Category: Monthly Finds (…but unicorns move fast! These may be gone.)

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The Most Expensive CarMax Unicorn EVER!

$162,998. That’s what you wanted to know. But that’s not all you need to know. This 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S is hardly a unicorn by my old $35,000 ceiling (that I am so going to blow through soon) but it is the most expensive CarMax car I’ve ever seen. Thought it was a misprint when Mustafa sent it to me last week, and when it disappeared from the web within minutes I was sure. But it’s back. Is it a good deal?

I think 7/11 designed the cup holders just for Grosse Gulps.

No. Well, maybe in a relative way. There are 12 of these for sale on Autotrader.com today, and as it turns out this is a fair price for a 2020 911 Carrera 4S. But according to Car and Driver the 4S model gives you only AWD over the regular 911 S. Everything else about the car….trim, output features….exactly the same. Oh and a gas tank that holds about 3/4 of a gallon more fuel. The additional charge for a 4S over an S is $7,300 according to Car and Driver. But wait there’s more! Car and Driver’s as tested model had a base price of $121,000 and with options and AWD topped out at $140,000. So not only is AWD the only plus to this car (and that’s not insignificant, for what it’s worth) the car is selling used for more than it sold for new! Damn. Puts it in the same league as the Chevrolet SS and Corvette C8!

Pretty slick shifter?
The car includes the Porsche cargo bay tub. Surprisingly the 911 front end will hold a standard suitcase.

The 911 4S does outperform the standard S. How much? I’ll leave you with the Car and Driver narrative. “The 443-hp twin-turbo flat-six, eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and all-wheel-drive system all feed a ruthless launch-control program that turns air and gasoline into effortless and repeatable performance. Is 2.8 seconds to 60 mph better than 2.9 seconds? Objectively, yes. Is it worth $7300? We’re uncertain about that one.” Well, I am certain that if you can afford this car you can afford MaxCare, even though the 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S here in Tampa is still under manufacturer warranty.

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1 of 50 In USA – 2020 Lexus RC F Track Edition. Why?

The Lexus RC F is a pretty impressive car in vanilla form. The luxury coupe sports a 5.0 liter V-8 with 467 hp and every feature you could want. They sold new in the mid-$60,000 range and CarMax has a half-dozen regular RC F’s with low mileage for under $50,000. Those cars are capable of low-four second 0-60 mph runs and a 168 mph top speed. But anybody can own a vanilla Lexus RC F. Only 50 Track Editions were imported to the USA. That alone makes them a unicorn.

What’s so special about the Lexus RC F other than the limited production? Honestly not much. A big-ass wing for starters that adds 58 pounds of downforce when you hit that 168 mph straightaway. Carbon fiber on the hood, roof, and decklid that shaves 121 pounds. I never get such little weight loss. Add my wife as the passenger and we’re back where we started! Throw in a cooler of beer and I’m slower than before! Seriously though you get a little bit more upgrades on the RC F Track over a standard car but not much.

The same motor makes only five (yes 5) more horsepower than the stock RC F. Coupled with the weight loss that reduces 0-60 times by .3 seconds. Not a fan. The Track Edition also gets a front splitter, tweaked adaptive dampers that are more aggressive, and drops the torque-vectoring differential for what Car and Driver calls a more benign handling attitude. Meh.

The Lexus RC F interior is wonderful for a luxury coupe. Never liked bordello red for a car but many buyers do. What I have never been able to figure out is the hump protruding from the hump that boxes in the driver’s heel. I have been tempted more than once by RC F’s as bargain V-8 coupes but I cannot get my size 12 foot to work the gas pedal around that mound. Again, the regular RC F seems to be a bargain unicorn and I’m struggling, other than exclusivity of owning a 1 of 50 unit, to get why I’d want this once $97,000 car that’s only depreciated to $85,998. It does have only 4,000 miles on it since purchased almost two years ago, and with existing dealer warranty and Lexus reliability there’s really no need for MaxCare. Find this 2020 Lexus RC F here in Tampa, Florida.

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Quick Hit – Rare (for CarMax) Dirt Cheap 12 Year Old Audi S5

A 2009 Audi S5 by itself isn’t all that much of a unicorn. Lots of ’em out there. But every day I surf the CarMax website to see what’s in the older car bin and today was rewarded with this cheap 12 year old German pony car. CarMax has 43,678 cars in their nationwide inventory as I write, and only 67 2009 models. When I started this blog four years ago CarMax told me they only sell cars 10 years old and newer. Over time I learned that wasn’t quite right as there were always 11 and 12 year old cars for sale. But CarMax has been quite disciplined about European cars, and it’s rare to see one older than 10 model years for sale.

