Motors Used luxury car advice?

Thinking about picking up a used luxury car next year sometime, but want an idea of how feasible (or not) it would be. I've been doing a bit of research, browsing forums and reading reviews, but it's a lot to take in.

Looking at 05 reg or newer, with a budget of £8k (ideally a bit less though) as it seems like a nice point for a balance of price and performance. Would love a V8 and have been considering something along the lines of a BMW 545/645/650i, Merc CLS500, Jag XJR/S-type R, Audi A8/S5 (quite a lot of variety there I know).

Mileage would be low, so fuel isn't gonna be a massive issue.

Insurance is the same price if not cheaper than for other cars I had looked at with much smaller engines and less performance (due to the demographics etc I guess).

What I'm kinda worried about is the reason why these cars are so cheap - the cost of repairs when something goes wrong. I can deal with the higher cost of parts / servicing and am happy to do my own maintenance / repairs where possible, but what I don't want is to find myself forking out hundreds / thousands every month to fix stuff.

It looks like some trade sellers offer up to 24 month warranties on these cars, which I'm assuming would be a good option to take?

Does anyone own / have experience with any of the cars I mentioned or something similar?
Any advice?
What can I expect?
Are there any manufacturers I should avoid? (From what I've read, it sounds like Audis are very expensive to maintain, while Mercs are on the cheaper side and better at lasting a long time.)


Alternatively I was thinking about an Impreza / RX-8 / 350z / MR2 / Celica - which, being Japanese, should be more reliable and cheaper to maintain, but insurance is quite a bit higher, they aren't gonna be as feature rich or comfortable, and they lack a nice V8.

Thanks in advance.

 

RX-8 is a costly option, great car but I would steer clear. Also with luxury cars you get what you pay for, they are often seemingly cheap as they are not easy to shift if priced higher, people usually want practicality or better fuel consumption , however there are limits to this. With £8k I think you are playing a dangerous game wanting a V8.

If you want luxury, speed and a head turner then something like this is great:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...ar-from=2005&page=1&postcode=wf29be&logcode=p

 

If you want big luxury car and reliability, try a Lexus LS. As Lexus are a division of Toyota nothing beats them for reliability.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/lexus/ls_460/postcode/ta41at/radius/1500/onesearchad/used/quicksearch/true

 

I couldn't agree with this more. My chauffeur brother is having loads of issues with his two W221 S-Classes and his E66 750 is due for its second total front suspension rebuild. The LS460 and the little IS he had were totally reliable and the dealership customer service was second to none.

 

I did look at Lexus GS and LS, and they seem to tick almost all the boxes, but I'm just not sure I can stand how they look (and the new facelift that I do like the look of is outta my price range).

 

I'd stay away from the N63s if looking at BMW (i.e. post 2008 x50i) - I've seen way too many unpleasant accounts of them popping and preposterous repair bills. I've had a 7-series from new that's just dropped out of warranty and BMW asked for £2200/year to extend it... not sure what that says about their confidence in its ongoing wellbeing...

Generally, "luxury cars" (S, 7er, A8, XJ, LS etc) depreciate like nothing else, and whilst the sticker price can be attractive, anything in this category holds the potential for cripplingly expensive repair bills and there are lots of toys that can go wrong. You might be better of looking at "executive" cars (E, 5er, A6, XF, GS etc) as there are usually less things that can break onboard.

Make sure you check out all of the Ts&Cs of any warranty being offered - a drivetrain-only warranty doesn't do a lot of good for electronic gremlins.

I'd also throw a Volvo S80 V8 into the ring, equipped with a glorious and noisy Yamaha V8, same as in the Noble M600 no less

What is it that you're after in a car? I ask as many newer mid-range cars have all of the creature comforts and more of a "luxury" car 10 years ago.

 

Tad's comments about the 5s and 7s are sound advice; repairs start to get real pricey higher up the chain.

Have a look and decide what you're after and then do your homework on them and start looking. With luxury vehicles there will be a lot of toys and make sure everything works, check all the features, all the electric windows, mirrors etc. You don't want to get it home and find out you've already got a repair bill because you didn't think to check the sunroof.

If you're going big, consider LPG conversion. Even doing a few thousand miles a year it will pay for itself quite quickly.

 

Performance is probably the main thing I'm after.

An older V8 seemed to be the best way to achieve this - being initially cheaper and having lower insurance than hot hatches and the like. They also have the added benefit of extra comfort, features and toys (and that glorious V8 sound that makes me all warm and tingly inside).


From what I read about LPG, it isn't really worth it?

 

I can only go by what I've read but I've not known anyone who has personal experience to slate it. For big engines it makes nothing but sense on paper.

 

My understanding was that, although fuel is cheaper:
- a good conversion is expensive
- you lose boot space
- lower MPG
- refuelling is less convenient
- reduced mileage
- potential performance impacts

I'm not sure I'll be doing enough yearly miles to recover the cost and see the benefits - though I did see a few cars that had already been converted.

 

I had a 2005 630i before writing it off a couple of weeks ago, owned for 4 years and took it from 74k to 115k. I spent about £3000 on repairs over those 4 years not including servicing, and in all honesty, I think I got lucky. I loved every minute of owning that car though. Bought for 10499 and worth about 6500 when I was all done - no idea if I could have found a buyer though.

Now in a 2008 Scirocco which has more or less identical creature comforts minus the legroom and boot size, and it's faster. Pretty happy.

 

What happened to your 6er, Julian?

 

Used the indicator.

 

you could always look at the new mustang. just prepare to lose your **** over the car tax for it, I'm going to cry when i get mine in the next year or two :/

 

How about a nice E46 BMW M3 .. should be quick enough!

 

Ok, not that luxurious but an infinitely tunable, simple V8 in a rather nice body:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...had=new,nearlynew,used&sort=default&logcode=p

 

Pretty sure he said his budget was £8k, not £35k for a new Mustang (not to mention the several month long waiting list). Plus it's not exactly a 'luxury' car with plasticky interior finish and what might as well be zero rear legroom.

 

Couple of alternative ideas:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...d=new,nearlynew,used&year-from=2005&logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...d=new,nearlynew,used&year-from=2005&logcode=p

 

If it was within budget I would in a heartbeat.

Always wanted one, but would have to sell a kidney to pay for the insurance.

330i would be a bit better, but again, I'm not sure I could bring myself to pay that much to insure it knowing I can insure a 545i for less...

 

I guess there's not much to go wrong, however, although I don't care much about image, I'm not too sure about a Vauxhall... and it's missing all the nice features like a fancy sound system and stuff to play with.

Cayennes (and X5s) are too slow and (I think) too expensive to maintain.

Hadn't considered a Boxster, but they might be a bit too impractical and they are a bit too girly for me.