Driving there now. Have an extra ticket. Can forward by email. Long shot but if any readers in the area happy to give it away.
Quick Hit – Mercedes ML63 AMG and ML550 (And Last Mercedes Post For a Bit!)
I’ve run out of patience with CarMax for this post, and despite this being the third and fourth Mercedes covered in a row I gotta get it done. A very affordable badass Mercedes ML63 and an even more affordable and well equipped ML550 have been on and off the CarMax website for days, and I have been unable to catch them on the web on the same day for a post – so here it is anyway. Let’s start with the ML63 AMG, even though it’s not currently available I have not gotten the CarMax update that it’s gone.
This 2013 ML63 AMG (I think) was offered for $35-37,000. Fairly loaded with auto cruise control (Distronic Plus), seat massagers, heated and air conditioned seats, upgraded Bang & Olufsen audio – there’s a lot of luxury in the cabin. On the outside some slick running boards and black wheels. But that’s not why you want this SUV.
You want the ML63 because of its hand built, 5.5 liter 518 hp AMG motor. That, along with AWD and an adjustable suspension turn this family hauler into an SUV racer. Motor Trend turned a 4.8 second 0-60 mph run. And it’s got a tow hitch, if you need to ring along your cigarette boat. Admittedly, this SUV is a one accident vehicle, that drives down the price. But it sold new for just under $100,000 and is now a third that. Find this three owner 2013 Mercedes ML63 AMG here in Kansas City, Missouri. Hope it comes back on the market!
Quick Hit – 2010 Mercedes CL550. A Cheaper Alternative to Yesterday’s CLS63?
The Mercedes CL-class became the S-coupe in 2014, but it’s the same premise; an S-class from the (missing) B-pillar forward in every way. The 2010 CL coupe is the same as my 2010 S-class (S600) for the driver and passenger. At $24,998 there’s a ton of luxury in this unicorn at a bargain price. Again, room in the wallet for MaxCare I would not do without. Thanks to reader Cannon for alerting me to this beauty.
The CL550 has automated cruise control (Distronic Plus), air conditioned and heated seats, seat massagers, a heated steering wheel, AWD, and the cool (but totally unnecessary) night vision assist. CarMax gives it a 9 out of 10 on the features and yet I cannot think of what it does not have.
Okay, it doesn’t have a rear seat to speak of, similar to the CLS63 I covered yesterday. It’s about the driver and passenger. It has a filthy engine bay (shame on you CarMax) with a 5.5 liter V-8 that makes only 382 hp – adequate but not even close to the 500+ in the CLS63 AMG. But not everyone is a horsepower hog like me and most will find this plenty good for a luxury cruiser. The CL550 is a unique alternative to the CLS63, and $13,000 cheaper! Find this two owner, accident free car here in Fort Bend, Texas.
Quick Hit – 2012 Mercedes CLS63 AMG – $37,998
Going to keep this short since CarMax unicorns keep showing up and disappearing on their website faster than I can get to them. What we have here is a low mileage (40,000) 2012 Mercedes CLS63 for a really decent price. Leaves spare change for mandatory MaxCare. It sold new for maybe $95,000 and maybe more. I cannot tell if it has the far more expensive Performance Package – the red calipers suggest it might. What say ye, readers?
For $38k you get a luxury four door, four passenger coupe with a 5.5 liter, 518 hp turbocharged motor, adjustable suspension, and auto cruise control (Distronic Plus). Perfect for stop light launches and highway cruising. Car and Driver claims a crazy 3.8 second 0-60mph run here. But wait! There’s more!
The car is pretty much the same as an E63, although the coupe design limits interior room a bit. But it has seat massagers, heated and air conditioned seats, blind spot monitors, lane departure, rear view camera, and Bluetooth. Not bad. Hard to go wrong with a car like this! I like gold cars – reinforces the idea of “driving rich”! Find it here in Irvine, California.
Sad Note. Etta Left Me. My Porsche 911 Is No More. (And One Last Road Trip)
My plan to be faithful to my blog and sell Etta, my 2008 Porsche 911 unicorn, to either a blog reader or auto enthusiast who wanted a starter 911 with another two years and 15,000 miles of MaxCare protection has fallen apart. I turned the 911 in to Intersport Performance, the 911 specialists nearby in Ashburn, Virginia to do the 60,000 mile service and detail the car in preparation for putting it up for sale, and lo and behold they made me an offer I could not refuse. The car sold for $6,000 less than I paid for it. No doubt it is worth more, and I’ll cringe when I see what it’s offered for on Intersport’s web site. But the sale was immediate and painless. And I have another car being transferred in.
