Best used luxury cars for £25,000

You’d be hard-pressed to find a car at any price with as broad a range of talents as the BMW 5 Series. It comes with a range of punchy yet efficient engines, neat styling and a wonderful ride and handling balance. It's wonderfully refined, too. The petrol-engined versions of the car are proving to be much more reliable than the diesel-engined ones, according to our latest What Car? Reliability Survey and that's just one of the reasons why our recommended version is the 530e plug-in hybrid. Plug it in regularly and it also has the potential for great economy. Add to that its luscious and spacious interior, excellent ergonomics and class-leading iDrive infotainment controller and it’s no wonder we rate this car above all others as a used luxury buy.  

"The king of luxury and so good to drive. We made it our overall Used Car of the Year a couple of years ago and every time I try one I still marvel at its amazing value." - Mark Pearson, used cars editor

We found 2021 BMW 530e SE, 16,000 miles, £23,900

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The Mercedes E-Class is available with a great range of engines, comes very well-equipped and is a quiet and smooth cruiser. Its interior is stunning to look at, with an impressive infotainment system, and there's more than enough room for its pampered passengers to stretch out. In fact, it's a very elegant, classy and comfortable package that just happens to be really good value used. Its reliability record is looking good, too. If you can stretch to around £27k you can even pick up the 300e plug-in hybrid version, which offers the potential for real economy. 

"Often a bit overlooked, the E-Class, unless you're a mini-cab driver, but it's a marvellous car and I'm especially fond of the estate version, which does all the saloon does but with a huge luggage area aft. Great for the dog." - Mark Pearson, used cars editor

We found 2022 Mercedes E200h MHEV AMG Line, 29,000 miles, £23,490

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Audi is responsible for some of the most comfortable and refined saloons ever made, with the Audi A8 being a prime example. It's a popular chauffeur car for good reason because it's massively spacious, luxurious and stuffed full of cutting-edge tech. Its ride is extremely comfortable, too, and its interior quality is nearly unmatched here. Of course, to enhance its chauffeur qualities, there are long-wheelbase models as well. For our £25,000 budget, you can pick up a very respectable example, meaning the A8 truly represents exceptional value for money. 

"Not the youngest car here but one of the most refined, and one of the largest. It'd make a great used car for someone with a grown-up family after a bit of luxury." - George Hill, used cars writer

We found 2019 Audi A8 3.0 TFSI V6 55, 70,000 miles, £24,990

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Another, even more popular chauffeur car is the Mercedes S-Class. Sure, our budget gets you an older car with more miles on it, but the S-Class remains an outstanding bargain – in many of the same ways as the rival Audi A8. The S-Class has long been a flagship for Mercedes and it's famous for getting certain new pieces of tech before any other car on the market. As such, they're often kitted out and a bit ahead of their time, you could argue. It's also wonderfully comfortable and deliciously quiet, and the ride is great. Nothing else here will impress the neighbours quite as much. 

"Once upon a time the last word in luxury. The S-Class is still a terrific conveyance, and if you don't mind piloting a large car it's a wonderful place in which to spend time." - George Hill, used cars writer

We found 2018 Mercedes S350Ld V6 AMG Line (Executive), 53,500 miles, £24,950

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Thanks to its precise steering and agile handling, no mainstream luxury saloon is more entertaining than the Jaguar XF – mind you, it's still comfortable over long distances, with a nicely judged ride quality. One or two of its rivals here are quieter, admittedly, and have classier interiors, but we reckon the XF still strikes a superb balance between ride and handling and is great fun to drive. It’s well equipped, too, and very stylish. Reliability is proving to be better than you'd expect, too, according to our most recent What Car? Reliability Survey. 

