CarMax, the nation’s largest seller of used cars, has purchased more than 12 acres on Urbana Pike in Frederick and plans to open a new dealership there by 2013 or 2014.

The site, currently an unimproved lot at the intersection of Urbana Pike and Lowes Lane, is next to the Riverview Plaza shopping center, which includes a Target, Home Depot and Staples.

Elia Imler, a spokeswoman for the used-car superstore, said CarMax had received approval for a 36,000-square-foot building out of which to operate. She cautioned that the company did not yet have the approvals necessary to open the dealership, but said the site was ideal for a company that fashions itself as much a big-box retailer as auto dealership.

Unlike most auto dealerships, CarMax sets its prices ahead of time rather than encouraging buyers to negotiate with sales staff.

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“Typically, we like to be near other retailers,” Imler said. “We consider ourselves a retailer because we are no-haggle, so the process of buying a car is similar to going into a Home Depot or a Lowe’s. The price that you see is the price that you pay.”

Begun as a single dealership in Richmond in 1993, CarMax is now listed on the Fortune 500 list with $7.69 billion in annual revenue. It had 105 dealerships as of June. In addition, it operates five new-car franchises and offers more than 30,000 cars online.

The American used-car industry is undergoing a period of historically high prices. Even though wholesale prices of used cars dipped slightly from June to July, according to an price index maintained by the advisory firm Manheim Consulting, they were still up 5.9 percent from the same time last year. The index set an all-time high record in May.

The result is that many auto dealers have struggled to rebound from the recession and then to overcome the close of the “Cash for Clunkers” program — in which the government subsidized car purchases. CarMax, a publicly traded company, has already regained the stock value it lost during the financial crisis. It traded at around $27 last week, after falling under eight dollars in late 2008.

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