Where Are All The Cars Max? All Time Low Inventory (And Two Porsche Test Drives)

March 22, 2021March 22, 2021

Where Are All The Cars Max? All Time Low Inventory (And Two Porsche Test Drives)

I’m curious what’s going on with CarMax inventory this month. I’ve not seen numbers this low even during the depths of Covid. I’ve written here and here, with the point being inventory tends to beef up before the end of the fiscal year (theirs ends in February) and drops off by fall. I’ve seen them carry over 70,000 cars nationwide and drop to 40,000. But 23,000?! This while industry analysts say used car prices are wildly increasing? I have no idea why – perhaps that’s why I just buy ’em and drive ’em and leave the thinking to others. I went in to my CarMax at Dulles in Northern Virginia to pick up a 911 for a test drive (below) and this was my view when wandering the lot.

Sales lot as gapped as an Appalachian kid’s mouth.

What I do know is that it’s still a hoot to be looking for my next unicorn. Yes, my plan remains to buy an enthusiast SUV first, then figure out what comes next, and yet when a decent 911 shows up I gotta try. This one popped up at my Dulles dealer at a reasonable price, albeit for a one (minor) accident car. CarMax now offers a TruFrame (I think) independent (I hope) report on cars with a reported accident that should give us confidence the car isn’t twisted. The real reason I wanted to drive this car is that I was persuaded the 991 (2013-2019) Porsche 911’s drove far more comfortably than my 2008 911 based on a test drive months ago, and I needed to revalidate that.

The short answer is yes…and no. When I dialed in all the most comfortable settings and drove like a commuter, the car was fairly civilized to drive. A little road noise from the summer tires but not bad. The problem was I kept choosing the most aggressive settings and wailing loudly down the exit ramps. The car is a beast. I loved it. And here’s the kicker. When I dropped off a book at the library for my wife, a beautiful young lady in leggings spotted me taking the selfie above and shouted “I think you should buy it!”. She was quite persuasive. I also just completed my latest 7,000 mile cross country drive (in the S600 – story for another day) and once west of the east coast I saw maybe two 911’s the whole trip. The car seems common in Northern Virginia and rare elsewhere. What to do? For the record, not one young lady gave my S600 a shout out. And for what it’s worth, as I’ve mentioned before now when you reserve a car for a test drive CarMax lets you add your intentions for trade in, financing, and best of all, MaxCare options. Allowed me to see what MaxCare would cost without begging a sales rep for a screen shot.

Let’s ignore that I seem to be wearing the same clothes in every CarMax selfie. I took this Macan Turbo home for a 24 hour test drive to get my wife’s take on whether it would be right for our “family” compact SUV. By “family” SUV I mean mostly mine, but one she would be comfortable co-driving on a family trip or taking to work when her potato Buick Encore is in the shop. She refused to drive my S600, my 911, or other wacky cars I bring home.

I really, really wanted to like the Macan, mostly because the Turbo has almost 40 hp more than the other baby SUV’s in the hunt. Yes, I dig the PDK transmission and matching rev downshifts that make me giggle. But two things ruled this car out. One is there is no smart key on the Macan. Seems silly but I’ve been ruined by my Mercedes and just don’t have the energy anymore to put a key in the dash and turn to start. The second was this goofy rear view mirror. I’m 6’4″ and the driver’s seat is always all the way back. No problem – plenty of legroom. But the mirror doesn’t accommodate tall people. Set at its widest angle, I got only a good view of the Macan haunches. Drove me nuts. What’s left?

The Mercedes GLC43 AMG next to my S600 in Boise.

