4 Popular Luxury Cars To Stay Away From in Retirement
Written by
Andrew Lisa
Edited by
Levi Leidy
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Anyone who has been waiting their entire working lives to drive in style might consider splurging on a luxury vehicle in retirement, and if they have the means, by all means. But not all luxury vehicles are created equal, and retirees should avoid a few models, in particular.
The following high-end rides are popular, but wrong for most seniors because they tend to be unreliable, have high maintenance and ownership costs, depreciate rapidly or be outclassed by competitors that offer more bang for the buck.
Land Rover Range Rover
Land Rover vehicles are luxurious, capable and a pleasure to drive — when they work.
RepairPal gives the nameplate an uninspiring 2.5 out of five reliability rating, making it the No. 2 least dependable brand — and just not among luxury automakers. Land Rover ranks 31 out of 32 among all brands, with the frequency, severity and cost of repairs all much higher than average.
The four trims on the flagship Range Rover model start at just under $50,000 and run into the six figures, and its notorious long-term maintenance costs make it much more expensive to own than comparable vehicles of similar quality — and no luxury vehicle bleeds value faster.
Maserati Levante
CarEdge ranks the Range Rover dead last for depreciation out of 217 luxury vehicles as having the segment’s lowest five-year residual value. It’s the only one that retains less than a quarter of its purchase price — 24.4%, to be exact.
Taking the 216th spot, right in front of the Range Rover, with a 25.9% residual value projection is the Maserati Levante — it clings only to about $26,000 of its original $102,000 starting MSRP after just 60 months.
Audi Q5
RepairPal gives the Audi Q5 a just-OK three-star reliability rating. It lands a middling 112 on the 217-vehicle CarEdge luxury-segment depreciation rankings and Edmunds awards it a “meh” 7.6-star review, concluding that its advanced age and dated designs just don’t earn it must-have status.
An exhaustive MotorTrend test drive and review concurs, stating that it does everything it’s supposed to do, but just isn’t compelling in such a crowded and competitive segment bursting with cheaper and more exciting options like the Genesis G70 and BMW 3-Series, both of which undercut the Q5’s immodest $52,200 starting MSRP by thousands.
Jaguar I-Pace
The Jaguar I-Pace starts at $72,500, and retirees who are thinking of buying a luxury all-electric SUV should consider the comparably priced BMW iX or Audi SQ6 e-tron, instead.
While not unsightly by any means, the I-Pace lacks the distinctively sleek Jaguar stylings that are a trademark of the nameplate’s prestige. Car and Driver gives it a lackluster 7.5-star rating, not for its looks but for its unimpressive sub-250-mile estimated battery range and sluggish charging time, both of which are topped with room to spare by the aforementioned competitors.
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