Anyone consider a used Luxury SUV for the price of a new CX-5?

[hal2]

Should I be slapping myself for not looking at a 2018 Stelvia with under 10,000 miles for $3,000 less than my CX-5 Signature? Increased maint. costs might have made that a stupid idea? Reliability too of course? Then again there's something about tossing around a more pedestrian car like the CX-5 - though I almost (not quite) miss living in a snow state as there's no fun whether in AZ unless I go up north.

So, did any of you cross shop a 2 - 3 year old luxury SUV when buying your see-ex 5?

 

[Sig cx-5]

I cross shopped Audi Q5/SQ5, BMW X3/X3 M40i, Mercedes GLC and Acura RDX. We chose the CX-5 mainly for it's "bang for the buck" win. Otherwise, it would have been the SQ5. I would only consider a Stelvia if I were leasing.

 

[Unobtanium]

Stelvia isn't much faster than the CX5 turbo. Owning an FCA product for that very minor performance bump is a horrible move.

The SQ5 is the only one that actually makes me think "Hey...I might buy one of those CPO if the new 2023 model CX5 comes with some weak 280hp engine or something"

As it stands, I've happy with my CX5 GTR 2019, and will probably buy a CPO top of the line Gen 3 CX5 with the most effective powertrain offered, provided its reliability is good and it is doing well a year or two out.

The other offerings currently are all "more or less about the same" performance wise as the CX5, until you step into some real money-suckers.

 

[sm1ke]

Stelvia isn't much faster than the CX5 turbo. Owning an FCA product for that very minor performance bump is a horrible move.

The SQ5 is the only one that actually makes me think "Hey...I might buy one of those CPO if the new 2023 model CX5 comes with some weak 280hp engine or something"

As it stands, I've happy with my CX5 GTR 2019, and will probably buy a CPO top of the line Gen 3 CX5 with the most effective powertrain offered, provided its reliability is good and it is doing well a year or two out.

The other offerings currently are all "more or less about the same" performance wise as the CX5, until you step into some real money-suckers.

Agreed on all points. If my wife and I didn't want a seven seater, we likely would have gone to a used SQ5 as the GT Reserve/Signature CX-5s had not been released yet.

 

[Chocolate]

The only other vehicle I strongly considered was a used Lexus RX 350. Reliability, safety, resale value, and utility are my primary goals. The RX for me is too expensive new ($45K+), and IMO they've ruined the styling on the current model. Seems like Toyota's stylists won't stop until they've ruined the entire lineup with ugly grilles and low hanging plastic.

 

[Unobtanium]

The only other vehicle I strongly considered was a used Lexus RX 350. Reliability, safety, resale value, and utility are my primary goals. The RX for me is too expensive new ($45K+), and IMO they've ruined the styling on the current model. Seems like Toyota's stylists won't stop until they've ruined the entire lineup with ugly grilles and low hanging plastic.

View attachment 224895

Rx350 may be safe in a wreck, but then, it has to be when driving it is coma inducing.

 

[Chocolate]

For sure, it's a boring vehicle. But it also has close to 300hp in current form, a smooth and quiet ride, and the reliability and resale I'm looking for. I feel like if you buy one used you could find a comfortable, reliable vehicle and won't get too beat up on resale.

 

[Unobtanium]

For sure, it's a boring vehicle. But it also has close to 300hp in current form, a smooth and quiet ride, and the reliability and resale I'm looking for. I feel like if you buy one used you could find a comfortable, reliable vehicle and won't get too beat up on resale.

The slowest 300hp on the planet.

 

[tibimakai]

I have also started to look into the Stelvio, but new. I don't hear anything bad about the Alfa. I fell in love, with that red interior.
How many issues I had with my CX5, I don't consider it a reliable car. Same time period with my previous VW Rabbit(6-1/2 years), did not have any issues with that car.

 

[RedBaron]

I like the Stelvio, but would prefer the Giulia for myself

Sad that you had so many issues with the Mazda. Been happy with ours.

 

[jmhumr]

Well, look at it this way. I bought a used luxury SUV (BMW) a couple years ago and now regret it after discovering the CX-5. So now I browse here while shopping for my unicorn CX-5. Way more friendlier and helpful here than the Beamer forums too.

 

[multimut]

If you are looking to impress others with the badge, then a used "luxury" SUV may make sense instead of a new CX-5 may make sense. I'd be wary of Alfa Romeo used though.

My two-car family has in the past always had one luxury German and one Japanese. Replaced the German luxury with the Mazda CX-5, our first Mazda. I'm very impressed with the CX-5.
I don't care about impressing others with the badge anymore.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and frankly, most SUV/CUV have very similar shapes. In my eyes, the Gen 2 Mazda CX-5 design looks better than the vast majority of luxury SUVs. For many of the luxury makes, I always think if the same car had a say "Toyota" badge instead of XXX, would I think it looks as nice?

Mazda has a much better ranking on reliability and quality than any luxury brand other than Lexus. Consumers Reports ranks Mazda in the top three along with Lexus and Toyota. Of course that doesn't mean you won't be the unlucky one who gets the car from a reliable make that has more problems; but that can happen with any brand, and your odds are better with Mazda.

