Blogging my nationwide hunt for affordable CarMax enthusiast cars. Automotive Unicorns.
Happy Thanksgiving to the CarMax Unicorn Blog readers. Grateful you indulge my car hobby. Just for fun, the link to my CarMax Thanksgiving essay from 2018 is below. Helluva lotta work went into it so will just provide the link. Writing a ten car piece today and still need to gorge on football and turkey. Enjoy the day – Chuck.
The Short Version: No decision after driving the 2010 Mercedes S65 yesterday and a 2012 Audi A8 W12 stand in last week. The S65 remains on hold through Sunday 10/25 when I gotta make the call and probably move on. Sigh. The longer version below includes TWO more Mercedes V-12’s that have surfaced since I posted this dilemma two weeks ago bringing the CarMax V-12 inventory to four. Ugh.
After a thoroughly confusing week trying to sort out what car, if any, I wanted, it’s come down to do I want this S65 or not? I drove it on the same roads I travel in the S600 on a regular basis, and honestly it wasn’t all that different. Starting the car makes a nice rumble and roar (WordPress won’t let me upload the video of gunning it in my garage) but cruising at 70-80 mph the engine was only slightly audible. My worries to date had been that perhaps I’ve gotten spoiled by the tomb-like S600 and the S65 would be annoyingly loud. Not at all. What I could hear more than anything was tire noise. The S65 has hard summer tires, and last year I mounted ultra-quiet all season tires on the S600. I suspect I could do the same on the S65, but that would diminish the performance vibe of the S65.
Riding in the S65, everything was familiar given the identical setup as the S600. The seats have a different pattern and the speedo dials to 220mph vs 160 in my S600. What attracted me to the 2010 Mercedes S65 was three attributes; it’s a 604 hp V-12, the car cost over $200,000 new (I am that vain), and it only has 35,000 miles on it – half what I have on the S600 and an opportunity to reset the clock with MaxCare.
What’s driving me to probably pass on the 2010 Mercedes S65 is nothing more than it is just too similar to what I have. Also, after checking the few comps on Autotrader, I’m guessing it’s a $20,000 gap between what I can sell the S600 for, and the $36,998 purchase price of the S65 plus taxes and MaxCare. (Now if one of you want to offer me $36,998 for the S600 I’d be up for revisiting that.) I still have 40 months and 54,000 miles of MaxCare on the S600 and perhaps will drive it another two years before putting it up for sale. Time will tell. Should I pass on the S65 there’s one reader out there who already wants to transfer it his way. Would make me happy to keep it in the unicorn family.
But what about the 2012 Audi A8 L W12 that was offered here in Puyallup, you ask? Well first, it’s currently unavailable as I botched extending it and someone else has it on hold or bought it. I had it reserved under another name, extended it once, and could not extend it a second time. I was deeply disappointed as there’s another reader who wanted this car if I didn’t buy it and I let him down. I hope it comes back on the market. I found in Philadelphia a nearly identical W12 at a Porsche dealer and traveled there last Friday – a lot closer to Virginia than Puyallup. I drove the Audi A8 W12 in the rain around the Philly suburbs and the car was wonderful, but again strikingly similar to the S600 experience I already have.
The selling points for the 2012 Audi A8 W12 at CarMax Puyallup were the back seat, the ultra low mileage at 15,000, the $36,000 price, and the exclusivity and sophistication of the W12 motor. It really is a tremendous motor. Smooth as silk. Quiet as a deaf man in an empty church. I stole that from someone and hope it’s not offensive. I plan to drive my wife and daughter to Florida for Christmas break and had visions of them watching movies in the back seat of the Audi while I motored south in peace.
But as with the S65, I just can’t see laying out a lotta cash to migrate from the S600 to the A8, even though it would be resetting my five year Maxcare plan. If I didn’t own an S600 it would be a no brainer to buy either the S65 or the A8 W12. They are both wonderful cars – one more brawny but not overly so, and the other far more sophisticated. Both felt nearly identical in performance and ride as my S600.
And then there’s this very special 2015 Mercedes S65 Coupe that came on line in California while I’ve been sorting out my V-12 options. A reader put it on hold for me as a continency, since he knew all about the nearly identical car I had on hold last year but lost when CarMax mistakenly sold it to someone else. (The best they could do as compensation was to offer me one free transfer, which I used on the 2010 S65.) Anyway, this car is still available as of this writing so here’s the link if you’re interested. This coupe is available for $84,998. It sold new for probably more than $225,000. It’s a rare, high-performance coupe with 621 hp. It’s fully loaded and I still can’t get over the heated arm rests. I gotta have those.
Only two things keep me from buying this car. One is the price tag. Perhaps I could sell both my 911 and S600 and make this my daily driver (I’d have to add a $50,000 loan!) but with Maxcare and taxes probably looking at the high $90,000 mark. At that price I lose the unicorn bargain mantle. I’d also start being the guy that parks at the far end of the Walmart lot so no one dings my car, and I don’t want to be that guy. I’m too lazy to walk that far. Second, while car critics gush over the looks I find Mercedes coupes look way too similar – the C-coupe, E-coupe, and S-coupe (to me) share the same lines. Why can’t I get the S-class interior in the AMG GT?
