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

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2011 Mercedes CLS550 – Didn’t Think I’d See Anymore of These at CarMax!

I’ve covered a number of these W219 “Shooting Brake” Mercedes CLS550’s in the three-plus years of blogging with the last one almost a year ago – a 2009 model that looked and was priced almost identical to this one – less than $20,000! Thought time had run out for these CarMax unicorns so I was quite surprised to see this beauty tonight. It’s an accident free 2011 model with only 43,000 miles. For a 382 hp 5.5 liter Mercedes V8 it’s just getting broken in!

Yes the CLS is built on the E-class platform but has less front seat, rear set, and trunk room than the E-class, it’s just damned more attractive. Cutting edge when new as a first generation CLS, they started to look dated after an eight year run, and now nine years out of production are starting to look a little vintage to me? The CLS550 cost over $74,000 in 2011 and this one is now $19,998.

Check out the CarMax cameraman in the mirror!

With 2011 being the sunset year before the all new for 2012 model there aren’t any real good car reviews from back then. But this 2007 Car and Driver review of a nearly identical model (when the CLS got the 32 valve, 5.5 liter engine) claimed a 0-60mph run in 4.7 seconds with a seven-speed automatic. Not bad for a two ton sedan.

I don’t think I’ve ever had three passengers in the back of my sedans and while the four seat coupe seems sexy, it’s also a roll of the dice that you’ll NEVER want to haul more folks.

This 2011 Mercedes CLS550 is a three owner car that spent most of its life in Florida, and is now here in Cincinnati, Ohio. It’s a bargain, sophisticated German car, and of course, MaxCare is highly recommended for when that air suspension or high-end engine breaks!

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Quick Hit – The Great Pumpkin! One of 2,441. Killer Corvette ZR1 in Kenosha. Yours for $119,998!

It even looks likes it’s on fire!

The 755 hp 2019 ZR1 unicorn is the fastest Corvette to date (the C8 variants out in the spring will likely equal or exceed the 2019 ZR1) with a top speed of 212 mph and a 0-60 run in 2.8 seconds. Supercar fast. The Corvette team chief called this Corvette “the most we know how to do” according to this Car and Driver review. Corvette folks know tons more than me about ZR1’s. I love watching Corvette’s whoop far more exotic and expensive cars at Le Mans and Daytona but have given up on owning one – at 6’4″ I just don’t fit behind the wheel.

I’m thinking the gas mileage is N/A because it doesn’t get any?
I’d have to be to pay this much!
The 2019 Corvette XR1 sold new for over $120,000. Not much depreciation here? This is the most expensive car I’ve seen at CarMax in the three plus years of tracking unicorns.

As an aside, the most expensive CarMax car I’ve seen before this ZR1 was an almost new 2017 Mercedes AMG GT with only 2,000 miles on it. Listed for $114,998 and over a couple of weeks dropped regularly in price and may have finally sold for $104,998. Here’s the link to that saga. We shall see how long this Corvette stays on the market.

The most likely view I’ll ever have of this car – as a passenger.

This single-owner, low mileage (5,000) hot rod is still under Chevrolet’s warranty for another 31,000 miles and 24 months or so. I would still spring for MaxCare – a car like this needs to be driven hard and fast. That’s what it was engineered for. No need to tell CarMax about your track days when you blow it up. On the other hand if you can afford a $120,000 car maybe you can afford the repairs. Find this ZR1 here in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

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Quick Hit – Bargain Benz. 2011 E550 Like a Smaller S-Class? $22,899.

This is one handsome, mid-sized Mercedes Benz unicorn, luxuriously equipped (hence the model “E550 Luxury”), at a ridiculously low price. Adaptive cruise control? Check. All wheel drive? Yup. Adjustable suspension? Absolutely. Blind-spot, lane departure, rear view camera, Bluetooth, Harman Kardon sound, panoramic sunroof, air-conditioned and heated seats….it goes on and on. Check out this little graphic included in the CarMax ad!

The 2011 Mercedes E550 packs a 5.5 liter V-8 rated at 382 horsepower. Mated to a seven-speed automatic the sedan is good for a 0-60 mph run in a hair over five seconds. Here’s a lengthy NewCarTestDrive.com review of all the 2011 E-class lineup, including details on the E550. Looks like from their notes this car sold for over $60,000 new nine years ago, and driven only 4,000 miles annually seems to be a damned good deal. Of course there are cheaper, comparable E550’s out there but none that are eligible for MaxCare protection against out of pocket repairs. You want MaxCare. There will be repairs.

The features on this car remind me a great deal of the S-class cars I’ve owned. I’ve been corresponding privately with some readers pondering the German unicorn market and enjoying depreciated, luxury rides protected by MaxCare. I would very much recommend this car as a safe entry into the market. Find this well-appointed, single-owner 2011 Mercedes E550 here in Frederick, Maryland.