To recap, the four compact enthusiast SUV’s we are considering are the Porsche Macan Turbo (fourth place) Audi SQ5 (third place), the BMW X3 M40i (second place), and the Mercedes GLC43 AMG (first place but haven’t taken one home for the wife to drive). I drove a rental GLC300 from Virginia to Kansas two years ago and it was pretty good. On my cross country drive to Portland I stopped by the Boise CarMax and drove the only fully equipped GLC43 CarMax has nationwide and absolutely loved it. We’ll ignore that I pulled on the lever to drop the second row seat backs flat, and on a whim wondered if I pushed on the button the seat backs would raise – instead the button broke off and disappeared in the wheel well. I’m sure that can be fixed. I would buy the GLC43 tomorrow but feel no need to pay the almost $2,000 transfer fee to the east coast. Will sit tight and see if one shows up closer to home. But I did shoot this downshifting shot and I gotta ask, for those of you who have rev matching automatics….does it ever get old? I so hope the wife likes a GLC! Then the hunt for my next true unicorn begins in earnest.

March 20, 2021March 20, 2021

Five (Sorta) of 1,500 – Five of the First 1,500 Launch Edition 2020 Toyota Supras

CarMax has a knack for poaching limited edition, low production, and ultra low mileage cars, and it looks like the accumulation of scarfed up first run Supras is no accident. CarMax currently has five of them – two for sale and three on hold or being transferred. Five of the 10 Supras CarMax has overall are Launch Editions. The first 1,500 Toyota Supras offered when the iconic model was reintroduced in 2020 were tagged as “Launch Editions”. The cars got a carbon fiber panel with the numeric designation on the dash, but other than some unique visual changes insie and out the car is the same as all of the other Supras. The first Launch Edition off the line, obviously #1 of 1,500, auctioned for $1.2 million as a charity donation. Toyota sold less than 6,000 2020 Supras of all kinds, so not a lotta them out there anyway.

The Toyota Supra Launch Editions in red and white exteriors have red interiors you can’t get in other Supras (thank God!) and the black models come with black interiors. All five of the Launch Edition models CarMax snagged have the optional adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, parking sensors, and rear-collision warning – an additional $1,195 over the $56,180 purchase price per Car and Driver – bringing the original sales price of these models to $57,373. The five CarMax models are selling from $52-54k, not much off of the original price. They also have less than 1,000 miles on the Serramonte, California, to just under 8,000 miles in Richmond, Virginia. Damned near new. No need for MaxCare!

Collectibles? Maybe. Maybe not. The Toyota-BMW partnership, and the availability of a higher horsepower BMW Z4 M40i for about the same price (used, from CarMax) dilutes, to me, the specialness of the new Supra. But if you liked the original classic and want a second chance at being one of the first to buy a 2020 Supra – and want a plaque on the dash that says so, perhaps you’ll appreciate these. FWIW – in 3 1/2 years this is the first Toyota unicorn I’ve blogged about!

The Toyota Supra, of course, is powered by the BMW 3.0 liter inline six good for 335 hp – 20hp more than the last generation Supra, mated to an eight-speed transmission, that pushes the 3,300 lb sports car to a 3.9 second 0-60 mph run. That’s about the same as a base Porsche 911 costing twice as much.

The cars. If you have better eyes than me, or can zoom in better, you might have a better take on the limited edition numbers. I also have the prices because all of them were saved to my profile when available. On any given day availability changes – the Harrisonburg, Virginia car became showed up again as available while I was writing this (it’s been on and off the market for awhile). Here’s what I got:

Stock Number: 19181452

Price/Mileage: $51,998 / Less than 6,000 miles.

Possible Number: 708 of 1,500

Current Location: Harrisonburg, Virginia

Link: https://www.carmax.com/car/19181452

Stock Number: 20355149

Price/Mileage: $52,998 / Less than 8,000 miles.

Possible Number: 452 of 1,500 (or 652?)

Current Location: West Broad (Richmond), Virginia

Link: https://www.carmax.com/car/20355149

Stock Number: 19978108

Price/Mileage: $52,998 / Less than 1,000 miles.

Number: 1,489 of 1,500

Current Location: Serramonte, California

Link: https://www.carmax.com/car/19978108

Stock Number: 20088576

Price/Mileage: $51,998 / Less than 1,000 miles.

