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

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Apologies From a Selfish Blogger on September Absence (Hint – Instead of Writing I Bought Another CarMax Car)

THE SHORT VERSION: I haven’t blogged for a few weeks because I’ve been frantically searching the CarMax app for my next car, ignoring the unicorns that have come and gone. Also preparing to sell my remaining two cars and working too much. Pathetic excuses. I bought a car and will be back to blogging shortly! What follows are my three test drives and one purchase.

My latest ride – 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited

THE LONG VERSION: Not what you were expecting? Me neither. A couple of months ago I zeroed my SUV search down to the BMW X3 M40i and the Mercedes GLC43 AMG. And if you’ve been here before you know I tend to change my mind as more information becomes available. Or my whims change. Well, I really, really don’t want to get pinned down to only an SUV and a business car (my Mercedes S600) and headed in a different direction. It’s complicated. I’m selling my vintage 1971 Fiat 124 Spider after some minor repairs shortly (will post here soon) after taking first place in the annual Fiat gathering in July. Right after the Fiat goes I’m selling the S600 as it approaches 95,000 miles. The big Merc still has over two years and 30,000 miles of MaxCare coverage. Both cars are as marketable as they’re going to be. That leaves me, the CarMax guy, without a car. So for the past three weeks I’ve been going nuts on how to manage my replacement strategy and not get boxed in to cars I don’t want. Been searching night and day at the expense of blogging about cars for you. Don’t get me started on the unicorns that got away this month. Maybe they’ll be back? So this past week I went on the road and looked at not one, not two, but three CarMax unicorns.

In short, this is why I bought this SUV – fully loaded with every modern feature, reasonably priced, only a few years old, and nearby. It also had a V-8. There were lesser equipped Jeep’s out there but savings were minimal. And all similarly equipped Jeeps were thousands more. And while I knew it was a compromise for a Euro-luxury guy, when I loaded all these features into the CarMax website and asked it t spit out a BMW, Audi, or Mercedes, they were all $15-20,000 more than this Jeep. It started to feel like a bargain. It’s also just a stopgap car until my wife gets around to replacing her SUV, and I find successors for my Fiat, the 911 I sold earlier this year, and my S600. So as a short term vehicle it’s not bad.

A most comfortable interior for a Jeep.

Rolled the dice and took the train from Washington DC up to Newark, Delaware to look at the Jeep. The risk was there might be something wrong with the car that would interfere with the sale and I’d have to hitchhike back. But the purchase went off almost without a hitch. The auto cruise control isn’t working and will be fixed if we keep the Jeep. MaxCare was $3,800 for the $50 deductible up to 150,000 miles. Driving home was pleasant with Apple CarPlay going, air conditioned seats, and the V-8 adequate at best with only 360 hp. I got 23 mpg at a steady 70-75 mph. Interestingly, the trip odometer / fuel economy info had not been reset for the past 9,000 miles, and it looks like the previous owner enjoyed a whopping 11.9 mpg. Had to be all city driving. But I didn’t drive straight home. There was another unicorn I had to see that same day!

Continue reading “Apologies From a Selfish Blogger on September Absence (Hint – Instead of Writing I Bought Another CarMax Car)”
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#113 of 209 – The Fastest Subaru (A Lot Of) Money Can Buy

Thanks to fellow CarMax tracker and blog reader Cannon for bringing this track-ready, limited run 2019 Subaru STI S209 to my attention. There were only 209 made, and CarMax (of course) has one available. This one is #113 of 209 as far as I can tell – if you can make out the image below better than I, maybe it’s #115? No matter, it’s a rare and fast unicorn.

First, Cannon taught me the Subaru STI S209 was assembled by STI (Subaru Tecnica International), the motorsports arm of Subaru. STI takes possession of WRX STI’s and from the main Gunma, Japan factory, and then ships them to their shop in Kiryu-Kougyo, Japan to complete the S209 modifications. For starters, the power plant is beefed up from 305 hp to 341 hp from it’s turbo flat-four cylinder. Mated to the six-speed manual transmission, the car rips low four second 0-60 mph runs.