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Pop Quiz – What’s The Most Horsepower You Can Buy (From CarMax)?

If you guessed 662 horsepower you’d be right! The 2014 Mustang Shelby GT500 with a supercharged 5.8 liter V-8 tops the General Motors’ 6.2 liter motors in the Corvette Z06’s, the Camaro ZL1’s, and the Cadillac CTS-V by 12 horsepower. And while I search everyday, CarMax has yet to carry a 700+ horsepower Hellcat from Dodge. Even the sixth generation Mustang Shelby GT350’s available at CarMax only ponied up 526 horsepower. So this is as good as it gets for car peeps who want a unicorn with straight line wheel spin bragging rights!

Ford produced 5,730 Shelby GT500’s in 2014, 4,816 as coupes and the rest as convertibles. Haggerty lists them as collectibles. Maybe so – they sold new in the mid-$50,000 range and CarMax is offering this one for $50,998 – not sure I’ve ever seen that little depreciation in a six year old car.

This Car and Driver review of the 2013 car (largely unchanged for 2014) notes a 3.5 second 0-60 mph run, and surprising to me, a 1.0g on the lateral skidpad. I was under the impression live axle Mustangs handled horribly until the 2015 models went independent. But what do I know?

Find this old-school, low mileage hot rod here in Charlotte, North Carolina. You may want to spring for MaxCare, then head to the drag strip quick-fast!

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Quick Hit – A Buick Only Jerry Seinfeld’s Father Could Love? 2011 Lucerne Super – $11,998

Let’s not pretend this 2011 Buick Lucerne Super unicorn is an enthusiast’s car. Yes it’s extinct, with 2011 being the last year (the car suffered the humiliation of having it’s successor come out a year earlier), and it has the “venerable” 4.6l V-8 Northstar pumping out only 292hp to the front wheels. But the Super has the Magnetic Ride Control, an adaptive damping system that helps this 4,000 lb car wallow less , Bluetooth, seat heaters, heated steering wheel, and lots of room in the front, rear, and trunk. And it has the only-in-a-Buick telltale ventiports in the front fenders, four on each side for a V-8. These go back over 70 years – read here for a fascinating history of the ports in Buicks (long before stick-on ports were sold at K-Mart and added to Civics).

Does it look like someone took a crap in the passenger seat?

And to go way back on the nostalgia trail, this Buick has the rare (?) landau roof – the fake convertible vinyl that takes us back to the 1920’s and 1930’s when automobiles hoped to replicate the style of horse and carriage coach builders. While you probably think I have a deep knowledge of these automotive topics, I stole this vinyl top background too from an eBay Motors blog. Odd it has a sunroof in the fake convertible roof. No shame.

You won’t see yourself coming and going on the road in a Buick Lucerne Super – as best I can tell from the Buick forums, there were 20,000 Lucernes sold in 2011, the final year, and less than 10 percent were V-8 Supers. And I can’t imagine too many had the landau roof. Maybe this car appeals to me conceptually as a lazy, comfortable highway cruiser since I’m writing from a hotel room in Chicago, near the end of a 7,000 mile road trip in my S600 – the subject of an upcoming piece. There’s something about a living room on wheels.

For the record, I’m certainly not bad mouthing Buicks (my wife owns and Encore!), and I learned long ago that there is an ardent enthusiast group out there for every single vehicle and SOMEONE wants this car. If that someone is you, this single owner, accident free 2011 Buick Lucerne Super is here in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. And to think you can add MaxCare and protect the car for five more years, and probably another 25-50,000 miles!

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Quick Hit – Handsome 2013 Jaguar XF Supercharged. $24,998

This 2013 Jaguar XF Supercharged unicorn is a really nice all around sleeper. Nice sheet metal, nice wheels, burgundy (not red) paint, and the sleek silver and black interior with the pop up shift knob all suggest an okay sedan from the UK. But under the hood is a pretty powerful 470hp, supercharged 5.0l V-8, and supported by an eight-speed transmission and a 4,100lb weight the car moves to 60mph in about five seconds. Not bad.

The car also has blind spot monitoring, heated steering wheel, air conditioned and heated seats, and a rear view camera. Not at all stripped. There are about a half-dozen comparable supercharged XF’s on Autotrader confirming this isn’t a bad price for one, but this is the only one out there eligible for the MaxCare bumper-to-bumper warranty – a must. The cheapest XF Supercharged I’ve seen with CarMax is a 2009 for $14,998, and the only other one I covered was this 2015 model for $28,998. This 2013 model nicely threads the needle in price, age, and mileage. Find this one-owner, accident free Jaguar here in Tucson, Arizona.

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Quick Hit – Low Mileage 2010 Acura RL $18,998. When Did You See One Last?

