What Car Should I Buy? $60k- $70k Budget

Richo7 on 01/11/2020 - 18:07
Last edited 02/11/2020 - 07:35 by 1 other user

Hey OzBargainers,

I am keen to purchase a car in the next 4-6 weeks with a budget of $60k-$70k and have felt a little overwhelmed with all the various brands and options available so I was hoping I could get some advice and answers to some questions I have.

What models should I have on my shortlist?

To give you all some additional info, the key priorities I have for a vehicle are:

1) Fun to drive and beautiful (I am young, no kids so I find coupes/sport sedans to be a very attractive option)
2) Great tech + silky interior
2) Comfortable for driving long distances (most of my driving will be round trips from Syd - Canberra and road trips from Sydney)
3) Decent resale value

From my research, the new / demo models which have jumped out at me so far and seem to be within budget are:

2020 Merc Benz C200 Coupe
2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce
2021 Tesla Model 3 SR+
2020 Jaguar XE P300
2019 BMW 430i

Used vehicles (all around ~25k kms) include the likes of:
2017/18 Merc Benz E300 Coupe / (C43 if I extend budget)
2017/18 Audi s5 coupe
2017 BMW M2 / (M3 if I extend budget)

Should I purchase new or used?

Looking at the above two lists, which set of cars would you personally gravitate towards if you were in my shoes?

I imagine I'll be looking own the car for ~3-5 years so the resell value of the car is important.

The other consideration I have is that I feel though the market is currently favouring new car buyers, particularly in Vic (where I currently live), where new car sales are down ~60-70% so I feel as though I can get a better deal whilst the used car market feels inflated.

How should I go about narrowing down my shortlist?

I am not very literate in the intricate differences between all the above models and whilst I think test driving them will give me some clarity, I'm not certain that 30 mins in each of these cars will give me sufficient information to make a decision which will affect me for the next 3-5 years. I'd love some advice from some OzBargain carheads on which models I should particularly focus on / or avoid and just some general tips for how I should go about this massive purchasing decision over the next 4-6 weeks.

Thanks so much for reading this and if you have anything even just a small point to contribute please post! Also feel free to DM me as well.

Automotive

Comments

      • s1Lence on 03/11/2020 - 11:24
        +1

        Point still stands

  • t3m on 03/11/2020 - 11:02
    +3

    2021 Tesla Model 3 - #TeamTesla

  • Mishgy on 03/11/2020 - 13:18
    +3

    In terms of resale value you’re going to be looking at an older performance car, specifically the last of the naturally aspirated v8’s. The best options in terms of reliability, day to day use, and resale value are:

    Audi RS4 - the 4.2 v8 versions (they will not drop at all in value, it’ll be probably worth more or the same when you resell it) .If you want a newer one you’ll be looking at the 2.9v6 turbo, but that is not going to hold its value as well. The v8s are the most reliable v8 engine Audi has ever made. ZF transmissions which generally don’t give all that trouble. The early generation automated manuals can have issues so I’d be careful there.

    Lexus ISF or GSF - the only gripe is the ISF has very hard suspension, I’d recommend you test drive it on a rough road to see whether you can live with suspension made from granite. Very reliable car, engine and transmission are Japanese.

    Volvo S60 polestar - now I understand this is not a v8, however this car is relatively cheap to buy and is very fast. You can pick one up for around $25k. If you want more power you can simply get an ecu tune. There are two versions a 4 cylinder supercharged and turbocharged and a 3.0 twin turbo straight six. I’d go with the straight six it is a tried and true engine. The transmissions are made by Toyota so you’ll be okay there. (Don’t dismiss this car till you’ve driven it)

    Both BMW and Mercedes I would not recommend their cars tend to be made to a price. BMW makes many of the parts out of plastic and as you can imagine these components disintegrate overtime and are excruciatingly expensive to fix. As you plan on keeping a car for 7 years and it’s two years old now, it’ll be nine years old and you can imagine what the plastic components are going to be like.

  • Orico on 03/11/2020 - 13:34
    +2

    omg buy an electric or hybrid car. These petrol clunkers are on their way out. Sooner the better.

    If you want to keep the car for 7 years, just get a Toyota or lexus.

  • foxpants on 03/11/2020 - 14:40
    +1

    i30N Fastback, or Kia Stinger GT and pocket the difference, if you doubt them go drive either first and see how you feel.

  • justcallmeboss on 03/11/2020 - 15:49
    +1

    Richo,

    I just went through this car buying process recently and you're right, it's super overwhelming with a gazillion options out there. My whole decision process took 2 months, and I probably sunk 100 hours into it. I had set myself a budget, and for reference I jumped from wanting a Suzuki Jimny to a Kia Stinger, to a Subaru Forester to a VW Polo GTI and then finally settled on a brand new Mazda 3.