"That latest reliability result is good news for all potential purchasers of a used luxury car, because you can now take a punt on this fine-driving machine without massive worry. Parts and servicing costs will still need keeping an eye on, though." - George Hill, used cars writer

We found 2021 Jaguar XF 2.0 P250i R-Dynamic, 36,000 miles, £24,995

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Another luxury limo stuffed with tech, the BMW 7 Series has always been one of the best of the breed to drive. You can punt it down a winding road with surprising confidence, or cruise down a motorway from its beginning to its end. It’s impressively clean and frugal for such a large car, too, with our chosen 730d version boasting a six-cylinder diesel engine of unusual refinement. Inside is a spacious and luxurious interior fit for any captain of industry, with plenty of up-to-the-minute kit. Such opulence didn't come cheap new, but used prices are surprisingly good value. 

"The latest 7 Series has a grille you can see from space, so this earlier generation is probably the better bet if you don't want to be mistaken for reality-show royalty. So suave and good to drive, this one." - Mark Pearson, used cars editor

We found 2019 BMW 730d 3.0 xDrive M Sport, 60,000 miles, £23,949

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The only electric car on this list, if the Tesla Model S fits into your lifestyle it's a great choice as a used luxury car. For starters, there's the Model S's stunning performance, especially on the dual-motor cars, which can shame many a luxury limo. It steers and handles well, too, and yet it's also comfortable and refined and spacious inside. Naturally, it comes with a long electric range, and there's the extensive Tesla Supercharging network to take advantage of. Earlier cars had a very poor reliability record, however, which is the only thing holding the Model S back in our book. 

"Whisper-quiet and wonderfully quick, you never forget your first drive in a Model S. Luxury? Oh yes. It pampers the driver and the passengers thanks to its civility." - George Hill, used cars writer

We found 2018 Tesla Model S 75D, 45,000 miles, £23,000

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The Audi A6 is a cosseting, quiet and technologically advanced saloon that feels beautifully built. Its interior is one of the best in the business because it's well-screwed together and lovely to look at. On top of that, the A6 is wonderfully refined, whether pottering around town or being driven down a motorway, and spacious inside. True, its latest touchscreen infotainment system is a little distracting to use on the move, and its automatic gearboxes can be slow-witted. However, it's its poor reliability (mostly comprised of electrical issues) that lets it down most. If it wasn't for that the wonderfully refined and very reasonably priced A6 would be right near the top of this list. 

"I remember with great affection the A6 long-termer we ran here at What Car? some time ago and how it dealt with all we threw at it and how amazingly quiet it was, even in diesel-engined form." - Mark Pearson, used cars editor

We found 2022 Audi A6 40 TFSI Sport, 38,000 miles, £23,995

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After something a little less ostentatious and a lot more affordable than most of the other cars on this list? Then the big, Swedish saloon that is the Volvo S90 could be just the thing, because it has a spacious and stunning interior, and comes very well equipped. It’s refined, too, and its striking looks will certainly impress the neighbours. Reliability has improved in the last few years, although the S90 is still only middling in this respect. Just bear in mind that it's not quite as good to drive as the best in this class. 

"I borrowed our long-term S90 for the weekend a few years ago to go to a family wedding deep in the countryside, and it was truly impressive. It impressed the guests at the wedding with its style, too." - Mark Pearson, used cars editor

We found 2021 Volvo S90 2.0h T8 Recharge R-Design, 27,595 miles, £23,000

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The Jaguar XJ has always been the creamiest cat in the Jag range. Strikingly different in its styling, it equalled previous Jaguar standards in ride quality and refinement and shattered them in terms of driving pleasure. There's a good range of punchy engines to choose from, and all XJs are nicely refined. Inside the XJ brings a touch of modernity to the trad wood and leather look, and there’s plenty of kit for your money. A mixed reliability record on the whole, especially for the diesel-engined cars, but its showing in the last of our reliability surveys it appeared in suggested things were looking better on that front. 

We found 2019 XJ 3.0d V6 Luxury, 60,000 miles, £23,495

Read our full used Jaguar XJ review

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