Before we go over the features, specs, and performance that make the S5 a cool daily driver, and other than being old, what I like about this Audi is that it’s only $14,998. There are 85 of these first-generation (2007-2012) S5’s with similar mileage (less than 100,000) on Autotrader today, and most are actually selling for more than CarMax is asking. And of course, I’d be real surprised if any of those are offered with an optional three year warranty up to 150,000 miles. This car has 98,000 miles, so you can pretty much buy the equivalent of a new car warranty with MaxCare for this old car. Did I mention it’s 12 years old? I did?

So about the car. The first generation S5’s were equipped with the 4.2 liter V-8 motor making only 354 hp, and yet they ripped high-four second 0-60 mph runs. All of them are AWD. When I returned from Germany in 2010 I saw my first S5 in Virginia downshift and scream up an exit ramp in a rush. The acceleration was awesome and the noise ear-splitting. Loved it. Later I was stunned to learn how relatively low the horsepower was compared to it’s rivals – BMW and Mercedes six-cylinders make almost the same output. But the S5 is more raucous and fast. All of the reviews I read from 2009 were complimentary both on performance, and the “stunning” design (used by several car magazines). This car also has seat heaters, auto cruise control, nav and rear view camera, blind spot monitors, and Bluetooth. Find it here in Southlake, Georgia. Well, damn. Took me 20 minutes to put this piece together and it shows now as “Currently Not Available”. But that’s the beauty of having the stock number – you can always track it! I’ll try to post if it becomes available again.

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Another 1 of 23 – Low Mileage 2011 Lexus GS460

Two years ago my CarMax car buddy Mustafa alerted me to how few Lexus GS460’s were sold in the US – just 23 units in 2011. In fact, other than the 1,600 sold in 2008, each year after saw only a few dozen leaving dealer lots. Makes it a fairly rare unicorn. I was pleased to see this 2011 model in tan over champagne – a color combo I’ve always associated with luxury. It’s in CarMax’s Coming Soon section so very much available.

Low production isn’t the only reason to like this vehicle  I dig the Italian design by Giugiaro and once lusted for the second generation Lexus GS400 as a nice sleeper sedan.  This 2011 GS460 has a 4.6 liter V-8 rated at 342 hp, good for a mediocre 0-60 mph in 5.4 seconds.  Slightly better than the comparable Infiniti M45 but 40 ponies less than the same year Mercedes E550, and 58 hp short of the 2011 BMW 550.

But it is a high-quality highway cruiser with an eight-speed automatic transmission, auto cruise control. adaptive variable suspension, luxury package, cooling seats, and good old fashioned rear wheel drive.  Not sure I’d even spring for MaxCare – not much going to go wrong here. (However, CarMax actually offers MaxCare for five years and up to 150,000 miles!) Probably sold for $55-60,000 new back in 2011 and selling for $22,998 now – $1,000 more than the same model I reviewed two years ago! Not as much depreciation as I’d like.  Here’s a review of the GS460 from Left Lane News when the car was new in 2011.  This 2011 Lexus will be available soon here in Irving, Texas. Also full disclosure – the above two paragraphs I totally plagiarized from my 2019 review – curious if anyone actually makes it this deep in the blog! 🙂

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Need a 6MT / AWD Reliable and Reasonably Fast Sedan? This 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD is Coming Soon.

The first Acura to make The CarMax Unicorn Blog. Not what I think of as an enthusiast car at first, until you consider the niche. Who else has a sedan this size, with a 300+ horsepower six-cylinder motor, a six-speed manual transmission, AWD, and bulletproof reliability? The Germans are out. The Cadillac ATS V with a 462 hp six and a manual transmission I covered last week here is only two wheel drive, and by the way cost over $30,000 more. Think of the fourth generation, 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD as a gentleman’s Subaru WRX. Plus, there are only two other manual transmission Acura TL SH-AWD’s for sale on Auto Trader – one at half the price with twice the miles, and another with 10,000 fewer miles for a third more. This one’s a unicorn.

