Isbark.com

Few vehicles combine performance, comfort, style, and advanced tech better for daily driving than a luxury sedan. However, luxury sedans can be one of the most challenging areas in the new car market to find value. New luxury sedans cost a hefty premium. A base model Mercedes S 500 4MATIC Sedan now starts at $117,750. And that up-front cost tends to be followed by heavy depreciation. Some luxury sedans can lose more than 60% of their value over five years of ownership.

Depreciation for the first owner, however, becomes a substantial discount for the second owner. And used luxury sedans can be a great buy. Luxury sedans aren’t as popular as luxury SUVs. And if you’re willing to stray off the beaten path to an overlooked nameplate, you can score a premium-feeling sedan with a lot of life left for less than $30,000 – about the same price one would pay for a new base model Toyota Camry.

Related

10 Excellent Used Sporty Sedans You Can Buy For $20K

These sporty sedans deliver the best bang for around $20,000.

10

Acura RLX Sport Hybrid

The RLX Sport Hybrid was Acura’s midsize sedan. And tell me if this sounds cool on paper: It packed a 3.5-liter Honda VTEC V6 hybrid with Acura’s Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD). It had 377 horsepower. Media outlets clocked it at less than five seconds from 0-60 mph. It was a hybrid that earned nearly 30 MPG combined. Alas, Acura discontinued its larger sedans after the 2020 model year.

What Acura RLX Sport Hybrid You Can Get For Under $30,000

Acuras depreciate faster than Hondas. And while a minty 2020 model year RLX Sport Hybrid will likely go for more than $30,000, an earlier model year or model with a bit more mileage should be attainable for less than that.

Related

The Most Powerful Acura Sedan Ever Made

Take a closer look at the hybridized and all-wheel drive sleeper sedan that claims the title as Acura’s most powerful sedan.

9

Genesis G90

The G90 is Genesis’ full-size sedan. It’s still in production. It’s excellent to drive. It provides value compared to German competitors (albeit without the badge). But we often forget about the G90 with so many excellent (and better-selling) Genesis vehicles in the lineup. Buyers could fit the first-generation G90 (2015-21) with either a 3.3-liter V6, which put out 365 hp, or a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8, putting out 407 hp.

What Genesis G90 You Can Get For 30,000

Genesis G90 values have not completely tumbled. However, the car has become significantly more affordable. A $30,000 budget should be sufficient to secure a solid, late first-generation G90 with reasonable mileage. The V8s, not offered in the second generation, typically cost more.

Related

The First Genesis Is All The Car You Could Ever Need For $20,000

It’s a confident used car buy, too.

8

Hyundai Genesis

Before Hyundai launched the Genesis brand, it sold the Hyundai Genesis, a midsize sedan that eventually became the Genesis G80 after 2016. The Genesis launched with a compelling combination of power and luxury to make up for being a Hyundai, which meant something different in the late 2000s. Second-gen models came with either a 311-hp 3.8-liter V6 or a 419-hp 5.0-liter V8.

What Hyundai Genesis You Can Get For $30,000

A second-generation, low-mileage 3.8-liter V6 Hyundai Genesis should be attainable for under $20,000. Higher-mileage examples will sell for less. A V8 model with reasonable mileage may command a slightly higher outlay, but should still be under $30,000.

Related

How Hyundai Turned A Single Sedan Into An Entirely New Luxury Brand

The story of the heroic emergence of Hyundai’s luxury brand.

7

Infiniti Q70L

The Q70 was Infiniti’s flagship midsize sedan. Nissan’s luxury arm offered a long-wheelbase Q70L version. The Q70L added 5.9 inches of length over the standard sedan, with almost all of it allocated to providing rear-seat legroom. Infiniti offered it with either a 330-hp 3.7-liter V6 or a 416-hp 5.6-liter V8 and both RWD and AWD. It left the American market after the 2019 model year.

What Infiniti Q70L You Can Get For $30,000

A $30,000 budget should be enough to land a six-cylinder Infiniti Q70L with low mileage. You’d probably have to accept higher mileage on a V8 Infiniti Q70L to get it within that price range.

Related

Infiniti’s Largest Luxury Sedan Can Be Yours For Less Than The Price Of A New Toyota Corolla

You can snap up an Infinity luxury sedan for cheap. But it doesn’t mean you should

6

Jaguar XE

The Jaguar XE was the brand’s compact sedan. Designed by renowned car designer Ian Callum, it debuted in 2016 as a challenger to the BMW 3 Series and remained in production through the 2024 model year. Jaguar packed Supercharged V6 versions with well over 300 horsepower. Those could accelerate from 0-60 mph in under five seconds. The XE provided the basis for the limited-run SV Project 8 sedan. It also handled well. The XE didn’t receive a second production run because Jaguar reimagined itself as a company that no longer built combustion cars.

