Writing this post for my new friends at the Facebook page “Obscure Cars For Sale 2.0” who think like me. There are unusual cars out there that somebody loves. Here’s my first five CarMax “unicorns” aka Obscure Cars for Sale. I hope you enjoy them.
The only think obscure about this 2006 Mustang GT is the crazy low miles – 7,000! It’s brand new inside and out, and priced the same as a Honda Civic and way more fun. Throw in a MaxCare warranty for about $2,000 and you can drive this car until 2023 – when it’s 17 years old – and another 143,000 miles without a repair bill. It’s a 300hp V-8 in Cincinnati. Love it. Here’s the link to the CarMax ad. If it’s dead the car is either sold, on hold, or in transit to another dealer. I’ll keep tracking it.
It’s cute as a button, German, cheap, and has a convertible hard top. But this little guy has the underappreciated VW-Audi 3.2 liter six-cylinder pumping out 250 hp. It also has a DSG transmission. What’s that you ask? It’s a Direct Shift Gearbox, an electronically controlled dual clutch automatic designed by Porsche that snap shifts stupid fast.
This is a sleeper version of a Golf-R32. Find this one-owner VW in Naperville, Ill and the CarMax page here.
Continue reading “Five Obscure Unicorns for $10-$24k……. or Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder?”
With every car I don’t buy I get smarter on this whole process. Or maybe dumber. Eventually I’m going to score a Porsche for the price of a Pinto, or I’ll give up and buy a minivan. Writing from a hotel room north of Raleigh, where I went to see this 2011 Jaguar XK. Not an XKR, but at $26,998 and only 34,000 miles I thought it might be the bucket list Jaguar for me without spending too much. I had set aside my pursuit of the Mercedes S600 (for now), thinking I can always buy a big sedan, but my knees and back are suggesting time is short for a sports car.
I thought the Jaguar looked vaguely familiar, a lot like the one I saw briefly in Baltimore last summer and was aghast at the pock-marked front fascia and more than a few touch up paint blemishes on the driver side. It was an XK that looked like it was half-way through puberty. But I never made an appointment to see it in Baltimore, just stopped by and eye-balled it, and couldn’t find the original ad. So I asked the young sales rep in Raleigh if this could be the same car. He sent me photos, and sure enough, the front end was clean and I hatched a plan to go see it. 
I just passed on the $23,998 2007 M6 above with 44,000 miles and wondering if I blew it. Not often you get a chance at a 
At the low end is this 2007 E550 with only 23,000 miles in Florida. Something about the softer lines of the W211 that appeal to me. Adjustable suspension, heated and air conditioned seats, but no Bluetooth or rear view camera. Add a 100,000 mile warranty and you’ve got the basics of a daily driver for years to come and at $20,998 seems cheap. Surprised it has lasted a week on the lot.
This Oregon car is still on the lot as of late August 2017. I can’t find anything visually wrong although with 55,000 miles it’s at the high end for a unicorn. I have the luxury of a free long term temporary car while I search for my next unicorn. If I didn’t have that I’d buy this as a stopgap daily driver until I found something more special. Also a great car for a college kid – with MaxCare no repairs.