Seven of the best used luxury cars to buy online 2024
Choosing a used luxury car is one of the best ways to get a classy car without breaking the bank
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Best value used luxury cars
While it's true that a large proportion of luxury cars leave the showroom costing their owners eye-watering sums, a used luxury car can be much more attainable.
Want to see proof? Take a look at our top picks for the best used second-hand luxury cars.
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Used Audi A8
Audi’s flagship A8 is an awesome, all-aluminium-based machine designed to let you effortlessly cover great distances in enormous comfort. Its look are nicely understated, in that Old Money sort of way. No need to brag here; those who know will understand the car you're driving (or being driven in) is exceptionally posh and comfortable.
Top of the line is a V8 model that's as smooth as whipped cream and as powerful as a double espresso. Since many A8s are long-distance cruisers, the diesel models are popular with buyers. And they offer fantastic used value for money, with cars with manufacturer warranties still intact going for well under £40,000. That's almost half the original list price.
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Used BMW 7 Series
Where the A8 is subtle in its design, the used BMW 7 Series has a little more, ahem, road presence – check out those grilles. But while those intake kidneys are an acquired taste, there's little doubt that the spacious 7 Series has the scale to wear them. Inside, the 7 Series mixes fantastic BMW ergonomics with the latest cabin technology.
The 7 Series also handles like a proper BMW, combining a cushioned ride with great body control to go with the performance of powerful engines. You can get a muscular V8 like the Audi A8, but the diesels and hybrids are popular for their efficiency. Spend between £30,000 and £40,000 you’ll find a good choice of cars. It's another near-half-price scenario.
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Used Jaguar XJ
There’s nothing quite like the ride of a big Jag. The Jaguar XJ doesn't hide its mass with trick electronic suspension like rivals, something that only serves to emphasise its luxury status. The XJ is no overweight slouch though, and that's best proved in the red-hot supercharged V8 variant where more than 500hp can be found in its tightened-up base.
This is a supercar-slayer with British brawn, handsome looks and an interior that retains a greater air of tradition than its rivals. That's become evermore true in recent years because Jaguar discontinued the XJ in 2019, meaning used cars have no successor. They remain the last in the XJ lineage. Handily, the model has aged remarkably well, with a strong range of engines beneath that potent V8. V6 diesels are especially popular and can command little more than £35,000.
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Used Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Perhaps the used Mercedes-Benz S-Class should be at the top of our list, because it's arguably the benchmark when it comes to luxury cars. It's a pioneer; the S-Class introduced safety tech like airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners and electronic stability control to passenger cars, as well as cutting edge systems like radar-enabled adaptive cruise control and crash-reducing brake assist.
Every iteration has advanced the march of automotive technology, yet despite being so complex, the S-Class has always been built to last. These are posh, beautifully-built and wonderful-to-drive machines, especially if you can access an AMG version, where thumping V8 power is added into the mix. With a little over £40,000 – about £35k less than a new, base-level S – you can step onto the S-Class ladder.
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Used Porsche Panamera
When it launched back in 2009, the first four-door Porsche (let’s not count the SUVs) trod a new path as a luxury saloon that could genuinely handle like a sports car. Sure, the V8-powered cars mentioned above are each thrilling in their own right, but none has managed to feel so truly athletic as Porsche's class entrant.
With eye-popping variants like the V8-powered Panamera Turbo S out there, the Porsche holds a significant USP against its rivals – and it has the looks to match, with a swooping bodyshape and low driving position that feels ideally matched to its on-road capabilities. Porsche has produced petrol, diesel and hybrid versions of its Panamera, so there are efficient options as well as ones that offer blistering performance. Oh, and you can get all this for less than £50,000.
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Used Range Rover
If your luxury lifestyle involves country pursuits then you can do no better than a Range Rover. And by that, we mean the ‘big’ Range Rover’, not the Velar, Sport or Evoque that sit beneath it. Riding high, looking over the hedgerows, ensconced in a beautifully trimmed, leather-lined cabin, there are few finer ways to travel.
And this is opulent 4x4 is an authentic off-roader, so if you find yourself on a muddy green lane or faced with a flooded road, you needn't turn around in a Range Rover. It can go off road with the best of them, with powerful petrol and diesel engines – and, most recently, plug-in hybrids – working with clever four-wheel drive hardware to get you practically anywhere. New buyers usually spend six-figure-money to access such a machine, but used cars on our site go from about half that.
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Used Volvo S90
The biggest Volvo saloon is popular with chauffeurs for good reason. The Volvo S90 is supremely comfortable in the back, easy and relaxing to drive year-round, and it's even more under-the-radar than the discreet Audi A8. This is typical of Swedish design, with pureness and simplicity trumping brashness and road presence. Although there's little mistaking the high rank of the S90 when you're inside one, because the interior is swish, beautifully finished and well-equipped with technology.
Volvo's engines, too, are great examples of engineering, with petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid versions that all mix punch with efficiency. This is a no-fuss way to do luxury on wheels, yet you can step into a Volvo from cinch for just over £20,000. Yes, you read that right. That's less than half its original price.