Every time I see a second generation Acura RL on the road, which is not often, I’m fascinated that Acura made a car that just didn’t sell in big numbers (the low production NSX notwithstanding). The second-gen RL was the Acura flagship from 2005 to 2012, and sales opened at 17,000 in 2005 and dropped every year – 2,000 2010’s and only 400 2012’s. The 2010 Acura RL listed here sold for maybe $47,000 and included AWD, all wheel steering, and a 300 hp , 3.7L six cylinder motor that Top Speed reviewed and had lots of great technical and engineering things that impressed them that went over my head. Maybe you’ll get it.

The RL also came with Bluetooth, seat heaters, rear sunshade and rear view camera as standard, and a handsome interior. My thinking is the Acura RL is kind of cheating when it comes to unicorns. Not many of them and probably unfamiliar to most folks, so you get some exclusivity and style. It’s a quality car, so probably no need for MaxCare. And with low miles and a low price it’s hard to go wrong on this Acura. No need to go out on a limb as with some of my other recommendations. And just occurred to me in three years this is the first Acura I’ve blogged about! Find this two-owner, accident free car here in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

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Quick Hit – Luxury Commuter Unicorn. 2010 Mercedes S400 Hybrid – $19,998

I used to commute to work on Rt 267 in Virginia, a toll road between Dulles Airport and I-495, the Capital Beltway around Washington DC. The toll road often backs up, but the high-speed, High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes include exemptions for clean energy/hybrids. Always got a kick out of 20 mpg SUV hybrids in those lanes, saving the planet. Now you can too with this flagship Mercedes S400 Hybrid unicorn. Looks the same inside and out as my V-12 S600 (with the exception of no night vision).

The hybrid S400 has a 3.5l V-6 good for 295hp – not a lot and the car isn’t fast, and yet it’s as comfortable and smooth as any other S-Class. This Car and Driver review back in 2010 noted the car was only good for a seven second 0-60mph run. This was the “cheapest” S-Class back in the day at $94,500, and is a real bargain at $19,998. Find it here in Norwood, Massachusetts.

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Quick Hit – Legitimate Unicorn. 2009 Mercedes SL63 AMG for $100,000 Less Than New

Unlike my last couple of posts, about the Kiplingers promo and Labor Day work truck, this one is about a no kidding unicorn. A 2009 Mercedes SL63 AMG selling for only $31,998, and with only 47,000 miles. And of course, an 11 year old European sports car you can protect with MaxCare until it’s a sixteen year old luxury hot rod. The car sold new for over $140,000. That gets you a hand-built 6.3L naturally aspirated V-8 good for 518 hp and a 4.4 second 0-60 mph run. Gets you the facelifted 2009 model that’s pretty darned gorgeous. Gets you a hard top convertible AND a sunroof, and the Mercedes Air Scarf neck warmers for top down driving as fall approaches. Bluetooth, seat heaters, power lift gate, and a Harman Kardon audio system.

The Car and Driver review from 2009 was pretty favorable despite the car’s 4,400 lb bulk. What’s even more fascinating to me is while I’m pleased to see CarMax inventories increasing – up to 54,000 cars today from a springtime pandemic low in the 20,000 range, giving us more unicorns overall, I’m saddened that CarMax is enforcing their model year limits and the older unicorns are truly going extinct. Generally CarMax offers European cars up to 10 years old, and all others up to 12 years old. With 2021’s coming off the line already, there are ZERO 2008 cars for sale by CarMax – even the 2008 Chevrolet HHR SS I covered two weeks ago here is gone.

Tonight there are still 190 vehicles available from 2009, and this Mercedes SL63 is the ONLY European car for sale. Because the car showed up tonight already saved in my profile, it means I’ve seen it before. I suspect it has been on the move being held or transferred and could very well be the last 2009 Eurocar we’ll see? (Just for fun, check out this 2009 Mercedes SL65 AMG CarMax offered just last summer! It was once a $188,000 V-12 beast. But I digress.) Find this 2009 Mercedes SL63 AMG, an accident-free unicorn here, in Gaithersburg, Maryland….only 15 miles from my home. I hope it sells quick.

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Labor Day Truck for the Working Man (and Woman)!

Happy Labor Day. Thought I’d do a quick search of the CarMax inventory for a suitable Labor Day truck. Not quite a unicorn, but of the 200+ pickups that met my search criteria – 4WD, V-8, tow hitch, and American-made – along with my unicorn threshold of 60,000 miles and $35,000 max – this 2015 Ram 1500 Tradesman is my choice. Not just because it has a 375hp, 5.7l V-8, and it’s a single-owner Texas truck, but it’s the ONLY one of the 223 pickups that already has a brush guard on the front! Good for nudging cattle and push starting tractors, and cowboy stuff like that. Still having trouble thinking of Ram as a separate “brand” in the Fiat Chrysler family but it is. If y’all are in need of a good work truck, this one is here in San Antone.

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