Scanning through any classifieds section, you're sure to stumble across some seriously high-class rides for cheap. Cars once retailing in the hundreds of thousands can be yours for the price of a new Prius. Used luxury cars currently offer the biggest saving, but buying one is also a massive gamble, with gearheads likely to face expensive problems down the road.
Starting with the obvious, buyers have fallen out of love with big luxury barges, in favor of smaller, more environmentally friendly EVs, coupes, and SUVs, offloading premium brands and models for peanuts. Crammed full of luxuriously trimmed leather and wood interiors that add weight, carmakers simply throw a bigger, more powerful, and thirstier engine into the mix. Some of the more luxurious bargain cars have mpg dipping down into the low-teens, scary stuff for those with a nervous eye on the fuel gauge.
With more of everything including a host of power-operated goodies, seats, windows, massagers, pretty much anything you can imagine comes ever more complex electronics, at some point a gremlin or two is going to present a huge diagnostic and financial headache.
Are you still tempted by a used luxury bargain? Read on, here are ten of the best deals to be had, all great used cars that we probably shouldn't buy.
10 Rolls Royce Silver Spur
The world's most famous luxurious carmaker! Rolls Royce's reputation needs no explaining, reassuringly expensive, buyers are guaranteed to not only secure the best materials, but also a bespoke design package, ensuring no two cars are ever the same. The Silver Spur's launch in 1995 set buyers back $180,000 before specifying any customization.
A timeless classic that can now be yours for considerably less. $15,000 easily securing two and a half tons of the very best in wood, leather, and hand-built bodywork, powered by RR's fabled 6.75-liter V8 producing 240 hp and guzzling gas at a rate of 12 miles per gallon.
9 Maserati Quattroporte
Premium branding, gorgeous styling, and luxuriously appointed, Maserati seemingly downing tools at this point. The fifth Quattroporte model launched in 2003 wears a Pininfarina bodywork over Ferrari-sourced engines. On paper, it's the perfect luxury sports sedan, blighted even from new with complex electrical glitches.
Here's the rub, nothing else looks or goes quite like the Quattroporte, especially for the same money. Ferrari V8s punching out 400 hp launch its occupants in leather-clad luxury to a top speed of 168 mph. Tempting, for sure, but maintaining the Quattroporte when things go wrong is going to be pricey.
8 Porsche Panamera
On reflection, Porsche's Panamera is the perfect luxury sports car; four-doors and a full four-seater cabin make it the perfect argument for a family man looking to avoid joining the growing numbers of SUVs. On the inside, traditional leather trim meets modern carbon fiber accents.
Even at the lower end, the Panamera is no shrinking violet. Porsche kicking off with a nice 3.6-liter 300 hp V6, higher-spec models equipped with V8, and even a turbo option. Up-specced models might seem like a bargain, but those extras come with some worrying maintenance costs. Porsche's desirable carbon-ceramic brakes don't come cheap, neither does the discs and pads.
7 Cadillac Escalade
A luxury truck SUV in theory should deliver the biggest bang for your buck in terms of space, comfort with the bonus of riding higher keeping prying eyes away from its occupants. At one time, tuning into MTV and you'd have been amazed how many music videos starred the Escalade.
Despite its immense size and weight which normally masks any suspension issues, the Escalade suffers from subpar ride quality, air suspension struggling even the smallest road imperfections, made worse by the fact most buyers will opt for bigger wheels.
6 Mercedes-Benz S430
Buying an S-Class is a challenge in itself, during the W200s eight-year production run, no fewer than 29 variants of both and engine chassis were made, including a few hot AMG editions too. Sitting roughly mid-table, the S430 boasts all the luxury fixtures and fittings of bigger and smaller models, with a 4.3-liter V8 under the hood.
At the time, Mercedes gave the S-Class the latest innovations in technology, air-ride suspension, rain-sensing wipers, radar-assisted cruise control, and voice recognition, all heavily reliant on complex electronics. The fact that it's crammed with modern technology is the reason why we'd skip the S430. Finding a local mechanic with the knowledge to put that lot straight won't be easy.
5 Tesla Model S
A combination of stellar performance, acceptable range, and neutral styling all play a part in Tesla's success. As does the simpler to maintain EV drivetrain, meaning fewer maintenance concerns for owners, in short, how could it get any better?
In reality, the model S has its fair share of issues, including air suspension, central computer glitches, and even the much-publicized touch screen control system coming under fire from disgruntled owners. As a result, the Tesla Model S has slipped down the consumer report list to the last position.
4 Jaguar XJR/X300
Tempting as the lure of supercharged 4-liter straight-six might be, with 326 hp on tap and promising a sprint to 60 mph in 5.4-seconds, the XJR isn't a sound investment. Fast, stylish, and trimmed in acres of wood and leather, the X300 series rolled off the production lines as long ago as 1994.
Notorious for electrical gremlins will for sure frustrate many owners, but generally, the big cat is reliable for everyday use. The reason why we'd hold off buying one, and why they are so cheap, is rust. The X300 platform is well known for corrosion issues.
3 BMW 750i
Good car, bad car, BMW's F01 7-series suffers from a mixed bag of both electrical and mechanical gremlins, the former merely annoyances while ZF-transmission faults potentially resulted in complete failure, not a good selling point for the German carmaker's flagship range.
On the plus side, hopefully, these issues have long since been rectified. Picking up a 750i now and suffering complete failure would be purely bad luck. Fortunately, under the hood, BMW gave gearheads a stonkingly good engine, 4.3 liters and 408 hp making light work of the 750s luxury-limo build, hitting 60 mph in 5.2-seconds.
2 Bentley Turbo R
Everything that stops us from picking up a cheap Rolls-Royce Silver Spur can is applied here, Bentley's Turbo R is largely the dame car right down to the nuts and bolts. The Rolls-Royce-based 6.75-liter V8 engine, courtesy of a turbocharger, punches out 360 hp, with the promising a dash to 60 mph in 6.4-seconds.
Bespoke hand-crafted turbo-powered dragster in a luxury-trimmed body, the Turbo R does everything the Silver Spur does, only faster and more expensive. Gulping down fuel at an incredible 10 mpg is only part of the financial concerns, hustling the 2.5-ton limo around corners requires a heavy-duty suspension. Need some new shocks? That'll likely run into the thousands per corner.
1 Range Rover HSE
From the elevated driving position to the iconic profile, few luxury cars command as much respect as the Range Rover. Originally designed as a luxury alternative to the Land Rover Series 1, early Rangies sported nothing more upmarket than a set of hose-down rubber mats.
With each new model came a host of interior updates, leather, wood, and every driver aid you could think of bolstering the RR's image. However, the two biggest changes also altered the Range Rover's image for good. Superchargers delivered a welcome boost in power, and the air suspension was notoriously unreliable and expensive to put right on earlier cars.