Month: February 2019

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My Third Unicorn – Finally Scored an S600!

S600 sideHere’s the reason I haven’t blogged recently.  Been stalking another car.  Only took me a year plus to stop rueing the S600 I passed up in order to buy Etta, my 911 unicorn.  To do that, I had to buy an S600.  Here’s the story of the 2008 Mercedes S600 that I transferred in from Nevada in December only to have my local CarMax dealer decline to sell it due to a dying transmission.  Was pretty pissed, but two weeks ago this 2010 S600 with 45,000 miles surfaced in Lancaster, PA – two hours north of me, and although it was $8,000 more it is nicer (the 2010 model is a facelift refresh with a few more electronic gizmos) and it is now mine.

The 2010 Mercedes S600 sold for about $160,000 new, and I picked it up for less than a quarter of that with a five-year MaxCare warranty good for 125,000 miles.  The V-12 beast has 510 hp, 612 ft-lbs of torque, and rips a mid-four second 0-60 mph run.  Here’s a review of the 2010 S-class, including the S600 in Car and Driver from back then.

My initial thoughts after a 300 mile run to North Carolina last weekend – the most comfortable 300 mile sprint I’ve ever made – are simple.  The car rides like a spa, on living room furniture, in a bank vault, on a bullet train.  Five feet of leg room is plenty.  Continue reading “My Third Unicorn – Finally Scored an S600!”

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Reader Buys the 2008 Chevy HHR SS!

HHR SS SideNo, I don’t get a commission. Just wanted to share that a kind reader told me he bought this 2008 Chevy HHR SS I wrote about in November.  When folks tell me they buy unicorns I post I always want to know how it went – make sure that my experiences aren’t off the mark from theirs.  I’ve bought four CarMax cars and transferred many more, helped a half-dozen friends make a purchase, and now I think I have four readers who bought cars I’ve written about.  Anyway, the HHR buyer’s transfer was about as miserable as mine, taking a long time to execute and not much tracking along the way – plus a damaged bumper that was immediately fixed.  Fortunately, he told me the delay spared his car from being on the lot when kids broke in overnight and tore up about 20 cars.  But the sale went flawlessly and he has a really low mileage, well-preserved HHR.   The buyer passed on MaxCare since he’s an accomplished mechanic.  Thanks for letting me know!

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Quick Update – My Mercedes S600 Sequel (Part III?)

As I wrote here, the bargain 2008 Mercedes S600 I transferred in from the West Coast went missing – first incorrectly told the car was accidentally sold in Ohio (an honest mistake – CarMax goofed and shipped an Audi S6 in from the same dealer for me, and that car was relayed to Ohio and sold) then advised the S600 had a failing transmission and would not be sold at all.  I was skeptical.  Thought for sure a CarMax employee pulled it from inventory for personal purchase.  At $22,998 it was a steal.  But I have confirmed the car was sold to a wholesaler and is out there somewhere.  So a faithful blog reader (who is a far better sniper than I – he also found the first S600) scored me another one in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  It’s new (2010), nicer, but more expensive at $30,998.  I think I’m in.  CarMax transferred it to my local Dulle dealer…..and maybe a hiccup already.  The ABS light is on, so they sent it to a Mercedes dealer who needs two weeks to fix.  CarMax assures me it will be mine when it returns.  I’ll be watching.  Hoping to make up for the first one I passed on in 2017 – although pleased that a blog reader bought it!2010 S600 $30,998 46000 Lancaster

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The Grand Marquis Mystery – Why The Interest? (Shout Out to Unique Cars 2.0)

2011 Grand Marquis.JPGGot a fascinating and gathering interest in Mercury Grand Marquis’ as unicorns (like the ugly one at the bottom of this blog) because of the generosity of David Fesz and his far more widely followed automotive Facebook page Unique Cars for Sale 2.0.  The page notes, “You’ve discovered a better place to share rare automotive sightings discovered FOR SALE online with other enthusiasts, plain and simpler.“  It’s a closed group but if you ask, and you’re not an ass, you get added.  Lots of cars posted there I haven’t seen in years.  And they are okay with me posting some of the more unusual CarMax unicorns I find there.

And that’s what has me confounded – when I looked at the number of historical hits on my blog over the past year plus, I found the single most spectacular spike I’ve had was for my post on March 8, 2018 – and they all came from the link I posted on Unique Cars for Sale 2.0.  Not the CarMax offered BMW and Audi V-10 powered cars, the Mercedes V-12, the Porsche 911‘s, or Jaguar XKR – but for a 2011 Grand Marquis of all things.  I found the car interesting at first because it was gigantic, cheap at $14,000, with only 41,000 miles.  A little more research though and I found only 248 Grand Marquis’ came off the Continue reading “The Grand Marquis Mystery – Why The Interest? (Shout Out to Unique Cars 2.0)”

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Rare 2008 Audi RS4: One of 300 Sold in US

RS4 SideStumbled on this adorable, aggressive 2008 Audi RS4 convertible this morning while surfing for CarMax unicorns over hot coffee and looking out the window at the remains of the Polar Vortex and thinking spring can’t come too soon.  Rare to be this brutally cold, and even more rare to come across an RS4 at CarMax.  In fact, never been one since I’ve been tracking.  Car and Driver tells me the car originally sold for a whopping $85,000, and with only 300 imported in the US, it’s more rare than the R8 supercar!

Audi stuffed the 420hp, 4.2 liter V-8 into this little convertible, mated to a manual six-speed transmission, and all wheel drive.  Is that a sexy engine bay or not?  The car is good for 155 mph-plus and a 4.6 second 0-60 time.  It’s fast.  Loaded.  Rare.  Expensive.  I would predict a quick sale, but $31,000 for a 10 year old Audi might take longer.  We shall see. I’d still spring for MaxCare protection to drive pretty much repair free.

Find this low mileage, four-owner – and one accident 🙁 unicorn here in Fresno, California.  If the link is dead the car is sold, on hold, or being transferred.

2008 RS4 $30,998 43k Fresno

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