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The Daily Driver I’d Choose If I Only Had $10,000 To Spend? Really.

$10000Say you need a daily driver and times are hard, or you’re cheap frugal, and really don’t want to spend a lot on a car – but you want some fun, some style,  and self-respect on the road.   What do you do?  What would I do?  CarMax has 1,548 cars for sale nationwide priced under $10,000.  Filter that by my self-imposed unicorn ceiling of 60,000 miles, and that number dwindles to 183 prospects.  Most of those are Chevrolet Sparks and Sonics, Nissan Versas, Smart cars, and Mitsubishi i-MIEV’s (looks like that applicance that sweeps your living room floor when you’re not home).  All fine commuter cars but no soul, no individuality on the interstate.Fiat 500 side My choice would be this 2013 Fiat 500 Turbo.  Really.  While it’s not a 160hp Fiat 500 Abarth (that’ll run you $12,000!) it’s also not the 101hp base Fiat 500.  It’s a 135hp, 2,500 pound car that rides good enough, quick enough (for $10,000), gets over 30mpg, and has that Italian style and flair.  Here’s a cute review from Car and Driver back in 2013.  I would definitely drop some lire on MaxCare – it is an Italian car after all!

But mostly, I’d pick this Fiat 500 Turbo for my selfish nostalgic reasons – in the summer of 2010 before these came to the US and I lived in Europe, I rented one in Norway for a bucket list solo drive from Oslo to the Artic Circle.  I drove 25 hours – 14 hours up in a day, and 11 hours back (different route) in a day, and almost 1,500 miles round trip – and not once was I uncomfortable or disappointed in that little car.  Loved it.  If you really, really want to read the whole story, here’s my write-up in Trip Advisor after I returned.  So yeah, I have an emotional enthusiasm for this little Fiat and could easily daily drive it.  And tempting – this single-owner Fiat 500 Turbo is here at my local CarMax dealer!2013 Fiat 500 Turbo $9599 53k

HONORABLE MENTION Continue reading “The Daily Driver I’d Choose If I Only Had $10,000 To Spend? Really.”

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Happy New Year! Here’s a 2020 *Unicorn* for 2020!

M2 sideTechnically this doesn’t meet my *unicorn* standards (Less than $35,000, under 60,000 miles) but I wanted to wish readers a Happy New Year to start 2020 – and it’s a real driver’s car and got my attention amongst the 13 used 2020 models in the CarMax inventory.  I once asked a CarMax rep why damn near brand new cars are up for sale and he told me most of these are repossessions.  Interesting.

This 2020 BMW M2 Competition sold new very recently for a good $60,000, so not much depreciation in the selling price of $55,998.  I thrive on depreciation.  The short take on this short M2 from this Car and Driver review suggests adding the M4 Competition engine to the M2 Competition in 2019 was a good thing – the 405hp twin-turbo inline six mated to a six speed manual transmission is good for a four second flat 0-60mph run.

The down side, in the review, is that the M2 Competition beats the hell out of the driver on the road but is exhilarating and rewarding on the track.  No need for MaxCare – the car is still under manufacturer warranty.  Find it here in Virginia Beach, Virginia.2020 BMW M2 Comp $55,998 2k Virginia Beach 1-2-20  Continue reading “Happy New Year! Here’s a 2020 *Unicorn* for 2020!”

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The Daily Driver I’d Choose If I Only Had $15,000 To Spend – 2009 Jaguar XF Supercharged

Jag XF 34Thought I wrote about this unicorn – the first year Jaguar offered 420hp supercharged V-8 engines in the XF line – but I suspect it was a car that was gone as fast as it was listed.  It returned recently and yesterday dropped $1,000 to a bargain price of $14,998.  The car sold for over $60,000 new.  It’s fairly well appointed with heating and cooling seats, heated steering wheel, blind spot monitor, rear view camera, 20″ wheels, and Bluetooth.

Was pleasantly surprised by this Car and Driver review that gave the car kudos for a decent ride on high performance tires, .87g on the skidpad, and a five second 0-60mph run.  CarMax has about 11,000 cars under $15,000 and under my self imposed mileage cap of 60,000 miles, but this is the one I’d pick as a daily driver.

Of course, by the time you add MaxCare, and I wouldn’t own it without the warranty, and taxes, it would be a $20,000 car.  Find this one owner car here in Salt Lake City, Utah. 2009 Jaguar XF Superharged $14,998 51k Salt Lake 12-30-2019

HONORABLE MENTION!

THESE WOULDN’T HURT MY HEAD IF I HAD TO DRIVE THEM.2011 E350 $14,998 52k2008 Cad CTS DI $13,599 60k2011 BMW 335d $14,998 56k2008 Cad DTS $14,998 26k2008 Lexus ES350 $14,599 45k

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Merry Christmas! E-Mail Followers……E-Mail Me For Your Present!

Just wanted to thank those that have signed up to follow this blog of mine on a regular basis (all 83 of you so far!) and wish you a very Merry Christmas.  In fact, shoot me an email and say hello just to let me know you’re still here, and I’ll send you a little present to express my appreciation.  Hope you had a good day and looking forward to blogging more for 2020 – my third year of this hobby!

