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.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[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.

[basil]

Thanks, guys!

My mom has a GLK. She loves it but she’s retired and it definitely would be too small for me.

I mentioned diesels because I’m interested in the gas mileage. With a primarily highway commute, hybrids don’t seen to offer much advantage, but diesel does. Seems like there are enough diesel stations around.

I mentioned Land Rover because I’ve always had a thing for them but always figured they were out of reach.

I do know a good German mechanic, not too sure about LR. The dealer is not too far away though.

[Zukini]

I will throw my hat in the ring for a gently loved Lexus RX. We love them so much that both DH and I each have one. It’s a great commuter or family car, nice visibility, good on gas - despite needing premium, easy to drive (not near as zippy fun as BMW but it will get you places in comfort), and will look and wear well for years to come.

We are up to 4 Lexus now, the other two were great too - no complaints, and at this point refuse to purchase anything else going forward. Biggest reason for this decision is that time is priceless, and having a reliable car is worth more than the zippiness (we first hand know the repair pains as we’ve also owned between us at some point or the other me at BMW 3 series, and in DH bachelor days Audi and Porsche). The Lexus dealership experience is hands down excellent and since I’ve literally not done anything to my 2012 besides tires, brakes, scheduled maintenance in the past 7 years, I rarely have to go in to the dealer. When I do, they happily provide a loaner for anything more than an oil change and are organized, prompt and low stress.

(We had a regrettable interlude with a new 2015 Toyota Highlander before we traded it for the second preowned RX and I can say that while Toyota and Lexus are the same parent company - that the fit, finish and ride of the hard product and 2 stars better level of service just do not compare. I was at the point with extra visits to the Toyota dealership on my car with < 20k miles for minor but annoying things that I asked our Lexus service advisor if he would service my Toyota at their shop instead. Labor rates were pretty much the same FYI - $126 hr for Toyota vs $130hr at Lexus. And they would give me a loaner. The RX trunk space is plenty big, and within a couple inches length wise to the Highlander when the absolute joke of a third row was folded down. The Highlander was slightly better on gas.

During this time of offloading the Highlander, we also looked at a few Porsche Cayennes for fun, OMG the drive and ride was amazing, but then we asked for service records for a couple of them that were 1-2 years old and the salesperson she brought literally 10-13 page printouts on each for work that was mostly not under warranty for whatever odd reason aka $$$. We hightailed it out. I don’t care how it drives, I refuse to waste my time and energy on unreliable vehicles and brands no matter what it looks like or how it zips. There’s a reason the RX comprises 6 out of every 10 cars that Lexus sells. It does the job in style and with zero drama.)

[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.