    My biggest piece of advice to you is, please, ask yourself what you need the car for. Ask yourself what truly this purchase is for and what are your daily activities going to be? Write down a list of what is important to you, is it the brand? Is it speed? Is it luxury? Is it a bit of everything? Is it fuel efficiency? Is it 4WD capability etc. I found that writing these things down really helped me decide on what my heart, brain, groin and inner ozbargainer wanted.

    Good luck, very exciting!

  • jaimex2 on 03/11/2020 - 15:52
    +1

    Model 3 for sure, anything else will be obsolete soon.

  • daddydirtsurfer on 03/11/2020 - 16:12

    Just bit a corolla. It’s just a car. Why expensive car?

  • gviddy on 03/11/2020 - 19:50

    Ford Mustang. Do it!

  • mousie on 03/11/2020 - 20:14

    Get last run of a VF Co v8 commodores and garage it. Bogan pride will be strong.

  • fredk1000 on 03/11/2020 - 20:15

    The Op is gone AWOL. You can all stop commenting.

    • Richo7 on 04/11/2020 - 08:44
      +4

      Been reading everything ! Thanks all for the contributions :)

      • fredk1000 on 04/11/2020 - 13:22
        +1

        Just checking.

  • RocketSwitch on 04/11/2020 - 08:47
    +1

    I like the Tesla option.

  • HeXo on 04/11/2020 - 09:38
    +2

    If I had that money to spend on a car (which I don't lol) I'd be looking at either a brand new Tesla, or a secondhand Mercedes C200 or something similar. I wouldn't be buying a luxury vehicle brand new, other than a Tesla.

    Tesla's seem to hold their resale value very well, you simply don't get that with a petrol luxury vehicle. Buy 2nd hand and let someone else pay the driveway tax for you.

    I'd be going the Tesla though, a new emerging technology, it's only going to get better, plus you'll somewhat be futureproofing yourself. 4-5 years and we will see electric vehicles everywhere IMO.

    • Bryden on 05/11/2020 - 11:00

      100% this

  • bn030687 on 04/11/2020 - 10:17
    -1

    get the one with the highest yield and return on investment

  • striker5950 on 04/11/2020 - 10:48
    -1

    i recommend you to buy a "high yield investment car" those are the best kinds

  • striker5950 on 04/11/2020 - 10:51

    jokes a side im really into the new tesla badwagon although i did hear they had bad panel gaps

  • ilsan0 on 04/11/2020 - 14:01

    bmw 330i.
    you can get brand new under $70k

  • [Deactivated] on 04/11/2020 - 15:08

    If you can't afford premium car new you won't be able afford parts for your used one.

    Everything else - it's like asking who you should marry, blonde with its or brunette with ss, except that car will turn out cheaper long-term.

  • inasero on 05/11/2020 - 06:55
    +1

    So let me get this straight - you want a car that's stylish, luxurious, high performance, high tech and with good resale value? Sure you can fulfil the first 4 out of your 5 criteria but the minute you talk about new cars (and luxury ones at that) then depreciation goes through the roof. To be honest, realistically speaking all you can hope for is to minimise your depreciation losses. If depreciation doesn't matter too much then the sky's your limit. If it does then that pretty much leaves you with the choice of a used Lexus (a very reasonable choice I might add). I personally wouldn't touch a Tesla - too many reliability and build issues as others have mentioned

  • Bryden on 05/11/2020 - 10:52

    For anybody hating on Tesla, Go and take a test drive one, the tesla staff are not going to hold you hostage until you buy a car, they dont even have a car ready for you to buy because the wait list is 2-3 months long. theyre not trying to force feed you anything or con you in any way.

    I would recommend against test driving the performance models, because you will end up buying that god damn car.

  • forgotoldacc on 06/11/2020 - 01:23

    definitely don't ignore the Koreans, they have definatly taken the role of lexus quality with much ore appealing design and sportyness, the g70 looks amazing, as well as the stinger.
    also with how new the brand is u can get a pretty good deal if u find a G70 u like on the showroom floor

    Although if u car about brands i would say get a lexus but not a new IS as that model hsnt been updated for ages sus out the RC350

    if u want a more exotic brand out of all the euros i would go with audi, really dont see the point of a merc unless u can afford AMG, if u really like the m2 then okay but out of the germans id say go for an S5

  • Willco88 on 06/11/2020 - 01:28
    +1

    Don't waste so much money on a car

  • Willco88 on 07/11/2020 - 20:15

    GO KART

    • [Deactivated] on 07/11/2020 - 20:39

      Mario kart.

  • Inzo on 07/11/2020 - 22:02

    Mustang :D

  • robertwt7 on 13/11/2020 - 12:47

    Tesla

    not sure about the reliability though. I heard its pretty good

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