Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No vehicle in this class is a solid value-proposition. The least-worst is probably the Lexus IS350 (perhaps too compact for the OP). I'm seeing circa-2007 models advertised for $20K on Craigslist, and occasionally for well above $20K. These are no 8-year-old cars, that are at ~50% of their original sticker price. For some reason the comparable Infiniti is down to the $15K range.
My personal data point: 1996 BMW M3, originally stickered for ~$40K. Bought in 2010 for under $5K. In 14 years, it lost nearly 90% of its value.
Overall the implication is to buy used - regardless of whether the vehicle is German, Japanese, American or Korean.
I couldn't agree any more. I bought new once and realized it wasn't the smartest purchase even though I liked the car (it wasn't available on the used market at the time). All prior and latest purchases have all been used and I rarely lost much money on them.
% is fine but when you convert that to dollars and the more expensive car loses less % but that costs you more $ does it make you feel better?
Well, that's what I said, didn't I.
In general a more expensive car will cost more, but according to local listings in my area, a 1 year old genesis is worth 1/2 its original msrp, so that's not going to be good compared to 5 series, even with higher initial price.
And, yes, a civic will be cheaper, but looking at your signature, you are not interested in that either.
No vehicle in this class is a solid value-proposition. The least-worst is probably the Lexus IS350 (perhaps too compact for the OP). I'm seeing circa-2007 models advertised for $20K on Craigslist, and occasionally for well above $20K. These are no 8-year-old cars, that are at ~50% of their original sticker price. For some reason the comparable Infiniti is down to the $15K range.
My personal data point: 1996 BMW M3, originally stickered for ~$40K. Bought in 2010 for under $5K. In 14 years, it lost nearly 90% of its value.
Overall the implication is to buy used - regardless of whether the vehicle is German, Japanese, American or Korean.
Exactly.
My personal experience - I sold my 2001 e46 for 15% of what I paid as new. After 13 years not that bad actually.
As for my other question, are there any other cars out there that haven't been covered above that I should be looking at? Is there another 'sleeper' car in this segment I should be considering?
Lincoln MKZ, Cadillac CTS, Acura RLX (You mentioned FWD, but I thought the RLX has an AWD option. But why do you need AWD anyway, you live in Houston.)
No vehicle in this class is a solid value-proposition.
My personal data point: 1996 BMW M3, originally stickered for ~$40K. Bought in 2010 for under $5K. In 14 years, it lost nearly 90% of its value.
Overall the implication is to buy used - regardless of whether the vehicle is German, Japanese, American or Korean.
After leasing became popular in the mid-90's (?), that was the same conclusion I came to.
(For the wife, I'll buy her a brand new one, but for myself, buying new is not even on my list).
And to make it less risky, I only go for the used flagships: Avalon, RL and Maxima.
*I used to love cars; I took an after school Automotive Tech class in HS, listened to and read Car Talks columns, read all ten different Consumer Reports on New Cars editions so that I could identify 95% of the cars at night just from tail light designs.
Now I really see cars purely for transportation purposes only--thus my love for flagships.
Next month Cadillac is debut their new CT6 suppose to be = to 7 series BMW or S-Class benz. No pricing info yet but probably low 60's. I like there XTS all in you can get it $58k for twin turbo 400 hp fully load with massage hot/cool seat front and rear. And then there is the new CTS-V 550 hp which is really a sweet ride, if you can handle that much power.
Next month Cadillac is debut their new CT6 suppose to be = to 7 series BMW or S-Class benz. No pricing info yet but probably low 60's. I like there XTS all in you can get it $58k for twin turbo 400 hp fully load with massage hot/cool seat front and rear. And then there is the new CTS-V 550 hp which is really a sweet ride, if you can handle that much power.
Not a fan of Cadillac and yes, I don't want the added complexity of AWD's but thanks for the suggestions.
All good points here, my original intention was CPO but a CPO GS350 F Sport is close to my target new Genesis 5.0 price. That said, there's no reason why I can't wait for a CPO 5.0 to pop up so I may just do that.
I guess the decision is 99% made, thanks for the help!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
