Used luxury cars

jinjuku

TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »

I have owned a Lexus for the last 8 years. It no longer has a warranty it has over a 180,000 miles. Total cost in repairs outside of the standard oil change and new tires? Just around $3000 Not bad IMO.

You can't beat a good Toyota or Lexus, they are dependable and you can run them till the wheels fall off.

My wife likes to lease, and I find it a complete waste of money. If you take your car in for it's 5 point check up they will last you a long time and it's cheaper in the end.

If you buy used, take the car in and have it fully checked out before you buy it.


Leasing = a payment that never ends.
Owning = seeing the light of day and having a few hundred dollars back in your pocket for awhile.

Wow something we agree on. I still drive a 99 Altima approaching 190K with about $2500 in after warranty work (It's a manual so the clutch was $900 of that). I haven't had a car payment in 8 1/2 years. So I save/invest and when my Wife got here new job after passing her dissertation defense (2009) I bought her a used 2004 G35 out of pocket. Got a really great deal on a car with 52K on it that went for close to $40K originally for $13k out the door.

tonyb

The majority of cars lose their value rather quickly. Buying a used luxury car that may hold value better and paying it off is more economical. I did the same with my Lexus, though not what I would consider a top luxury car,it was well built,and payed of in 4 years. Haven't had a car payment in 10 years now. Do the math. Thats around 50 g's, that is not flushed down the drain and is better spent in stocks, or something that has a chance of increasing in value rather than another car that decreases in value.

TroyD

jinjuku wrote: »

Wow something we agree on. I still drive a 99 Altima approaching 190K with about $2500 in after warranty work (It's a manual so the clutch was $900 of that). I haven't had a car payment in 8 1/2 years. So I save/invest and when my Wife got here new job after passing her dissertation defense (2009) I bought her a used 2004 G35 out of pocket. Got a really great deal on a car with 52K on it that went for close to $40K originally for $13k out the door.

Something we agree on....how 'bout that?

BDT

rdb2001

Personally the next car I buy will be 2-3 years old luxury used car. I said I would never do it again after I bought a used 2003 lincoln LS V8 in 2006 for 16k. Seems like a good deal til that sucker went into the shop 5 times in 11 months. Got rid of it and took the lost and bought new. I have a 2007 Chevy avalanche, that I bought new in 07. Got a really great deal because they were closing the 07's out with 0 % financing and I get a supplier's discount. I bought my wife an 08 malibu ltz fully loaded that had 1500 miles on it for 9k under sticker and still had the same factory warranty. This is the only way I will ever buy new. You get raped buying new cars. I am looking at a 2007 mercedes cls 550. New they go for 80-85k. I have found numerous 2007 used ones from 33-38k with 40k or less miles on them. No brainer to me.

Lil'Abbey

rdb2001 wrote: »

I am looking at a 2007 mercedes cls 550. New they go for 80-85k. I have found numerous 2007 used ones from 33-38k with 40k or less miles on them. No brainer to me.

That is a great looking car but I would be careful. It may well spend more time in the shop than the lincoln.

B Run

Lil'Abbey wrote: »

That is a great looking car but I would be careful. It may well spend more time in the shop than the lincoln.

I had a 2007 CLS 550 for about 4 months, and I loved it. All my friends are pro poker players and i'm the only one with a house, so my friend left it in my garage for a while. They're definitely a great car and so fun to drive. I did have to take it to the shop twice and I know he's taken it in since. I had the same problem on my bmw, but thats exactly why you buy used with a warranty because they fix it free and you get a loaner. My cadillac has actually been worse than both the mercedes and bmw as far as issues go. I highly recomend extending the warranty on whatever you get.

nguyendot

B Run wrote: »

I had a 2007 CLS 550 for about 4 months, and I loved it. All my friends are pro poker players and i'm the only one with a house, so my friend left it in my garage for a while. They're definitely a great car and so fun to drive. I did have to take it to the shop twice and I know he's taken it in since. I had the same problem on my bmw, but thats exactly why you buy used with a warranty because they fix it free and you get a loaner. My cadillac has actually been worse than both the mercedes and bmw as far as issues go. I highly recomend extending the warranty on whatever you get.

I agree whole heartedly.

