Four pricey performance cars that make more sense to buy used

New cars are more expensive than ever. But we’ve come to note over the last couple of years that it doesn’t take long for the market to correct pricing in line with what people are willing to pay, rather than what manufacturers and dealers want (or need) to charge. 

This manifests in major discounts on some cars before they’ve been signed to their first keeper and even bigger discounts through dealer pre-registration. Of course, when it comes to the nearly-new and used market, big depreciation can take hold – bad news for the initial buyers, great news for people looking for a bargain. 

In today’s used car deals, we’re looking at used performance models that have depreciated heavily - aged around three years and with 36,000 miles covered - that offer real bang for your buck. Why the three-year point? It’s a goldilocks zone where a car still feels current but has borne the brunt of that initial heavy depreciation.

We’ll be comparing the prices of three of these used models with what our data source, CDL Vehicle Information Services, says new cars today will be worth in three year’s time on trade-in. Obviously, the closer to the time of writing you’re reading this, the more accurate the prices will be. If you’re reading this in January 2029, do let us know whether the catastrophic predictions for future used car values came to pass…

BMW M8: £55k - £65k

The data we have projects that one of the last new Gran Coupes (now discontinued) will retain just 33 per cent of its on-the-road value at trade-in after three years or 36k miles. Obviously trade-in value is significantly lower than what can be charged in a private sale, so the reality doesn’t have to be as painful. Nonetheless, they’ve still lost a monumental amount.

Updated in 2022 and priced from £123k for the Gran Coupe (£125k for the coupe and £132k for the convertible), we’ve found BMW M8 coupes, cabriolets and Gran Coupes around the three-year-old mark for in the region of £55k to £65k. Interestingly, this is the floor for values of all M8s, dating back to 2019. So there’s no reason why you wouldn’t buy as new an example as possible. That price means these cars have lost over half their value over the course of three years, meaning also that each mile in a car with 30,000 miles cost the buyer £2 in depreciation.

> Find a used BMW M8 Gran Coupe here

We’ve never been huge fans of the M8 in any of its forms. It’s never punched at the weight of the Porsche Panamera and Mercedes-AMG GT63 Four Door at which it was aimed, either in terms of driving enjoyment and focus or grand touring acumen. But where bang for your buck is concerned things look different. This is BMW’s flagship super GT, with over 600bhp, good for 0-62mph in 3.2sec and over 200mph without a limiter, for less than a new M340i.

VW Golf R 20 Years: £30k - £35k

Our data has it that a Golf R bought in 2026 will be worth just 38 per cent of its OTR purchase price after three years or 36,000 miles. Quite a concerning drop, though not one that Golf Rs of three years ago have exhibited. Nonetheless, VW’s troubled eight-generation hyperhatch has taken a tumble with miles on the odometer and under its wheels. 

We’re looking in particular at the Edition 20 Years model, in part because it’s was the first real sign of improvement for the Mk8 R (being the first outing for the more powerful engine the current facelift uses) and in part, because it’s higher price of entry hasn’t really translated to higher residuals than normal Golf Rs of the same age with the same miles. 

By our count you can pick up a three-year-old example for between £32k and £35k. For reference, the earliest Mk8 Golf Rs are available for under £25k. On release just over three years ago, Golf R 20 Years editions were priced from £48,095. In the most extreme instances, that’s a £16k or 33 per cent drop in value. Remember, that’s only based on a ‘starting from’ price. Some of these 20 Years Golf Rs were a lot more than that with options – our test car at the time was £55k.

> Find a used Volkswagen Golf R here

The Mk8 R 20 years did come standard with the 328bhp version of the EA888 the current car comes with, in addition to the bespoke ‘Drift’ and ‘Nürburgring’ modes, so as early Rs go these are the best - even if their key offering is capability and pace rather than involvement and fun.

Aston Martin DBX707: c/£120k

Our data doesn’t cover Aston Martin unfortunately but the DBX707 is worth covering for a couple of reasons. Why? It’s one of those rare SUVs we can abide – it drives as you’d hope an Aston Martin would but also depreciates like both an Aston Martin and an SUV, making used examples very tempting indeed. 

On release in 2022 and into 2023 it was priced in the region of £190,000. Now, they’re available for less than £120,000. That’s £70k off the top, or a drop in price of around 36 per cent. That doesn’t actually sound like too much, the depreciation not compounding as you might expect of what is both an Aston Martin and an SUV. But it’s a significant saving from new. Certainly, it’s held value a bit better than you’d expect a Range Rover Sport SV too – we’ll look at how the first of that breed has fared when they turn three in 2027.

> Find a used Aston Martin here

Aston Martin didn’t compromise much when it came to the bones of the DBX707. It could have rebodied a Mercedes GLE but the stubbornness to be able to set bespoke performance parameters and maintain hard point - and therefore aesthetic - control, lead to what makes the DBX707 special. It took the 707 upgrades – close to 700bhp in addition to an improved diff, suspension and steering – to get the best out of those bones, but the result is a genuinely, frustratingly (it hurts to heap praise on an SUV) good car. We’d rather a three-year-old one of these than many new hybrid super saloons and SUVs.

Mercedes-AMG A35: £25k - £30k

£120,000 doesn’t feel like a bargain, we’ll grant you. So let’s look back at something a bit more like the Golf we featured earlier. The Mercedes-AMG A35. Refamiliarisation with this model earlier this year having spent quite a bit of time in Golf Rs too, was very interesting, given it was really quite good. There’s a polish to it, an adjustability. No the engine isn’t as rabid as the full-force, 420bhp AMG lump in the A45 but it’s potent nonetheless. All that put me off was the price. 

Today in 2026, an A35 (a car that won’t be around for too much longer incidentally) costs from £47,610, which isn’t far off the £45,930 Mercedes quoted when the mild hybrid update was first introduced. A car from three years ago with around 30,000 miles from a dealer will set you back £25k to £30k. The earliest A35 models dating back to 2019 can be had for less than £20k for context.

That’s depreciation of between 33 and 44(!) per cent, not accounting for the likely higher purchase price of your chosen example, inflated by various options. For that money – not far off what a fully loaded Fiesta ST cost in the end – the A35 is a mighty machine. How does that compare with our data? As we have it, an A35 bought today will be worth between 45 and 47 per cent of its original purchase price on trade-in. When you factor-in the inevitable percentage off the top you always lose in a trade-in versus a private sale, that’s not far off.

> Find a used Mercedes-AMG A35 here