I have always been a fan of buying cars Certified Pre Owned (CPO). You get a car that is a year or just over a year old that has been certified by the dealer. Since it's not new, you don't pay the huge premium for a new car. But it's been run through a huge inspection, and it include a new bumper to bumper warranty. With BMW, the warranty may even be longer than with a brand new car. (And with BMW you get free maintenance so literally all you spend money on for 6 years is gas and tires. Not even brakes)

My dad decided to buy a CPO Lexus GX470. At first he wanted a Mercedes ML350 since he's wanted a Mercedes his whole life. I told him to at least drive the Lexus and BMW first. The Lexus blew the Mercedes away, no question about it.

My dad jumped on Lexus.com and searched their CPO inventory. He found the perfect car he wanted but it was in Georgia. The one drawback of CPO is since the car is still fairly new, there aren't a lot of them for sale.

He called the dealer in Georgia, made an offer, haggled a bit, and now it's on a truck to California. He bought the car without seeing it. But why not? There's no body damage at all, it has low miles, and everything is covered by the warranty.

We'll see how it goes, but it seems like a great way to buy the perfect newish car you want.