The 2019 Car and Driver review noted the “0.6-inch-wider track necessitated fender flares to cover the model-specific 265/35R-19 Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT 600A summer tires. Bilstein dampers, stiffer springs, and a 20-mm rear anti-roll bar deliver a dog-pukingly stiff ride.” The sedan pulled 1.04 g lateral grip on the skidpad. The car brakes race car hard. I cannot get over that race car wing though.

The Subaru STI S209 has bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, seat heaters, and a rear view camera but not much else in comfort features. Not why one buys this car though. And the kicker? The S209 listed for $65,000 when new. That said, many sold for a premium above MSRP given the limited run. That price was also $25,000 above a regular WRX STI. As Cannon said, this is probably a decent collector car in the making. MaxCare may be cheap also, given that this low mileage car is still under manufacturer warranty. And be prepared – it’s still selling for above MSRP two years later! Find this little race car here in Plano, Texas.

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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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Thank You – The CarMax Unicorn Blog Turns Four

August 10, 2017 I blogged “First Five Fabulous Unicorns“, with absolutely no idea what I was doing or where this would go. I used PDF’s for photos until my son Chris told me it made the blog look wonky. I still don’t know what I’m doing or where this will go but I know why I do it, I’m a car nut that loves “driving rich” in a way more expensive car than I can afford to repair. And I really enjoy the folks I’ve met here – some through comments, some by email, and even a few I’ve met over coffee or a beer to talk CarMax unicorns. All good people.

The 2007 Mercedes CL550 above was the very first car in the “first five” unicorns that I wrote about. I think I’ve covered 350-400 cars in the 302 blog posts over the past four years. Some will never be available again – Jaguar S-Types and XJ8’s, Pontiac G8GXP’s, a Chevrolet SSR, the Saturn/Opel Astra, Buick Lucerne Supers, Audi S4 V-8’s and probably more. Would be fun to go back and rue the ones that got away. Thinking V-10’s and the Audi W12. Sigh.

Honestly, I don’t think I ever actually covered this 2006 Chevrolet SSR but it was in my files and I meant to. It might have boosted my readership, although I can’t complain. Visitors have gone from 10,000 my first full year (2018) to 17,000 last year, and views have topped 100,000 since 2017. I’m very grateful for the 159 readers who have signed up to be bothered by email with each new post. I’ve enjoyed the comments, mostly by Hans, Scott, Jerry, and Roger, although all four of you get crushed statistically by CBD oils, Cialis scams, vaping supply web sites, and hair weave stylists who bombard my blog with spam by the hundreds. I may have a fix for that. Other fascinating things WordPress tells me about the blog? I get 50% of viewers from search engines, and the other 50% when I link a post to David Fesz’s “Unique Cars for Sale 2.0” Facebook page. He’s got a good site. Check him out. I also learned I post about 80 times a year. I should do more. In the past month alone I missed a rare BMW M6 V-10 (I thought they were no more!), a Mercedes CL65 V-12, and a Volvo S80 V-8….among others. And the data says while readers have clicked on the CarMax links to cars I provided thousands of times, readers very rarely click on the links to car magazine reviews of the cars I’m blogging about. Could be more productive if I knock those off, I guess.

The numbers also tell me that this 2009 Porsche Cayenne GTS above, covered here in September 2019, had the most viewers of any post I’ve done, bumping the 1 of 248 Grand Marquis I covered in March, 2018. Pleases me, in that the Cayenne more closely represents the unicorn theme than the Marquis.

I one heard an unsourced quote, that “the Germans invented the automobile, the Americans made it into an appliance, and the Italians the car to dance and sing.” I love my German cars and I really appreciate my 1971 Fiat 124 Spider. I get the value of a car as an appliance, and perhaps the Grand Marquis represented that. And lo and behold the modern anniversary gift for year four is….an appliance! Guess I’ll be shopping for an American car this year? Thanks to each and every reader that shares my enthusiasm for affordable high-end, deeply depreciated cars. If I can ever be of help let me know. If I’m off the mark on these cars, please let me know. Now back to the cars!

My Appliance?

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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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