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    Luxury Sedan options

    Hey everyone.

    I think I'm ready for something a bit more luxurious, that is quite and offers decent power (V8 or turbo 6). Looking for some suggestions, but so far I've come up with the following:

    Lexus LS 430: Reliable, affordable, comfortable, and offers adaptive cruise (REALLY want this option). Little boring on styling I think, but parts are plentiful and it seems easy to work on.

    Lincoln Town Car (2010-2011): Panther platform with plenty of parts available. Not the most powerful, but reliable, easy to work on, and should be super comfy and quite. Downside....I'm not really in the age range of the average buyer/owner.

    Infiniti M56/Q70 (5.6): Really interested in this car as it offers a powerful V8, sport sedan handling and good looks. Pretty reliable from what I've read, offers adaptive cruise control, AWD, and 4-wheel steering is an option. Not too many sold, so parts could get hard to find down the road.

    Mercedes E500/Ec20CDI: Yes, yes, yes I know...older Euro car. The engine & transmission are known to be very solid without many major problems. However, MB decided to implement it's asinine SBC braking system, but they extended the warranty for 25 years on SBC. I would try to avoid AirMatic if possible, but while air shocks are pricey, labor is super easy.

    Anyone have any experience of the ones above, or can you recommend anything else I'm missing? Maybe Cadillac STS with the Northstar V8 (supposedly GM fixed the major issues with this engine toward the end of the STS' life)

    Thanks!
    Last edited by s2cmpugh; 05-22-2020, 10:40 AM.

    #2
    As a Cadillac owner, I’d suggest avoiding the STS. Styling is great, but material quality is lacking.

    The Infiniti is interesting. I’ve considered an M35h myself (nice power and mpg). Nissan quality is questionable, though.

    Town Car is solid, though the styling is fairly generic. I think this would be the least “impressive” of the bunch, and you’d get Ford quality... but parts are plentiful, and they’re pretty solid.

    Lexus LS is definitely solid, though I feel the overall build quality has declined after the first two generations. I’d rather have a restored 90s LS over anything from this millennium that’s out of warranty.

    Benz... I’d stay away. I’d love one myself, but a modern old Benz is like the hot skank at the club. You kinda want to, you know you’ll regret it, and there are MANY people that have learned the lesson before you. Take the cheap lesson.

    What’s your budget? What’s your maintenance cost tolerance? Do you want to modify, or just keep it stock?

    I’m looking for luxury myself. My budget is $15,000-$20,000. I want quiet, comfy, and efficient. I also want some degree of prestige.
    My current focus is a 2014+ RLX Sport Hybrid or a 2014+ 535d (I know, what I said about the Benz should apply here...)






    Comment


      #3
      I like the M56, personally. The AWD version, to be specific. Decent amount of power, mostly aluminum control arms and knuckles, large Akebono brakes, and pretty decent looks. Not likely to maintain value, though.
      My Members' Ride Thread - It's a marathon build, not a sprint. But keep me honest on the update frequency!

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        #4
        Originally posted by deevergote View Post
        As a Cadillac owner, I’d suggest avoiding the STS. Styling is great, but material quality is lacking.

        The Infiniti is interesting. I’ve considered an M35h myself (nice power and mpg). Nissan quality is questionable, though.

        Town Car is solid, though the styling is fairly generic. I think this would be the least “impressive” of the bunch, and you’d get Ford quality... but parts are plentiful, and they’re pretty solid.

        Lexus LS is definitely solid, though I feel the overall build quality has declined after the first two generations. I’d rather have a restored 90s LS over anything from this millennium that’s out of warranty.

        Benz... I’d stay away. I’d love one myself, but a modern old Benz is like the hot skank at the club. You kinda want to, you know you’ll regret it, and there are MANY people that have learned the lesson before you. Take the cheap lesson.

        What’s your budget? What’s your maintenance cost tolerance? Do you want to modify, or just keep it stock?

        I’m looking for luxury myself. My budget is $15,000-$20,000. I want quiet, comfy, and efficient. I also want some degree of prestige.
        My current focus is a 2014+ RLX Sport Hybrid or a 2014+ 535d (I know, what I said about the Benz should apply here...)
        Yeah it sounds like the Cadillac is out, as I've never been super impressed with GMs build quality on sedans. Their V series is awesome, but way out of my price range.

        I've had two Nissan's, 99 Maxima GLE (best damn car I ever owned) and my current 2014 Frontier. Both were and are good cars, especially the drive train. Yes, Nissan cheaps out on the interiors, but I think if you avoid the CVTs you're probably ok. The VQ35/37/40 is a fantastic motor and I think you'd be fine in the M35h.

        I have heard about the LS build quality losing the luster it once had from the 90s, but I was hoping the 430 still maintained some of that.

        I don't know why I keep being drawn to the Town Car, because it's basically an old man's car. However, it's reliable, easy to work on, and affordable. The M56/Q70 keeps my interest too because of that big v8, AWD, and some other cool features.

        Don't plan on modding anything sans window tint or some upgraded lighting. I do all of my own work and have no problem DIYing stuff (minus tires)

        Budget:. About the same as yours Deev, 15k-20k using a small car loan (2010 or newer) or paying cash at around 8k-10k.

