These are the best cars to buy used, rather than new
Luxury vehicles are the best buys, while a Tesla Model 3? Not so much.
As new car prices continue to hover around a price far out of reach for many Americans, the used car market continues to become the source for many shoppers. If you're eager to get your hands on a gently used luxury car, they remain the downright best deals. According to new data from iSeeCars released on Wednesday, seven of the 15 used cars that are best to buy used, rather than new, are luxury vehicles.
The data combs through 2.6 million vehicle sales that took place in between August 2020 and March 2021, and the website defined a "gently used vehicle" as a 2019 or 2020 vehicle. Keep in mind, these cars aren't necessarily the cheapest used cars around, but the depreciation factor hits them hardest, making them far less expensive than buying a brand new version.
At the top of the list is the BMW 5 Series lost 36.4% of its value on average. Translation: The luxury sedan is typically $24,000 cheaper than a new model after just one or two years. However, a far more reasonable car also comes in towards the top in the Hyundai Sonata. The mass-market sedan is 36.1% cheaper, which lops nearly $10,000 off the price compared to a freshly built Sonata. Aside from an eighth place showing from the Nissan Sentra and 11th place finish for the Mitsubishi Mirage G4 , it's the only other mass-market sedan to feature such a steep discount. And the other two are much smaller cars.
Back to the luxury cars, the Infiniti Q50 boasts a substantial discount with over $16,000 knocked off its price after a couple years, and if you're looking for a Mercedes-Benz , the smaller GLA SUV is roughly $13,500 cheaper used. A CLA sedan? $13,400 cheaper.
Only two luxury SUVs make the list, which underscores how valuable utility vehicles remain to automakers with demand so high. The Cadillac XT5 lands in 12th place with $14,800 shaved off the new price and the GMC Yukon Denali XL sees almost $23,000 stripped away if you seek out a used version.
Some used cars are best avoided, though. The Tesla Model 3 is a prime example since a used version typically only costs $923 less than a new one. In this case, you're better off nabbing a new one.
Check out the full list below and maybe don't brush off the used car lot the next time you're in the market for a car. There are deals to be had.
Top 15 cars to buy used over new
| Rank (By percentage saved over MSRP) | Make and model | % price difference from new | Difference in dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BMW 5 Series | 36.40% | $24,207 |
| 2 | Hyundai Sonata | 36.10% | $9,898 |
| 3 | Infiniti Q50 | 34.90% | $16,322 |
| 4 | Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross | 31.60% | $8,041 |
| 5 | Ford Mustang | 31% | $13,422 |
| 6 | Mercedes-Benz GLA | 30.90% | $13,562 |
| 7 | Infiniti Q60 | 30.90% | $16,944 |
| 8 | Nissan Sentra | 30.20% | $6,209 |
| 9 | BMW 3 Series | 29.70% | $15,266 |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz CLA | 29.50% | $13,420 |
| 11 | Mitsubishi Mirage G4 | 29.20% | $4,781 |
| 12 | Cadillac XT5 | 28.70% | $14,851 |
| 13 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 28.70% | $9,061 |
| 14 | GMC Yukon XL | 27.80% | $22,639 |
| 15 | Kia Sorento | 27.30% | $8,489 |