The 3.7 liter V-6 puts out 305 hp, and moves the sub-4,000 lb sedan to 60 mph in about 5.3 seconds. The motor didn’t get high marks for being high tech when new, but it is certainly good enough, and extremely reliable. Reviews considered it satisfying and beefy at the 6,700 rpm red line. It’s the transmission, though, that get’s high marks – short, crisp shifts the old fashioned way.

The interior was a bit dated in 2012 and is damned near vintage now. Nothing horribly wrong, just bland. The Acura has seat heaters, nav, Bluetooth, a sunroof, keyless entry/start and a rear view camera. Just enough. Only 18 months ago CarBuzz revisited this car in the review, “The Manual Acura TL Is One Of The Coolest Sedans Ever Made“. They clearly dug it. Check it out here. The 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD sold new for north of $43,000 and is being offered for $21,995 nine years later at CarMax. Plenty of money left over for MaxCare, offered for another 100,000 miles, but would you really need it? Find this two-owner Colorado car in the Coming Soon category here in Loveland, Colorado, just three hours north of Pike’s Peak!

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Remember This 2010 Mercedes S65 AMG? It Just Sold for $11,000 MORE Than The CarMax Price!

I transferred in this 2010 Mercedes S65 AMG last fall and ultimately declined to buy. My whole saga is here. Because of our car connection when I declined to buy I arranged for blog reader Hans to immediately take control and transfer to Wilmington, NC. Hans bought the car, but it was not what he expected (it was too tame, and Hans has enough AMG experience to know the AMG growl) and he returned it. Here the plot thickens. Hans and I cooked a deal to have CarMax transfer the car to another blog reader Collin. Oddly, CarMax told Collin the car was “accidentally” sold. Then the plot took an odd turn – blog reader Mustafa, a truly gifted CarMax sniper, alerted me this S65 was posted on cars.com and the seller, a dude named “John” from Connecticut, had contacted him about his Mercedes CL65 and mentioned the S65. More bizarre, the cars.com ad had the picture of the S65 in MY driveway from MY blog post! I contacted John but never heard back and forgot about it. This week Mustafa alerted me to the very same 2010 Mercedes S65 offered on the Bring a Trailer auction site by a company called Exclusive Impex in Miami. Of course I jumped in to share what I know about the car, both to bring prospective buyers’ attention to the car’s mysterious past, and to shamelessly flog my blog. The reaction? Absolutely no one gave a shit about what I (we) knew about this car’s path. Turns out someone else bought this car from CarMax and returned it after CarMax and Mercedes Benz of Manhattan could not solve an electrical gremlin. (Exclusive Impex says they solved it.) Oddly, the car’s history reflects neither my friend in Wilmington’s ownership nor the Connecticut buyer’s purchase. Exclusive Impex claims they bought the car at a CarMax auction (I’ve never heard of CarMax auctions), repaired and prepped it, and made it available on Bring a Trailer. My take after watching this car bid and sell for $11,000 MORE than we all could have had the car for from CarMax? I belong to a half dozen car groups on Facebook and all agree prices are inflated on Bring a Trailer. When I track cars on Bring a Trailer I’m impressed and discouraged by the depth of knowledge and deep criticisms in the comments section. That said, on this 2010 Mercedes S65, the commenters were intoxicated by the car and gleefully overlooked anything suspect. Why did two buyers return the car? Don’t care. What about the one accident on the Carfax? Don’t care. We all could have had this car for $36,000 and bought a five year MaxCare plan to protect us for another five years and 100,000 miles. Instead, a Bring a Trailer buyer got it for $47,500 with no warranty. Time will tell who came out on top!

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1 0f 62 – 2018 Cadillac ATS V Manual Transmission Sedan. Not slow. Not Cheap.

I’m going to cheat and add the link to the last 2018 Cadillac ATS V manual transmission sedan unicorn I wrote about five months ago here in order to get this posted quickly. But here’s the three points I’d like to make about this car. First. Cadillac only sold 62 manual transmission ATS V’s in 2018, and 54 manual transmission coupes. I have not yet spotted a 2018 manny tranny coupe at CarMax. Second. the car is a legitimate performance sedan. Sub-4 second 0-60 mph and 189 mph top speed from a six-banger, and 1 g lateral grip. Third, while this 2018 sedan has fewer miles than the one in my February 2021 blog, it’s $9,000 more. I absolutely HATE that the price of unicorns is going up! Reminds me of the Chevrolet SS’s that CarMax is selling used for more than they sold for new! Tossing in some pix and then the obligatory link to the CarMax sales offering below. Enjoy.

