YACT: Used luxury for ~$15k?

[Syringer]

What's the best I can come up with?

 

[ApacheXMD]

e36 M3

-patchy

 

[Thegonagle]

Why bother?

Do you want to pay way too much for an old car with a lot of miles or something?

Do you have $15,000 cash, or are you going to take out a shorter term, higher interest loan?

You can generally get a very nice interest rate for 60 months (almost like a new car) on a car 3 years old or newer. Older than that, and you'll be paying more than you need to in interest, and you will be limited to 24-48 months. Both factors are dependent upon how old a car you finance.

With that in mind, how about an 01 Buick Park Avenue, 02 Lesabre, or 01 Mercury Grand Marquis? They?re all three quite good cars.

What about a nice 01-02 Accord V6 with leather, or an 01-02 Maxima? Those are nice, especially the higher-end Maximas with auto climate control.

A 2001 Lincoln LS would probably work too, but I don?t really think one of those would be as reliable as it should be.

You might be able to find a 2001 Infiniti I30, but probably with over 50,000 miles, which puts the kibosh on the best interest rates.

It?s too hard for me to recommend other older ?luxury? cars, because it doesn?t make financial or practical sense if you need to take out a car loan. Aside from the higher cost of money (interest) and higher payments, older higher mileage cars will have the more expensive repairs popping up more frequently. Plus, you?ll tend to be upside-down throughout most of the loan, which never feels good.

 

[BurnItDwn]

how about a 1999 or 2000 Chrysler 300M ???

You could probably find one with low miles and in good shape for under 15K

 

[Vette73]

Caddy Seville. Should get ya a decent one from late 90's to early 2000's. 300Hp and plenty of Lux to spread around.

 

[PowerMac4Ever]

Here's a small list:

'98 Acura TL
'97 Acura RL
'99 Audi A4
'98 BMW 318i (eww)
'99 Cadillac DeVille
'98 Cadillac SeVille
'99 Infiniti I30
'97 Infiniti Q45 (maybe '96)
'97 Jaguar XJ (maybe)
'97 Lexus ES300
'98 Lincoln Town Car
'98 Mercedes C230
'97 Mercedes C280
'99 Volvo S70
'98 Volve S90

I might be off a bit with the years and such.. good luck with your search

Edit: I'd probably try to find a '96 Mercedes E-Class... but that's just me (they're probably unreliable).

 

[MangoTBG]

You should could consider getting a Hyundai. Seriously, you can't beat that warranty!


Btw, i highly...let me repeat, HIGHLY doubt you could find an E36 for sub $20,000 that will last you more than a year w/o dropping a couple hundred within the same year.

Goodluck finding one for $15,000 below 100,000

 

[Wozster]

This is a long-shot but something to keep in mind if you can find a nice one.
I've seen them as low as 15K

"Sell your soul for this car"

Sell your soul for this car. This is perhaps the best driving sedan available. Acceleration is instant and brutal right off the line on up to any speed you want to try. Flooring it off the line will invoke ASR and leave everyone pinned to their seats. Handling is ultra precise with immense grip. The lowered stance and flared fenders look outstanding yet are still mature and stealth. Drive the car at 1/3 or 1/4 throttle and your passengers are cocooned in utmost comfort. The adaptive suspension resolves the ride/handling argument as well as anything to date. One dig in the throttle awakens the car with a deep V8 growl that mutates into a fierce roar that sounds great but never gets intrusive or loud. The seats are bolstered to match the car's handling potential.......

 

[geno]

My mom recently got into an 2000 Infiniti I30 for around that price, if you're content with the size, it's a great car For around that price, you can find a newer Acura TL (2000 maybe), an Audi A6, or maybe like a '97 BMW 5 Series

 

[Turkish]

Do not get an old luxury car. Please. Especially if you are on a tight budget, repairs/maintenaence will empty your pocket. However if you decide to do so, stay away from domestics such as buick/mercury/cadillac ec...

 

[Imported]

My parents bought a '98 A6 a bit over a year ago for around $16k..

I was in the market for a '99+ A4 under $15k and was able to find quite a few..

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

The newest LS400 & GS300 that you can find.

Or a 98-ish Infiniti Q45 or Acura RL.

I'd avoid German luxury cars in this price range.

 

[Grminalac]

I seriously think a used cadillac would be a good option. Their certified pre owned warranty is the best around with a 6 year bumper to bumper 100000 mile warranty. I think you could probably pick up a 99-00 cadillac for around that price. GM has 4.9 financing on them as well. They are not a mercedes or BMW but its still a 3 to 4 year old 40-50 thousand dollar car with low miles for that price is a good deal.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Used Volvo's are great and will be at a low price because they depreciate very fast compared to other cars (Not comparing Ferrari, Porchse, etc.).