Number: 276 of 1,500 (who the hell knows?)

Current Location: Torrence, California

Link: https://www.carmax.com/car/20088576

Stock Number: 20156712

Price/Mileage: $53,998 / Less than 3,000 miles.

Number: 454 of 1,500

Current Location: Augusta, Georgia.

Link: https://www.carmax.com/car/20156712

If you hung in there all the way here – thanks for reading!

March 15, 2021March 15, 2021

Quick Hit – Ten Year Old 482 Mile Honda CRV (And an S600 Road Trip Update)

Certainly not a performance or enthusiast unicorn, but peculiar nonetheless. A 2011 Honda CRV LX with a ridiculous 482 miles on the odometer. The $18k price tag for a pretty base model makes it not so much a bargain as a museum piece. Begs the question…where has this cute ute been for the last 10 years? I might pass on MaxCare for this one.

Looks brand new. CarMax has it listed in the “less than 1K miles” category and had to zoom in on the dash to see the actual miles. Cloth seats. CD player. Not even Bluetooth?

Has it even had an oil change?! I know folks appropriately caution that old cars with low miles do not necessarily mean it’s in great shape – rubber pieces deteriorate over time. The 2.4 liter four cylinder puts out a respectable 180 hp. Only 2WD though. It’s a one owner (of course) California car found here in Duarte. Enjoy.

March 3, 2021March 3, 2021

Quick Hit – They’re Back! Teslas at CarMax.

As called by my bud at CarMax Teslas are back on the CarMax used car unicorn lot. Gave a heads up in this post in February and the first one showed up this week. As background, I posted about Teslas and CarMax in 2018 here but they vanished for a few years. In 2018 they were offered in California only and should be available nationwide soon. Thanks to reader Cannon for alerting me to this one while I’m driving cross country! (Update below.)

The Tesla dash was once space age, but with everyone bolting iPads to the dash not so much anymore.

I wanted to make some funny ha-ha joke about what’s under the hood of a Tesla, but it looks a lot like my 911.

I honestly don’t know what to write about Teslas. It’s electric? I’m the guy who writes way too much about V-8’s and owns a V-12. Gas powered cars will sunset about the same time I do. Clearly they are the future. I’m hoping to get details on MaxCare options for this Tesla soon. For now, find this one owner, accident free car here in Palmdale, California.

March 1, 2021March 1, 2021

Quick Hit – This Spud’s for You! Nice White CLS550 in Boise for $19,998

Interrupting my drive west (see below!) to bring you another “shooting brake” unicorn courtesy of CarMax! Nearly identical to the 2011 model found here in November – same price, almost same mileage. But this one’s a 2010, and still amazes me that bumper to bumper MaxCare coverage is still a bargain for an 11 year old Mercedes. It’ll be 16 years old before it runs out of warranty.

The interior of this four door “coupe” is stylish for its day and seats just four. Not for everyone. It has a Harman Kardon audio system, Bluetooth, adjustable suspension, sunroof….and not much else. Pretty basic as Mercedes go, and yet it’s got more charm than a basic family sedan. Plus it’s got a 382 hp 5.5 liter Mercedes V8 that’ll do sub-5 second 0-60 mph and run forever. Once a $70,000 car this single owner, low mileage, accident free Idaho car is still a bargain at $19,998. It’s here in Boise.

February 28, 2021February 28, 2021

Quick Hit – 1 of 62! 2018 Cadillac ATS-V Manual Transmission Sedan. (And Bonus Heads Up – S600 Cross Country Trip Starts 3/1)

Last spring I covered not one but two of 89 2017 Cadillac ATS-V’s with manual transmissions here. Thought they were pretty exclusive unicorns until this 2018 model posted and learned it’s only one of 62 ATS-V manual transmission sedans sold that year. THAT’S exclusive! Manual transmission coupes were even more scarce for 2018 at 54 units sold. Will keeping a lookout for those.

