Bugatti Veyron modified by Mansory is so exclusive and unique that the CarMax software can’t handle it.
Can you truly put a price on an exotic car? They bring so much joy to many people in so many places that its seems awful and impossible to put a price tag on them. It turns out that you can. You can definitely put a price on an exotic car. That’s how they’re sold, valued, then sold again. For instance, take a look at the Bugatti Veyron in the video above from “TheStradman” on Youtube.
When the Veyron was produced in 2008, it had a retail price of around $1,000,000. In 2014, it was shipped to Mansory, which gave it a titanium exhaust and carbon fiber everything else for an additional – get ready for this – $1.2 million. So all in, the Veyron’s current owner is sitting on about $2,000,000 worth of car. However, that’s not enough for him; he’s thinking of selling it and putting the money he gets toward a new Chiron.
After having a pleasant experience selling a BMW 7-Series to CarMax, he goes to one of the chain’s locations with The Stradman to see how much it’ll offer for the panda Bugatti. It has more than 12,000 miles and a rock chip in its front bumper, but it’s a one-of-one hypercar that just received $100,000 of service to ready it for sale.
CarMax’s computer system pays those facts no mind. It’s not familiar with Bugattis, so CarMax employees have to classify the quad-turbo W16 one-off as a 12-cylinder…Volkswagen Beetle. Womp womp.
It doesn’t stop there. Given that CarMax typically deals in high volumes of everyday cars, such as Camrys and F-150s, it’s used to offering everyday amounts of money. As a result, the maximum offer that its computers will allow staff to make is $200,000. CarMax sure found a way to put a price on an exotic, but it’s missing an all-important extra 0.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
