Was surprised to find this 2008 Corvette with only 2,000 miles TOTAL. I normally get excited about 10-year-old cars with 3,000 miles per year, 30,000 total as unicorns so this got my attention. I also don’t normally post until the photos are online but I’d be surprised if this one doesn’t sell this weekend so didn’t want to wait. The CarMax website still has the “Image Coming Soon” display so I borrowed a photo of a 2008 Corvette for comparison. I became a Corvette fan years and years ago watching them race (and win!) at Le Mans. With all the little turbos in the Ferraris and the clatter of the 911’s, I giggled every single time the Corvette V8’s thundered by. Had always thought they were low-budget sports cars until I watched them win at Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona. But try as I might, I can’t fit into them. Even less room than Etta, my 2008 911. Anyway, find this 2008 Corvette in Atlanta – if the link is dead the car is being transferred, or sold/on hold. With this low mileage I might even pass on the MaxCare Enjoy.
Badass Blazer….But High-Mileage. 2006 TrailBlazer SS for $15,998 in Newark
We had an inch of snow so for fun went looking for some trucks. This one’s only 2WD but has the 6.0 liter 395hp motor and a cheap price. With 108k miles (violates my unicorn policy) you can still get five years, and another 42,000 miles of MaxCare coverage – not bad for a 12 year old truck? The link is here. Continue reading “Badass Blazer….But High-Mileage. 2006 TrailBlazer SS for $15,998 in Newark”
The $577 Million Car Loan and Other Fascinating CarMax “Analytics”
The CarMax nationwide inventory jumped from just over 40,000 cars in the summer of 2017 to over 73,000 today. That’s the highest it’s been since I started tracking CarMax unicorns a year ago and it got me pondering on all things cosmic CarMax. For example, that 33,000 plus-up in stock equals a staggering $577 million* investment in cars in just a few months. I’m thinking like you and me, CarMax didn’t pay cash and owed somebody a helluva lot of money. You think they get dealer financing? I’m thinking CarMax needs to move some cars and hoping there are more unicorns and lower prices!
*The average CarMax vehicle sells for $19,677 with a gross profit of $2,178, indicating a rough guess each car costing CarMax $17,489. See “CarMax Reports Second Quarter Results, September 22, 2017″.
So I decided to do my own homemade “analytics” and dive deeper on what makes up an inventory of 73,000 cars. CarMax knows what they’re doing, and I suspect their inventory largely reflects what America wants in a car. So here’s what I learned. Continue reading “The $577 Million Car Loan and Other Fascinating CarMax “Analytics””
Five Quick Hits! BMW 650, CTS V, MX-5, Shelby, and a Corvette.
The CarMax Link – 2008 Shelby GT500
The CarMax Link – 2008 Corvette
First Five Fabulous Unicorns
I have a couple of dozen (about 50 really) CarMax unicorns tagged but wanted to open with a sampling of what’s on the lot today. Again, my bar is $35,000 or less, 60,000 miles or less, an enthusiast car, and relatively exclusive. Your standards may vary. So here they are in no particular order:
2007 Mercedes CL550 – The “big coupe” from Mercedes – the two door version of the S-class, originally a $100,000 car. You can read the review from the link below. It’s the third generation CL and has everything a top of the line Mercedes should have – in 2007. What I like? It’s big, exclusive, comfortable, well-appointed with Distronic auto cruise control, cheap, low miles (driven only 3,400 miles yearly), and you can get a warranty for the next five years. I like that with only 34,000 miles CarMax will likely give an affordable warranty to 75,000 miles – but I would take all they offer that I could afford. What I don’t like? No bluetooth. Ad says rear view camera but I doubt it – CarMax photo spread almost always shows a shot of the rear view camera in action if it has one. Rear view photo of the car doesn’t show one. I don’t like less than 400hp but 382 ain’t bad. I also don’t like that this car is not transferable and is 3,000 miles away from me. I would give it serious consideration. I’ll bet it’s gone in days, although there’s also a 2009 CL550 on the lot at $32,998 that hasn’t moved in a week. We shall see!
2011 BMW M3 – The “benchmark” sport coupe per the review below, and the best everyday sports car I can imagine. I’ve owned a 3-series. Everything is in the right place. M3’s are tough to find in my unicorn category. Once a $70,000 car, most are close to the $35,000 unicorn limit, have 70-80,000 miles on them and are 8-10 years old. I have a hard time paying that much for that old with that mileage. So I like the balance of price and mileage here. I like the SMG transmission and 400hp. I’m not a big fan of the hard top convertible only because I own a convertible. Otherwise it’s the best of both worlds. Don’t know why, but the hard top convertibles sell at a discount over the hard top coupes. If you like these then you’re in luck! A little short on amenities but you can’t have a bad day in an M3.