The twin-turbo V-6 makes 464 hp and 445 lb-ft of torque and with the six-speed manual cranks out sub-four second 0-60 mph runs. It also tops out at 189 mph and pulls 1g in lateral handling. Badass numbers all around for an American six-cylinder. I have a soft spot for Cadillacs after going to the 24 Hours of Daytona the last six years and watching the black Caddy’s win overall four of the last five years (second this year). Some serious engineering chops.

This 2018 review in CarBuzz gave the car tremendous props for performance, but dinged the Cadillac for a below grade interior for the money. I’ve plopped my butt in a fair number of Cadillac CTS-V’s and have to agree that the interiors don’t impress me neither. That said, the “for the money” part becomes more interesting when taking into account the car sold new for maybe $70,000 just two or three years ago. Used, with 20,000 miles on it $47,998 makes it seem like a bargain and the interior more defensible. And while I normally almost always advocate for MaxCare, this car is likely still under GM warranty. Find this single owner, accident free Cadillac ATS-V here in Kennesaw, Georgia.

February 21, 2021February 21, 2021

Tesla Returning to CarMax?

Just got word from a well intentioned but not yet validated kindred CarMax guy (sorry for all the qualifiers) that CarMax intends to resume offering Teslas. I stumbled on CarMax Teslas almost three years ago and posted this blog piece, but not much into electric cars and lost interest. When my friend called me about CarMax carrying cars again I acted all seasoned and wise and pointed out my blog piece from 2018, as if I knew what I was talking about. The young man said well yeah, they used to offer them in California only but now it would be nationwide. Humbled. Hope to learn more about MaxCare options for Teslas soon.

So I dug deeply into this tonight, meaning I Googled it. Found this Business of Business website that explored the Tesla-CarMax relationship in this piece, and this piece. If you read them you’ll learn that CarMax once had over 300 Teslas for sale after I wrote my 2018 blog, and by late 2019 CarMax slammed the gullwing door on selling these cars. We’ll ignore that if you read these pieces you’ll know I REALLY am not a serious journalist. I’ve said it before though – I’d pay good money to have coffee or drinks with the CarMax guru who decides what cars to sell and what to avoid. Still curious on Alfa’s, Acura NSX, and Nissan GTR’s! I do know that CarMax sells over 700,000 cars a year, and must have incredible analytics on what’s working and what’s not. If I didn’t think it would affect my credibility even just a little bit, I’d be buying CarMax stock.

February 8, 2021February 8, 2021

My First 24 Hour Test Drive – To The Brink (Again) with an S65 Coupe

Finally took advantage of the CarMax 24 hour test drive after returning from the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. How fitting. I had transferred this 2015 Mercedes S65 AMG unicorn up from Sanford, Florida, where coincidentally my S600 and I left Florida from on the Amtrak auto train last week after the race. Surely these are omens I should buy the car? I also lucked out – this is the car I considered last fall when it was on the west coast. Transfer was a back breaking $2,000 to the east coast. Someone moved it from California to Florida over the holidays without buying, and my transfer from Florida to Virginia was only $149. I had originally planned to test drive the car before the race, but when I showed up at my CarMax to complete the paperwork to drive, they ran the S65 through their car wash to prep the car for me – and promptly slashed two tires. Because they were on the same side of the car it meant all four tires would need to be replaced, and these performance tires are special order. Yes, I started to become suspicious that something was up.

A week later though I picked up the car with minimal fuss at the dealership and put it in my driveway. There was a brief hiccup when CarMax wanted my insurance “binder” indicating my coverage limits, and not just my proof of insurance card. Believe this was due to the high cost of the car – $84,998. That’s a helluva lot of money – what was I thinking? Well, as with my V-12 mania last fall, I was working on a plan to sell all my cars and try to live with one stupid expensive wundercar. Driving to CarMax to pick up the S65 for the test I thought this is a dumb idea. When I saw them polishing it up for me I wavered. Driving it home and seeing it in my driveway I had to have it. YOLO. So what were my experiences over the 24 hours? My CarMax rep had told me of customers borrowing cars for 24 hour test drives and recording themselves drifting and doing burnouts, so I thought I should drive the car the way I would if I owned it. Some quick shots.

