I am in the market to purchase a vehicle and I am looking to CP for some advice to narrow the search to a couple options.
What I am looking for is ideally in the 2004-2008 age range, maybe slightly newer, no later than 2010 though. I would also ideally like to get something that's more of a luxury brand. Audi, Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo or something like that (not a Lincoln). I figure that the cost will not be much different for a vehicle of that vintage, so getting something more upscale should not hit the pocket book too hard.
I am looking for a 4 door sedan, where you or your passenger doesn't feel like you're sitting on the dash board like with a Lincoln. I also need a car that can get up a relatively steep hill. I live at the bottom of a rather annoying hill and the only way out is up, so something that can traverse that is mandatory. Safety is my #1 concern. Pretty much everything else is up in the air.
Any pointers?
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I would recommend a Volvo S80. The R model has all wheel drive which could be beneficial. Lexus is good for reliability. I really like the older GS models. I wouldn't bother with the German vehicles with the exception of a Passat. That being said I think there is/was a CP member selling a really nice Passat in the buy/sell forum.
Right now I have a BMW 750i in that vintage. I didn't really want to buy it, but I had to get a car right away to fit a car seat, and the next door neighbor happened to be selling his at a price that was impossible to refuse.
Those cars depreciate amazingly fast, and also are the first to get the bells and whistles before they show up in the 5 and 3 series. To give you an example of the depreciation... it was purchased on the lot for $128,000, my neighbour buys it 4 years later for $60,000, and I buy it 3 years later for $15,000. It even had extended warranty when I bought it.
I had one "incident" where the transmission stopped working. BMW Calgary said it "needed" a new transmission for $10K plus labour. So I bought a used transmission for $3K through a parts dealer and sent it to an independent BMW mechanic. He determined that only a seal needed to be replaced for $300. So the transmission got sent back, I raised hell with BMW Calgary who eventually refunded my bill with them and took care of the transmission shipping costs.
The 750i drives great if you like a larger sedan type feel. It has oodles of technology and an amazing factory stereo. It has lots of power when you need it. Mine looks in near show-room condition inside and out. I was going to buy it and sell it after two years, but until I know what I really want to buy, I'm just going to keep it.
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I am in the market to purchase a vehicle and I am looking to CP for some advice to narrow the search to a couple options.
What I am looking for is ideally in the 2004-2008 age range, maybe slightly newer, no later than 2010 though. I would also ideally like to get something that's more of a luxury brand. Audi, Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo or something like that (not a Lincoln). I figure that the cost will not be much different for a vehicle of that vintage, so getting something more upscale should not hit the pocket book too hard.
I am looking for a 4 door sedan, where you or your passenger doesn't feel like you're sitting on the dash board like with a Lincoln. I also need a car that can get up a relatively steep hill. I live at the bottom of a rather annoying hill and the only way out is up, so something that can traverse that is mandatory. Safety is my #1 concern. Pretty much everything else is up in the air.
Any pointers?
Don't buy a luxury car in that vintage. An engine light can write a car off.
There is an industry term called the 'the 7 series effect'. A 10 year old 7 is worth less than a 10 year old 3 even though it cost 3 x more originally. This is especially prominent in luxury SUVs. A 10 year old 4Runner is worth 3-4 x a 10 year old X5 or ML Benz. And it was half the price originally. There's a reason. Market desirability, but mainly because one small repair can send he car to the scrap heap, as parts can be ludicrously expensive, and used parts can be near impossible to find due to lack of new car volume.
For what you are trying to accomplish, find yourself a nice high end regular brand, like a Camry LE, Passat Highline, Acura TL..... something that has parts that cross over with numerous cheaper models. Or, stick to the lower end of the luxury brands. A4, 3 series, C-class etc. They were sold in large enough volumes, that a used engine or tranny can be found easily.
Good luck in your search.
Last edited by pylon; 03-18-2017 at 10:34 AM.
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I'll add. An A4 would definitely be what I'd chase after in your scenario. AWD killer fuel economy in the turbo 4's, and half the parts can be bought at a VW dealer. Or you can buy jobber VW parts. You can have two identical parts, one in a VW box, one in an Audi box, with substantially different prices. Plus safety is phenomenal with them.
