CarMax's Brian Flonnes, left, shows Leroy Godfrey what's available at the North Oracle Road lot. CarMax has 300 vehicles at this facility and access to 20,000 more online.

Jim Davis / Arizona Daily Star

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Lurelle Starling may not be your typical used-car salesman.

Starling, who has managed a North Side CarMax for about six months, does, in fact, sell previously owned vehicles. But he says the business is a far cry from the high-pressure environments many think of when they envision dropping cash for a set of wheels.

"It's a unique way for customers to buy a car," he said, "and for customers to come into a non-threatening environment."

The lot, at 4755 N. Oracle Road, is just up the road from the Tucson Auto Mall's 20 new- and used-car dealerships. CarMax's Tucson facility is its first and only one in Arizona.

But here's how they stand out, he and the company said: Walk in, look for a car at a no-haggle price, and complete the sale.

It's that simple, they said, in part because employees' commissions don't correlate with their volume of sales.

Starling became the location's general manager in January after working with the company for about eight years. He began hiring and training employees for the Tucson opening in late March.

Three months later, cars are lined up in the dealership's lot just south of the Rillito River, and customers who come in are greeted by an employee who can remind them that car-buying isn't necessarily a hassle.

CarMax operates about 80 locations nationwide, including seven that sell new vehicles, too. More than 40 percent of sales are through referrals, said Elia C. Imler, a spokeswoman for the company in Richmond, Va.

The customers seem to notice the difference in service, Starling said.

On a recent Saturday, he said, a customer came in looking for a sport-utility vehicle and left, but came back within 30 minutes.

If most of the company's sales are used cars, then it of course needs cars to sell. On its Web site, CarMax lists "three easy steps" to selling them your car: bring in the car, get an "honest" offer that's good for seven days, and complete the sale. CarMax will buy your car even if you aren't buying one from it.

Tom Collier, president of the Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona, said he's received no complaints about the CarMax store in Tucson.

Since its national opening in 1993, the company has sold more than 2 million vehicles.