I couldn't help you with that, my dad worked at Firestone before he passed away, so I'm treated real good there. If I wasn't, I'd tell you to avoid them.
Semantics of "luxury" aside, I think for that price range, you are looking at used Caddy CTS, Acura TLs, BMW 3-Series, MB C-Class, Lexus IS/GS and those of the like. Just get some sort of warranty coverage when buying used, especially German as you don't want the cost to maintain and fix it. I think many people fail to realize that spending 30K+ on a car is not something the general population takes lightly or even does that often. Look around when you drive on the freeway. With spending habits of most people, spending that much is not an option. For those that DO want to spend 30K+, there's a reason why there are a lot of 30K BMWs, MBs, Lexuses(?), etc. on the roads. Those that do well for themselves, still find spending 30-40K is a lot, and making the jump above that is not practical for transportation.
thats the standard model the ultimate model is 64.5K that model has only 2 rear passenger seats because the recline, give massages and comes with a mini fridge honestly thats pretty boss for the price tag - a comparable benz or bmw would probably be pushing 6 figures
And the price is starting to show... http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/26/2011-hyundai-equus-ultimate-july-2011/
Nice post and somewhat true, at least in Houston, partly because lots of people just don't care too much what their car looks like. I think the same could be said for work clothes if you're not a lawyer, banker or senior executive of some kind. The funniest thing in the world to me is talking to senior staff or middle-managers who are probably at the 75-100k range bragging about sales at Stein Mart or taking coupons to JC Penney's, I guess 10-15 years of back-to-school shopping can do that to a person. What do you think is a good price-to-income ratio for a car purchase? I think if you're single and gainfully employed you can get away with 20-25%.
The average person makes less than 40K, meaning 8-10K. If that was the case, the economy would be much worse than it is. With that ratio, a person would have to make 6 figures to buy a camry.
I got my 528i back in 2008 and I have loved every minute of driving it. You could get a used 08 for around 27k. I would highly recommend it. It's the first car that after 3 years I don't have the itch to get something new. I've had zero problems with it.
My best friend got the 2008 525 or 528 and he has repair problems every other month it seems like. He bought his used for the same amount as well. I love BMW but lots of dough to shell out to maintain the Beamer...
I'm going to say the average person finances their car over 5 years and spends about 60-70% of a years income on the car, even more when taking in the financing.
You're assuming someone would be buying a Camry in cash, year after year. 10k per year for a car would be $800/month. That would get you a car costing around $45k.
I had a Bmw and they break down often. If you want something reliable, go Japanese. Actually been thinking about purchasing a 2012 TSX SE.
Lexus by far. Its designs may be out of date (if you get the 2011 or so), so I suggest waiting for new models to come out (the new GS is coming out next year, and the spy shots look pretty good). It's the most reliable luxury car easily. I would put Audi last. It has the best styling and interiors, but its reliability is unpredictable. You hear stories about people having to constantly maintaining and fixing it after 50-75k or past their warranty, which is terrible.
I got to drive a Buick Lacrosse recently and its very nice. I might buy one in the future since I have a thing for buying American cars as long as I think they are comparable. Its the whole putting my money where my mouth is.
Buick Turbo.. Buick Turbo.. Buick Turbo... That was definitely a WTF moment when I first saw that commercial.