What Jaguar XE You Can Get For $30,000

Jaguars tend to depreciate. And the XE was no exception. You can find late 2010s model XEs with reasonable mileage for less than $20,000. And even a gently used Supercharged V6 version should not be much more than that.

Related

Jaguar’s Forgotten Supercharged V6 Compact Sedan Costs Less Than A New Toyota Corolla

If you’re after a potent used sports sedan, this largely forgotten supercharged Jaguar from the late 2010s will get your pulse racing.

5

Kia K900

Kia made bold forays into new segments in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Some, like the Telluride 3-row crossover, redefined the brand in America. Others, like the K900 full-size luxury sedan, did not work so well. It emerged as the full-size sedan segment was tanking. Kia had the same badging on it as the Rio sub-compact, in a segment where badge matters. The K900 was spacious, quick, and a relative bargain. But not even the marketing power of LeBron James could find it a niche.

What Kia K900 You Can Get For $30,000

The K900 left production at the end of the 2020 model year. There aren’t that many of them; Kia only sold a few thousand. But almost every one will be under $20,000.

Related

Kia’s RWD Rival To The Mercedes-Benz S-Class

While Mercedes-Benz has traditionally ruled the full-size luxury car market with its S-Class, Kia did its best with its own RWD luxury barge.

4

Lincoln Continental

The Continental is probably the most iconic nameplate in Lincoln’s history. The brand attempted to relaunch the full-size sedan in 2016 after a 14-year absence from the lineup. It didn’t go well. Lincoln tried things to generate interest, including a twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six putting out 400 horsepower and a special coach door version. But the Continental’s main flaw was that it just was not an SUV. It departed after 2020 and hasn’t been back.

What Lincoln Continental You Can Get For Less Than $30,000

Used Continentals are pretty affordable. You can find a low-mileage, late 2019 or 2020 model for less than $30,000. And if you’re under 50, onlookers will be amazed at how young and spry you look stepping out of a stereotypical older person’s sedan.

Related

This Lincoln One-Ups Bentley For Sedan Style And Grace

The coolest Lincoln since 1969 was only a $3,000 upgrade, and this one is still affordable, but you’ll have to hurry.

3

Maserati Quattroporte

The Quattroporte is a storied nameplate in the Maserati lineage. It was the brand’s larger midsize sedan. It wasn’t a BMW M5, but it had some things going for it. It was stylish on the outside and luxurious on the inside. Most notably, the Quattroporte used F160 twin-turbo V6 and F154 twin-turbo V8 powertrains. That “F” stood for Ferrari.

What Maserati Quattroporte You Can Get For $30,000

Perhaps the first thing Maseratis are known for beyond being fancy and Italian is suffering heavy depreciation. The Quattrporte was one of the worst offenders. You won’t find one of the late model Trofeo versions. But late 2010s and even early 2020 models with the V6 are readily available.

Related

This Is How Maserati Says Goodbye To The Quattroporte

Maserati has unveiled two special editions honoring the Quattroporte and MC20.

2

Volkswagen Phaeton

The Volkswagen Phaeton was a bit of late 1990s madness from VW. The goal was basically to build a luxury grand touring sedan to rival the Mercedes S-Class, but badge it as a VW instead of an Audi, Porsche, or Bentley. Volkswagen equipped the Phaeton with a 4.2-liter V8 and, remarkably, an optional 6.0-liter W12. It had a longer run in Europe but sold for just three years in America from 2004 to 2006.

What Volkswagen Phaeton You Can Get For $30,000

The Phateon does have its sheer rarity working in its favor; Volkswagen only sold a few of them. But it’s also a now 20-year-old Volkswagen sedan. The W12 will go for more than the V8. If a dealer is trying to get more than $15,000 for either, they are on a fishing expedition. Don’t bite.

Related

The One Car Volkswagen’s W12 Engine Couldn’t Save

The W12 closes a chapter in Volkswagen Group’s book, including one of the most well-engineered failures in automotive history.

1

Volvo S80

The S80 was Volvo’s midsize, flagship design. Volvo sold two generations in America from 1998 to 2016. The Swedish brand eventually replaced the S80 with the more modern S90, which is still in production. It offered four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines, and (early in the model run) a 4.4-liter V8 packing more than 300 hp.

What Volvo S80 You Can Get For $30,000

Even the newest Volvo S80 sedans are approaching 10 years on the market. So depreciation has set in. A low-mileage, late model-run Volvo S80 should still fetch less than $20,000. If you’re willing to take on more years or mileage, S80s can go for less than $10,000.

Related

Volvo And Yamaha’s V8 Powered Sedan Went Completely Under The Radar

Good luck finding one now.