Handsome interior but nothing luxurious. Almost German in its functionality.
Honestly the automatic ATS V is a great car – the manual transmission makes this great and rare.
The 3.6 liter six cylinder makes 464 hp. Honestly, CarMax, why can I NOT see horsepower or my laptop but on my iPhone app it’s right there on the first screen?!

The 2018 Cadillac ATS V sold for maybe $80,000 new and three years later has only depreciated to $56,998. Low miles so maybe a bargain. Regardless, buy the MaxCare warranty (although it still has a little GM warranty left!) and drive this hot sedan hard. Find this accident free one-owner hot rod “coming soon” here in Orlando, Florida.

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Quick Hit – 1 of 1,750 in US Gelb Schwarzer Renner!

The car above is the original 1972 VW Beetle GSR, or Gelb Schwarzer Renner, or yellow-black racer. The 1972 GSR was a limited edition beetle pumped up to a whopping 50 hp and an unbelievable 18 second 0-60 mph run. According to Hemmings Motor News there are maybe 100 left in circulation. It is NOT for sale at CarMax. What IS for sale is its modern day equivalent, the 2014 VW Beetle GSR unicorn below. Car and Driver offers that maybe half of the 3,500 limited production run of 2014 GSR’s came to the USA. Makes it a bit rare, even if the modern GSR came from Mexico and not West Germany.

The GSR caught my eye during my nightly search for yellow cars. Out of 39,000 cars in the inventory, CarMax has only 79 yellow cars – pretty much tied with purple for the fewest. The time is coming when I will sell my 1971 Fiat 124 Spider, painted Porsche Speed Yellow (ironic for such a slow car), and I’m always on the lookout for modern day yellow scooters. At first I thought this was just an appearance package, but Google set me straight. So did Car and Driver, Autoweek, and Hemmings.

Let’s start with the motor. In 2014 the GSR’s 2.0 liter turbo four was boosted to 210 hp, 10 more than the venerable GTI of the same year. Too bad it’s automatic, even though it’s dual clutch. Car and Driver noted despite the 100 lb weight gain of a GSR over GTI, the 10 hp moved the GSR to 60 mph almost a half-second quicker. The following year GTI’s also came with 210 hp, for the record. The GSR cornered quicker and braked shorter than the GTI of the same era, defying it’s more civilized packaging. Honestly, had I not looked up the original 1972 GSR I’d have no idea why this Beetle looks the way it does. I suspect most casual car folks won’t either and will think it’s just a silly, summer Beetle.

Car and Driver described the interior well. “Inside the GSR, things are toned down a bit with tasteful black leather sport seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel highlighted with yellow stitching. Pushbutton start, a Fender premium audio system, aluminum pedals, a panoramic sunroof, ambient lighting, a turbo-boost gauge, and a clock with a stopwatch feature help round out the GSR’s cabin kit. VW plans a run of 3500 GSRs, the special-edition number of each emblazoned on a steering-wheel plaque.” Unfortunately, CarMax photographers NEVER put effort into capturing the limited edition plaque numbers. Maybe you can see it below?

The GSR also minimally tops the GTI in cargo space due to the higher roofline. Makes the GSR pretty much all around a better car than the GTI, and yet a yellow-black-racer probably has a far more limited appeal, limited edition notwithstanding. Not sure this GSR is really that much of a bargain at almost $20,000, given it sold new for about $30,000 seven years ago, and it’s sporting a good 78,000 miles. That said for a true VW fan it might be just the thing. Find this two-owner car here in Turnersville, New Jersey.

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Quick Hit – A Truly smart Unicorn?

Seriously, Chuck – a smart car? Thought this was an enthusiast blog?! Not so fast (pun intended). Check out the “B” on the fuel filler door. This would “B” a Brabus-tuned smart Fortwo Passion car by Mercedes. Brabus being the German tuners with 40 years plus experience modifying German cars, and off and on they’ve applied their expertise to the diminutive Mercedes smart car. Didn’t know these were a thing before blog reader and car guru Hans alerted me last time CarMax had one!

