Cheapest location to buy luxury used car

[CharlieBauer]

I'm thinking of buying a bargain luxury car ie something that has depreciated a lot. Mercedes S class, BMW 7 etc.

I had the idea of flying out one way to buy it and drive it back home, maybe making a vacation out of the whole thing.

Is anybody aware of any locations or even specific models where bargains can be had? I'd like to avoid rust prone areas.

 

[901Memphis]

Any southern states, even southern California should be rust free I'd hope. Arizona is really dry!

 

[Phishin]

First off, these cheap luxury cars have to found where people have money, usually have them dealer serviced, and rarely drive.

Florida has to be the spot, hands down. Locations along the ocean-side of the state: Boca Raton, Palm Beach, Del Ray, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami are all excellent places to find low mile luxury vehicles.

 

[dishdude]

Are you in SoCal? I would try AZ/NM/TX and look at CPO cars from dealers. You need to get out of CA, everyone there wants a used luxury car so they command a premium.

 

[Alfred_B]

First of all, what do you mean by "bargain".

These kinds of cars are generally more available in richer states -- California, New England, etc. To get a feel on what is available, check the online listings for the models you are interested in.

 

[CharlieBauer]

Originally Posted By: Phishin
First off, these cheap luxury cars have to found where people have money, usually have them dealer serviced, and rarely drive.

Florida has to be the spot, hands down. Locations along the ocean-side of the state: Boca Raton, Palm Beach, Del Ray, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami are all excellent places to find low mile luxury vehicles.


Thanks. I had the impression Florida was good value.

It's a good vacation spot. The drive back would be long though!

 

[CharlieBauer]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Are you in SoCal? I would try AZ/NM/TX and look at CPO cars from dealers. You need to get out of CA, everyone there wants a used luxury car so they command a premium.


I enjoy visiting AZ and have always wanted to see NM. Thanks for the tips.

 

[JHZR2]

Seems like TX dealers have LOTS of inventory on ebay.

I'm assuming that youre looking for something that didn't make the grade to be OEM CPO used, so it is sold at a lower price point, but by a dealer that knows something about what theyre talking about...

 

[CharlieBauer]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Seems like TX dealers have LOTS of inventory on ebay.

I'm assuming that youre looking for something that didn't make the grade to be OEM CPO used, so it is sold at a lower price point, but by a dealer that knows something about what theyre talking about...



I hadn't thought of that but if that significantly increases the savings and there's a lot to choose from, it sounds like a good option.

 

[JMJNet]

If you can find an owner who wants to sell a car that you like, that generally are cheaper than getting from dealer.

Unfortunately, it is First Come First serve which means you need to be local.

 

[Vikas]

As long as you are going with your eyes wide open, it would be great deal. For example, when you buy $100K car at $10K cash, it is still $100K car and will bleed you accordingly. Obviously, when you can do most of the work yourself and this car is your fun car and have other reliable means of transportation to make the living, that bleeding can be kept manageable.

Have you done this in past or this would be the first time? As long as you keep WSHTF budget commensurate with the original price of the car and NOT with what you bought it for, you will OK.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: CharlieBauer
I'm thinking of buying a bargain luxury car ie something that has depreciated a lot. Mercedes S class, BMW 7 etc.

Just keep in mind, typically it's going to be a bargain purchase price because it's in bad enough shape that it can't be CPO'd, has a salvage title, or because it requires major work. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you set some funds aside to fix what needs fixing.

Or are you looking for older cars that are past CPO warranty anyway? In which case, again, these cars get dumped because the second owner doesn't have the money to fix what's broken.

 

[raytseng]

yea I think OP needs to clarify which segment he is going after. You should have an idea of what specific car you want first too, instead of picking a place and using that to filter what they have there.

1) does he wants a 2 to 3 year old car that just came off of lease, and likely CPO'ed or with a year or two of warranty left.
This should be a near perfect car, with minimal or even included maintenance for a couple years.

2) does he want to minimize costs and get a 4 or 5year old car. private party, no warranty, possibly some outstanding maintenance. Older car may have a major due.

OP is in California, so yes it's better to buy in california. If he were out of state, it doesn't make sense to buy in CA and ship out. And vice versa, if he buys out of state better be sure it's a no tax state otherwise will have to pay double, when he brings it back and has to pay sales tax on it again to register.

That being said, I recently bought a car, and found that cargurus.com worked really well to get an idea of what is out there and what I was looking for, basically by providing a market price right there so you don't need to cross compare and keep entering things into kbb or other pricing site open at the same time.

Doublecheck the numbers though, some of their pricing advice is way off though as some dealers may miscategorize their car by a year or by trim.


Your best bet in CA is either going to be in LA area for south or in SF BayArea for north.
It depends on what you decide you want, then basically you have to find the volume dealer for that brand who wants to turn over cars. Or you may find the exact one you want and just go and inquire there.

