I've been looking for a 2nd car (maybe) and keep coming across RL's in my price range.
Why are 50,000+ RL's going for 14k? Are they problematic?

 

What year(s) are you referring to? I'm assuming '05's..

 

a 2G RL with only 50k miles for 14k is a great deal.

if you are looking for one, i'd try to see if you can find one that is CPO at a dealer. they will extend teh factory warranty. also, at the timem you buy a CPO car you can pay about another $800-1000 and get what is callled a "wrap" which will extend the factory waranty out even further to match the extended powertrain warranty. that gets you 7 years or 100k mile coverage from the date the car was first sold.

i did that when i bought my 3 year old CPO RL. at teh time of purchase, I essentially got a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty on the car. it has already paid for itself. i needed a new catalytic converter (1500) and I had the driveshaft thing repalced.. which is something like $2000 to fix off warranty...

 

I doubt that price is for an RL (Carfax certified 1 owner); it must be commercial lease or something like it; OR it was in the accident;

GOOD CLEAN RL with 50k you will not find under 17500-1800 - if you do GET IT!

 

Don't forget that the new RL is coming (we assume based on the April 2012 NYC auto show appearance) this year. That new car will likely weight on the resale value of the 2G RL. If someone has a clean, problem-free RL with only 50k mlies for $14k, buy it!

 

I got my 2006 RL 43K miles - clean 19K, 6 months ago from PA. I thought that was a steal . Anything substantially less that is likely rebuilt title.

 

I searched quick, so maybe 14k is a little low. But I was just a little confused at the end of the day 30k dollars of depreciation over 5 years that just seamed very hefty to me. IMO i would have thought a 55k+msrp would be worth mid to high 20's after a few years.

 

In my opinion...

It depends on the used car market for the vehicle.

Lets face it, most RL's were purchased by older folks who never buy used cars, only new. The 1st gen RL was especially this way.

Meanwhile the 3rd gen TL is perceived as a sportier ride and there are many people interested in being the 2nd or 3rd owner.

 

First off, the OP meant $50,000+, not 50k+ miles...

OP, there are a few things that you are obviously misunderstanding. The most important of which is that nobody actually paid $55,000 for an RL. IF they did, it was for a CMBS with Aspec lip kit, wood wheel, wood knob, and factory tint. That being said, I highly doubt you are finding multiple CMBS packages for $14k.

The RL was marketed in 2005 when it debuted. After that, marketing went away quickly and today is almost non-existent. No one knows what an RL is. In fact, most dealers don't carry new RLs. As a result, it is one of the lowest volume selling models among major non-elite car brands. There are plenty of people who used this situation to their advantage and rolled out of the lot with a brand new RL for $8k less than MSRP.

Another important aspect that you are missing is how well a car retains value. There are few, if any, cars that have a $50k plus price tag and hold more than 70% of their value over the first two years of their life. One major reason for this is the market. Very few people are willing to spend that much on a car, so the initial sales numbers are low. In turn, even less people are willing to spend 70% of that MSRP on a used car when they could buy a brand new car for cheaper. I bought my RL at 50% of MSRP and 3.5 years old and still paid more than my wife's brand new car. There are a lot of options for less than $26k. Low demand leads to a buyer's market.

The last thing is that a car's current value has little to no bearing on the original price tag. Its sole purpose is to move things reliably, and if it can't do that, it doesn't matter if it was once $50k or $15k. That being said, the RL has received a lot of well deserved praise for its reliability. Although the car takes a large initial hit to its value, it holds its value very well after that. For a very well maintained and reliable 2005 RL (the cheapest option available), you should be spending $18k. A lot of people dump their cars when the timing belt service comes up at 105k miles. This service alone costs $1.2k when done by the stealership. Although the RL has no reason to be concerned about 200k mi, the market of people looking to buy a car with 100k+ miles and spend $16k is even lower.

These are great cars. Many people here claim it is the best car they have ever owned. There are some issues with the '05 models that cause occasional grumblings, but it really is just noise compared to the overwhelming satisfaction owners have with this car. If you can find an RL that has been maintained and taken care of for $14k, we will all tell you to jump on it. However, I think you will be getting a 2005 with more than 100k miles. If you aren't, then there is something to be wary about.

 

I'm with Ken, the majority of these cars were older people or fleet cars (like mine) and when its time to sell there isnt a competitive market of people searching for used RLs.

If you are buying a car based on re-sale this clearly isnt the right choice.

 

Fixed.

 

with everything 007 said. I got my 05 RL with 90K for 14K a year ago and its been a superb vehicle. Only problem was the alternator went bad. I see RL's with 200K + miles still going for 10K. Name me many other cars that can do that. the car has a point where it wont fall below even with high mileage. Thats retaining value.

 

 

 

LoL

 

It's all about popularity as well. Go try to buy a Scion xB used. They are $15K used with 40K miles. They start new for $17K if you can get the dealer to eat the BS toyoguard filler. You'd have to be stupid to buy a used one, but people do, that's why they cost so much. The RL has little used market and MOST people are poor shoppers. This is a plus for people like me. I always look for GOOD cars that have poor resale value. There are a few out there. about 4 years ago I bought my 2004 Honda Pilot used. My wife wanted a CR-V, and I wanted that too. Smaller and more fuel efficient. But the CR-V was selling for more used than a same year, same miles Pilot. That's crazy! So I got a Pilot EX-L with leather 59K miles for $13K. It's been a wonderful car. The same Cr-V would have cost $16-17K. Buying on ebay or other used was also a big factor. I just bought my RL on ebay and will know if it's a good deal when it gets here, so pray for me guys!

 

This is true, I've come across few customers that just bought an RL with about 180k and just wanted an multipoint inspection, and everything came out flawless and drives like new

 

This makes me feel much better about my one owner 66K miles one coming in from Ohio. It's costing mt $675 to have it shipped, I can't get up there now with work and vacation looming. I just found the carfax today and it looks good, always serviced at the dealer, brakes front and rear have been replaced at about 45K miles, and only 1 repair a brake master cylinder done under warranty. I hope it's a creampuff. Less than 10K miles a year probably driven by retirees!

 

The brake master cylinder is actually a recall, so no worries on that and since the brakes are done that saved you prob close to a grand since the RLs have brembo brakes. you won't have anything to worry about untill you hit 105k for the T-Belt service, and valve adjustment