I'm looking for a luxury car to drive to work in and for long motorway journeys. I have a budget of about £12K. The car needs to be spacious, extremely comfortable, have a very smooth and refined ride, near-silent in the cabin at motorway speeds and have a few toys like climate control, satnav, etc. It needs to be reliable (3-4 more years without any issues). I'm not bothered about fuel economy or servicing costs.
So, can I get luxury motoring that meets the above for £12K? Which make and model should I be looking at?
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Lexus LS 400/420?
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I'll second the big lexus.
I had a lift in one recently with more than 300 thousand miles on the clock.
Interior was great, and the ride was excellent - very impressive
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There are two Lexus LS models that fall into my budget: the LS400 (one of the later ones) or an early LS430. I assume the LS430 is a better car than the LS400 or am I mistaken?
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In an idle moment I just saw a June '01 (Y) LS 430 with 77k miles @ £11,990 on the Lexus website (used cars) - with (maybe?) SatNav, HID lamps, leather, air suspension etc..
Hmmm..
Edited by woodbines on 25/01/2008 at 14:55
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Sounds like a Jaguar XJ......
Lexus always strikes me as a bit 'worthy but sterile' - the big Jaguars have always had that bit of 'raffishness' about them :-)
Edited by OldSock on 25/01/2008 at 13:29
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Try a Lexus GS300/430 rather than the LS barge
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My late business partner's Lexus LS430 was six years old and had done 125,000 miles. Drove like new and was sold for £5000.
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If you're prepared to accept high miles (on a car that feels like it's just getting run in at 120k) then the LS430 ticks the boxes you describe for 12k. The LS400 is great but feels a bit old fashioned in comparison. You couldn't pay 12k for a 400 now if you tried anyway, they're much less than that.
There's no question the mid range GS is a very good car - but the act of sitting in the LS for the first time makes you think, aha, now I know where the extra twenty grand or so at purchase time went. It feels a LOT nicer than the GS and is much quieter.
Try not to get one of the very first ones as they didn't have the parking sensors, which are really useful. You can tell by the presence/absence of a switch to the right of the steering wheel marked park assist, (which means you can see if it's there in the photos on autotrader or whatever).
Other than that, no options as everything is there, other than the premium pack, which gives you the rear electric reclining massage seats, cool box and radio/rear aircon controls). That wasn't standard till mid 2002 I think, but only you can decide if you care. (It's actually all good stuff worth having if you like your toys.)
Edited by Dipstick on 25/01/2008 at 14:37
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Late '80s Bentley Mulsanne go for under £10k - the running costs are no doubt as high as when new!!
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Thanks for that advice, Dipstick. Very useful indeed.
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How about this one - a lot of car for the money.
tinyurl.com/2hstu9
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Oops - I see its a little over budget but have a look on the Auto Trader website - if you are genuinely not worried about service and running costs there are plenty of Bentleys about at your price range.
Get a good one and you have your genuine luxury barge par excellence - get a bad one and its a money pit.
Your choice old chap.
The one above I posted - don't you just love those big leather armchairs with the piping ....
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Hi helicopter, an old Bentley would be nice but the car would be used to visit customers and I need it to look fairly anonymous so it doesn't stand out too much! Customers can be a bit funny if you visit them in an overtly ostentatious car. It also needs to be a car that I wouldn't worry about parking in a supermarket car park for fear of it being keyed.
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.... luxury car... and I need it to look fairly anonymous so it doesn't stand out.... wouldn't worry about parking in a supermarket car park for fear of it being keyed.....
That makes it a bit more difficult, doesn't it !
Maybe an Audi A8? Fairly anonymous but capable - in a Teutonic manner.
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>>Maybe an Audi A8? Fairly anonymous but capable - in a Teutonic manner.
Maybe not the most cossetting of rides though...
Autobahn - You're not making it easy for the BR personal car shoppers on this one - slipping in the 'low ostentation & low keying quotient' parameters under the radar. Well, is this pointing more towards a Nissan QX or similar now perhaps..?
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Hi woodbines, sorry when I meant 'not too ostentatious' it was relative to a Bentley! I think the Lexus LS430 is at the top of my list at the moment. I've never considered a Jaguar XJ-series but that could be in the running too. I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned a Merc S-Class yet!
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OK then autobahn - why not save yourself a bit of cash and try one of these ...
tinyurl.com/38mz6q
Reliable luxury motoring , presents the right image without appearing ostentatious and a supermarket key maniac would not give it a second glance....
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I'm looking for a luxury car to drive to work in and for long motorway journeys. I have a budget of about £12K. The car needs to be spacious extremely comfortable have a very smooth and refined ride near-silent in the cabin at motorway speeds
I am very happy with my Volvo S80.... Petrol models come at £7k+ for a 3-year-old.
It's certainly smooth and totally and utterly silent, really nice stereo (SE model). Slightly old-fashioned since new model in 2007, though very cheap.
and have a few toys like climate control satnav etc.
Dual-zone climate control is there, but satnav relatively rare. Probably not quite as many toys as the BMW/Mercedes option, but much cheaper. You'll still get electric memory seats, nice CD changer, electric folding mirrors, various vanity lights and cupholders, full leather interior, and so on. www.volvoclub.org.uk/s80.shtml
The luxury pack (possibly on Lux spec cars) with the 16" wheels will give a smoother ride than the 17", which can transmit road bumps and manhole covers quite a lot.
Here's one, 54 reg, for just £6k (or £6.5k)
tinyurl.com/36yulm
56,000 miles, nice colour satnav, 2.5T engine - I have the same model, but in cream leather (to be avoided, and minus satnav).
I'm not sure you can actually sensibly spend £12k on one though, so you'd pocket the change - new models are not that cheap yet, and old models not that expensive. Nobody seems to have picked up in the media on the low prices/value that you get from them, so second hand values are very depressed.
It needs to be reliable (3-4 more years without any issues).
Mine just sailed through its MOT. Given the long life of the model (since about 1998, with a 2003 body reshape), all issues should be issued out if you buy a late model. Earlier models had some issues, but I am not aware of any on the younger ones.
So can I get luxury motoring that meets the above for £12K? Which make and model should I be looking at?
£12k is quite a lot really. I was looking in the £7k region and found value in Saab as well.
I got far more car for my cash than the other options such as a Passat or Accord available in the same price range. I wasn't willing to spend up to the BMW/Lexus league
Other cars I considered included the Peugeot 607, which is actually pricier than the Volvo, and not as desirable really. Beyond that I would really only look to a Volkswagen Phaeton, which really does go into a different league of quality, and has the understated look of being a Bentley in Passat clothing. Prices sadly have recovered, but still a bargain - but more than you want to pay. 6-litre LWB W12 limousine is just lovely (450 bhp, and 0-60 in 5s), with shiatsu massage seats, or the engine of the year 5-litre V10 diesel, but things start off at about £15k for the V6 petrol.
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Having an older S80, flunky, I'd agree that they are indeed a severely under-valued car. I've done 80k in mine (2.4 petrol automatic) and have just replaced 'consumables' (like petrol!).
Fine though it is, I'm not sure if it really cuts it as a 'luxury' car - more 'executive' in the grand scheme of things :-) Maybe the ride has improved since my 2000MY specimen, but it's a little 'fidgety' over some surfaces. I prefer the supple 'oiliness' of, say, a Jaguar.....
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Jag S Type....they're pretty good value second hand anyway...and with the new XF due out any minute, there's bound to be some bargaining room for a garage to drop a bit more
if you get an SE model, they come pretty loaded as it is
Edited by Westpig on 25/01/2008 at 16:26
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Autobahn, you asked as part of the op for reliability as you want 3 or 4 years trouble free, think youve only really got the lexus or possibly honda legend as a quiet outsider, dont think any of the other suggestions would give you quite the same combination of refinement and total dependability.
Would say merc s class, but whether it would give the total reliability you want is debatable.
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surely a lux q car has to be an ls430 or legend if you can find any. both extremly comfortable.
an S280 might be nice if you really don't mind service bills.
i would buy an XJ6 and get one nearly new for that but dont know about reliability but the ride is superb
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Having an older S80 flunky I'd agree that they are indeed a severely under-valued car. Fine though it is I'm not sure if it really cuts it as a 'luxury' car - more 'executive' in the grand scheme of things :-)
I guess it's a fine line, but it's certainly slightly below say an S-Class.
Maybe the ride has improved since my 2000MY specimen but it's a little 'fidgety' over some surfaces. I prefer the supple 'oiliness' of say a Jaguar.....
I don't think so. Getting the smaller alloys would improve the ride though.
I don't think the mooted S-Type is luxury either though....
If you really want a 'luxury car' there are very very few choices that aren't super luxury £100k beasts, I guess the XJ, A8, 7-series, Phaeton, S Class, and the Lexus LS.
Here's one out of leftfield, a nice 5.7-litre V8:
2005 CHRYSLER 300C V8 Hemi 5.7
LHD, 2005, 23000 Miles, Metallic black, 22in chrome alloys, Bentley grill, black windows, Halo headlights, full leather, f/f/sunroof, fully loaded, very good condition, any trial (left-hand drive), on HPi register, stolen recovered hence. £13,500.
(also would have satnav)
tinyurl.com/2txzp9
Obviously LHD is a drawback, but RHD is available. It certainly looks the part, for stately luxury. HJ review here www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/?id=193
The problem for me is that the OP wants luxury, but also wants high depreciation, and most luxury brands do not depreciate that much. £12k seems to buy a 6-year-old German, which is getting on a bit really, so the above Chrysler looks a good deal in comparison.
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that isnt only LHD its also on HPI as stolen recovered.
Is the OP in pharmaceuticals?
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It would have to be an E-class (current shape W211). Any bugs should have been sorted and they are in their element on the motorway. Refined, spacious and supremely comfortable.
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>>Beyond that I would really only look to a Volkswagen Phaeton,which really does go into a different league of quality, and has the understated look of being a Bentley in Passat clothing.
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I agree but they START at £16K on Auto trader.
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