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

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Zombie Unicorns – Back From The Dead 2011 E63

IMG_0694This 2011 Mercedes E63 unicorn popped up in my search already bookmarked – meaning I had tagged it once before in my saved cars. Sure enough a good four months ago I recommended this to a reader but it disappeared from the web before he could see it. Not sure where it’s been and why, but it’s here in Illinois. 

I love a “cheap” E63, with the gnarly, handmade 6.3l, 518hp V-8, and actually bought one two years ago (see the whole sorry saga here). Unfortunately I love my V-12 S600, too, but at times I don’t love the bulk of my big car and think an E63 (or CL65?!) would be more practical. Wouldn’t own either one without MaxCare! This is a three owner Florida car with decent miles that’s made its way to Illinois. Enjoy.

2011 Mercedes E63 $32,998 54k Glencoe, ILL

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Quick Hit – Nice $26k CL550

Not a lotta Mercedes CL’s out there so this relatively cheap one caught my attention. The coupe version of the S-class is well appointed with AWD, heated steering wheel, night vision – all the necessary stuff for a luxury cruiser.It’s a five owner east coast car. It only has the 382hp V-8, though, but it’s $10,000 cheaper than this 2013 in Georgia – a nicer, more powerful car that started at $40k months ago and has inexplicably dropped to $36,998 and still not sold. Find the 2010 CL550 here in Frederick, Maryland.

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Quick Hit – Fastest (Rare) Wagon Ever? – 2018 Mercedes E63 S for $92k

E63CarMax had a Mercedes E63 wagon for sale last month for $70,000 or so that came and went so fast I couldn’t write about it.  This 2018 E63 S is a bit more pricey at $91,998 and fortunately (for me) it’s lingered for a week or so.  This wagon is spectacular on every level.  Twin turbo 4.0 liter V-8 pumps out 603hp, nine speed automatic, good for a 3 second 0-60 mph time and a 180mph top speed.  All wheel drive. Distronic auto cruise control.  Automated parking.  I could go on and on.

Only a couple of hundred make it to the US.  Here’s the gushing Car and Driver review.  Or the equally exceptional Jalopnik review.  Everybody loves this car.  It’s a single owner car, still under manufacturer warranty, so not sure I’d spring for MaxCare.  It sold for maybe $130-140,000 last year and is now available for $91,998 here in Los Angeles. 2018 E63S $91998 15k LA

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Quick Hit – 2008 Jeep Wrangler X Driven 10 Miles PER WEEK!

Jeep SideI’ve driven a Jeep off road (tons of fun) and on the highway (lotta noise) and not really for me.  But for a brand that has survived being owned by American Motors, Chrysler, Daimlier, Fiat, and maybe Renault next, and a World War, it must have something going for it.  Was surprised to find this 11 year old, lovely yellow, 2008 Jeep Wrangler X unicorn sporting less than 6,000 miles on the CarMax website today.  That’s 10 miles per week of driving!! But here’s the downside; per this Car and Driver review from 2008, it looks like this car is actually listing at CarMax for the same price as when it was new!

It’s a manual transmission, six cylinder legit Jeep.  With a bad ass subwoofer.  Surprised this little box weighs in at 4,200 pounds.  But it’s a real Jeep.  And with these miles, you could buy the MaxCare warranty for up to 150,000 miles.  Think about it – you could drive five more years, almost 30,000 miles a year, worry free with a bumper-to-bumper warranty.  That would be a rough 30,000 miles of highway driving annually!   Find it here in Los Angeles. 2008 Jeep Wrangler X $21,998 6k LA

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Quick Hit – One of 500 in US: 2012 Mini Cooper John Cooper Works GP

Mini sideEagle-eyed blog reader Hans Mertens, owner of a first generation 2006 GP1, sent me this unicorn.  Had no idea the GP package was something special for the diminutive hot hatch, but read this Car and Driver review that echoed Mr. Mertens enthusiasm for the track package that turns the Mini into a street-legal race car.  Not terribly fast – only a handful more horsepower, but handles like hell.

Among the many suspension tweaks, the car is lowered, with six piston brakes vice four on a normal Mini Cooper John Cooper Works, diffuser, wing, and a cool brace in the rear hatch that I thought was for hanging suits and shirts for an I-95 trip to Florida.

Car and Driver moaned about the high purchase price (about $40,000 new) but you can have it for half that at $19,998 here in Los Angeles, California, and be one of 500 owners in the US!  It’s non-transferrable, but select CarMax locations can override that (my guy Si Sultan here at Dulles is one of them!). 2013 Mini Cooper John Cooper Works GP

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Bullitt Update – Another One at 50% More!

