2017 PORSCHE CARRERA 4S – $108,998

This is only the third $100,000+ car I’ve covered in the year+ that I’ve been blogging about CarMax unicorns.  That’s a lot of money.  (Keep reading and I’ll share the five cars I would buy with that same wad of cash and have almost as much fun.)   This 2017 911 Carrera 4S is a nice enough one-owner California car with a seven speed manual transmission and 420hp good for 3.5 second 0-60mph and 190mph top speed.  Not a big fan of the bordello red interior but maybe I’d get over it.  Speed does that.  I’m loving Etta, the base Carrera unicorn I bought last year, but have my eyes on a 4S (not this 2017….this 2011!) to get me all wheel drive, more horsepower, and more options.

The Carrera 4S is considered an all-weather 911.  I want one.  This 911 4S is fairly well optioned with the convenience package, sport package, and driver assist package, and while I have no idea what it cost new, the base price was $110,000 and assorted reviews, like this one in Car and Driver, suggests the options push these cars well over $150,000 just as fast as its 0-60!  For what it’s worth, the car dropped $1,000 already in the few days it’s been online.  Find the car here in Roseville (Sacramento), California – if the link is dead it’s sold, on hold, or being transferred.

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FIVE CARS I’D BUY INSTEAD

(ALL OF THEM, NOT ONE OF THEM!)

So if I had $109,000 to spend on wheels, what other options would I have?  How about five cars totalling the same amount, and giving me most of what the 2017 911 Carrera 4S does….and more?  This was the best all around package I could assemble….had to adjust here and there as cars sold and others came on the market while I was mulling it over.  Would be interested in what others would pick.  Add comments or email me with your selections – five cars totaling not more than $109,000.  Let’s go.

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#1 DRIVE FAST

Clearly, a 911 has to be at the front of the pack.  Been watching these race since I first went to Le Mans in 1981, and now that I own one I’m in love.  Not $109,000 in love, so I’m including the most decent, cheapest 911 on the CarMax lot at this time.  This $43,000 2008 911 Carrera S is almost Etta’s twin, the only difference being the S has 30 more hp, adjustable suspension, and bluetooth – and it’s $8,000 more expensive.   But it’s 10 years old, low mileage, and nearly new inside.  Yes, it’s an automatic, but trust me, you get over that.  Nailing the perfect used Porsche seems to plus up the price by $10,000 with every must have feature.  Here;s a thorough review from 2008 that notes a 4.5 second 0-60.  This clean little 911 is currently here in Los Angeles.  Earlier this week it was in San Diego.  Next it will move to your driveway? ($66,000 left to spend!)

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#2 DRIVE RICH

I have a blog reader who bought the Mercedes S600 after I almost did called the notion of driving deeply depreciated unicorns “driving rich”.  Loved it.  So for the second car in the stable I went looking for the most luxurious sedan, with the most features, that I could affordably include.  Had to pass on the Alpina B7 and BMW 760 V-12 – both were in the $40,000 range and had fewer creature comforts than this bargain 2011 Audi A8.  When I plugged in the essentials – a V-8 engine, auto cruise control (who wants to do their own braking anymore?), heated steering wheel, adjustable suspension, air-conditioned seats, blind spot monitor, lane departure warning, and seat massagers – all for under $30,000.

I was surprised to find them all in this Audi A8 at only $27,000.  And wasn’t a must have, but the A8 has all wheel drive as a bonus.  And a trunk that easily holds four bodies.  I also dig the tan seats – usually the silver cars have the scorching in the summer black seats.  The drawback?  Only 372hp.  A bit of a weakling in the luxo-barge category after being spoiled by Guenther, my Mercedes S55 AMG with 493hp.  But for comfortable commuting or highway cruising it would be hard to beat this Audi A8 in this price category.  Car and Driver reviewed the car and ripped an impressive 4.8 second 0-60mph run, and also noted 27 mpg on the highway.  This four-owner car split its time between California and Ohio and is now available here in Cincinnati. ($39,000 left to spend.)

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#3 DRIVE BIG

An SUV is a must have for anybody’s fleet, and the bigger the better, since we all think we need to “haul stuff”.  Needs to be four-wheel drive and powered by a V-8 to leave no doubt cold weather will lose in a bare knuckle brawl.  Doesn’t hurt to have luxury features.  The tough guy image will only take you so far.  But if that tough guy is Eddie Bauer, all the better.  For the record, I had no idea who Eddie Bauer was, or even if there was an Eddie Bauer, until I started writing this.  Eddie was an early 20th century outdoorsman from Washington who started his own cold weather gear business, outfitting World War II pilots and Himalayan mountain climbers with life saving equipment.  (Thinking there’s a future blog coming on car models named after people.  Stay tuned.)

