Category: Enthusiast Unicorns – CarMax Bargains (Under $35,000)

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Good Things Come in Pairs – Sub $20k Old Euro Sedans That Should Make You Rethink Wanting a Camry. Or An Accord.

I have nothing against Camrys and Accords and have owned both.  Mostly I liked the value and reliability.  But they were cookie cutter and that was before I stumbled on CarMax unicorns and the MaxCare warranty that allowed me to own a (once) $120,000 Mercedes S55 AMG beast, Guenther, for less than I paid for either the Camry or Accord.  Changed my life.   If I only has $20,000 to spend on a daily driver I would seriously consider these.

2009 E550I have always loved the lines of the W212 Mercedes E550, understated and elegant before Mercedes went all sharp and scary in 2010.  Not as high end as the S-class, but a decent daily driver with 380hp and a sub-5 second 0-60.  And this one has such low mileage the V-8 isn’t even broken in.  Here’s a Motor Trend review of this once $70,000 car from back in the day.  It’s now a $17,000 2009, two-owner Illinois and Pennsylvania car is all wheel drive and should be affordable to drive for another 100,000 with the MaxCare warranty.  Find it here in Charlotte, North Carolina.  If the link is dead it’s sold, on hold, or being transferred.

2009 MB E550 $16,998 35k

2008 750LiThe E65 2008 BMW 750 Li, on the other hand, is a little slower, a little older, a little uglier (I hate the bubble butt trunk), has higher mileage, and yet looks to be a decent cruiser.  And it’s cheap.  And it’s the long wheelbase model, so like a living room on wheels.  It’s a two owner Texas and Vegas car.  Jalopnik noted, “You don’t look at the car and think “beautiful.” But if you think about it, you think “perversely attractive.”  It has the loathed I-Drive knob.  But at $17,599 it still seems like a bargain.  I should note, every BMW 7 series I looked at the MaxCare warranty was significantly higher (perhaps double!) than comparable sedans.  If that’s the case….not so much of a bargain.  Find it here in Georgia.

2008 750Li $17,599 58k

 

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Good Things Come in Pairs – M5 and XKR – Rare 2008 Time Bombs to Bankrupt MaxCare

XKR M5Yes it’s an odd but delicious pairing.  The 2008 BMW M5 with the outrageous 500hp V-10, and the 2008 Jaguar XKR with the supercharged 420hp V-8.  The E60 BMW was one of the most popular M5’s, with an 8,000rpm redline, SMG transmission and an alleged (delimited) 200mph top speed.  It sold for maybe $90,000 new, and maybe 8,000 came into the US during the E60 run.  It’s under $30,000 now and one of the last V-10’s you’re going to see at CarMax.  And they will sell you a MaxCare warranty to cover you at least another five years and 50,000 miles – critical if and when when that V-10 augers in.  Ayan Basu made my case in Jalopnik two years ago.  Every few months one of these V-10 M5’s shows up at CarMax and I so get the urge to snag one.  This is a one owner California car found here – if the link is dead the car is sold, on hold, or being transferred.  I am surprised after a few days it’s still available – it vanished once when a potential buyer put it on hold.

2008 BMW M5 $29,998 48k

One of only 500 imported to the US!   The 2008 Jaguar XKRis only 420hp, but surprisingly about as fast as the M5.  But it is pretty.  Aston Martin pretty.  It sold for almost $100,000.  It’s more stylish and refined, so here’s an appropriate review from The Hunt.  This XKR has low mileage despite being a five-owner car and bopping around New York, New Jersey, Texas, and Mississippi before being transferred to Wichita for sale.  I love the XKR so much I passed not once but twice on buying a newer model.  Maybe three times.  Sigh.  We hear about Jaguar reliability, and every time I note that a reader writes me to say their Jaguar wasn’t a problem at all.  But if you’ve been here before you know with MaxCare I really don’t care – for a few thousand dollars I shift the financial burden of tens of thousands of dollars in repairs to CarMax.  Everybody wins.  Find this beauty here – if the link is dead the car is sold, on hold, or being transferred.

2008 Jaguar XKR $27,998 39k

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Good Things Come in Pairs – Mercedes S63 Unicorns: 0-60 4.6 Seconds! (W221)

2010 S63Don’t often see S63’s in my unicorn range, and here’s a pair that remind me so much (sadly) of Guenther, my first CarMax unicorn.  Style, executive comfort, stupid fast for a 4,700 lb sedan.  Ignore the bubble-butt trunk if you can.  Both are 518hp V-8’s with Active Body Control (ABC), auto cruise control, and just about every option you could imagine in a $150,000 S-class.  And as with my S55, these cars are outrageously expensive to repair (the ABC fails after 50,000 miles – $5-7,000 bill) and you don’t want to own without MaxCare, which makes them free (to you!).  The 2010 is in Fredericksburg, Virginia (too close to home!) and the 2008 is in Los Angeles.

