Why would you buy second-hand if you’ve got R1 million to spend? Because there are some fantastic deals at the top-end of the used market that allow you to roll around in style without breaking the bank.
The nouveau riche are often vilified and mocked, but it’s not easy being a new inductee into the ranks of the super wealthy, there are a lot of expectations. ‘New money’ can’t roll on by in a decade-old Cadillac like Warren Buffet. No, you need to be a billionaire to get away with that. If your ship has only recently come in, you’re obligated to show it. You need to flash that wealth and spread it around. But, where does that leave you if you form part of that small subset of newly minted millionaires who are careful with their money?
How do you show your wealth without simultaneously blowing all of it? The answer, at least when it comes to cars, is simple: buy a used luxury vehicle. There’s this thing called ‘buyer’s remorse’, and it is the cause of a flourishing second-hand luxury-car market. Sometimes the payments are too steep. Sometimes the fuel bill is too high. Sometimes the vehicle just isn’t practical enough. Regardless of the reasons involved, you’ll find no shortage of great vehicles with low kilometres and enticing prices on the used market. So, if you are both upwardly mobile and financially responsible, here are six SUVs that you can explain away to your financial adviser.
M Treatment – 2015 BMW X5 M50d
Buying a BMW is practically a prerequisite for entry into the new money club. If you can get one with an M badge, even better. But BMW’s M cars are not easy vehicles to run. They’re pricey and they love fuel, and the driving experience is quite uncompromising. If you’re a petrolhead, owning an M car at some stage is a must. If you care more about image than anything else, however, a performance Beemer can be annoying.
But here is an excellent solution: how about a comfortable diesel SUV with an M badge? That is exactly what the diesel-engine X5 M50d offers. It’s a BMW M car… but not really. It doesn’t offer the full-blown M experience, but it has a legitimate M badge, which is the important point. And should that sort of thing matter to you, the M50d offers an excellent day-to-day driving experience. It’s comfortable and frugal, but also fast and fun. It’s the perfect combination of showy and sensible.
Price R929 000
Year 2015
Mileage 38 000km
Engine 3.0-litre tri-turbo diesel
Transmission Eight-speed auto
Power 280kW
Torque 740Nm
Top speed 250km/h
Old-School Cool – 2016 Defender 110 Heritage Edition
Pukka off-roaders and overlanders don’t cut it on the high street. They’re generally too cheap and scruffy and covered in dirt. However, there is one important exception. The Land Rover Defender is cool enough to hold its own in any carpark. The queen has one, as do loads of celebrities like Richard Hammond, Ranulph Fiennes, Sean Connery and Paul McCartney. At one stage, even Oprah Winfrey had one. She had a 1993 NAS (North American Specification) Defender 90.
Nowadays, the Defender is even more desirable thanks to the fact that Land Rover is no longer producing these legendary vehicles. Before the company ceased production, it released the Heritage Edition as a last hurrah, and this is undoubtedly the most desirable of the bunch. It’s as modern a Defender as you can find, but made to look like a Series Land Rover of old. This limited edition Defender is an instant classic. It also seems to be one of the few vehicles you can buy that will actually appreciate. This model is worth quite a bit more now than it was when it was new. It originally retailed for R714 800. Your accountant will be ecstatic.
Price R929 900
Year 2016
Mileage 19 500km
Engine 2.2-litre turbodiesel
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 90kW
Torque 360Nm
Top speed 145km/h
Swedish Style – 2016 Volvo XC90 D5
There was a time – not too long ago, actually – when no moneyed and socially savvy individual would have even looked at a Volvo. Volvo’s cars were safe, sure, but they were not the sort of thing you opted for when hitting the club scene. A boxy Volvo station wagon had zero street cred. But times have changed. Volvo has a new image. In fact, some would argue that a Volvo is now cooler than any Teutonic alternative.
The coolest vehicle in the company’s stable is the XC90. It is big and dramatic, but not overly showy. Some large SUVs are too over-the-top. They yell “look at me” so loudly that they stink of desperation. Not the XC90. It has an effortless coolness; more 1970’s Steve McQueen than 1970’s Elvis. When Volvo started marketing the new XC90, it partnered with Swedish superstar Avicii, proving that it’s interested in a very different demographic these days. If you want a pricey and popular SUV that still manages to suggest a certain iconoclastic streak, the XC90 is for you.