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Screwed Again – CarMax Botches My Unicorn Transfer and S65 Gone

I dig CarMax because I can drive deeply depreciated unicorns at a decent price and be protected from repair risk because they sell a great MaxCare warranty on everything on the lot. But they sure suck at routine processes sometimes. Found this 2015 Mercedes S65 coupe in California. New it was $235,000 and four years later it’s selling for $79,000. But it was on its way to Albuquerque before I could strike. Fortunately that buyer backed out and I put the car on hold. Called my sales rep who agreed to get it off hold and let me pay to transfer to Dulles. But while on hold for me Albuquerque blew it and accepted a transfer to Fredericksburg, VA (ironically not far from me). Neither Dulles, Albuquerque, nor Fredericksburg dealers would reverse what they all admitted was a mistake so I engaged corporate in Richmond. Best they can do us offer me a free transfer from anywhere in the country because the S65 is sold. Bastards. I’m so tempted to find the crappiest $5,995 car I can from the most expensive, distant dealer (Spokane) and have it transferred to Dulles. Ugh.

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Quick Hit – Bargain 510hp 2012 Range Rover Sport – $25,998

RR sideI love this unicorn.  Don’t see a lot of Range Rovers in red.  Don’t see a lot of supercharged Range Rovers for $25,998.  Don’t see any other 500+ hp SUV’s for under $35,000 – BMW X5M’s and X6M’s sometimes come close (check out this X6M with 555hp for $36,998 in Tuscon).  Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8’s don’t have the oomph and cost more.  Mercedes GL63’s top 550hp but also cost twice what this Range Rover does.

This supercharged Range Rover is ripe for MaxCare though – repairs aren’t cheap.  Minor point – CarMax has this car listed under the more luxurious Range Rover category and not Range Rover Sport.  The Sports are usually cheaper – regardless $25,998 is a good deal for a single-owner Ranger Rover Sport Supercharged.  Find it here in Sacramento.

2012 Range Rover Super $25,998 43k Sacramento 12-11-19

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Quick Hit – Hot Hardly Driven 2010 Porsche 911

911 34 2Missed posting a few great cars because work got in the way, so didn’t want to miss the chance to post this unicorn – a 2010 Porsche 911 in Guards Red, manual transmission, with a stupid low 4,000 miles on the odometer.  Throw in MaxCare and you can drive it another five years – until it’s 14 years old – and 146,000 more miles worry free!

A little taken aback by the price at $49k (my 911 remains the second cheapest CarMax has carried in three years).  The car originally sold for $80,000 or so new.  Here’s the catch – CarMax lists it as AWD and I’ve run the VIN through three decoders and I can’t confirm that.  Didn’t know base Carreras came in AWD.  Wondering if the price is higher than it should be becuase of this?

Find this beautiful one-owner sports car here in Boise.  Not sure how it ended up there – was a Texas and Florida car.  2010 Porsche 911 $48,998 4k Boise 12-10-19

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1 of 5 in US/300 Worldwide – 2019 Jaguar XE SV Project 8?!

img_1881-1Another “didn’t know these were a thing” unicorns.  Looks like a street legal Jaguar race car, and understand it’s the fastest Jaguar street-legal car they’ve ever put on the road.  The beast has a 592hp V-8 (never in an XE before), sub-4 0-60mph, and claimed 200mph top speed.  Check out this Motor Trend review.  Splitters and diffusers and wings and everything but a roll cage!

The dealer told me its one of five in the US (and I can find only four others for sale around the country as of this writing so maybe so!).  Personally eyeballed this at the Jaguar dealer in Chantilly, Virginia for sale for $188,495.  Posting here because A) in three years I hope to find one on a CarMax lot for $75,000 B) I was actually at the Jaguar dealer to test drive a used Mercedes S65 prior to requesting a CarMax transfer of a similar S65, and C) it’s just too damned cool not to share!  Here’s the odd thing.  I eyeballed the blue model and yet online here’s the listing for an identical car at the dealership – it’s a Valencia Orange Ultra Metallic model.  Hmmm….perhaps the blue one is already gone and replaced?

img_1880

 

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10 Low-Grade Low-Priced Unicorns Somebody Wants. Maybe You? (If not I have 10 more!)

Doing a bit of house cleaning.  Have over 200 unicorns in my profile, some more intriguing than others, and thought I’d get 10 of them out here for you to pick through.  In my years as an auto enthusiast I’ve learned there are car fans and car clubs for pretty much every car out there.  These caught my eye – some I’d actually own – and others because they are an interesting combination of price, performance, mileage, and maybe extinction?  Anyway will keep the writing short and get them to press.  Here we go.

G37 side

2011 Infiniti G37X

Only 6,000 miles on this modest beauty.  Not yearly – total!  A decent 328hp and AWD.  Here’s an Autoblog review.  This two-owner Maryland car sold for almost $40,000 when new eight years ago and is available here in Midlothian (near Richmond) Virginia for $20,998.  Nice car and thought the depreciation would be more.  The crazy low miles are to blame.

2011 Infiniti G37X $20,998 6k Midlothian

S5 side

 2010 Audi S5 4.2 Prestige  

Drove one of these before I bought my 911 and was really impressed with the all around poise and performance.  Reminded me of my old Camaro with the long nose and two door look.  Except that was a slow six cylinder.  Anyway, this 2010 is both low-priced AND low miles AND pretty well equipped – seat heaters, blind spot monitors, rear view camera and AWD.  Sold new for about $58,000.  Has the 354hp 4.2l V-8 also found in the Continue reading “10 Low-Grade Low-Priced Unicorns Somebody Wants. Maybe You? (If not I have 10 more!)”

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