The Carmax Unicorn Blog

August 24, 2019

1 of 23 in the US! 2011 Lexus GS460 $21,998

GS460 SIDE Thanks again to eagle-eyed reader and fellow CarMax car nut Mustafa Gardezi for bringing this unicorn to my attention Had no idea the third generation Lexus GS460 was such a low production vehicle. Pointed me to the Club Lexus forum page and did some digging to find that only 23 2011 models were imported to the US. (Per the Lexus data on the club website there were also only 56 units in 2009, and 43 units in 2010. A good 1,616 were imported in 2008, and CarMax also has a high-mileage one of those for $14,998 here!)

Low production isn’t the only reason to like this vehicle I dug the Italian design by Giugiaro and once lusted for the second generation Lexus GS400 as a nice sleeper sedan. This 2011 GS460 has a 4.6 liter V-8 rated at 342hp, good for a mediocre 0-60mph in 5.4 seconds. Slightly better than the comparable Infiniti M45 but 40 ponies less than the same year Mercedes E550, and 58hp short of the 2011 BMW 550.

But it is a high-quality highway cruiser with an eight-speed automatic transmission, adaptive variable suspension, luxury package, cooling seats, and good old fashioned rear wheel drive. Not sure I’d even spring for MaxCare – not much going to go wrong here. Probably sold for $55-60,000 new back in 2011 and selling for $21,998 now – not as much depreciation as I’d like. Here’s a review from Left Lane News in 2011. Find this three-owner car here in Atlanta. (You’d think they’d properly close the hood before taking the photos, wouldn’t you?!) 2011 Lexus GS460 $21,998 54k Atlanta

August 21, 2019

More Rare Than a Ford GT40 and the Plymouth Superbird! 2010 Vibe?

Let’s get this out of the way – like the bearded lady in the circus rare doesn’t mean desirable. But with only 97 2010 Pontiac Vibes manufactured you do get some bragging rights, although you’ll always have to explain why. Kind of reminds me of a Matrix?. Pontiac shut down in 2009 with very few models sold as 2010 – mostly rentals I think. This 2010 Vibe has really low miles, and a really low price, and very few options (it does have an aux jack!) – but get MaxCare and you can drive it 100,000 more miles, to 2024 and into extinction worry free. Or buy your college-bound kid a “collectible”. Find it here in Fort Myers, Florida.

August 20, 2019

1 of 1,750 VW Beetle GSR – Better Than a GTI!

VW GSR side I honestly didn’t know this unicorn was a thing. A Volkswagen Beetle GSR (Gelb Schwarz Renner, Yellow Black Racer per Wiki!). At first I was amused by the racing stripes and captivated by the bright yellow Beetle. But when I checked out the specs and saw it has 10 more horsepower than the same year VW GTI, and a six-speed manual transmission I was intrigued.

I looked it up on the web and read this Car and Driver review, and learned it is faster, and corners and brakes better than the same year GTI! Also learned it’s a one-year model replicating the 1973 one-year model that never made it to the US. The 1973 model had a whopping 50hp – this one 210hp.

The VW Beetle GSR sold for $30,000 in 2014 and it’s available here in Phoenix for $17,998. Not really a bargain, but a bit unique. 2014 vw bEETLE gsr $17,998 52K Phoenix

August 13, 2019August 13, 2019

Damned Good Deal – 400hp BMW 550xi $15,998

Haven’t seen one this cheap. A 2011 BMW 550ix with a 400hp twin turbo V8 unicorn, AWD, nice black over tan, with convenience package, cold weather package, premium package, but not much else. But for $15,998 you’re getting a hell of a lot. Most BMW 550’s are $5,000 more. Use that money for MaxCare and be out the door for $20,000! Find this steal here in Clackamas, Oregon.

August 12, 2019

Quick Hit* – 2009 Porsche Cayenne S: Low Miles, Low Price, Great Family Hauler

2009 Cayenne side If you miss the Volkswagen Taureg V-8, this SUV unicorn is for you. The Porsche Cayenne SUV is big, relatively fast (okay, fast enough at 0-60 mph in six seconds flat), comfortable, and the interior is definitely not cookie cutter like most American and Japanese SUV’s.

Most Cayennes at CarMax are $30,000 and up, with a few six-cylinder ones in the $25-$30k range. But who wants a six-cylinder in a Porsche unless it’s a 911? If this 385hp Cayenne isn’t fast enough, occasionally CarMax tees up a much quicker 400+ hp GTS or Turbo of this 2009 vintage for about the same price (low $20’s) but very rare. If that’s what you need, keep an eye out for supercharged Land Rovers or BMW X5 M’s – but both hover closer to $30,000 and up also.

Here’s a Car and Driver review of a 2008 – pretty much the same car. Figure this 2009 Cayenne sold for maybe $75,000 10 years ago, and is available for a third of that now. I’m figuring MaxCare is also a must – get another five years and 100,000 miles of warranty to keep from going broke. Find this single-owner Cayenne here in Kentwood, Michigan. I think it goes by Friday!

* If I haven’t mentioned before, a Quick Hit blog post means I hope to get a short piece online before a car sells and I get all pissed off I procrastinated, and also hopes to assure the reader I’m not going to waste your time with a long essay. But brace yourself – have two in mind when I can find the time!

2009 Cayenne $23,998 45k Kentwood MI

August 11, 2019

Quick Hit -2009 Jaguar XJ8 L $20,998. Time Is Running Out!