This 2007 Ford Expedition EL Eddie Bauer is a bit old, and a bit worn at 80,000 miles (a good candidate for MaxCare that will take this truck repair free to 150,000 miles until it is a whopping 16 years old!), but seems to be a pretty good value.  It’s a one owner Colorado truck with a recorded accident to the right rear – could be it got rear ended, but my guess is with no rear view camera the owner backed this behemoth into another car in an Orvis parking lot.  Eddie Bauer probably never imagined his name attached to such a beautiful truck interior, with two color panels, air-conditioned and heated seats – survival essentials in 2018.  Third row seating and a rear seat entertainment system will keep everyone happy on the climb to Everest.  My buds at Car and Driver reviewed the truck here, writing “Big as a spacecraft, and tends to drive like one too“.  There are better SUV’s for the fleet I guess, but none at $17,998.  It’s here in Colorado Springs.  ($21,000 left!)

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#4 DRIVE TOPLESS

Pretty sure it’s written somewhere that everyone should own a convertible at some point in their life.  Too lazy to look it up, but I think it’s in the Bill of Rights or a Beatitude or on the Dark Web, and yet after driving my old Fiat today on a brisk Virginia day, it’s clearly a fact.  Convertible is Latin for “car you don’t need that the wife probably won’t like”.  Get one anyway.  Just never, ever, ever drive with the top down and the side windows up.  Nothing says “I made a mistake buying a convertible but I’m trying to deny it” like windows up and top down.  Sorted through some Miatas and Sebrings and BMW 1-series and decided to go with this high-mileage 2008 Volvo C70 T5 for a number of reasons.  Seat heaters for one.  Pretty blue color and nice Pininfarina lines.   Seats made of “Vulcaflex” (not to be confused with the erectile dysfunction drug by the same name). A center console that had to be made by Ikea.  A great Dynaudio sound system to drown out the dump trucks that try to ruin my top down commute.  Swedish safety features that guarantee you could drive off a cliff into the Baltic Sea and survive (not covered by MaxCare).

The retractable hard top is nice.  Most convertibles looks like shit with the top up.  Or at least the top ruins the lines, like they do on the Jaguar XK.  Whole different topic on why people buy landau roof cars – looks ugly like a convertible but the top don’t go down!  And, by the way, CarMax has 804 convertibles for sale today, and not one with top down photo.  I know I have at least one reader who is a CarMax employee – please pass on the word that top up photos are lame.  Anyway, I blew a big part of my $109,000 budget on the 911 and the A8 and this was the most unusual convertible left for under $11,000. Top Speed did a decent review from back in the day.  Satisfy your Stockholm syndrome with this Fresno Volvo. (Only $10,000 for the fifth car.)

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#5 GO FAR

Saudis killing journalists.  Iranians eyeballing the straights of Hormuz.  Gas was once under a buck (at least in my driving lifetime) and now straddles $3 a gallon.  I worry the day is comin’ when we see European gas prices here in the USA, and thinking why not throw in a cool car that gets over 40mpg?  So with two German cars, and American SUV, and a Swedish convertible in the fleet, why not an Italian car? (Let’s ignore it’s made in Mexico and Poland – it’s a sensual little Italian coupe at heart.)   And I absolutely loved the Fiat 500 from the day it hit the cobblestones streets of Europe in 2007.  Keep in mind I only have $10,000 left.   The feisty Fiat 500 Abarth blows my budget, so had to make do with this 2015 Fiat 500 Sport.  At least it’s still under manufacturer warranty for another year – should keep the MaxCare cost down.

This little guy has a 101hp 1.4 liter engine that putts to 60mph in 10.5 seconds – almost identical to the 1.6 liter in my 1971 Fiat Spider – and a manual 6 speed transmission.  Bluetooth, leatherette interior, cool wheels and a rear spoiler – what else do you need?  Here’s the Top Speed review.  As a bonus, here’s the clever and award-winning Fiat 500 commercial “Liberation”. Look for this one owner car here in Kansas City.

Perhaps I dig the car so much because I accidentally rented one in 2009 while living in Europe, two years before they were introduced in the US.  I was in Oslo, planning to check off a bucket list item and drive north to the Arctic Circle.  Was offered this Fiat 500 and I declined – too small.  For 50 Euro a day more I could “upgrade” to a VW Polo.  I’m 6’4″.  Both cars looked to be disappointingly small, so I pocketed the 50 Euro and took the Fiat.  I loved it.  North of Oslo the highway disappears into a two lane, winding mountain road.  And it was raining.  And there were so many logging trucks.  And curves.  But I was able to flog that little Fiat 500 and work the gears and pass when I could.

One of the top 10 drives in my life.  Took 16 hours to cover the 600 miles, with only one stop halfway in Trondheim to buy gas, coffee, and food.  And not once, not once, was I uncomfortable in those upright seats!   Got 39 mpg and I drove the car hard.  Arrived at 2 am – in broad daylight – and checked off the The Arctic Circle Centre in Saltfjellveien the next morning.  Raced back to Oslo the day after with an equally exhilarating run.  Take your shots at this goofy car, but I’d own one (an Abarth) regardless of the budget.

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So there you have it.  Five cars from all walks of life for $109,000.  No single car was the best in its field, and perhaps you’d rather spend more on an SUV and less on a sports car, or choose a lesser sports car than the 911, but this was the best all around menu for me.  Again, would be a hoot to know what readers might pick – warn you – it’s far more work than I had planned on to mix and match and stay under budget.  Add comments or email me at [email protected] if you’d like.  And if you made it all the way to here, one of my longest blogs ever, you have my eternal gratitude.