2008 MB S63 $34,998 39k

2010 MB S63 $34,998 55k

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Good Things Come in Pairs – Nice BMW M3 Unicorns (E93)

2012 M3CarMax carries BMW M3’s regularly, and even has six today in my unicorn range, but they are usually higher mileage and pre-2010 cars.  Lots of them are the hard-top convertibles.  Stumbled on a pair that are a little newer and a whole lot less mileage than normal.  The 2012 in Salisbury, Maryland is particularly low mileage for a CarMax M3 – and not moving at all.  Also a 2011 in Dulles, Virginia with slightly higher mileage.  The 2011 is listed with the SMG transmission – thought BMW changed over to a different double-clutch automatic by then but defer to BMW pros on that.  The 2012 is not far from me and the 2011 is at my local CarMax – go see my favorite rep Si Sultan if you want either one!

2012 BMW M3 $32,899 34k

2011 BMW M3 $30,998 42k

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1 of 1963 – 2014 Porsche 911 50th Anniversary, a Six-Figure Unicorn?

2014 911 50No, this 2014 911 doesn’t meet my unicorn standard at $109,998, but it is a bit rare, and I love tracking the few CarMax cars over $100,000.  The last one I covered was a 2017 AMG GT with only 2,000 miles on it that listed for $114,998 in August, 2017 and sold for $104,998 after languishing a month on the market.  Would love to know what MaxCare will cost on this beast?  Found a gushing review of the car from Motor Trend when new, noting a 3.9 second 0-60 and a price tag of circa $150,000.  This one-owner car spent its first years in New York and is now in Tampa.  I’ll be there next week and may have to drop in and see it.  Suspect it’s a whole lot nicer than Etta, my 2008 911 Carrera unicorn, and for $75,000 more it damn well better be!  Find the 50th anniversary 911 here; if the link is dead it’s on hold, sold, or being transferred.  I’ll bet it’s going to be here for a bit.2014 911 50 $109998 14k

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A Real 2008 Volkswagen R32 Drops $4000 – And It Won’t Sell.

2008 R32This car surfaced in November 2017 in Cranston, RI with a price tag of $19,998 (see ad at the bottom).  Disappeared from my radar a couple of times, and is now in Omaha, NE with a $4,000 price reduction – $15,998.  From what I can see, the interior looks a little tired – is that a respray or melting plastic on the PRNDS console?  Seats are weathered.  It was a two-owner car – Brooklyn and Philadelphia, and me thinks a city car.  And above all, it’s an automatic, albeit a DSG.  Bummer.  But so is Etta – my 911 CarMax unicorn.

But it is a real MK5 VW R32, with all-wheel drive, DSG sequential shift transmission, and a REAL narrow-angle VR6 250hp six cylinder power plant.  The car does 0-60 in roughly six seconds – not terribly impressive by today’s standards, and handles well.  And holds a ton of crap in the hatch.  And, with only 5,000 imported, is a bit rare.  The car was $35,000 new.  Not sure at $15,998 it will sell to an average buyer looking at GTI’s given it’s about the same in performance, and for folks in search of hot hatches there are hotter cars out there.   But there’s something special about stuffing larger-than-normal engines in cars, and maybe there’s an R32 enthusiast out there who will want this.  It’s 10 years old, and the MaxCare warranty will cover it until it’s a whopping 15 years old, and easily another 100,000 miles.  All around I’m thinking it’s a but of an affordable, vintage hot hatch for the right enthusiast? Find it here – if the link is dead the car is sold, on hold, or being transferred – again.

2008 R32 Omaha $15,998 45000
CURRENT AD – MAY 2018
2008 R32 Cranston
ORIGINAL AD – NOVEMBER 2017
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A First! Reader Buys the Mercedes S600 and Already Recovers MaxCare Cost!

S600First sale of a car I posted to a blog reader (that I’m aware of).  Had the opportunity to collaborate with the reader who bought the 2009 Mercedes S600 (V-12) that I declined to buy last fall and taunted me as it moved up and down the East Coast.  The car was over $175,000 new and sold for $29,998.  The blog reader made contact and got my take on the car, the MaxCare warranty, deductibles, repairs at CarMax vs Mercedes dealerships, and took the plunge – bought the car just over a month ago.  We maintained contact as I wanted to know if his experience with a high-end CarMax  unicorn and the warranty were the same as mine – I’d feel bad if my experience was an anomaly.