2008-2010 A4s can be found in the 8-12k range in very good condition, and will hold their value extremely well once they hit that price point.
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Pylon's advice is good. I sold my M3 which was older for 8K more than I bought the 750, and new the 750 was 50K more.
But if you get a "good" one, it will pay for itself. At 15K I've had it for 3 years, it owes me nothing, most other cars I would have bought depreciate much higher than that.
Nothing really to add except that Simpsons clip is hilarious.
I guess at the end of the day, I'd purchaser a newer non-luxury makes vehicle over a older luxury vehicle.
For example, when I bought my 2009 explorer, I was really interested in a BMW 5 series sport ute; however for what I paid for my 2009 explorer, I would have had to look at bmw's that were about 4 years older.
If I am making car payments, I want warranty protection.
But that being said, all of the luxury car makers make sweet rigs and I can see the appeal in leaning towards them.
Good luck
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Infiniti - Nissan parts (Consider infiniti M series)
Lexus - Toyota parts (Consider GS or ES series. I don't know if IS is comfy for passengers)
Acura - Honda parts (Consider TSX or TL)
Audi - Volkswagen parts as Pylon mentioned
IDK what you mean by safety. All cars pass all sorts of safety gamuts before being allowed to be sold. Getting up a hill should be easy for any of those cars as long as the tires are in good condition. I think any vehicle (AWD included) may have issues with the hill if the tires are bald. I'd like to randomly mention, my old infiniti i30t had an overdrive button that when clicked allowed for more torque and higher rpms. The infiniti i35 was last produced 2004 so I'm guessing the M series is better for you to look at.
The above vehicles should have reasonable repair costs due to mass produced interchangeable parts from "another" manufacturer.
For instance:
I believe the M series infiniti shares many parts with the Nissan Maxima.
Lexus sharing parts with the Camry/Avalon etc.
and TSX and older TL (Not the new one post 2010) sharing parts with the Accord.
A4's in those years really like their oil but i do agree that you get the best of both worlds with an Audi.
From someone who has owned 2 BMWs and a Mercedes I wouldn't even consider one that is it out warranty. My old M3 cost around 1k-2k every four months for service
Don't buy a luxury car in that vintage. An engine light can write a car off.
There is an industry term called the 'the 7 series effect'. A 10 year old 7 is worth less than a 10 year old 3 even though it cost 3 x more originally. This is especially prominent in luxury SUVs. A 10 year old 4Runner is worth 3-4 x a 10 year old X5 or ML Benz. And it was half the price originally. There's a reason. Market desirability, but mainly because one small repair can send he car to the scrap heap, as parts can be ludicrously expensive, and used parts can be near impossible to find due to lack of new car volume.
For what you are trying to accomplish, find yourself a nice high end regular brand, like a Camry LE, Passat Highline, Acura TL..... something that has parts that cross over with numerous cheaper models. Or, stick to the lower end of the luxury brands. A4, 3 series, C-class etc. They were sold in large enough volumes, that a used engine or tranny can be found easily.
Good luck in your search.
OMG you just scared the crap out of me.
Had my '14 mint Passat with tinted windows, 3M, another year of warranty, sweet aftermarket black wheels, etc. that we love listed on Kijiji I was going to sell for a great deal on a tuned 2012 CLS-550 4matic. I read your post to my wife and we just took the Passat off Kijiji. It has been such a nice, reliable car so we'll hang onto it for a while yet.
I'm a big fan of the Infiniti G series in that vintage. I had a 2008 G35X for three years that all I had to do for maintenance was front brakes and oil changes. Now I have a 2009 G37X coupe and have driven it for a year with no issues (it only had 30,000 km when I bought it though, so was pretty much brand new). I'm a big fan of the AWD and it seems like there are a fair amount available used. It seems like it was a pretty popular "executive's second car" so I've seen a few with very low mileage for the year.
Looking to buy a car and I need some advice.
