Is That Used Luxury Car Deal Too Good to be True?

When you’re a car enthusiast living on a tight budget, life can be full of difficult choices. What kind of Mercedes-AMG C63 could you buy for the price of a new Civic Type-R? How much used Volvo S90 could you buy for the price of a new Hyundai Elantra? That brand-new Ford Explorer looks solid for $40,000, but for that kind of money you could also get a Cadillac Escalade if you’re not concerned about the model year or odometer reading.

Cadillac

Cadillac is a luxury automotive brand that is a part of General Motors. Founded in 1902, it has a long history as a premium luxury brand. Its current lineup includes both sedans and SUVs with a variety of propulsion systems, including a growing number of electric vehicles. In addition to luxury, Cadillac also focuses on performance, particularly with its V-Series vehicles.
BMW

BMW is a German luxury car and motorbike manufacturer and current owner of Mini, Rolls-Royce, and Alpina. With roots dating back to 1913 as Rapp Motorenwerke, it officially became Bayerische Motoren Werke in 1922 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines. BMW’s first car was built in 1928 when it built the Austin 7 under license from Dixi, which was called the BMW 3/15. BMW grew into a manufacturer of premium and luxury automobiles, launching iconic nameplates like the 3 Series, 5 Series, and 7 Series, and is today known as one of the leading luxury automakers in the world, while the BMW M division is hailed as a leading manufacturer of performance cars.
Volvo

Volvo is a Swedish automaker owned by Geely since 2010 and headquartered in Gothenburg Sweden. Founded in 1927, it has evolved into a premium automaker renowned for its safety, famously giving away free access to the patent for the three-point seatbelt in 1959, saving countless lives since. Volvo has also continually pushed to include the best safety tech in its cars ahead of time, and set a mission in 2007 that by 2020, no one would be killed or seriously injured in a Volvo. Today, that mission has evolved to avoid all collisions in a Volvo. Volvo was also an early adopter of EV technology and had planned to go all-electric by 2030, but recently pushed back this deadline, instead aiming for a 90-100% electric or plug-in hybrid goal by 2030 instead.

Examples of choices like these are countless. In each, there’s a voice over one shoulder encouraging you to make the logical decision and choose the modern, sensible, compact, and a voice over the other encouraging you to go with that glitzy luxury sedan or sleek posh-rocket from years gone by. What’s a shopper to do: stick to sensible territory, or follow their heart?

If you’re facing a similar decision yourself, don’t fret, but do read on and make sure you’ve got solid answers to the following five questions before you make your decision.

Why You Shouldn’t Buy A Used Luxury Car For The Price Of A New Camry

What’s the real price of used premium motoring?

The average price of a new car in the USA is roughly $48,000, and there aren’t many new models left for $20,000. That’s why a lot of people shop around on the used market to see what they can get for the same money. For the same price as a new Nissan Versa, you could easily get a 15-year-old Mercedes S-Class, but this article provides insight into why that may not be a good idea.

Is It Safe Enough?

Automakers have made tremendous advances in safety in recent years, thanks in no small part to increasingly-challenging testing metrics used to define the safest cars on the road. The industry’s top safety ratings from the IIHS and NHTSA help sell cars, and many manufacturers do an excellent job at achieving top marks.

Thing is, the tests and scoring required to achieve these ratings have evolved over time, prompting automakers to build the safer and safer cars required to ace the latest crash-tests. As requirements to earn a top score got more difficult over the years, automakers responded by building safer cars. So, while that three-year-old Lexus and brand-new Camry might both cost the same and each have a top safety score, a lot about what’s behind that safety score has changed since the older car was built.

IIHS Safety Testing Advances:

2008: IIHS starts rating and testing roof strength, to help customers choose vehicles that will protect them in rollovers. A good rof strength rating becomes a requirement for a top score. Manufacturers adapt.
2011: Analysis shows that forward collision and adaptive headlights reduce crashes
2012: A challenging new ‘small frontal overlap’ test is introduced, with most vehicles initially earning poor or marginal ratings.
2013: The IIHS starts rating vehicle front crash prevention technologies
2014: IIHS announces 10 automakers will voluntarily equip all vehicles with frontal crash prevention tech with auto braking as standard. Many more sign on in the coming months.
2016: IIHS launches headlight ratings
2017: A new passenger-side small overlap test is launched, encouraging manufacturers to optimize crash performance on both sides of the vehicle.
2017: IIHS starts rating automatic emergency braking systems that recognize and stop for pedestrians.
2021: Most new vehicles earn a good rating in the long-running side-impact test, so the IIHS updates the test with a higher speed and heavier striking barrier to encourage further improvements
2022: The long-running moderate-overlap frnt test is updated by adding a second dummy in the rear seat, challenging automakers to improve rear-seat protection.

