Richmond-based CarMax makes good on $20,000 offer for 1996 Honda featured in viral video

Richmond-based CarMax has kept its promise and purchased a 1996 Honda Accord from a California man for a whopping $20,000. Sounds like a lot of money for an almost 22-year-old car, right? Not really, once you know the backstory.

Max Lanman, a filmmaker on the West Coast, put his skills to use to produce a fake car ad to help sell his girlfriend Carrie’s 1996 Accord. The commercial, which featured aerial driving shots and others meant to mock a real car ad, took weeks to produce and ended up going viral. After an auction on eBay was cancelled by the company, CarMax stepped in and made an unusual offer, looking to capitalize on the publicity.

CarMax responded with the following video, making a $20,000 offer for the car as well as a half eaten sandwich, coffee mug, coffeemaker, and the couple’s cat–all of which made cameos in the ad.

The two took CarMax up on their cheeky offer, selling all of the above to the company–well, except their cat, of course. CarMax donated $5,000 to a Los Angeles-based cat rescue organization in lieu of receiving the cat. The transaction was confirmed in a tweet put out by the used car dealer on Wednesday.

The $25,000 investment was likely well worth it for the exposure CarMax got. Their video response alone has already garnered 319,000 views on YouTube.

.@MaxLanman thanks to you, we picked up a glorious mid-90s, mid-sized sedan + some pretty cool stuff. Next time you’re selling a car, take the easy route and come to us first. And since you’re keeping the cat, we donated $5,000 to @KittenRescue. pic.twitter.com/Pgl1RbH8qV

— CarMax (@CarMax) November 15, 2017