New BullittPosted the 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt selling for $15,998 – way underpriced – with only 23,000 miles last month here.  It was in Louisville, Kentucky.  It’s on the left below.  Today an almost identical 2009 Ford Mustang Bullitt showed up in Greensboro, North Carolina for $22,998 – 24,000 miles.  I knew the first one was a bargain!  It’s on the right below. I so need a reader to partner with me to flip unicorns when CarMax gets the prices wrong.  Second time I’ve seen a Bullitt for thousands under market price, and there have been others.   Sigh.  Find this Bullitt here – not as good a deal but still a nice retro Mustang. Pair of Bullitts

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One of 334 (in silver) ….or 1,829 – 2009 Pontiac (Holden) G8 GXP

gxp sideUnderstand GM only imported 1,829 of these Holden Commodore based Pontiac unicorns for two years (and 334 in silver!), and while the 410hp V8’s are impressive, wondering why they hold their value so damned well.  The 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP sold for just over $44,000 ten years ago, and this one is selling for $26,998 – they are usually in the $28-29k range on CarMax.  Even more puzzling, for just a few thousand more you could buy this 2014 Chevrolet SS, which is to me a nicer, newer, Australian equivalent.

Hoping readers can educate me on what makes the GXP so special – perhaps it’s that Continue reading “One of 334 (in silver) ….or 1,829 – 2009 Pontiac (Holden) G8 GXP”

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A Sad Record Setting Jaguar Journey – Unloved XJ8 Wandering Out West

xj8 34Wrote about this 2009 Jaguar XJ8 L unicorn a year ago almost to the day in this post.  It was in Fort Myers, Florida, selling for $18,998 with 58,000 miles.  Of the 200 cars I’m tracking in my CarMax profile, this one has been in the bin the longest.  By miles.  Literally.  Was surprised to see it turn up this week 3,000 miles away in Fairfield, California, halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento, and the home of Travis Air Force Base and the Jelly Belly headquarters (those are two separate factoids).JourneyI mistakenly wrote in August 2018 that it had sold, since it vanished from the net for so long but it had not.  Oddly, in one year there’s been no price reduction, despite possibly Continue reading “A Sad Record Setting Jaguar Journey – Unloved XJ8 Wandering Out West”

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Bargain Bullitt – 1 of 1,400 and Will Be Gone By The Weekend

New Bullitt

Old BullittThe 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt unicorn below popped up today in Georgia.  Too new to have photos on the web yet so added a file photo.  The attraction of this car is the stupid low miles, not to mention it is one of 1,400 made in 2008 and pretty damned cool.  Here’s the last one that I covered from CarMax that was quite high-mileage, and a few more I found here with low miles and price tags north of $20,000.   Saw one with 4,000 go for $22,998 at CarMax.  However……check out the disclaimer below on the CarMax vehicle history page.   I have no idea what that means but maybe that’s why this Bullitt is a bargain?    Here’s a pretty favorable review from Road and Track back in the day.  Maybe you already bought a 2019 model – add an older one to your collection!  Add a cheap five year, 125,000 mile MaxCare bumper to bumper warranty and drive the snot out of the car.  Find this Bullitt here in Norcross, Georgia.  If the link is broken it’s sold, on hold, or being transferred.  Will add photos when they pop.2008 Ford Bullitt

Bullitt Disclaimer

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The CarMax 600hp Club – 19 Hot Rod Unicorns

Corvette front

The Trump administration and the Iranians are circling once again and oil prices are skyrocketing – what better time to pick up a bargain 600 hp unicorn before they become extinct!  And CarMax has 19 of these high-horsepower bad boys on lots nationwide.  Almost all of them are General Motors products, with one Audi and one BMW from our (for now) European ally, the Germans.  Been watching, and (surprise) no Hellcats have made it to CarMax, and Ford isn’t making a Mustang that bucks 600.  So here’s what we have today (CarMax listings at the bottom).

M760 SideThe lone BMW M760 is a beautiful, big sedan that squeaks in at 601hp from a 6.6 liter twin-turbo V-12.  This is the motor Rolls Royce uses in the Ghost and Wraith, I’ve learned.  If you’ve been here before, you know I have a thing for V-12’s.  (Check out my S600 with a measley 510hp here.)

This 2017 BMW M760 has only 14,000 miles, and is loaded with AWD, auto cruise control, and a business class backseat – at 206″ long it’s almost business jet sized – and tops the price list today at $97,998.  According to this Motor Trend reveiw the M760 once sold for maybe $170,000.  It’s a one-owner car still under dealer warranty (buy the MaxCare Continue reading “The CarMax 600hp Club – 19 Hot Rod Unicorns”

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