Been lurking around here for the past few months and figured I should finally just directly ask everyone their thoughts. I've been driving a 2012 Altima since I bought it new in 2011. I love that car, but it is very much on its last legs.
So now I've been looking around for a nicer sedan with the goal of owning it for the next 2-4 years and then buying a new EV once we build up a bit more charging infrastructure and hopefully get some tax incentives back.
If you couldn't tell by the Altima, I'm not much of a "car guy" but I appreciate the basics of a luxury vehicle. I'm mainly looking for a 2017 or newer with below 70k miles and trying to keep the price around $25k. I abhor enormous screens in the console and am very concerned about maintenance ( both costs and knowing what to even do). Mostly been looking at A6s and 5 Serieses. Would love any advice on those two specifically and would absolutely welcome suggestions on anything else to keep an eye out for.
the maintenance anxiety is the real kicker here, those audis and bmws will punish you if the previous owner skipped anything. a 2017 A6 with the 3.0T is a gem but the water pump and motor mounts love to tap out right around that mileage, and the repair bills will make you miss the altima fast maybe check out a lexus GS, 2016-2018 ones hover right around 25k and they basically ask for oil changes and nothing else
I would go BMW 5 series, but get a Pre Purchase inspection!
The Lexus ES has a good reliability track record, and is comparably luxurious.