Buy luxury used car or New cheap car ?

Question

If you had a choice would you buy an older luxury car (2002-2004)
or a brand new ecomony car ?

Answer 1

My suggestion is to buy a used luxury car. I also agree with some of the answers above about choices. Used Acuras, Infinitis, and Lexuses are very reliable. So are the BMWs, but very expensive. A good balance between the two may be an Audi Lincoln, which is actually quite reliable, particularly the Town Car. Avoid Cadillac, any 2000-2004 Mercedes-Benz models (but the older ones are reliable, from 1999 and back), and Jaguar. Here's a better breakdown of models I recommend -

Midsize Cars -
Acura TL
Audi A4
BMW 3-Series
Infiniti G35, I30, and/or J30
Lexus ES-Series and/or IS-Series
Lincoln Continental (not the newer LS-Series, though)
Mercedes-Benz C-Class (1999 and older)

Fullsize Cars -
Acura RL
Audi A6
BMW 5-Series
Infiniti M45
Lexus GS-Series
Lincoln Town Car
Mercedes-Benz E-Class (1999 and older)

Caution - With note to the cars above, while they are reliable, if problems do arise, servicing all but the Lincolns will likely be very expensive, as they are import cars (Acura, Infiniti, and Lexus from Japan, and Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz from Germany).

There are also some reliable "near-luxury" cars out there by other brands such as Buick, Mercury, Mitsubishi, Saab, Subaru, and Volvo. Avoid older Chryslers - the reliability isn't so hot.

Midsize -
Buick Le Sabre
Mitsubishi Diamante
Saab 9-3
Subaru Legacy H6 VDC and/or Outback H6 (wagon version)
Volvo S40 and/or V40 (wagon version)

Fullsize -
Buick Park Avenue
Mercury Grand Marquis
Saab 9-5
Volvo S60 and/or V70 (wagon version)

I hope this answer has helped in some way. Be sure to have the engine checked by someone who knows engines before you buy - ask them to check for cracked heads, any oil leaks or burning, knocking, and, if you live in any snowy region, for the beginnings of rust.

Answer 2

I'd say the luxury car, just make it a Lexus, Acura or an Infiniti. You will have problems with a Lincoln, Cadillac or Mercedes (BMW will likely be too expensive). Plus with buying a used car, you let someone else take the hit on depreciation. You also get more "prestige" with a luxury car. You can have one of five Cobalts or Mazda 3's in the parking lot at work, or have the only 2002 Lexus.

Answer 3

When my 2004 Cadillac CTS comes off lease in 2008, you can buy it for $16,000. (I imagine a 2003 would cost the same now). You get a rock solid mid size car with ultimate safety (side air bags), high performance to rival a BMW (sport suspension and 3.6L engine), traction control, stability control, real high quality leather seats. A 4 door sports car with styling that buries Lexus, which are just gussied up Toyotas.

Or you can buy a basic 4 banger car new for the same money and miss out on the safety and performance features.

Cadillac quality is great, better than Toyota's.

An American legend with cutting edge style.

Answer 4

Mercedes and BMWs are frequently worked on vehicles and suffer from reliability issues.

If it's a lexus, go for it.

Now, there is one thing that is always a concern - you never know how the previous owner drove the car. You don't know if they used 87 octane gas from their local convenience store of they used 93 (generally, luxury cars with V8 engines recommend the 93). Of course, with a luxury car you can (probably) safely assume the previous owner took care of the car.

In my personal experience, my parents' 97 Landcruiser (used) has been more reliable than their brand new (97, 99) honda oddysees. On the other hand, my 87 Mercedes 300DT was constantly in the shop.

Answer 5

a 2 - 4 yr old luxury car.
You'll have more gadgets, and more confort.
Plus there usually built better than cheaper economy cars and will therefore last longer.
Although a new car has warranty. So it's up to you how important warranty is.

I just saw Alig answer below......Good point Lexus rock and never go wrong.

Answer 6

definitely go with a used luxury car.

it'll be more comfy
it won't lose half the value as soon as you drive it off the lot
it'll probably be built better
nowadays you can get pretty good warranties on used cars
no one knows (other than those close to you) whether or not you bought a car when it was new or used when they see you driving around

Answer 7

Go for the new car. Luxury cars are over rated and some are quite expensive to repair.

Answer 8

WOW...What a good question, I been selling cars for 25 years and as a hobby dial through yahoo questions that I want to answer and this one rates very high and I will include a web page into my website http://www.usedcartips.org/ working with your question.

The short answer... Warranty VS No Warranty

We all love luxury and I think your question comes down to risk VS no risk

Answer 9

NEVER...I REPEAT NEVER BUY A NEW CAR you loose half the resale value once you drive it off the lot. but if you buy a 2002-2004 luxury car you get what you pay for all of the quirks are figured out and you can get a decent resale value acording to what you paid for it.

Answer 10

Buy the used.. the new ones will mess up cuz they havent been broken into yet ( as in there speed, or what they can do) But some used u CAN get a warrenaty mind u if u get a used or new BMW they will repair certain stuff on the car for free. after ur warranty goes out on the dealership if u get one BMWs are expensive to repair..