Price R929 900
Year 2016
Mileage 4 500km
Engine 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel
Transmission Eight-speed auto
Power 165kW
Torque 470Nm
Top speed 220km/h
Bargain Buy – 2008 Hummer H2
If a vehicle’s ‘bang to buck’ ratio is important to you, you’d struggle to find a better buy than the Hummer H2. It is one of the most dramatic and ostentatious vehicles you can imagine, yet you can pick one up for significantly less than R1 million. Why is the H2 a great buy if you’re trying to attract attention? Well, it’s the size of a battleship, it’s got a huge engine (6.2-litre V8), it’s a Hummer (a brand that’s no longer around), and it was never officially sold in South Africa, so any version you find here was imported and converted to right-hand drive. All of this means you have an eye-catching and unique vehicle that no one else at the party will have.
But the H2 isn’t perfect. There are a few problems that make it hard to live with, expensive to run and difficult to sell. What are these issues? Well, the H2 is the size of a battleship, it’s got a huge engine (6.2-litre V8), it’s a Hummer (a brand that’s no longer around), and it was never officially sold in South Africa, so any version you find here was imported and converted to right-hand drive. All of this means you have an eye-catching and unique vehicle… that no one else at the party will want.
Price R799 950
Year 2008
Mileage 75 600km
Engine 6.2-litre V8 petrol
Transmission Six-speed auto
Power 293kW
Torque 574Nm
Top speed 201km/h
Big Bad Bakkie – 2015 Ford F-150 Raptor
South Africans loves bakkies, so even if you’re well off, it’s quite possible that you move in the sort of social circle where driving anything other than a double cab is viewed with suspicion. The problem with this, of course, is that it’s very hard to flash your wealth in this segment. This will all change when the Mercedes-Benz X-Class is eventually launched (hopefully in 2018), but until then you can’t properly embarrass your mates with the price and performance of your vehicle. Makes are generally too similar in price and specification.
But there is a solution: you can buy an imported full-size American bakkie. This is a 2015 F-150 Raptor with the original 6.2-litre V8, which Ford eventually dropped from the range. It offers 306kW of power and 588Nm of torque, and has an absurd top speed of 240km/h. No one else’s bakkie will come even close. And even better, it has real Raptor decals on the side, so you can tease your friends about the fake ones on their Rangers. Of course, they’ll probably tease you about the fuel bill and virtual impossibility of finding replacement parts. Still, though, it’s a F-150 Raptor! What’s cooler than that?
Price R1 399 995
Year 2015
Mileage 13 000km
Engine 6.2-litre V8 petrol
Transmission Six-speed auto
Power 293kW
Torque 574Nm
Top speed 240km/h
Celeb Wagon – 2013 Mercedes-Benz G-Class G350 Bluetec
Here’s a small sample of people who own a Mercedes-Benz G-Class: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Floyd Mayweather, Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Diane Keaton and Britney Spears. There are many, many more – far too many to mention here. The G-Class has become a must-have fashion accessory in socialite circles, which means it is the obvious choice for any up-and-coming millionaire. If it’s good enough for Kim and Kylie, it’s good enough for everyone else, right?
That said, celebrities generally own the top-spec G63, not the G350 diesel featured here, but the good news is that most people who drive them only care about their fashion status, not their performance. So, chances are, none of your swanky friends will know the difference. You can even take off that G350 badge and fit a fake G63 one. The G350 is a great vehicle. It’s fun, surprisingly quick and very cool. Unlike the G63, the fuel bill won’t bankrupt you. This particular example is well priced, has a full franchise service history and has only 39 000km on the clock. It really is the perfect 4×4 for the sensible socialite.
Price R1 099 000
Year 2013
Mileage 39 000km
Engine 3.0-litre diesel
Transmission Seven-speed auto
Power 155kW
Torque 540Nm
Top speed 175km/h
Text: GG van Rooyen