With The Luxury Brands Becoming Less Expensive What Is Now The Best Sedan For Around $30,000?

Doesn't "best" depend entirely on each individual's needs and preferences?

The beauty is in the eyes of the beholder...So I agree with you ...

You will be hard-pressed to find an A3 for $30k. It's rare to find one under $35k in fact. At local dealers here, of the 50 in stock, 60% are over $40k.

How can you find one under $30K, when base price is $29,900 & destination is $925? So, before you even check any options or metallic paint you are close to $31k ($30,825). And being in the business for almost 10 years (currently with Audi) . I have yet to see a single person walk in and say I want the car with zero options.

Exactly...talk about amateur journalism. The A3 starts at about the exact price of the entry-level Pilot, and if you equip the A3 with the top of the line features, it ends up in the upper 40s like the Pilot, yet Agent 009 chooses to skew his headlines. I guess he's hoping viewers on here are too stupid to realize his bias.

Interesting that the thread about the new Honda Pilot, which tops out $47k, suddenly became a $50k car in Agent009's eyes...and now the A3 is a $30k car...

How could someone actually answer this question EXCEPT for themselves?
The problem is the word "VALUE" is a personal position.

It is just like attempting to use the claim "Luxury" car manufacturer. IT should be "PREMIUM" car manufacturer based on what I believe you are trying to infer. There are only two "Luxury" car manufacturers that I know of - Bentley and Rolls Royce. Other Premium car manufacturers produce a mixture - mostly of smaller high end sports sedans and coupes that can hardly be classified as Luxury cars (Example - Audi and Bmw - the sales of their actual luxury cars - the 7 series and up - and the A8 - are miniscule)

And - there is no $30,000 four door sedan that can beat the pants off "ANY" sports coupe in a state.

Snobs would never cross shop a $30K Fusion or an Optima with a bottom scraper Audi or Mercedes, but if they did, the Fusion and Optima would win.

and you'd still be driving a Ford or Kia, that after you drive off the lot would be worth half of the price you paid..add all the options you want, then go to edmunds or blackbook and see what price you can get for trade in on another vehicle.

face it, America loves designer and name brands. nobody who can afford an S-Class says, I think I'll just pick up a Hyundai Genesis or Equus or Kia 900 for that matter.

You are absolutely correct and its not only America, this is worldwide. Look at China and all of Asia as a matter fact, they love luxury labels.

You obviously know very little about the car sales business. It's a well-hidden myth that the premiums hold their value. The majority of low-end premium sales are leases for 2-3 years that the manufacturer artificially props up the resale value of to get a lower lease price. Then the car comes back in and is resold at the CPO price (the inflated residual) and people buy thinking the vehicle has held value. The depreciation after a CPO sale is staggering.

Without a doubt it is a used BMW E39 M5.

Used Lexus HS 250.