The Brabus model isn’t just an appearance package though. The exhaust and suspension are tuned to (modestly) improve performance. Beyond that…I just can’t tell what more lurks in this Brabus smart car. The data card confirms it’s a Brabus but no further details on the motor. Stock smart motors are 1.0 liter three cylinders rated at 70hp, and CarMax suggests this one is, too. Brabus tuned a limited run of 100 units to 102hp in 2013 as 10 year anniversary editions, but this does not appear to be one of the 100. So not going to go too far out on a limb on how special this car is, or is not, unless I can find more data. But there are more cars to blog about and I’m way behind. (My excuses are twofold; prepared and drove my 1971 Fiat 124 Spider to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for the annual gathering of Fiats and TOOK FIRST PLACE! In my early Spider category, that is. I’ll blog about that next week. Second, my wife and I went on the road to Asheville, North Carolina to celebrate our 25th anniversary. I won’t be blogging about that.)

On the other hand, there appears to be only one Brabus smart car on Autotrader at this time, so perhaps this is a little special after all? The price seems a little high, so I wouldn’t spring for MaxCare – just drive it until it melts it’s little motor down. Find this one-owner little guy here in Sacramento, California.

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Tempting Test Drive – 2016 Mercedes AMG GT S

First, it’s important to get it out up front that I don’t test drive CarMax unicorns just for the hell of it and to get pix and video of me driving cool cars. It’s an abuse of the generous CarMax solo test drive opportunity and especially of the sales rep’s time. Those folks are just trying to make a living. And my favorite rep Si Sultan (now a manager) tells me people are taking these cars for 24 hours to record YouTube burnouts and even for prom dates. That ain’t right and hope they don’t ruin it for the rest of us. I will admit to driving cars that I have no intention of buying – that specific car – but I am trying to find out if that model is for me. If so, then I start looking for the specific car to purchase. I’ve done that with all four small SUV’s in the running and have settled on a Mercedes GLC43 AMG as the one for my wife and I, once we can find a properly equipped one. Anyway, I have always been intrigued by CarMax offering the Mercedes AMG GT S – as close as you’re going to get to a supercar from them. Was thinking it could be the successor to Etta, my 911, and although I just could not own a red-interior car, I needed to know if the AMG GT S was for me. So off we go.

So off we go. Nokes Blvd onto Route 28 North near Dulles, Virginia. Believe this was in “Sport” mode. Another disclaimer. When I drive and shoot videos with phone in hand they almost never turn out. I look at the road, not the phone, and hope I’m capturing something usable. These three are all that remain – the rest are all over the digital cutting room floor. I tried one in race mode, and quickly found out the car wasn’t going to shift gears without me and dropped the phone before I red lined the car and my ticker. Race mode is terrifying. Sport mode was fun, with rev-matching downshifts and burbling, gurgling noises at stop lights. But even Hyundai Velosters do that now. For the record I eased up considerably entering the main road – the end of this ramp is where the Virginia State Police hang out all the time.

Turned around and did the wonderful sweeper from Leesburg Pike onto Route 28 South. Yes I saw the CRV with the unending blinker and again backed off the throttle on the main drag. No videos here of me breaking the law…by much. Pretty sure this was in “Sport+” mode and yes it was more aggressive upshifts and cornering. But really I hardly pushed the envelope in this car. I’ve watched these race at the 24 Hours of Daytona for years now and they are really capable cars – beyond my talent level by far. Power comes from a twin-turbo 4.0 liter V-8 pumping 503 hp and if you’re good, a 3.5 second 0-60 mph run. The AMG GT S has been test driven at 195 mph – just not by me. My short bursts and twisties were still exhilarating.

And finally, just because, the AMG GT S in “Comfort” mode. A perfectly reasonable highway cruiser. Wish I had remembered to turn the radio on at some point but the howling motor was too intoxicating. Returned the car right on time.

The verdict? Yeah the car rocks and scratches almost every itch as a successor (for me) to my Porsche 911 Etta. The garish (to me) red leather is unpleasant but surprisingly, might not be a deal breaker. The deal breaker was the cramped (but awesome) interior. The leg room was acceptable for my 6’4″ 230 lb frame, and yet as with all two-seaters with not even a fake/unusable rear seat (think Boxster/Cayman and C7 Corvettes!), the seat back cannot be reclined at all, and the seat bottom can’t tilt back enough to give me a reasonably comfortable driving position. I sat ram-rod straight up and was uncomfortable after my short ride. I had been warned by an equally tall Mercedes AMG GT S owner that the car is not comfortable as a daily, and he was right. I’m out. The car sold new for maybe $150,000 five years ago and was selling for $77,998 and really with only 38,000 miles seemed “reasonable” to me given the level of performance. It’s currently unavailable but has been on and off the market, so track it here if you’re interested.

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