Long story short, newer cars tend to be built to more challenging standards, and come equipped with more safety tech to achieve it. That could save your life.

Nearly Every Mazda Gets The IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Award

Can you guess the two exceptions?

Can You Get Repair Parts, And What Happens If You Hit A Pothole?

Owning an older luxury car can be a great way to exercise your mechanical skill sets, or learn new ones, as you perform your own work to keep an older machine ticking. In some circles, that’s a major part of the appeal of choosing an older vehicle. Of course, most drivers don’t do their own wrenching, and prefer to leave maintenance and care to the experts.

Here’s the thing: the older that luxury or performance car gets, the more likely it’s going to be trickier to source certain parts, fluids or filters, as well as a nearby expert to handle the work. If you’re going with a model that’s particularly older or rarer -perhaps a 2007 Audi S6 or 2000 BMW M5 – you’ll want to be sure you’re able to access the parts you need to keep it ticking, and a qualified expert to execute the repairs if you’re not able.

So, while it’s absolutely possible to keep machines like these running and healthy for years to come, the cost, complexity and time required to do it may far exceed your expectations, so do your homework first. As your new Civic gets older, you’ll have a lot of mechanics around qualified to fix it. That 13-year-old Volvo? Not likely.

10 Used German Sports Sedans Cheaper Than A Base 2025 BMW 3 Series

Some of the best sports sedans ever made have come out of Germany, and many of them now cost less than a base-level 2025 BMW 3 Series.

Also, consider what happens if you destroy a tire on a pothole. In that new Sonata, you’ll call roadside assist, either have the spare tire installed or get a tow to a nearby dealer or tire center that probably has a replacement on the shelf, and be on your way in hardly any time at all. If, however, you choose a 2009 Mercedes S-Class, you’re not covered by roadside assist. Plus, since you’re on run-flat tires (one of which is now destroyed), there’s no spare tire to swap, so a tow-truck ride is mandatory. The likelihood your local tire store has a replacement tire for a 16-year-old exotically-sized sports rim is pretty rare too, so you’ll likely be out a vehicle until one is sourced and shipped.

This is a great time to remind readers to always be aware of the spare tire provisions provided with the vehicle they’re buying, as they have a direct implication on what happens after you get a flat or blowout.

Model	Cost to Replace 4 Tires (approx)
2025 Hyundai Elantra Limited	$700-$800
2025 Nissan Versa	$400-$600
2025 Toyota Corolla LE	$400-$600
2009 Mercedes S-Class	$1,400- $1,500

How Out Of Date Are The Electronics?

If you’re buying a used luxury car built in the last decade or so, you’ll have little trouble finding one with all modern-day must-haves when it comes to smartphone connectivity, navigation, and connected-car features. Still, it pays to know a few things before making a decision. Does the car have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto? Or, does it run a factory navigation system? If the latter, are the maps up to date, and if not, what’s the cost to update them?

In recent years, data from JD Power and Associates has pointed to common modern-car trouble areas as typically being electronic and not mechanical in nature. If you’re buying a luxury car from the past 10 or 12 years, it’s the navigation and infotainment, on-board electronics, and powertrain control computers that are more likely to give you headaches than actual hardware. Millions of used luxury car drivers enjoy the electronics in their machines on the daily basis without problems, but the systems in newer cars tend to be more powerful and straightforward to use.

You also need to consider that most of these older cars used the now-defunct 3G network for a lot of features, ranging from charging stations, navigation, Wi-Fi hotspots, remote locking/unlocking features, and emergency calls. All of these features are now dead and useless, so that used luxury car might not be as advanced as you think.

10 Used Luxury SUVs That Won’t Be A Maintenance Nightmare

These Are The Best Used SUVs For Reliability From $9,000 to $90,000

Is The Mileage Too Low?

Let’s say you’ve come across a luxury car you like very much, but it has extremely low mileage. This can look like a great deal, but proceed with some caution, especially if the low-mileage car you’re considering is in its senior years. Finding a 2000 Lincoln LS with 40,000 miles of use for a good price could put you at the helm of one of the highest-rated sedans of its day on the cheap, though suspiciously low-mileage cars should always be investigated carefully before you buy.

Sometimes, low-mileage cars look like better deals than they are. Remember that cars which have spent extended periods parked and sitting are at elevated risk of tire damage, brake system problems caused by corrosion, leaky seals, suspension clunks, rust, rodent damage, electronic maladies, mold and even toxic fluids which absorb moisture or become acidic over time and can damage brake system or engine parts they’re designed to protect.

Parts designed to move need to move to stay healthy, basically.

As you approach a very low-mileage older luxury car, assume an additional 30% over your purchase budget could be required to make it safe for the road, until you’ve got proof to the contrary. It’s always nice to have choices.