You should verify any maintenance or warranty extension you might be interested in is going to be honored by your local dealer without a lot of red tape.

At worse, most of the dealers are in networks, so they could charge you perhaps $500 to ship a car in from somewhere else. If the exact car you want is in the armpit of CA, and not worth making a vacation of it htere, $500 can get it to somewhere else.

 

[Wolf359]

I was looking at 2014 E550's at one point, there were more on Mercedes dealer networks than in the regular places like cars.com, autotrader, cargurus and craigslist. Just depends on the year. S550's and above can be fun, lots of interesting options on those. CPO on those are probably best as you can get up to 3 years with unlimited miles. Otherwise try to find one with less than 4/50k and get the extended MB warranty that goes up to 7/100k. Airmatic, magic body control/active body control can get expensive quick.

 

[CharBaby]

Every time I visit PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE(will be there in 2 wks for 3 wks), I can't believe the low prices od 2&3 year old BENZ's

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: raytseng
yea I think OP needs to clarify which segment he is going after. You should have an idea of what specific car you want first too, instead of picking a place and using that to filter what they have there.

1) does he wants a 2 to 3 year old car that just came off of lease, and likely CPO'ed or with a year or two of warranty left.
This should be a near perfect car, with minimal or even included maintenance for a couple years.

2) does he want to minimize costs and get a 4 or 5year old car. private party, no warranty, possibly some outstanding maintenance. Older car may have a major due.

OP is in California, so yes it's better to buy in california. If he were out of state, it doesn't make sense to buy in CA and ship out. And vice versa, if he buys out of state better be sure it's a no tax state otherwise will have to pay double, when he brings it back and has to pay sales tax on it again to register.

That being said, I recently bought a car, and found that cargurus.com worked really well to get an idea of what is out there and what I was looking for, basically by providing a market price right there so you don't need to cross compare and keep entering things into kbb or other pricing site open at the same time.

Doublecheck the numbers though, some of their pricing advice is way off though as some dealers may miscategorize their car by a year or by trim.


Your best bet in CA is either going to be in LA area for south or in SF BayArea for north.
It depends on what you decide you want, then basically you have to find the volume dealer for that brand who wants to turn over cars. Or you may find the exact one you want and just go and inquire there.

You should verify any maintenance or warranty extension you might be interested in is going to be honored by your local dealer without a lot of red tape.

At worse, most of the dealers are in networks, so they could charge you perhaps $500 to ship a car in from somewhere else. If the exact car you want is in the armpit of CA, and not worth making a vacation of it htere, $500 can get it to somewhere else.



Please be aware of sales tax ramifications. In California the only way to avoid state tax is to have the car shipped-with a certified bill of lading.

 

[Vikas]

Can you not get the temporary dealer plate from AZ dealer and then drive back to CA and then register it in CA? Of course you will have to pay all the CA tax(es) but there is no way around it. I don't think you will have to pay any taxes to AZ if you can get the temporary plates.

Looks like you are talking about 2 - 3 year old Benz instead of 10+ year old; so my previous comment does not apply.

 

[Kestas]

I've bought more than one car from Florida... most notably my 95 Mercedes E320.

 

[raytseng]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Can you not get the temporary dealer plate from AZ dealer and then drive back to CA and then register it in CA? Of course you will have to pay all the CA tax(es) but there is no way around it. I don't think you will have to pay any taxes to AZ if you can get the temporary plates.

Looks like you are talking about 2 - 3 year old Benz instead of 10+ year old; so my previous comment does not apply.


Yea that's the point you need to know your source state's tax and registration fees. Maybe you can get away with registration on temporary, but unlikely any dealer is going to do that with sales tax.

I don't know AZ, but OP better find out before paying ending up paying sales tax twice. On a 10,000 car maybe it doesn't matter so much.
On a $50,000 purchase, tax starts to be a big ticket item that you don't want to pay twice.

It may work smoother if the dealer is in a network and they can transfer the car to your local dealer for say $500 and then you buy locally rather than wading through paperwork and regulations and then having to go to the CA DMV when you get back.

Of course if you CAN find a dealer that can make that work out for you, have at it; but if you can afford a $50,000 you shouldn't be wasting your time with this kind of hassle and redtape.

There are also auto-broker services who you could pay to help you find a car for say $500 or $1000, and they will take care of both the negotiations and paperwork for you, and probably pay for themselves in savings.

BUT FIRST THING IS OP needs to figure out what he wants to drive and what he wants to spend.
If he does want to do fold in vacation, and he can afford such things, he should instead consider Germany and do a European delivery on a new car.

 

[eljefino]

If OP buys a private party luxury car he won't pay sales tax twice. I find it odd (but not impossible) that Cali won't credit the buyer with sales tax paid to other jurisdictions.

I went to NC to get a "rust free" car twice, based on climate, geographical proximity (850 miles) and their issuance of temp plates. Drove home. Fun. link