command good prices.

Ice Spice’s comment showed that this has also translated into a good reputation among ordinary motorists. “Tacoma holds its value. I bought my brand new 2023 TRD Pro, and I can sell it now for almost the same price I paid in 23 even with 50k miles on it,” they wrote.

That reputation is precisely why commenters were so animated about the sale price. EaZyE summed up the prevailing view, writing, “Toyotas are something you sell private party.”

The Carvana Question

Several commenters urged Summer to try Carvana instead. “Carvana will give you more, carmax is not it,” wrote Djongski3. GIRobot131 shared a personal comparison, writing, “I say this as someone who just sold my car to Carvana bc Carmax only wanted to give me $14k, Carvana gave me $22.”

But Summer had done her homework on this front. “We did get an offer for Carvana, Carmax was offering more,” she replied.

That tracks with other commenters’ view that results vary widely between the two services. User 57south shared a dramatically different experience. “I bought a 2019 Ram 2500 diesel to 54k before covid, sold it to carmax 2 years later with 48k miles for 67k. Carvana offered 32k,” they said.

Expert analysis also suggests that in terms of prices each service offers sellers, overall it’s a wash.

Motor1 reached out to Summer via TikTok comment for additional information. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds.