Luxury and (Kinda-Sorta) Performance

oldoutboardjim · Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:44 am

I am considering buying a used luxury car for my wife. A little performance would be nice too, but is not a deal-breaker. I've entertained Audi A8, and Lexus IS300 & LS400. The problem with all of these is that they require premium gas. I would really prefer to get something that runs on regular.
Any suggestions?

Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:00 pm

oldoutboardjim wrote:I am considering buying a used luxury car for my wife. A little performance would be nice too, but is not a deal-breaker. I've entertained Audi A8, and Lexus IS300 & LS400. The problem with all of these is that they require premium gas. I would really prefer to get something that runs on regular.
Any suggestions?

Not to sound crass, but if you are looking at those cars, why would premium be that big of a concern? Does she do a lot of driving or something? I realize you are looking to cut operating expense. Maybe you could do some figuring to estimate the dollar difference between regular and premium on an annual basis. If she's not racking up that many miles in a year, the difference may not be that prohibitive. Otherwise, perhaps look at a more efficient luxury vehicle?

oldoutboardjim · Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:18 pm

HotRodWagon wrote:Not to sound crass, but if you are looking at those cars, why would premium be that big of a concern? Does she do a lot of driving or something? I realize you are looking to cut operating expense. Maybe you could do some figuring to estimate the dollar difference between regular and premium on an annual basis. If she's not racking up that many miles in a year, the difference may not be that prohibitive. Otherwise, perhaps look at a more efficient luxury vehicle?

Excellent point! Actually, she does drive a bit. I'd say we put on 20,000 miles per year. At a difference of 15¢ per gallon for premium (at 20MPG), that would cost an additional $150 per year. At 20¢ per gallon for premium, that would be an additional $200 per year. That shouldn't break the bank.
Having said that, the newer 4.6 liter Mustang V8's are very potent, yet run on regular. That's cool.
Thanks for the input!

Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:31 pm

oldoutboardjim wrote:
HotRodWagon wrote:Not to sound crass, but if you are looking at those cars, why would premium be that big of a concern? Does she do a lot of driving or something? I realize you are looking to cut operating expense. Maybe you could do some figuring to estimate the dollar difference between regular and premium on an annual basis. If she's not racking up that many miles in a year, the difference may not be that prohibitive. Otherwise, perhaps look at a more efficient luxury vehicle?
Excellent point! Actually, she does drive a bit. I'd say we put on 20,000 miles per year. At a difference of 15¢ per gallon for premium (at 20MPG), that would cost an additional $150 per year. At 20¢ per gallon for premium, that would be an additional $200 per year. That shouldn't break the bank.
Having said that, the newer 4.6 liter Mustang V8's are very potent, yet run on regular. That's cool.
Thanks for the input!

I just happened to read an article not that long ago about the cost difference between regular and premium. It had a few examples of annual amounts and it showed the difference was usually not as much as one would think. Happy to pass that along.

ElectricAl · Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:47 pm

You know who builds a very good car for the money, IMO... Hyundai. If I had the resources to shop that category, I would definitely check out the Hyundai Genesis. Luxury, performance, and pretty reasonable.

Have fun shopping!

Monkey-Gein · Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:55 pm

i've also heard good things bout the Gen. sounds like Hyundai is stepping up

Mon Mar 15, 2010 1:41 pm

Find a G8 GT.

I love mine.

iminhell · Mon Mar 15, 2010 2:09 pm

CTS-V
Really can't beat the LSx

oldoutboardjim · Mon Mar 15, 2010 2:28 pm

iminhell wrote:CTS-V
Really can't beat the LSx

Uh, you guys are thinking of more $$$ than I am. I'm thinking less that $10k. There are no G8's or CTS-V's for that price.
By the way: Whatza LSx????

ElectricAl · Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:48 pm

Though maybe not so sophisticated as the Audi or the Lexus, I bet you could find a pretty nice used Buick in that price range. I've driven a LeSabre that felt pretty luxury-like to me, and it still had some decent get-up-n-go to it...

hermitmaster · Mon Mar 15, 2010 4:37 pm

You can get an early 00's Mercedes S500 for around $12,000. Most cars that recommend premium will run on 89 octane just fine as long as you're not going to the track. There are a lot of stations that sell 89 for the same price as 87 (I only run Shell V-Power

).

iminhell · Mon Mar 15, 2010 4:53 pm

I knew you where talking used cars, but I thought newer used cars. The old A8 is a pile. You'll spend more in fixing/replacing lost oil than you will fuel (cuse the SOB won't run long enough to go anywhere

).
... and the Lexus is in the $15K range for a decent one that isn't riced out or beat to shit.

Hell maybe go the route of most midlife crisis patients and get a Vette.

HilloNative · Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:31 pm

you could get a nice subaru legacy or even the wagon outback, maybe not that luxury but still very nice car.

or find a ford five hundred.

CleanZX3 · Mon Mar 15, 2010 7:36 pm

Ford five hundred's are nicer than people think. I wouldn't mind one as a DD.

hermitmaster · Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:03 pm

ElectricAl wrote:Though maybe not so sophisticated as the Audi or the Lexus, I bet you could find a pretty nice used Buick in that price range. I've driven a LeSabre that felt pretty luxury-like to me, and it still had some decent get-up-n-go to it...

Regal GS
3.8 Supercharged