Blogging my nationwide hunt for affordable CarMax enthusiast cars. Automotive Unicorns.
One of my CarMax boilerplate searches I saved is for any V10’s that surface. I get alerts occasionally for BMW M5’s and M6’s, but no longer Audi S6’s. Not sure why CarMax no longer carries them but one can hope. Today I got alerts for a pair of ten-year old V10’s. Both are bargains. One is for a ten-year old, 9,000 mile vehicle for $18,998. Sounded like a bargain. Maybe it is. The second is a little more pricey at $28,998 with 45,000 miles. Here you go.
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””
The CarMax Link – 2008 Shelby GT500
The CarMax Link – 2008 Corvette
Ford Mustangs are growing on me. Used to think they were overrated, underpowered and clumsy, and I never really got over how far they had fallen by the 1979 Mustang II. I drove one to the prom. It was a bad night all around. But the 2005 retro Mustang nostalgically took me back to my childhood and 10 years later the sixth generation 2015 Mustang, with a modern independent rear suspension and 435hp really caught my eye with its sleek looks and high performance. Mustangs at CarMax are plentiful – as I write there are 444 on the lots nationwide, and almost half of those are V8’s (and I only count V8’s as real Mustangs). All Mustangs with V8’s are GT’s (well, except Bullitts). The cheapest is $13,599 and 107,000 miles and the most expensive 2017 Shelby GT350 with 1,000 miles will set you back $59,998. These are not unicorns.
But these Mustangs are. Let’s take a quick walk around the stable with these two relatively normal Mustang unicorns. At the bottom end we have a 2006 Mustang GT convertible, with only 40,000 miles and a price tag of $15,998. Cute car, 300hp, and a five second 0-60 run. I drove one recently and was surprised that with “only” 300hp it roared and scooted well. I thought it was going to be a dog but found it satisfactory, despite the solid axle I thought was made of wood. Pretty sure you can score another five years, 60,000-85,000 mile MaxCare warranty for a few thousand and be out the door for under $20k. You’ll almost be able to get vintage tags and still be under the MaxCare warranty!
And to show that not all my unicorns are old, at the top end we have a 2015 435hp beast with only 15,000 miles at $26,998. This one is still under factory warranty and so the MaxCare plan will be less. With a 0-60 of 4.4 seconds this stirs my soul. These Mustang GT’s sold for $35-45,000 just two years ago, so $27k seems like a good deal but not the $100,000 discount I look for in my German cars. But the 2015’s and up have an extensive array of technology and amenity upgrades that surprised me. For the same price as a 2015 Mustang GT you can buy a five to seven-year older Corvette, with better performance, more panache, but dated interior. It’s a real tough call. Check out this review: