Buying a used luxury car?

[basil]

I've really only bought one car in my life, and that was my Outback in 2010. So forgive me if this is sort of basic.

I'm in the market for a new car probably in 2019 to replace that Outback as above. I put a fair number of miles on my car, about 15k per year, about an hour a day. I want a car with good gas mileage and lots of room. It wouldn't hurt to look sexy too, cause my Outback sure isn't sexy. I'll be turning 40 around the time I would be buying it. We will not be taking a loan on the car. My intent is to keep the car 8 years then pass it on to DS as his first car, but who really knows the future.

I had assumed I'd buy the top trim line of a mainstream brand, like Subaru or Honda. But now I'm looking around and it seems like I can buy a 1-3 year old luxury brand with <30k miles with a great warranty. So I can get a 1 year old Land Rover Discovery diesel with <10k miles with a 100k mile warranty for a just little bit more than a Chevy Traverse with a 36k mile warranty? Or a 1 year old BMW X5 diesel 12k miles with a 4 year warranty for the same price as the Chevy?

I'm sure I could be happy in a Honda or a Chevrolet...so this seems too good to be true. Is there a catch I'm missing? Has anyone done this and been happy, or have regrets and wish you bought new?

[SnuggleBuggles]

Research upkeep/ maintenance costs. Sometimes premium cars require more expensive parts and maintenance, as my parents found out with one of their cars. They also had trouble sometimes finding mechanics (not the dealer) who could work on it. Just something to look into.

[khm]

I don't know much about Land Rovers and BMWs or diesels, really, and would have to do my homework on that.

But Acuras are Hondas, and Lexus is Toyota. I'd have zero issue buying one of them on the spot.

My mom has always went the lightly-used Lexus route because they are a much better deal than a new (or even similarly used) Toyota. They just depreciate a ton faster. A barely used Toyota hasn't depreciated much at ALL. I think all the "luxury $" depreciates right out of a Lexus. Which stinks for a new Lexus buyer, but is great for a used Lexus buyer.

I have an Audi, which is a fancy VW. I haven't found upkeep to be more than I would have had with a VW. I do admit Audi/VW is likely more temperamental than a Acura/Honda or Lexus/Toyota, but I've chosen to take that risk because i just love Audi/VW.

I do skip the (bleeping) dealership and go to a local independent mechanic that proclaims to specialize in imports. They are 1000% better than the local dealer and will continue to use them with whatever car I have in the future.

[AnnieW625]

I bought my 2017 Outback 7 months before I turned 40. I was replacing an equally unsexy VWPassat TDI manual (due to the VW recall). We drive about the same amount of miles and I and we are really happy with our Outback. We have the 2.5 Limited model with eyesight. We paid $32k and the MSRP was $35K+.

We looked at a few brands of luxury SUVS as well and the ones with low mileage are hot commodities here (Los Angeles/Orange County) and there was no real price break, especially for diesels as they aren’t sold a lot here in CA due to regulations. The most reasonably priced diesel SUV was the Mercedes GLK Blutec and tbh I didn’t really care for the style and it was kind of cramped on the inside. The BMW X5 was still too much or had too many miles....even for a diesel I wanted to keep it under 60k miles and less than 5 years old. I wasn’t considering VW or Audi. Diesel oil changes are about $140 every 10k miles as they require synthetic oil.

Dd1’s godmother just recently leased a Discovery and loves it but she doesn’t drive over 10k miles a year.

Maybe I am old school but if I was passing on the car to a child I wouldn’t be looking at luxury cars. I would be looking at old reliables like Subaru, Honda, or Toyota.


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[MMMommy]

So both the luxury vehicles you mentioned happened to be diesel. Could the diesel be a factor in why they are at a good price? Are you okay with diesel? Is it readily available at all your convenient gas stations? Diesel does cost more than gas, I believe.

[khm]

I bought my 2017 Outback 7 months before I turned 40. I was replacing an equally unsexy VWPassat TDI manual (due to the VW recall).

Lol. All in the eye of the beholder. I've loooooong been a VW fangirl. I think they are totally sexy to my eye!! For me, I'm not into luxury cars that are big plush cars, but smaller sporty cars.

OP, I would totally at least check out the new Subarus. They are quite nice! A friend of mine has always had super boring cars because of his work (didn't want to look "flashy" to clients) and recently got a top line Subaru Outback with all the options in his favorite color. He's just giddy about the thing even months later. Again, eye of the beholder!

I get it though. My last car was silver, and I drove it for 10 years. I will never, ever have another silver car of any make/model. I can see being just done with a certain color/model/style, etc.

Hope you find something fun that fits the bill! There are so many good options out there.

[khalloc]

I love my 2015 Outback.

I wouldnt want a used luxury car over a brand new "good name" car. Besides maybe Lexus, the others I just dont see the appeal on enough that I would be thinking "I can afford a used Mercedes!". I'd be thinking of how much more expensive it would be to fix.

[basil]

Buying another Outback or the Ascent would be practical, for sure...but soooooo boring. My father has a 2015 ish one, and it's basically the same as mine with a screen.

My husband would prefer that I didn't have that part of me that values impractical status things too.

[khm]

Buying another Outback or the Ascent would be practical, for sure...but soooooo boring. My father has a 2015 ish one, and it's basically the same as mine with a screen.

My husband would prefer that I didn't have that part of me that values impractical status things too.

Then definitely do not get another! Seriously there are a ton of great options out there nowadays. Shop around til something makes you giddy. We rent a ton of cars at work and everyone has their own tastes. What one person loves the next one hates. Cars are a a big purchase. Find one that you love! New used or whatever. :-)

[KpbS]

Lexus is a great brand of car. I suggest you test drive a bunch of different models of Lexus and figure out what you like best. Seriously, great cars.