Prices Dropping? Unusual Number of Unicorn Alerts

January 4, 2018May 8, 2018

Prices Dropping? Unusual Number of Unicorn Alerts

Over the past 24 hours I’ve gotten emails alerting me to price reductions on five of the 43 cars* I have saved in my CarMax profile. Not a lot – $601 per car, but in the year I’ve been tracking unicorns I’ve never gotten this many. Curious….New Year’s sale (CarMax doesn’t do sales) or is this related to the massive increase in inventory I blogged about last month ( The $577 Million Car Loan and Other Fascinating CarMax “Analytics” ) .

*I have 110 cars in my profile but many are listed as “No Longer Available”. I keep them because more than a few resurface in another city, or even a few have been sold back to CarMax and show up back on the market. That’s how I knew the 2010 Jaguar XKR I declined in January 2017 sold in Maryland, and was traded in and offered again in Virginia in December for $1,000 more than last year!

Here’s the unicorns I’ve been alerted to today:

Mustang GT Price Drop

$17,998 – Stupid Low Mileage 2006 Mustang GT

Link – If Dead Car Sold/Hold/Transferred

VW EOS Price Drop

$12,599 – Rare 250hp V6 VW EOS

CarMax Link – If Dead Car Sold/Hold/Transfer

PT Price Drop

$10,599 Low Mileage Retro Cruiser

CarMax Link – If Dead Car Is Sold/Hold/Transferred

Continue reading “Prices Dropping? Unusual Number of Unicorn Alerts”

October 25, 2017May 8, 2018

Five Quick Hits! BMW 650, CTS V, MX-5, Shelby, and a Corvette.

2006 Miata $13599 34k — Not sure if I’m most surprised by the price or the stupid low miles. Yes it’s an automatic, but cute and cheap.

The CarMax Link – 2006 Miata

2007 CTS V Sedeqn $25,998 27k — This is a rare one! Ten year old 400hp CTS V Sedan with driven less than $2,700 miles yearly.

The CarMax Link – 2007 CTS V

2008 Mustang Shelby GT500 $27,998 47k — A 500hp beast for under $28,000! Mileage is still low at 6,000 yearly.

The CarMax Link – 2008 Shelby GT500

2008 Corvette $28,998 9k — 9,000 Miles? Why don’t these people drive their cars????!!!!

The CarMax Link – 2008 Corvette

2007 BMW 650 CiC $18,998 39k — Less than $20,000 for a BMW 650. Horsepower a little low for me but a helluva lot of fun for the price and low miles.

The CarMax Link – 2007 BMW 650 CiC

August 25, 2017May 8, 2018

Wild West Cars – Ponies and Bullitts

Ford Mustangs are growing on me. Used to think they were overrated, underpowered and clumsy, and I never really got over how far they had fallen by the 1979 Mustang II. I drove one to the prom. It was a bad night all around. But the 2005 retro Mustang nostalgically took me back to my childhood and 10 years later the sixth generation 2015 Mustang, with a modern independent rear suspension and 435hp really caught my eye with its sleek looks and high performance. Mustangs at CarMax are plentiful – as I write there are 444 on the lots nationwide, and almost half of those are V8’s (and I only count V8’s as real Mustangs). All Mustangs with V8’s are GT’s (well, except Bullitts). The cheapest is $13,599 and 107,000 miles and the most expensive 2017 Shelby GT350 with 1,000 miles will set you back $59,998. These are not unicorns.

But these Mustangs are. Let’s take a quick walk around the stable with these two relatively normal Mustang unicorns. At the bottom end we have a 2006 Mustang GT convertible, with only 40,000 miles and a price tag of $15,998. Cute car, 300hp, and a five second 0-60 run. I drove one recently and was surprised that with “only” 300hp it roared and scooted well. I thought it was going to be a dog but found it satisfactory, despite the solid axle I thought was made of wood. Pretty sure you can score another five years, 60,000-85,000 mile MaxCare warranty for a few thousand and be out the door for under $20k. You’ll almost be able to get vintage tags and still be under the MaxCare warranty!

And to show that not all my unicorns are old, at the top end we have a 2015 435hp beast with only 15,000 miles at $26,998. This one is still under factory warranty and so the MaxCare plan will be less. With a 0-60 of 4.4 seconds this stirs my soul. These Mustang GT’s sold for $35-45,000 just two years ago, so $27k seems like a good deal but not the $100,000 discount I look for in my German cars. But the 2015’s and up have an extensive array of technology and amenity upgrades that surprised me. For the same price as a 2015 Mustang GT you can buy a five to seven-year older Corvette, with better performance, more panache, but dated interior. It’s a real tough call. Check out this review:

Car and Driver Review – 2015 Mustang GT

Continue reading “Wild West Cars – Ponies and Bullitts”