 

[aniks417]

I cross shopped this with a 2020 BMW X3 xdrive30e (Lease) & 2018 Audi Q5. The X3 drove really well, but since it was so new and they only had two in Oregon that weren't reserved, they were not willing to cut a deal. That's despite the dealer telling me I had BMW loyalty discount and discounts through work. Additionally they weren't willing to consider state or federal rebates into the lease negotiations. I could and I quote, "have better discounts on almost any other model except this one".

The Q5 was also nice, but for more $$ than the Mazda, it didn't have: cooled seats, heads up display, rear heated seats and don't think it had carplay either. Factor in maintenance and only being pre-owned (not CPO) it didn't seem like a great deal.

With the CX-5 I didn't have to negotiate as it was a great deal and I thought it handled better than the Audi. The seats felt a little bit stiffer but it also felt quicker and had more options (standard). Plus reliability is a huuuuge plus and my car was CPO (yet had less then 900 miles on it) so it has a longer warranty than a new car. To me the CX5 felt like a minimal, simple and less flashy luxury compared to the Audi and I really liked that.

 

[onerpm]

Picking up a 2020 Signature tonight. The only luxo that had my eye was the (used) Macan; in the end, I decided I'm just too cheap to deal with Porsche future costs. (Can't be that cheap, buying a 38k msrp Mazda, but you know what I mean...)

 

[zroger73]

Stelvia isn't much faster than the CX5 turbo. Owning an FCA product for that very minor performance bump is a horrible move.

The Stelvio Quadrifoglio, on the other hand, is a beast! But, I agree - I'd never spend my own money on any FCA product.

Picking up a 2020 Signature tonight. The only luxo that had my eye was the (used) Macan; in the end, I decided I'm just too cheap to deal with Porsche future costs. (Can't be that cheap, buying a 38k msrp Mazda, but you know what I mean...)

$38,000 is merely an average transaction price for a new vehicle these days, so the purchase price of a new CX-5 Signature is significantly below average.

 

[Unobtanium]

Picking up a 2020 Signature tonight. The only luxo that had my eye was the (used) Macan; in the end, I decided I'm just too cheap to deal with Porsche future costs. (Can't be that cheap, buying a 38k msrp Mazda, but you know what I mean...)

Base Macan is going to cost a TON more than a CX5T to own, and performance on paper isn't very different, although I'm sure it's better balanced, but how hard are you REALLY pushing this class of vehicle vs. how much you want to spend to maintain it?

 

[pcardoza]

I went for a CPO luxury vehicle (2006 M-B CLK 350) back in 2009. Got the car with 20,000mi on it and CPO warranty to 100k mi. I owned the car till 109,000mi.

I never made it through a single OCI without and unscheduled service/repair. Every 5k miles or so, I'd receive a check engine light for a new issue. QAt 109,000, just after the CPO warranty ran out, the CEL came on yet again and was diagnosed as a worn balance shaft in the engine........ Estimate $8,000 to replace.

Some research online showed this to be a somewhat common issue. After much back and forth, M-B picked up $6k of the fix. I traded the car in 2 weeks after it was fixed, NEVER again will I buy a high end German vehicle.

 

[sm1ke]

I went for a CPO luxury vehicle (2006 M-B CLK 350) back in 2009. Got the car with 20,000mi on it and CPO warranty to 100k mi. I owned the car till 109,000mi.

I never made it through a single OCI without and unscheduled service/repair. Every 5k miles or so, I'd receive a check engine light for a new issue. QAt 109,000, just after the CPO warranty ran out, the CEL came on yet again and was diagnosed as a worn balance shaft in the engine........ Estimate $8,000 to replace.

Some research online showed this to be a somewhat common issue. After much back and forth, M-B picked up $6k of the fix. I traded the car in 2 weeks after it was fixed, NEVER again will I buy a high end German vehicle.

It's unfortunate, but stories like these pop up far too often on my radar. A friend of mine owned a CPO Audi A4 Quattro for a couple of years and had a similar experience. He traded it in and has since moved to leasing his vehicles. Currently leases a BMW 3-series that rarely gets driven because he's moved to a career that provides a company car. Because of his experience with the Audi, he says that he will never again own a German vehicle.

 

[Boland01]

In the past we've owned 2 BMW 335i's and one 535i. At around 70K miles if you keep them that long be prepared to get your wallet out often and pay a lot. Our neighbor has an Audi A5 and it's even worse.

Our 2016 CX5 GT has over 117K miles on it. Other than maintenance items haven't put a dime into it. It still drives great and, handles well.

 

[ih8winter]

I originally thought we would get a CPO X3 but I've been burned on used Germans in the past - had an Audi TT which was an absolute nightmare. I then had my heart set on a 2019 CPO Acura RDX A-Spec (is Acura even considered luxury?) but even with 20K miles, price was about what a new GT Reserve went for.....really nice to look at but wasn't that fun to drive. The CX-5 to me feels more fun than the RDX - probably due to higher torque despite giving up some HP. Happy I went with the Mazda.