Is CarMax, Carvana or DriveTime a buy here pay here dealership?

DriveTime is close to one. CarMax and Carvana aren't. The distinction is who actually lends you the money.

DriveTime finances its own customers through an affiliated lender, which is the defining feature of buy-here-pay-here — the company selling the car is also the company carrying the loan. It's a national chain doing at scale what a local lot does on one corner, so it looks more corporate: newer cars, published prices, online applications. The financing structure is the same idea.

CarMax and Carvana work differently. They sell the car and route your application to outside lenders, their own finance arms competing alongside them. Somebody other than the seller can decline you, which is exactly what doesn't happen at a buy-here-pay-here lot. Carvana confuses people because the whole purchase happens on its own site, but online is not the same as in-house — the approval still depends on a lender, and it still has minimum credit and income requirements a local lot doesn't.

The practical difference for a local buyer is flexibility. A national chain applies the same policy to everyone, and the person in front of you can't change it. An independent lot's owner can decide to take a smaller down payment because you've worked at the same place for six years, or move a due date to match your pay week. That discretion is the main thing local lots have — and it's why calling several of them beats accepting the first answer you get.