Was thumbing through the reservation I have on the 2010 Mercedes S65 and stumbled on what appears to be a new capability to access MaxCare selections and pricing right from the CarMax website. Previously the MaxCare tab only described the warranty program in general, and to get the specific mileage, deductible, and pricing menu on a specific car I had to call a sales rep and ask for a screen shot of the menu only he or she could see. Looks like this direct access is only available after putting a car on hold and booking an appointment time. Still another arrow in the quiver when hunting unicorns! Here’s the results for the S65.
Hope you all got a bit of a break this Columbus Day. Sadly there just aren’t any good Italian cars available at CarMax to make this post meaty. Guess they know better than to sell the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio – a truly hot car and unreliable car that would bankrupt MaxCare. The Fiat 124 Spider is made in Japan, and the 500 Abarth in Mexico. But the Jeep Renegade is made in Italy, so there’s that. Enjoy!
When it rains it pours. Eagle eyed blog reader Mustafa brought this rare as hell Audi W12 to my attention. He has one. I want one. It’s reserved (sort of) for me. Now I’ve got to choose between the Mercedes S600 I own, the Mercedes S65 being transferred in for me, and the Audi A8 W12 on hold. Good problem to have but even more stuck.
Mustafa has shared with me the engineering marvel that is the W12. A high tech pair of V-6’s is how I understand it. It’s a good 500 hp from a normally aspirated 6.3l motor.
Creature comforts in the A8 are probably better than the other cars. This one is not as fully outfitted as It could be (no Exclusive package) but it ain’t stripped. But as with the other cars it’s often just me driving solo in these. My S600 is my “company” car.
So here’s where we are: 2010 Mercedes S600 I own is paid off, and with 71,000 miles I have another 40 months and 54,000 miles of MaxCare. It’s speedy and serene. The S65 is a 600hp speed racer version of my car. It once cost over $200,000, and that intrigued me somehow. Also only 35,000 miles, so I can reset with MaxCare for another five years and 90,000 miles. But the A8 W12 is even more rare, more quiet, and has an accident free 15,000 miles on it. I dig that luxury back seat and I’ve never owned an Audi. And I can reset MaxCare to five years and probably 110,000 miles! But the transfer fee is $2,000. Ugh. All three cars have significantly different V-12’s but are almost the same in speed – the “lightweight” all aluminum Audi makes up for lack of torque with weight savings. Will probably transfer it in. Would be a dream to have all three side by side for a drive! For what it’s worth the S65 and A8 are about the same price – $35k or so.
Saw this $86,000 Mustang show up today and wondered at the price. Googled it and sure enough it’s a 760hp exotic Mustang GT500. That’s Hellcat territory. Just days after I brag about the 662hp 2014 Shelby GT500 being the most horsepower you can buy from CarMax!
The car sold new at $81,000 if its a base model or $95,000 if its a CFTP (carbon fiber track pack). I can’t tell. But it’s $86k now. Here’s the gushing Car and Driver review where they tried hard to tame the wheel spin to get a 3.7 sec 0-60 run. The car is here in Gainesville Florida.
Surprised as hell to be approached by Kiplinger writer David Muhlbaum for a photo of one of my unicorns for use with his August newsletter piece, “How to Save on a Used Car;
Tips and techniques that can help you save money when shopping for a used car”. We are tip number four of eight – it’s the theme of Get an Extended Warranty When Buying a Used Luxury Car – what we here call driving rich and shift the repair risk to CarMax via MaxCare. Many thanks to David for the free press! And the red 911 is not yet my unicorn, but today I arranged for its transfer from Connecticut to Virginia. It may be soon! Means Etta may be on the market in October.
* It was one of Wilde’s.
Thumbing through the cars saved to my profile and a few that just surfaced today, and came up with this quick list of interesting, odd, or special unicorns. Not necessarily all cars I would own, but they are peculiar finds that coupled with a MaxCare warranty could be something different. Here we go.
I was surprised to see this bargain 2010 Mercedes S550 for $23,998. Same body style as my 2010 S600, not as much horsepower at only 382, but it is “4Matic” four wheel drive – and those four wheels look to have some cool aftermarket rims. Beautiful single-owner, low-mileage Oklahoma car found here in Colorado Springs. Great opportunity to “drive rich”!
Continue reading “Quick Hits – 11 Peculiar Finds (10 of Them Bargains)”
Have never seen a Jaguar V8 this cheap on the CarMax website. If you like an XF, even with only 380hp, and you like a bargain, this one’s for you. Obviously a MaxCare candidate but probably out the door with a recent British sedan with a warranty for $15,000. Find it here in Las Vegas.