 

[ElFenix]

2002 maxima
260 HP

 

[Syringer]

Originally posted by: Grminalac
I seriously think a used cadillac would be a good option. Their certified pre owned warranty is the best around with a 6 year bumper to bumper 100000 mile warranty. I think you could probably pick up a 99-00 cadillac for around that price. GM has 4.9 financing on them as well. They are not a mercedes or BMW but its still a 3 to 4 year old 40-50 thousand dollar car with low miles for that price is a good deal.

How much is the warranty?

 

[SSibalNom]

Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever
Here's a small list:

'98 Acura TL
'97 Acura RL
'99 Audi A4
'98 BMW 318i (eww)
'99 Cadillac DeVille
'98 Cadillac SeVille
'99 Infiniti I30
'97 Infiniti Q45 (maybe '96)
'97 Jaguar XJ (maybe)
'97 Lexus ES300
'98 Lincoln Town Car
'98 Mercedes C230
'97 Mercedes C280
'99 Volvo S70
'98 Volve S90

I might be off a bit with the years and such.. good luck with your search

Edit: I'd probably try to find a '96 Mercedes E-Class... but that's just me (they're probably unreliable).

i'd second the I30, but at auction prices, if you find someone who has access to repo auctions, some of the I35's are going for around 15-16k, as for the q45, we got a '97 at the auction, and now my uncle has it, it turns out they ALL (even newer ones) have a minor transmission problem where the steering wheel will shake a bit when stopping after a while, as for mercedes/audi/bmw, remember your paying mostly for name, not a quality car.... some people may say infiniti is just a nissan, but that just a nissan that i had last (still have and now selling), has 310k miles on it and still runs strong...

 

[Syringer]

Originally posted by: Syringer

Originally posted by: Grminalac
I seriously think a used cadillac would be a good option. Their certified pre owned warranty is the best around with a 6 year bumper to bumper 100000 mile warranty. I think you could probably pick up a 99-00 cadillac for around that price. GM has 4.9 financing on them as well. They are not a mercedes or BMW but its still a 3 to 4 year old 40-50 thousand dollar car with low miles for that price is a good deal.

How much is the warranty?

 

[minendo]

My parents just picked up a fully loaded 540i for less than that.

 

[kt]

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN
The newest LS400 & GS300 that you can find.

Or a 98-ish Infiniti Q45 or Acura RL.

I'd avoid German luxury cars in this price range.

I second the Lexus route. Reliable and cheap maintenance.

Avoid German luxury cars. That includes Audi, BMW, and MBZ. When they break down, prepare to empty your bank account. And they seem to break down a lot too.

 

[SHoddyCOmp]

Originally posted by: MangoTBG
You should could consider getting a Hyundai. Seriously, you can't beat that warranty!


Btw, i highly...let me repeat, HIGHLY doubt you could find an E36 for sub $20,000 that will last you more than a year w/o dropping a couple hundred within the same year.

Goodluck finding one for $15,000 below 100,000

actually i have a friend right now that is trying to get rid of his '97 M3 for ~19k, i think...I asked him how much he wanted to get for it but i forget exactly, it wasnt 20 though. It is running perfectly fine and has a badass stereo. They do exist under 20 that are still great.

 

[SHoddyCOmp]

woops dp

 

[DaviDaVinci]

Originally posted by: SHoddyCOmp

Originally posted by: MangoTBG
You should could consider getting a Hyundai. Seriously, you can't beat that warranty!


Btw, i highly...let me repeat, HIGHLY doubt you could find an E36 for sub $20,000 that will last you more than a year w/o dropping a couple hundred within the same year.

Goodluck finding one for $15,000 below 100,000

actually i have a friend right now that is trying to get rid of his '97 M3 for ~19k, i think...I asked him how much he wanted to get for it but i forget exactly, it wasnt 20 though. It is running perfectly fine and has a badass stereo. They do exist under 20 that are still great.

how many miles? also M3 is not a luxury car. it's a sporty b1tch.
I'm in the same boat as the OP but i don't see a way to do it. ALthought my bro in law bought a used Acura. It's SOO comfy and rides WAY WAY better then his 96 maxima. He got it cheap and so far no probs whatso ever. Can't beat the extra leg room either. I want a luxury car toooooo.....

 

[toant103]

Originally posted by: Syringer
What's the best I can come up with?

stay with Lexus

 

[Mani]

Used Infinitis are a steal. Reliability equal to lexus without the high-resale prices.