First, I needed some lunch. Turned out to be an historic stop for me. Been to many McDonalds. None like this.

**Within minutes into my test drive this song came on the radio. Another omen?**

**Also within the first few minutes, got an engine alert. I’m reading this as there’s too MUCH oil in the V-12?**

Brief punch of the gas. I won’t be that guy racing my test drive. I won’t. Regret I couldn’t pull off video of downshifts in Sport mode, with rev matching and pops and bangs and faux backfires. My wife hated that. It made me giggle. Not saying I wouldn’t enjoy that sound once in a while but I would NEVER do it around real car people.

The car as shown in the CarMax ads was debadged. I didn’t like that. CarMax graciously acquired and mounted new ones. I’m not convinced the font is right but no time to compare it to others. Didn’t get to see it, but my wife tells me the Mercedes logo pops open to reveal the rear view camera. She thought I broke it.

I wondered if this car could accommodate luggage for road trips. With the back seat difficult to access I need to be able to throw bigger bags in the trunk. One large suitcase and one carryon loaded just fine. Same as in my S600.

**Service B is the big one, due in less than five months. Thinking I should negotiate having this done before buying.** **Nice that this info is available to the buyer.**

The interior is lovely. I spent the first half hour figuring out how everything works. The aromatherapy diffuser in the glove box was missing. Would have to be replaced. I realize this same interior is available in vanilla S-class cars for tens of thousands of dollars less than an S65, but you don’t get this 621hp V-12. **Oh yeah, the center console pad and door armrests heat. Awesome.**

Six different pre-programmed seat massage settings. I tried them all.

An irritant the first time – impossible to see the headlight controls without getting out of the car and poking your head under there, like looking at my Fiat fuse box. Once set on auto no need to revisit. Nuisance.

The car has a different personality from every angle. More sinister snout up front.

**More elegant from here. One issue I have with Mercedes is that the E and S coupes looks surprisingly alike.**

Should I buy or not? Yeah, I was all over the place during my 24 hour test drive. Not literally, CarMax limits travel to 150 miles. I started with “that’s a lotta money” and struggled with the idea of spending $84,998 on a car – with tax and MaxCare looking at $95,000. (By the way – the MaxCare choices below cost LESS than they did for my S600!) This would be a once in a lifetime buy. However, the 24 hour drive had me thinking more and more that this was not a practical plan. The S65 would be an awkward car to have as a daily driver. It can handle a suitcase and a half, and yet what about my guitars and amp when I play at a brewery? Can I throw a couple of boxes in the back seat every now and then? I loved Etta, my 911, because I also have the S600 as my utility vehicle. I could not imagine persuading my wife this S65 would be my sole daily driver, my dream car, and having to tell her a month later I need a Macan to go with it. I’ve also enjoyed putting miles on my cars. My 911 cost less than $40,000 out the door and I recovered $30,000 three years later when I sold. The S600 also cost less than $40,000 two years ago and I hope to sell it for about the same as the 911. This 2015 sold new for $237,000 I think and is now $84,998 with 39,000 miles on it. How much more depreciation in three years, when it’s nine years old and has maybe 75,000 miles? I could see a $30-40,000 loss. I got into this unicorn game to bag deeply depreciated cars, limit my exposure with MaxCare, and not lose my shirt. Not feeling it.

Oh yeah, another perk of cars retaining data – look at the mileage over the lifetime of this car! I get 19 mpg in my S600. Granted this car appears to be more of a commuter car given the low average speed.