XJ8 Side This is the seventh Jaguar XJ8 offered in the two years I’ve been blogging on CarMax unicorns – a 2009 XJ8 L with only 46,000 miles – all in New Mexico. You either like these old school Jaguars and they make you nostalgic, or you think they’re dated and deserved to be extinct. I happen to like them as an almost retro, comfortable highway cruiser, albeit with only 300 hp from the 4.2 liter V-8, and few modern features. It’s the British Mercury Grand Marquis, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

This one is a bit high priced at $20,998 (cheapest was this 2007 at $14,998) and yet if you like it, and even better, if you like getting a five year 100,000 mile MaxCare warranty on a 10 year old extinct luxury car, perhaps it’s for you. We’ll see how long this one is on the market. It opened at $19,998 and was bumped up $1,000 the next day. On the other hand, the last one I tracked here spent more than a year on CarMax lots from Florida to California (never dropping in price from $18,998!) and only vanished last week.

Find this three owner 2009 Jaguar XJ8 L here in Albuquerque, NM. CarMax only sells European cars not more than 10 years old, and this X350 model only ran through 2009, so this is the final year to find these with the MaxCare warranty! 2009 Jaguar XJ8 L $20,998 46k Albuquerque

July 31, 2019July 31, 2019

Quick Hit – 604hp V-12 Family Car – Was $200,000 New – $40,998 Now.

S65 side You want this car. You need this car. If I hadn’t already bought a V-12 S600, this would be my car. Not a lot of V-12 unicorns left in the family car world, and BMW has announced it’s dropping V-12’s after this series of 760 sedans.

So here’s your chance to pick up an exclusive 2010 Mercedes S65 that once sold for $200k for a piddly $40k. Only a couple of hundred make it to the states every year. This single-owner car has low miles (6,000 yearly), and yeah maybe with 604 hp and 738 ft-lbs of torque (like a Dodge Ram dualie?) it’s been driven hard, but who cares? That’s where the MaxCare warranty comes in – covers the twin-turbos, the transmission, the air suspension – whatever you plan to tear up while tearing up the highway. And it has night vision!

Here’s the Jalopnik review from 2009. Find this beast here in Irvine, California. 2010 Mercedes S65 $40,998 56k Irvine

July 22, 2019

1 of 355 – 2009 Mercedes SL65 AMG V-12: $188,000 MSRP – Yours for $43,998

SL65 34 This unicorn is hot off the press – so hot no photos yet so borrowed a few from the web. Best I can tell from the Mercedes forums is there were only 355 2009 Mercedes SL65 AMG’s imported – and the original price was north of $188,000!

The twin-turbo, 6.0 liter V-12 puts out 604hp and 738 lb.-ft. of torque, good for 3.7 second 0-60mph runs. Per the datacard this one has the Designo alcantara interior. It goes without saying that MaxCare is a must – how cool to get another five years on a 10 year old supercar? Here’s a review from Road and Track and another from Motor Week. Find this two-owner (Texas and California) car here in Irvine – it says non-transferable but certain sales reps, like my favorite one Si Sultan, can get the car moved. 2009 SL65 $43,998 54k Irvine

July 21, 2019

Mercedes SLK 55 AMG’s – Five Years, $11,000, and 60hp apart? Sportlich (sporty), Leicht (light), and Kurz (compact).

2009 slk side 2014 slk side The Mercedes SLK is the most diminutive of the Mercedes Benz drop tops and comes across as a nice little commuter convertible with a four or six cylinder motor, but stuffed with a snarling, hand-built, AMG 5.5 liter V-8 it becomes a far more formidable sports car – matching its snub nose revolver look. I so want the SLK55 AMG to have the 500hp supercharged V-8, and yet I guess smarter car guys than I have figured out that there are limits to how much oomph this little frame can hold.

The 2009 SLK55 AMG unicorn at $28,995, with only 49,000 miles, has depreciated just over 50 percent in 10 years. This five owner car doesn’t show as nicely as the two owner, far more modern and tighter 2014 SLK55 AMG with only 30,000 miles. The 2014 has also depreciated just over 50 percent from its $87,000 original price in only five years. Kind of fun to see the evolution from the second generation (R171) 2009 model and the third generation (R172) 2014 model. Both naturally aspirated 5.5 liter V-8’s, and yet horsepower jumps from 355 in the SOHC 2009 to 415 in the DOHC 2014. Both have AMG Speedshift 7G-TRONIC transmissions.

The 0-60 mph times drop from 4.9 seconds to 4.5 seconds, with a top speed of 174mph. Interesting to see gas mileage go up from 14/22 in the 2009 to 19/28 in the 2014 despite the boost in horsepower and increase in curb weight by just over 100 pounds. The overall car length increased by two inches to 163 inches from 2009 to 2014, and yet the wheelbase and cockpit dimensions are unchanged.

The 2014 has racy nice carbon fiber interior and the 2009 looks clean but dated. I kind of dig the Air Scarf heated collar. Here’s an Automobile Magazine review of the 2009, and an Autoweek review of the 2014. The 2009 SLK55 can be found here at Dulles, Virginia and the 2014 here in Indianapolis, Indiana. I’d be looking for the MaxCare warranty for either one – not cheap to fix.

July 16, 2019

Quick Hit – Cheapest 510hp Jaguar XKR Ever (or since I started the blog)

Sigh. If you’ve read my search for Guenther II you know I’ve wrung my hands over the wheel of several Jaguar XKR’s.Looks Aston Martin like, fast as hell, and who cares about reliability for the supercharged V-8 and ZF six speed – MaxCare is a bargain – where else can you get 0-60 in four seconds flat and a once-$100,000 Car for $25k?Here’s the Car and Driver review from back in the day, consistent with all my XKR test drives. Still on my bucket list for when my 911 blows up.CarMax Jaguar XKR’s have always been $29k and up in the 2 1/2 years I’ve been tracking them. This two-owner bargain is here in California.