The Last of the V-8 S4’s…With a Stick!

V8 S4 No real reason to want a little Audi S4 with a big V-8 engine, other than the rumble and roar and bragging rights. This 2009 Audi S4 unicorn was the last year the car was powered by a 4.2 liter V-8, transitioning to a supercharged V-6 for 2010. The V-8 is not much faster, but at least the fuel economy sucked. And it’s a little nose heavy. But a 340hp V-8 engine AND a manual 6-speed AND a convertible AND low mileage (5,000 miles/year) AND a low price ($18,599) AND a pretty blue color when so many are black or silver…….makes this an attractive scooter for summer. Car And Driver had the sedan as one of its 10 Best Cars for 2009 and ran the convertible to a top end of 162 mph! Throw in the MaxCare warranty for another five years and 50,000 miles for a couple of grand and you’ll have an unusual, inexpensive car that almost seems vintage already. The car was $57,000 new. Here’s a Car Guru review if you want more info. Here’s also the link to the CarMax page; if it’s dead the car is sold, on hold, or being transferred. My hunch is this one moves quick…..like the last of the V-10 S6’s that got scooped up a few weeks ago before I could even write about it!

2009 Audi S4 $18,599 46k Chicago

I have a couple of dozen (about 50 really) CarMax unicorns tagged but wanted to open with a sampling of what’s on the lot today. Again, my bar is $35,000 or less, 60,000 miles or less, an enthusiast car, and relatively exclusive. Your standards may vary. So here they are in no particular order:

2007 MB CL550 $26,998 34k 8-9-17

2007 Mercedes CL550 – The “big coupe” from Mercedes – the two door version of the S-class, originally a $100,000 car. You can read the review from the link below. It’s the third generation CL and has everything a top of the line Mercedes should have – in 2007. What I like? It’s big, exclusive, comfortable, well-appointed with Distronic auto cruise control, cheap, low miles (driven only 3,400 miles yearly), and you can get a warranty for the next five years. I like that with only 34,000 miles CarMax will likely give an affordable warranty to 75,000 miles – but I would take all they offer that I could afford. What I don’t like? No bluetooth. Ad says rear view camera but I doubt it – CarMax photo spread almost always shows a shot of the rear view camera in action if it has one. Rear view photo of the car doesn’t show one. I don’t like less than 400hp but 382 ain’t bad. I also don’t like that this car is not transferable and is 3,000 miles away from me. I would give it serious consideration. I’ll bet it’s gone in days, although there’s also a 2009 CL550 on the lot at $32,998 that hasn’t moved in a week. We shall see!

Car and Driver Review CL550

2011 BMW M3 – The “benchmark” sport coupe per the review below, and the best everyday sports car I can imagine. I’ve owned a 3-series. Everything is in the right place. M3’s are tough to find in my unicorn category. Once a $70,000 car, most are close to the $35,000 unicorn limit, have 70-80,000 miles on them and are 8-10 years old. I have a hard time paying that much for that old with that mileage. So I like the balance of price and mileage here. I like the SMG transmission and 400hp. I’m not a big fan of the hard top convertible only because I own a convertible. Otherwise it’s the best of both worlds. Don’t know why, but the hard top convertibles sell at a discount over the hard top coupes. If you like these then you’re in luck! A little short on amenities but you can’t have a bad day in an M3.

Autoweek Review – 2011 M3

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