CarMax makes good on offer, buys viral 1996 Honda for $20K

Sometimes life has happy endings. Case in point: that used 1996 Honda Accord with 141,000 miles on it that was the star of that tongue-in-cheek commercial that went supernova on the web.

Days after CarMax responded with its own tongue-in-cheek video, offering to buy the car for $20,000, the owner took them up on the offer. It originally listed on eBay for $499.

"At CarMax, we buy all the cars," spokeswoman Jennifer Bartusiak wrote in an email Wednesday. "And in breaking news—we even bought the trending 1996 Honda Accord, 'Greenie,' that went viral in a video by L.A. film maker, Max Lanman. Yesterday afternoon, Max's fiancée officially accepted our seven day video offer to buy Greenie for $20k. To all those asking, the offer was real, and CarMax is now the proud owner of Greenie (and a few other items!)." Search for your next vehicle using our Car Finder Tool.

Bartusiak added that the cat, Papa Puff Pants, will stay with its owner, Anne Marie Avey, the actress in the "Luxury is a state of mind" spot. But CarMax apparently did acquire the coffee mug, and it's donating the $5,000 it offered for the cat instead to the Los Angeles nonprofit Kitten Rescue.

Lanman, whose commercial has now racked up more than 5.9 million views on YouTube, called the whole experience "a real whirlwind" after weeks of fielding media requests.

THANK YOU, INTERNET! After a wild couple of weeks, Carrie finally said her goodbyes to her beloved Greenie, the used 1996 Honda Accord. We had a small get-together with the team who put her on the map to celebrate the commercial and to send Greenie off in style. Yesterday, Carrie accepted Carmax's hilarious-but-real offer and sold the car to them for $20,000. Thank you all for watching and following along!

A post shared by Max Lanman (@maxlanman) on Nov 15, 2017 at 10:57am PST

"I'm exhausted but so grateful for everything that has happened," he told Autoblog. "Carrie [Hollenbeck, his fiancée] was sad to let Greenie go, but we couldn't have asked for a happier ending than this. I'm really glad that I don't have to re-park her twice a week for street cleaning. And I'm excited to get back to work!"

And as for the 20 grand fetched for the 21-year-old Honda?

"First, we're going to pay the cast and crew who generously worked on the commercial for free. Then, a lot of it will go towards paying for our wedding next summer. Whatever is left over, we'll add to our savings as we hope to make a down payment on a house at some point — which in California is a tall order." Compare new vehicles for your next purchase here.

We'd say that old Honda really proved its worth.

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