I was soooo happy to buy my 2008 Porsche 911 three years ago. It was my wife’s idea. She said I’d always wanted one, and I wasn’t getting any younger. I should buy a 911 while I could still get in and out of one. Here’s the whole saga. It was a good buy at $34,998. Only one or two 911’s have been offered by CarMax for less than $40,000 since. I paid $2,999 for MaxCare – $50 deductible and good until 75,000 miles. The 911 had just under 34,000 miles when I bought it. I had Intersport do a PPO when I bought it and they found $2,000 in service that had not been done, and CarMax immediately remedied. Repairs at CarMax using MaxCare totalled $4,100, and included replacing the serpentine belts and water pump belt, inner and outer tie rods, hood and trunk supports, ignition coil screws and spark plugs, the known Porsche issue of a bad factory battery cable (11 hours of labor- $1200!), power regulator, and one of my favorites – replace the crappy Porsche cup holders at a cost of $285 – CarMax broke them during other service work! My first service I did at a Porsche dealer thinking it would be smart to baseline the car at a dealer, at a cost of $648 – and turns out it was just an oil change. I was a fool. The next one I did at Intersport was $250. I replaced the rock hard summer tires with all seasons for $950 and dramatically improved the ride. The brake pads and rotors were replaced within the first year at a local Goodyear shop for $1,124. I spent another $700 last week doing the 60,000 mile service in preparation to sell the car, including some make fluid swaps like rear differential, brakes flush, and power steering flush. I had hoped to demonstrate my good faith to the next buyer by going all in on service. A little bittersweet to do all of that at Intersport and then have them make me an offer on the car I just paid them to prep…for them! But it was all fair. Unfortunately, Intersport declined to transfer the MaxCare plan. Fortunately, for the first time I tested CarMax’s MaxCare refund policy for the unused portion. CarMax refunded $1,119 of the $2,999 I paid. Once again, the $1,880 net cost of MaxCare was far less than the $4,100 cost of repairs. I stand by MaxCare as a bargain for high end cars that are expensive to fix. That said, maintenance costs were not insignificant, and writing this reminds me that it is terribly important when the car is eligible to be returned, to push CarMax to fix things like brakes and tires that may not be below the failure threshold, and are not covered by MaxCare, but will be expensive to do once you own the car.
I’ll have a cold Pilsner in Etta’s honor. She was my “starter” 911, thinking when I bought it I’d sell it without much loss if I hated it or trade up if I loved it. I loved it. Drove it hard sometimes and it handled and accelerated like nothing I’ve owned before. The only complaint I had was despite mounting all season tires, road noise was annoying. I’m cool with the terrific engine growl but tire drone was draining. I have test driven a 2015 911 (991.1) and the extra five inches of wheelbase made for a far more comfortable ride. I’d welcome the chance to own a later model 911 and that may or may not be in my future. At this time, CarMax has almost no 911’s! We shall see what’s next for the fleet.
I shared my 1,200 mile elk country drive here. But I also took a far shorter, but exhilarating romp through the Shenandoah mountains not too long ago that seemed designed for the Porsche 911. I read about this loop in Car and Driver magazine as an alternative to Skyline drive and thought I’d give it a try. Took Route 7W to Berryville then south on US 340 to Front Royal. From there eight miles west of Front Royal Virginia on SR 55 until the borough of Waterlick, and then a left on 678 Fort Valley Road. That’s when it got interesting.
The road is just west of the mountain spine and and has zero traffic through 28 miles of turns. Maybe a top speed of 60 mph here and there and some hard braking and accelerating but the field of view is always good and safe.
The road comes to a tee and a hard left onto Route 675 – Camp Roosevelt Rd. The turns are tighter and closer together for a fast 12 mile dash down the hill to Luray, home of Luray Caverns. Then it’s 17 miles through Shenandoah National Park up and through Thornton’s Gap to Sperryville. After all the hard driving, it was relaxing to return through 50 miles of rolling countryside to Gainesville – then highway home.
The Porsche 911 is just so engaging to drive even though it’s a base model with only 325hp. The most I’ve done in the car was 140 mph on a wide open I-95 down south, but the windy roads through the hills and mountains really gets the blood flowing. Pretty much anything will do 140 mph nowadays!
Goodbye Etta. I don’t know whether ownership costs were good or bad. I know that I first went to Le Mans in 1981 and watched these iconic sports cars go toe to toe with more modern machinery, and wanted to own one. Now I have, and it was everything I wanted it to be. I can confidently say I will own another. Maybe not my next unicorn, but I will own another. Thanks for taking this journey with me!
How Will They Stay In Business? 24 Hour Test Drives and 30 Day Return!
The word is out and several of you have written me about this. Seems too good to be true. But it is. I’ve booked my first 24 hour test drive for a Mercedes I have inbound. The test drive is limited to 150 miles. (The car will do 186 mph. Would be a hoot to max out mileage in 45-50 minutes!) And as I’ve written before, the customer has the most leverage to have repairs done that even MaxCare doesn’t cover during the return period. Plenty of time to get a PPO. Enjoy.
https://jalopnik.com/carmax-will-offer-24-hour-test-drives-and-a-30-day-retu-1846041975/amp
Quick Hit – Quick Car. The Most Expensive CarMax Offering Ever at $129,998! (Hint – a 1 of 2,441 Chevy)
Happy New Year! Our first car for 2021. This 2019 Corvette ZR1 is not the first 755hp Corvette we’ve seen at CarMax (check out this Great Pumpkin from October 2020) but it is the most expensive at $129,998. In fact, it’s the most expensive unicorn ever offered by CarMax by a good $10,000. The ZR1 sold new for about the same price it’s offered here a year later. I prefer depreciation – this thing may appreciate! Special thanks to reader Cannon for bringing it to my attention!
It’s the fastest Corvette to date with a 2.8 second 0-60mph sprint and a top end of 212 mph. The Corvette team chief called this Corvette “the most we know how to do” according to this Car and Driver review. There will be faster C8’s for sure, but for now this LT5 supercharged 6.2 liter 755 hp V-8 is the bomb. With only 5,000 miles, like the October ZR1, it’s still under manufacturer warranty – but of course I would still spring for MaxCare and drive the snot out of it up to 150,000 miles. Well, I would if I fit. Corvettes don’t have the front seat room that my 911 has. So if you’re shorter than 6’4″ but your pants include deep pockets, your 2019 Corvette ZR1 chariot awaits here in Garland, Texas.
