The Luxury Sports Cars With the Biggest Price Drops on the Used Market

If you’re looking for a bargain used car, checking the list of automobiles with the highest depreciation is an excellent place to start. There, you’ll find a number of large sedans mixed in with plug-in electrics.

After five years in an owner’s hands, you’ll find models that drop 65-70% in value, data from iSeeCars showed. In one case, that swing brought the average price of a Chevy Impala from $40,000 down to $15,000.

That’s a decent chunk of change to save on a used vehicle, but it’s peanuts compared to what you can save on a luxury sports car. In this category, you’ll find the price of exotic German and Italian speedsters going from six figures in dealerships to below $45,000 five years later.

As a result, that puts some all-time dream cars in the price range of many more buyers. Here are the 10 luxury sports cars that had the biggest price drops on the used market.

10. BMW M3

BMW M3 DTM Champion Edition | BMW
  • Original sale price: $78,460
  • 2018 used price: $38,610

If a BMW M3 is on your wishlist, you’ll find decent value on the used market. After five years, owners face about 50% depreciation, bringing the price down below $40,000.

A 4.0-liter V8 capable of 414 horsepower came standard in the ’13 edition. To hit 60 miles per hour from a stop, you wouldn’t quite need 5 seconds in this model.

9. Audi S4

Audi S4 | Audi
  • Original sale price: $56,280
  • 2018 used price: $25,760

The depreciation for an Audi S4 is even steeper (54%) after five years. That drops a car that originally cost close to $60,000 down to about $25,000 used. While this model is the cheapest car on this list, its 333-horsepower supercharged V6 is definitely no slouch.

8. Audi S7

Audi S7 Sportback | Audi
  • Original sale price: $88,290
  • 2018 used price: $39,840

With a five-year-old Audi S7, used-car shoppers were also making deals at 55% below the original sale price. However, in this case, the scale is far more impressive. iSeeCars found buyers getting a $90,000 car for less than $40,000 in 2018.

In the elegant S7, you run with a 420-horsepower V8 capable of over 400 pound-feet of torque.

7. Porsche Panamera

Porsche Panamera | Porsche
  • Original sale price: $106,120
  • 2018 used price: $46,650

While the market awaits the next great Porsche — the all-electric Taycan — used-car buyers have plenty of great options available. The best buy of all may be a Panamera circa 2013. This model, which produces up to 550 horsepower (Turbo S models) and originally cost buyers over six figures, has been selling for less than $50,000 in 2018.

6. Audi S5

Audi S5 | Audi
  • Original sale price: $63,780
  • 2018 used price: $27,825

For the 2013 model year, the Audi S5 picked up a supercharged V6 and became capable of hitting 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. Average sale prices back then veered toward $65,000, but these days it’s selling for less than $30,000. It may not be as flashy as some other models on this list, but an S6 is more than capable and costs the same as (for example) a brand-new Chevy Impala.

5. Audi S6

Audi S6 | Audi
  • Original sale price: $80,400
  • 2018 used price: $35,030

When you browse listing for a used Audi S6, you’ll find models from around 2013 going for less than $40,000. If you catch a really motivated seller, you’ll find them over 57% less than that original MSRP.

Like its slightly larger S7 sibling, this model works with a turbocharged 420-horsepower V8. In Car and Driver tests upon its release, the S6 was hitting 60 mph in 3.7 seconds. That’s a lot of fun for its 2018 price.

4. Mercedes SL-Class AMG

2013 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG | Mercedes-Benz
  • Original sale price: $163,870
  • 2018 used price: $69,725

Is it possible to save $100,000 on a Mercedes rocket by waiting a few years? According to iSeeCars used-car transaction data, the answer is yes. The 2013 Benz SL-Class AMG models that originally sold for an average of $164,000 have been selling for under $70,000 in 2018.

All bets are off with the engines Mercedes put in these cars. The “base” SL63 runs with a 530-horsepower twin-turbo V8. If that isn’t enough, you can upgrade to the system capable of 557 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque.

3. Maserati Granturismo

Maserati Granturismo | Maserati
  • Original sale price: $143,475
  • 2018 used price: $60,955

When you’re browsing for a car that originally retailed for $150,000, depreciation topping 58% makes quite a difference. In this case, it turned the impossible Maserati Granturismo into something manageable at $61,000.

For that price, used-car buyers get a 4.7-liter V8 that tops 450 horsepower in some trims and hits 60 in about 4.5 seconds. Given how many German models are on this list, this one is the pick for fans of Italian exotics.

2. BMW M5

2013 BMW M5 | BMW
  • Original sale price: $103,660
  • 2018 used price: $42,550

You don’t need to be a math whiz to see going from $100,000 for a new BMW M5 to $40,000 for a used model equals 60% depreciation. At that reasonable price, you get access to a car with a 560-horsepower V8 that can hit 60 in 4.0 seconds (or less, with some wind at your back).

If you’re more Bimmer fan than Benz-lover, a five-year-old M5 is the most satisfying purchase you’re likely to make on the used market.

1. Mercedes SL-Class

Mercedes SL550 | Mercedes-Benz
  • Original sale price: $118,510
  • 2018 used price: $47,610

Let’s say you can’t free up $70,000 for an SL63 AMG but you want to stay in the elite of Mercedes sports cars. In this case, look at the equally stunning SL550 from the 2013 model year.

This one runs with a 4.7-liter V8 capable of 429 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque while hitting 60 mph in just 4 seconds. At 60% below the original $120,000 price, it’s well worth a few years’ wait.