My girlfriends G35 so far has only had a bad battery in the same amount of time. Given, her car is almost 5 years old, it's been in the shop less times than my car (none). It's got no warranty, but then again I don't foresee anything major going wrong with it in the near future.

Sami

sucks2beme wrote: »

Screw luxury cars. Go dependable. Most of them are just a regular
car with better trim. The core of the car is the exact same as the lower
end models.

Depends on what you view as a luxury car. A CTS in my book is not a luxury car, but if it is then I somewhat agree with you. However, when you move into real luxury cars, you get much more but you also pay much, much more. I just sold my 8 year old 7-series and it's still more car than a brand new Camry or CTS is. Of course once the need to maintain it raises its ugly head, you're spending money, but you can't beat the enjoyment. Everything has its price...

You can get a certified 2008 BMW 750Li for around $45k. Screw the CTS!

gdb

Get a car with OnStar, could save your life someday!

AudioGenics

make sure you have a solid honest mechanic that will service your vehicle.

AudioGenics

check this dealer out
www.sussexautobrokers.com

Jstas

jvc wrote: »

check this dealer out
www.sussexautobrokers.com

Dude, that's like 150 miles from him.

heiney9

mantis wrote: »

I'm also of the mind of that if you can't afford a new Luxury vehicle then you should buy it used and squeak into it. How are you going to afford the repair bills when something goes wrong? Most higher end vehicles cost more to fix.

Leasing is the worst scam in the auto industry and I'd bet most people who lease for personal use also can't afford to buy that New luxury vehicle. A lease is $399 a month vs. $699 or more to BUY the car. I leased one car in the late 90's and I'll never throw my money away like that again.

H9

nooshinjohn

heiney9 wrote: »

Leasing is the worst scam in the auto industry and I'd bet most people who lease for personal use also can't afford to buy that New luxury vehicle. A lease is $399 a month vs. $699 to BUY the car. I leased one car in the late 90's and I'll never throw my money away like that again.

H9

A bit of an overstatement H9... The thing that I see happen more often that not today is a customer coming to me getting out of a lease and being told that he could trade the car in on a new one and the car having positive equity to the tune of a grand or more. I will concede that leasing is NOT for everyone and every situation, but there are occasions that leasing is the best for a given situation. The key to it is knowing the facts up-front and making a descision based on those facts.

If you are always getting a new car every three years, leasing is the best way to guarantee that you do not take a bath on trade values, especially on domestic cars, which tend to be worth about 35% or so after three on a trade. If you drive a bunch(15k or more), if you drive a car until there is nothing left of it... then leasing will not be the right choice. If your sales consultant is a **** that does not take the time to explain all sides and let you decide what is right for YOU, then find a better one.

heiney9

I do agree slightly John, the problem is *most* lot lizards won't go out of their way to inform a customer about the differences between leasing and buying. And most consumers just don't take the time to learn the in's and out's. Far, far too many people purchase cars based on an emotional reaction rather than a common sense reaction.

At first the attractive lease benefits in large bold print catch the customers interest and then the emotional part takes over and they totally blow by the fine print and never understand what they have just entered into with the lease.

That's both the dealers fault and consumers fault although I agree the consumer needs to educate themselves to a certain degree. Leases can make sense in some instances, but rarely are they the best deal or even a good deal unless you want to drive more car than you can afford by purchasing and in the end you've paid out the wazoo for nothing but the priviledge of being seen in a fancy car you could never afford to buy.

H9

mdaudioguy

jvc wrote: »

check this dealer out
www.sussexautobrokers.com

Jstas wrote: »

Dude, that's like 150 miles from him.

I got a laugh out of that! Yeah, I think there might be a couple used car dealers a little closer to home...

gdb

hey! we drove almost to Plila. from near Westminster, to get a car that I found on autotrader at J.L. Freed! Trust me, it was worth the drive.
BTW, they sell a lot of Caddies.

nooshinjohn

mdaudioguy wrote: »

I got a laugh out of that! Yeah, I think there might be a couple used car dealers a little closer to home...

We think nothing of a cross-country trip for a set of minty SDA's...:rolleyes:

mdaudioguy

nooshinjohn wrote: »

We think nothing of a cross-country trip for a set of minty SDA's...:rolleyes:

Hmm, a car with built-in SDAs... Wait a minute, I'm getting off track here!

exalted512

Completely unrelated, but I want one of these:

-Cody