The good news is he absolutely loves the S600.  The bad news is I didn’t buy it.  Also in the good news column, he did a post-purchase inspection and found trouble with the lower control arms, an oil pan leak, and valve cover leak.  Later a headlight failed.  ALL were covered under the MaxCare warranty.  Because they exceeded CarMax’s service capabilities the car was sent to an independent/specialist shop for the suspension and leaks, and to a Mercedes dealer for the headlight.  The reader noted the independent service rep advised the repairs were $6,800 – all covered by MaxCare.  He seems to be happy so far.  Because he lives some distance from a CarMax he intends to have future repairs done at a dealer or independent shop, and eat the $50 deductible (that $50 is waived when you go to CarMax).  Will continue to

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Cheapest S-Class Ever (2007 S550)….and Ignore the Risk of M273 Meltdown!

2007 S550By themselves, S550’s aren’t really unicorns ($35,000 or less, 60,000 miles or less) given that today CarMax has six of these on lots nationwide.  Not rare. And this one technically isn’t either, with 67,000 miles.  But rarely do CarMax S550’s drop below $25,000.  Snaring an S550 for less than $20,000 is a deal.  Of course, it’s only a deal with MaxCare bumper to bumper protection, because this three-owner model will be expensive to fix.  I suspect the warranty will be offered to 125,000 miles, and five years from the date of sale.

And the warrant is CRITICAL for a 2007 S550 per Jalopnik and their piece “For The Love of God, Don’t Ever Buy A 2007 Mercedes-Benz S550” from 2016.  Jalopnik warns that this model is cheap to get into, but has a little gear called the “M273” that will catastrophically fail and meltdown your S550 engine.   And that takes me back to the premise of the CarMax unicorn – with the MaxCare warranty I really don’t care if pistons explode through the hood into the night sky.  Jalopnik warns that the cost of used replacement S550 engine with installation is around $6500.  CarMax or Mercedes wouldn’t put in a used engine, so it will likely be a new engine and this car will run forever!

I don’t think you’ll find a more luxurious ride at this price.  Find it here in Irving, TX – if the link is dead it’s sold, on hold, or being transferred.  I suspect this car will move in days.  2007 S550 $18,998 67k

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Quick Hit: Niche Extinct Low Mileage Sedan – 2007 Saturn Aura XR for Cheap

2007 Saturn Aura XRNormally I look for more oomph in unicorns but I’m also intrigued with extinct cars that have more to them than meets the eye, for cheap.  This 2007 Saturn Aura XR, what one reviewer called “…..an American-built Opel that looks like a Japanese copy of a German car”, and was the top of the line Saturn during its four year production run.  That run ended when Saturn was discontinued by GM in 2010.   This car, believe it or not, was the 2007 North American Car of The Year.  Decent comfort and features, a 252hp six-cylinder, and relative obscurity and anonymity – all for $12,599.  Not sure if you even need the MaxCare warranty – but I’ll bet it’s not that expensive, and for an extinct car why not?  Second car? College kid? This one owner car, driven less than 2,500 miles yearly, can be found here in Denver, Colorado.  If the link is dead it’s sold, on hold, or being transferred. 2007 Saturn Aura XR $12,599 27k

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Another Jaguar XJ8 For Cheap (the car that got me busted)

XJ8LCarMax doesn’t carry very many XJ8’s.  Maybe three or four in the years I’ve been tracking.  I blogged about a 2008 Jaguar XJ8 with low miles and a low price tag in January, and it wasn’t until April when another popped in Las Vegas.  Been toying with the idea of buying a unicorn for the sole purpose of driving and reselling (with MaxCare Warranty ) and maybe defraying the cost of driving some interesting cars, and maybe turning a profit. So foolishly, and impulsively, I did my guerrilla tactic  to take it off the market – putting it on hold while I figured out what to do next.  But when I bought Etta (my 911) somehow my CarMax profile got changed to make my wife’s phone number the primary contact.  So yes, she got a call to coordinate HER appointment to see a Jaguar in Las Vegas.  I plead the fifth and let the car go.  It disappeared for almost a month. Today it showed up in Fort Myers, Florida.  Something about these old school XJ8’s I find very appealing.  A V-8 without too much horsepower, luxury and room, and above all, style.  Of course repairs can be expensive, especially as one reader pointed out – the air suspension, that’s why we get the warranty.  Find this two-owner California car now in Florida here – if the link is dead perhaps the car is on hold, sold, or once again being transferred.  2009 XJ8L $18,998 58k Fort Myers FL

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