Remember the first time you saw a modern Bentley Continental GT rolling through the oldtown? I bet you didn’t even notice how your jaw hit the ground. The brand new rounded SL class Mercedes-Benz was a neck breaker at its time, too. And there were more cars that used to trigger every petrolhead on the streets but at the time it was unobtainable due to the high price.
But fortunately (or less fortunately if you own an expensive car), prices usually don’t have the resistance against the test of time. Especially, when it comes to these expensive, fast or luxurious vehicles. And now you could afford some of these great looking cars, but here’s the question you need to think about: should you?
Here is the list of cars that used to be cool, but are highly depreciated now. Is it the right time to buy any of it? Well, it depends on how deep your pockets are. Sometimes it may be a furnace for your cash. These stunning cars are cheap to buy, although literally, a money pit to run and maintain.
Maserati Quattroporte
Tired of boring American and European V8s? Of course! I knew you did want something more – something, like a Ferrari V8. And you can certainly afford one that sits in front of Maserati Quattroporte. That, perhaps, is the cheapest Ferrari engine you can access.
Let’s chat about the Quattroporte V or the fifth generation of it. Quattroporte stands for ‘four doors’ in Italian. These lovely looking Italian saloons have 4.2 or 4.7 V8s with a prancing horse logo on it. These motors provide an unforgettable exhaust tone. What is more, they love to rev throughout the range. So, it’s the opposite of a dull V8 from American pickup or numb European executive saloon.
However, the Quattroporte V may become a demon in your bank account when it comes to maintenance costs. Take that into account when considering getting one on your driveway.
BMW M6
I was never a fan of Chris Bangle designed BMW 6 Series. If you ask me, the classic E24 was a real show stealer with its shark-like nose. But with the modern Sixer, BMW declined too much from their identity. Although, there definitely were people that fall for the modern M6. It produced silly amounts of power from its F1 derived naturally-aspirated V10. And it undoubtedly should have been called Pavarotti of all cars.
When the M6 was new back in 2004 it had a price of more than 110 000 Eur. Costly maintenance and big production numbers took all the potential from it as a classic car. Nowadays you can get a taste of F1 engine for as little as 15 000.
However, if you get the clutch and flywheel failure, expect to see a bill with a number of 5 digits. That’s a lot for a 15 years old car if you ask me.
Mercedes-Benz CL-class
Just look at this majestic Mercedes-Benz CL-class. What a car it was back then. Best of all worlds: the luxury and comfort of S class with a little spice of sportiness. However, the value of used CL-class declined like a hammer in the water.
Even though these S class coupe alike models offered a lot of car and tech for the value, the unbearable maintenance costs made it too expensive to run. Even though used CL prices start around 4 500, Mercedes-Benz owners claimed this car to be quite a beggar. Expect to spend 3 000 to 5 000 Eur per year even if you don’t use it as a daily car.
Get it if you’re fine paying 1 Eur for 1 kilometer. In my opinion, there are better choices for the price of Mercedes-Benz CL that are both more fun to drive and cheaper to maintain.
Bentley Flying Spur
Ever dreamed of living like a King and owning yourself a Bentley? Well, here’s your chance. The modern four-door Bentley Flying Spur can be yours for 20 000 Eur. A bargain, if you ask me. And yes, deep in the heart you will always know that you sit behind a steering wheel of a car that might have been sold with a whopping price tag of 200 000 Eur.
I will put this right here: you can’t even get a brand new Golf for that price. It may also have all the luxuries of its time as well as that bold B letter right in front of the car. But it will be quite an animal to feed – have that in your head.
If it was a 200 grand car one day. What does that mean for the buyer? Well, if you have no issues with it regular maintenance will cost mid-four figures. Expect to spend quite a lot more if something goes wrong. So be aware that there may be extortionate bills hidden behind these bargain price tags.
Range Rover Supercharged
It may seem the Range Rover Supercharged might offer a mix of just about everything. 510 HP from a supercharged driven 5.0 V8 and more than two and a half tons of luxury gadgets can seem very attractive at a price of less than 20 000 Eur. But in reality, this complicated machine is likely to steal your attention, your money and your time, too.
According to many reliability kinds of research, British Range Rovers are amongst the least reliable cars. Having this particular model that was assembled till 2012? It is likely the car visits the workshop as often as the fuel refills.
If you need a big and powerful SUV, make sure to skip this one. It may be a pleasure to drive on, but it costs a fortune to run it.
