I haven't written an article for some time, but, recently I've been wanting to get a new car. I currently have a 2004 Mercedes-Benz S500, that I really love, but much like the car I had before, an 00' BMW 530i, it has come time to sadly upgrade. I have a large family, my wife, and my three children (2, 6 and 11). My wife has 2008 Volvo XC90.
I am looking at a few cars and have been to a few dealerships. Obviously, seeing as I currently have an S500, I went to my local Mercedes-Benz dealership and was immediately treated with courtesy and was shown to the few S-Class' they had in stock for a test drive. I agreed that I would most likely get an S500 again and probably would lease it. I actually found a very nice 2008 S500 that was kitted out with night vision, rear entertainment system, AMG sports pack that was $229,000AUD drive away and had done 11,000km, compared to a base S500 here for excess of $260,000. The previous owner was actually the managing director of the dealership.
I then continued onto BMW where I tested out the new 750i, in black. I was impressed and the cabin was better than the S-Class, though I still like the overall design of the S-Class more than the 7 Series. I could drive away in a black 09' 750i that had rear entertainment pack, lane departure warning system, and the optional alloys, but for $260,000 and still with about 10,000km.
I headed over to Lexus and found a 2009 LS460, that was brand new, with the self park system and all, for under $200,000 drive away.
I headed over to Audi(Solitaire Automotive) and I found that whenever I asked about any additional extras that could be thrown in for the A8 I was greeted with "no", which I found strange, considering Mercedes was going to add an extra warranty and the first service for free and BMW the same. I don't like the design of the A8 at all as it is aging compared to the 7, S and LS, and seeing as it is going to replaced soon, that just added onto the negatives for the purchase. However, if I was going to purchase, I found a black 2009 A8L for $230,000 drive away with 5,000km.
I have no idea which one to choose. I also am not hesitant to have a look at Range Rover as I've always wanted to have a Range Rover. My final decisions would come down to:
2008 S500, $230,000AUD drive away, 11,000km, AMG pack, night vision, rear entertainment
2009 750i, $260,000AUD drive away, 10,000km, 20" alloys, rear entertainment
2009 LS460, $199,000AUD drive away, new
2009 Audi A8 D3 4.2V8 L, $230,000 drive away
2010 Land Rover Range Rover TDV8
Thanks for your time(I've actually included in the picture the real pictures of the cars I'm talking out and that I tested out). Comments from people who have one or more of the cars I've talked about would be greatly appreciated.