Quick Hit (Just For Fun – Not Unicorns) – What Is CarMax Thinking? Sextuplet K4’s

My hobby, as regular readers know, is hunting CarMax’s inventory for unicorns — rare, interesting, high-end, deeply depreciated enthusiast used cars at reasonable prices – protected from expensive repairs by MaxCare. But sometimes the hunt turns up something that isn’t a unicorn at all. Sometimes it’s a mystery. And sometimes the mystery solves itself before I finish my first cup of coffee.

CarMax North Houston has six brand-new 2025 Kia K4s on its lot. Under 50 miles each. Three LXS models, three EX models. All six came from Parkway Family Kia in Humble, Texas — a short drive up the road, close enough that you can probably see the CarMax sign from the Kia lot on a clear day.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Parkway Family Kia currently has sixty — 2026 K4s on their lot. Zero 2025s. Not one.

The mystery isn’t really a mystery. Parkway probably took delivery of too many 2025s before the 2026s arrived, and the moment a fresh model year showed up in force, those six 2025s became essentially unsellable. No customer walks past sixty shiny 2026s to pay full price for a year-old model. Every day those cars sat on Parkway’s lot they were accumulating floor plan interest and occupying space a 2026 could fill. I suspect selling them to CarMax down the street solved the problem quickly, cleanly, and without an auction house taking a cut.

So Parkway ate the loss. CarMax got six nearly-new Kias. And now here’s the part that should give you pause before you head to North Houston to snap one up.

The 2025 K4 LXS had an original MSRP of roughly $23,165. Two of the three LXS units are asking $25,998 at CarMax — about $2,800 over sticker. The third LXS is $24,998, which is still above what it cost new. The three EX models, which stickered around $24,890 and are the nicer cars by a meaningful margin, are all $25,998 as well. Parkway ate the depreciation. CarMax is keeping it. You would be paying above original MSRP for a technically used car, without manufacturer incentives, without Kia’s new-car financing rates, and without any ability to negotiate.

As for the cars themselves — they’re genuinely good at what they are, which is affordable, well-equipped transportation. The 2.0-liter four makes 147 horsepower and gets to 60 in around 8 seconds. It’s not an enthusiast car. It’s a comfortable, efficient, tech-laden commuter that earns a Top Safety Pick+ from the IIHS and returns 30 city / 40 highway. The 12.3-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a full suite of driver assists are standard even on the base trim. Kia builds a lot of car for the money. At the right price. My wife has one – lots of technology standard we pay extra for on European cars.

If you’re set on one of these six, and I’d be surprised if you were, the EX is the obvious choice at any price point. Same $25,998 as two of the three LXS units, but with 17-inch wheels instead of 16s, dual-zone automatic climate, a wireless charger, and nicer interior materials. The LXS adds blind-spot monitoring over the base LX, which matters, but the EX has all of that plus a meaningfully better cabin. At equal money, it’s not a close call.

But here’s my actual advice: call any Kia dealer. The 2026 K4 starts at $22,190, dealers are sitting on inventory, and a 2025 at above-sticker on a used lot is not the deal it appears to be. Parkway Family Kia solved their problem. Don’t let it become yours – unless you have maybe sextuplets yourself and need graduation presents.