        Jarret brings up a good point about residual value in the m56. The Town Car has pretty depreciated along with the Benz and Lexus.

        The only reason I threw the Benz in there was from after watching Legit Street Cars on YouTube and how fixes them and says they really aren't that bad.

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          #5
          I just thought of something else...from the Koreans.

          Hyundai Equus or Genesis with the 5.0?

          Kia K900 or Cadenza?

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            #6
            Cadenza is FWD, if that matters. My uncle had one, and he had nothing bad to say about it. Replaced it with a Model 3, though. Of course, if you’re thinking Cadenza... you could consider Avalon, ES, RLX, MKS, Impala, XTS, DTS (though decade-old+ GM will get you cheap plastics)... Accord, Camry, and Mazda6 (the current generation is quite luxurious).

            The Korean cars are good. I’d say they’re a little lacking compared to the German and Japanese competition, especially in the earlier models (they’re closer now, and I anticipate genuine competition in the next generation.) Just be aware that many consider them to be disposable because they’re relatively inexpensive and don’t hold much resale value (though does any luxury car, really?) You’d probably run a greater risk of finding one that was neglected than a comparable Lexus or Benz. Still, you can get a lot of car for little money with one of those!

            As for Cadillac, I’ve got a CTS-V. It’s great... but it definitely has cheapie bits throughout! It was a perfect choice compared to the cost of entry and ownership of an M5 or E63. But it’s not aging well, and it definitely lacks any real luxury appeal. It’s a hot rod.

            The Town Car might be the best bang for the buck, honestly. Plush, stately, cheap. The interior may not be better than Cadillac, but you can get a newer towncar.

            The best option is to see what’s available and take it for a drive. Try out Carvana’s 7 day test drive

            One other thing to think about is fuel economy. Right now, gas prices are very low. But I see things swinging hard in the other direction in the not so distant future. If gas hits $6/gal, are you going to want a big V8 beast? It may not come to that, but prices will definitely rise as the market recovers.
            That’s why I’m looking at more efficient cars like hybrids and diesels. Right now, diesel is expensive compared to gas. So nobody is buying diesel cars (nobody buys them anyway, because Americans don’t like diesel cars!)






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              #7
              Another thought I’ve had was a JDM import. Risky, since anything not originally sold here might be hard to repair when it breaks. Also, you’ll be paying $8,000-$15,000 for a 25 year old car (for the type of car we’ve been talking about, that’s about where the prices seem to fall.)
              Nissan’s Cedric and Gloria are beautiful cars, and they have engines identical or similar to the V6s found in USDM Nissans. They look dated, but still classy IMO.
              Toyota has a number of really cool options as well.
              Or you could be thoroughly impractical and pick up a Mazda Cosmo.






              Comment


                #8
                I love my 99' LS400. I can get 30mpg on the highway and it has 290hp/300tq plenty of power for a daily and doesn't feel slow.

                Once you update the suspension like I just did on mine, it'll ride amazing plus there are plenty of options for air ride if you so choose. Endless options for VIP bodykits and customization.

                I did a 4 muffler delete in the back and added 2 magnaflows and it added a very mellow and luxurious V8 burble.


                member's ride thread
                93' EX Coupe H22A w/ P2T4 Sir 5spd 191whp 155 wtq
                99' Lexus LS400 157k VVTi V8 gets up & goes...new DD
                91 Accord SE 176k
                97' Honda Odyssey 199k miles...$485 spare van for my parents

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                  #9
                  That exhaust sounds great!






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                    #10
                    Yeah that exhaust sounds really really good! If I did go the LS route, I'd keep it 100% stock because I want something quiet, smooth, and to just waft me along.

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                      #11
                      I’m currently drooling over this. JDM goodness with USDM parts availability.

                      https://www.japaneseclassics.com/veh...celsior-ucf11/






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                        #12
                        I did look at a few JDM imports from Japanese Classics and while it would be cool....parts would be a bitch. And Doug Demuro brought up a good point when he had his Skyline; it gets annoying driving on the other side of the car but on our side of the road.

                        I'm not too worried about gas getting up to $6/gallon. If anything it probably go back up to about $2.50 or so. My issue with hybrids is the lack of diy-ability and the complex drivetrain. Hybrid batteries will die on or around 100k miles and they are not cheap to replace.

                        Basically, I want something quiet, decently reliable, somewhat easy to repair, and the ability of it to waft me around and keep my relaxed. It doesn't have to be a V8, but at least a strong 6

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by deevergote View Post
                          I’m currently drooling over this. JDM goodness with USDM parts availability.

                          https://www.japaneseclassics.com/veh...celsior-ucf11/
                          Nice color combo! Wish it had leather, but I bet you could get a leather upholstery kit easily for it. Only issue would be the air suspension it has (I thought I saw a pic of that)

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Probably replaceable with non-air components.
                            I always wanted leather... until I got it. Now 2/3 of my cars have leather, and I’m totally over it.






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                              #15
                              2005-2012 Acura RL is an awesome car. I enjoyed my ownership experience. AWD was fantastic and it wasn't slow by any means. I could average 30+mpg on long highway stints.

                              The technology is showing its age and the refreshed version 09-12 were a bit ugly in my opinion, but excellent car nonetheless.
                              14 Ford Focus ST - stock(ish) - E30 Tune + Green Filter =

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