**Guess what came on the radio as I completed my 24 hour test drive? Another omen.**

**Went for a run. Mulled it over. Thumbs down on the 2015 S65.**

I turned the car in with nothing more than a toss of the keys to the friendly CarMax rep and a pleasant “sorry the car’s not for me.” The 24 hour test drive is a big hit with me. So much more learned over a ten minute loop around the dealership. I’m fairly convinced I need to pick up a small SUV (Macan Turbo, GLC43 AMG, X3 M40i, SQ5) and scratch the functional itch, and then pursue the successor to the 911 I just sold. I became infatuated with this S65 because I dig V-12’s and the car became available, not because it makes sense for me. And I can probably nail a small, loaded enthusiast SUV AND a daily driver 911 (991) for a little more than the price of this S65 alone. Finally, the day after I turned in the S65 we got hit fairly hard with a snow storm on the east coast and I needed to drive to New Jersey to see my son and watch the Super Bowl. Didn’t think twice about loading the “old” S600 and cruising up I-95, with a couple of end tables in the back seat for him. The 10 year old V-12 is still a bargain and still fits my lifestyle. But maybe the 2015 S65 fits yours?

**On Sunday February 7th the S65 went back on the market at Dulles, Virginia, and today (8th) it’s off. It’s been on and off since fall. Someday someone will buy it. I’ll update if it returns!** **Stock number 19513486.**

The MaxCare menu I promised. Not easy to read. The best plan (for me) is always maximum mileage, 125,000 in this case which would give me 85,000 miles of driving, and $50 deductible – waived if serviced at CarMax. At $5,879 for a car of this complexity and expense that seems like a no brainer.

February 3, 2021

Quick Hit – $28k Jaguar XKR

Haven’t seen many hardtop Jaguar XK’s on CarMax and even longer for an XKR unicorn. A little dated but the lines are still lovely. I don’t think this one will be available long so winging it with a blog post by phone.

It’s a 2012 model with 57,000 miles and if you go to the CarMax website you’ll see some of the worst marketing photos ever. Maybe that’s why the price is reasonable?

Identical to the Jaguar XF inside, the car has a heated steering wheel, air conditioned and heated seats, and a rear view camera. Adequate but not overly equipped. For a car that sold new for $103,000 I’d expect a little more.

The power plant is impressive. A 5.0 liter supercharged V-8 with 510hp good for mid-four second 0-60 mph runs. It’s not a 550hp XKR-S, but plenty faster than the 385hp XK. Choose your poison. This three owner, accident free California-Florida car is here in Mobile, Alabama.

January 23, 2021January 23, 2021

Quick Hit – Mercedes ML63 AMG and ML550 (And Last Mercedes Post For a Bit!)

I’ve run out of patience with CarMax for this post, and despite this being the third and fourth Mercedes covered in a row I gotta get it done. A very affordable badass Mercedes ML63 and an even more affordable and well equipped ML550 have been on and off the CarMax website for days, and I have been unable to catch them on the web on the same day for a post – so here it is anyway. Let’s start with the ML63 AMG, even though it’s not currently available I have not gotten the CarMax update that it’s gone.

This 2013 ML63 AMG (I think) was offered for $35-37,000. Fairly loaded with auto cruise control (Distronic Plus), seat massagers, heated and air conditioned seats, upgraded Bang & Olufsen audio – there’s a lot of luxury in the cabin. On the outside some slick running boards and black wheels. But that’s not why you want this SUV.

You want the ML63 because of its hand built, 5.5 liter 518 hp AMG motor. That, along with AWD and an adjustable suspension turn this family hauler into an SUV racer. Motor Trend turned a 4.8 second 0-60 mph run. And it’s got a tow hitch, if you need to ring along your cigarette boat. Admittedly, this SUV is a one accident vehicle, that drives down the price. But it sold new for just under $100,000 and is now a third that. Find this three owner 2013 Mercedes ML63 AMG here in Kansas City, Missouri. Hope it comes back on the market!