What is the better choice? … a 2015 Acura TLX 3.5 v6 w/95k miles , 2019 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T 82k miles, 2015 Mercedes Benz c class 2.4 L turbo charged 87k miles or 2019 Kia Optima S FWD 2.4 L w/47,000 miles.
I probably will buy the Acura it’s the cheapest out of them all with my Max budget of $23k im 20 and it will be my first car. This car does have the most mileage out of them all but it may last longer after all it is a fancy Honda and they normally last longer. The most pleasant to my eye is the Mercedes but it’s probably going to give me a million problems followed by the Kia Optima which i am visually attracted to as well.
Acura, no question, IMO.
If you have a max budget of $23k why not buy a brand new Toyota Corolla which will last you some good time with taking care of it?! Used car prices are just ridiculously high right now. And if you can wait to buy from incoming allocation you have a very high chance at buying the Corolla at msrp (it's the new normal these days).
Get the TLX. But make sure the timing belt has been changed since it has the Honda J-series V6 engine and that it has 95K miles on it.
2015 Acura TLX 3.5 v6 w/95k miles
These have the 9 speed ZF built Fiat-Chrysler designed transmissions, the same one as a Fiat 500X or Range Rovers.
They need transmission replacements left and right, I do not recommend.
They can be decent but to many owners they have been causing too much issues.
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Acura/TLX/2015/
Also almost 100 technical service bulletins on this transmission, yikes.
2019 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T 82k miles, 2015 Mercedes Benz c class 2.4 L turbo charged 87k miles or 2019 Kia Optima S FWD 2.4 L w/47,000 miles.
The VW 1.4T isn't great and the millage is way too high for a VW,
The Mercedes and the Kia are not a car that I'd recommend in the US.
On a side note, in my experience,
I've always ended up REALLY regretting buying used luxury cars instead of new regular ones.
When something does go catastrophically wrong at, let's say 150k miles / 10 years, you end up thinking "I could've had now a 50k / 3 year old Corolla, spent much less on gas, much less on maintenance, and wouldn't even think about breaking down or needing a new car and spending another $20k".
My advise is going for a new Corolla / Corolla Cross / Camry - they're less luxurious but they won't plummet in value as hard as that used Acura (after the car storage is over, the Acura is probably going to take a 50% hit) and it'll be 7 years newer and have 100k miles less (which is very signifiant)
But if you want to go for a used luxury car, try to find a Lexus ES they're better built.
