Sales of Used Luxury Cars on the Rise

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Washington DC February 23, 2009; The AIADA newsletter reported that although times are hard, lots of Americans still have good jobs, and still want to drive around in style.

The result: Demand for lightly-used luxury cars is booming even as new vehicle sales sag. According to the Wall Street Journal, a second-hand luxury car can also be a status symbol in its own right – a choice that says the owner is fortunate, and has good taste, but knows that now isn't a time for ostentatious displays.

Lexus says its dealers sold 4,348 "certified pre-owned" Lexus vehicles in January, a new January record for the category.

Mercedes-Benz says its certified pre-owned sales rose nearly 27 percent in 2008 compared to the year before. "The market in the luxury end and the mass market end is under siege,"

Wayne Orchowski, vice president of sales at BMW's U.S. marketing arm, says. Selling well-cared for, second hand BMW's "gives our dealerships the opportunity to weather the storm."

Stephan Schroeder, a used-vehicle market analyst with J.D. Power and Associates, says a large crop of luxury vehicles will be turned in this year as leases written in better times end. "There's going to be a great supply of these three and four year old vehicles," he says.

For more on luxury used car sales, click here.