Buying and selling cars online is easier than ever. With platforms such as CarMax and Carvana, all it takes is a few clicks to get an instant offer; you can provide a digital signature, and a vehicle changes hands without anyone stepping into a dealership.
For some customers, it's a convenient way to upgrade or grow their collection. For others, it's seemingly turned into a way to flip cars for profit without doing much work.
That's what TikTok creator and car flipper from Florida Da'Shawn (@dflipzwhipz) suggested while walking through CarMax's lot with one very specific plan in mind.
From Carvana Straight to CarMax
In the clip, which got over 74,900 views, Da'Shawn walks past rows of vehicles and stops at a white Dodge Charger.
"The real car flippers know about the Carvana-CarMax method, man," he says while panning the camera across the car. "Finna take this trade-in straight to CarMax, get a cool little profit."
What Is the ‘CarMax Method'?
What Da'Shawn is referencing isn't an official program from either company. It's a resale strategy common in car-flipping communities. The general concept seems to be this: seller checks instant offers from both Carvana and CarMax. If Carvana sells a specific vehicle for less than what CarMax is willing to pay to buy it, the flipper tries to capture that spread by buying low and selling high.
In practice, it only works under very specific conditions. The title has to be clean, and the car has to be fully owned or have a payoff that the buyer can cover. The mileage and condition also have to match exactly what's reported. If anything doesn't line up, either company can lower its offer on the spot or refuse the deal entirely.
Legally, selling a car to CarMax requires that the seller either owns the vehicle outright or has the legal authority to sell it. That usually means the title must be in the seller's name.
In some states, a notarized power of attorney can allow someone else to sell the car on the owner's behalf, but lenders must still be paid first if the vehicle isn't fully owned. CarMax typically handles the payoff directly with the bank, but only if the numbers work out and the paperwork checks out.
That's why this strategy isn't a guaranteed flip. If CarMax offers less than expected after inspection, the seller can get stuck with a car they just bought. If the payoff exceeds the resale offer, the deal doesn't work at all.
Da'Shawn's video doesn't show whether he actually completed the flip. It only shows his plan to attempt it.
Motor1 has reached out to both Carvana and CarMax for clarity on whether this type of back-to-back resale is common and whether both platforms allow it. We've also contacted Da'Shawn via email to find out more information about the process. We'll update this article if any respond.
Commenters Question Whether It's Even Possible
Some commenters reacted with skepticism, while others shared personal success stories.
"Don't it gotta be in your name?" one person asked.
"Can you do this if you haven't paid the car off?" another questioned.
A third person replied with their own experience, writing, "Hell yea I did with my Benz. CarMax was willing to pay me more than I owed so they paid credit union and got the pink slip and I got the remainder."
Others chimed in with different takes on the platforms themselves. "I can't stop selling to Carvana," one user wrote.
Another person disagreed with the idea that anyone could sell a car that isn't fully theirs. "Has to be in your name," they said. Da'Shawn responded directly and added context, writing, "At mine, you can sell to them with power of attorney if it's notarized and they don't have a payoff."
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