CarMax to build dealer auction center in New Kent

The CarMax store at 11090 W. Broad St. in Henrico. The used car seller is planning to build an auction and service center in New Kent. (Jack Jacobs photo)

CarMax is shifting into expansion mode locally with plans for a new facility in New Kent County.

The Goochland-based Fortune 500 used car seller aims to begin construction in the coming weeks on a roughly 78,300-square-foot facility on a 44-acre site at 16931 Eltham Road in the eastern part of the county, according to a site plan filed earlier this year.

The company intends to use the facility as an auction site, where it will sell vehicles to other dealers. The location would also have repair facilities to prep vehicle to be sold on the lots of local CarMax stores. The company won’t offer on-site retail sales at the New Kent center.

“The location will serve as a reconditioning hub that will feed inventory to several of CarMax’s stores in the region and an auction facility to support our continued growth,” company spokeswoman Jennifer Bartusiak said in an email Monday.

Auctions are a major part of CarMax’s business, in addition to sales of used cars to individual customers. The company describes itself as one of the largest wholesale vehicle auction operators in the United States. It holds auctions in more than 60 locations across 30 states, per the company’s website.

CarMax sold more than 546,000 vehicles in wholesale auctions in fiscal year 2024, according to its most recent annual report. It sold about 765,600 used cars to retail customers in FY24.

Plans show the New Kent center would have a 70,600-square-foot service building, 6,800-square-foot wholesale building and a 900-square-foot car wash.

A site plan of the proposed 78,300-square-foot auction and service facility. (Courtesy New Kent)

CarMax acquired the project site, which is near New Kent’s border with West Point in King William County, in February. Bartusiak didn’t share the purchase price and the transaction wasn’t reflected in the county’s online land records as of this week. The seller was Weir Creek LLC.

CarMax didn’t respond to questions about the anticipated cost of the New Kent facility or how many employees are expected to staff the location.

CarMax hopes to start construction later this summer, and is still securing permits needed for the project.

The upcoming New Kent facility would be the first CarMax location in the county. Locally, CarMax has a store at 901 Murray Olds Drive in Midlothian and a retail and auction center at 11090 W. Broad St. near Short Pump. The company also keeps its headquarters in West Creek in Goochland. 

The company has nearly 250 locations across the country and more than 30,000 employees. 

CarMax was the second-highest ranked locally based company on this year’s Fortune 500 rankings. It landed at number 141 on the coveted list, thanks to $31 billion in revenue in 2023.