Even if you can't afford a luxury car, a look at the ten most expensive options in the industry is halting and raises issues that affect all car buyers. Consider that for the price of some optional extras on this list, you could buy a new Honda or Volkswagen.
Take Porsche's $16,900 X51 Carrera Power Kit offered on the 911 Carrera S and 4S, for example. According to our independent research, it costs more than a new Volkswagen Jetta and is the most expensive option available on a luxury vehicle from an automaker whose annual production exceeds 5,000 units. For all that money you get a 0.2-second faster 0-60 mph run of 4.5 seconds thanks to some engine tweaks.
If going fast isn't a priority, but cutting-edge technology is, then you could spend almost double the cost of Porsche's Carrera Power Kit for high-tech goodies on the Lexus LS 600h L. This rare luxury hybrid sedan is the only vehicle with two outrageously priced packages on our list of Top 10 Most Expensive Options. Together they total more than $24,000.
It's impossible to know precisely how options will affect resale value, but there are some rules of thumb that can guide choices for those with an eye on maximizing their investment down the road. "When it comes to optional equipment on new vehicles, price doesn't always guarantee retention," says Terrence Wynne, the director of analytical services at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).
Experts tend to classify car options within two broad categories, called "hard content" and "soft content." Hard content items are things like automatic transmissions, navigation systems, and performance-enhancing options. "Typically, hard content items hold their value in the used car market," Wynne says. Upgraded interior upholstery, special paint treatments, and unique interior trims are all considered soft content and are less likely to hold their value when it comes time to sell the car.
NADA has created a third category for cutting-edge options that it projects could become hard content items. "These options include emerging technologies like adaptive cruise control, rear park assist, side-view assist, lane-change avoidance technologies, and climate controlled seats, to name just a few," Wynne says.
If buying a vehicle that will retain as much of its value as possible is your top priority, Wynne suggests to opt for an automatic transmission and the most popular option package for that vehicle. Car dealers can usually tell you what the most popular options for a particular vehicle are and, in fact, will equip most of their vehicles with them.
For instance, the most popular option on the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Wynne says, is the Premium I Package, which costs $1,400 on the C300 and includes rain-sensing wipers, Sirius satellite radio, auto-dimming and power-folding mirrors, heated front seats, and an integrated garage-door opener. It would be difficult to find a C300 at a dealer without this option package, he says.
Many new-vehicle options are bundled together like in Mercedes' Premium I Package. "The normal concept of a package is that instead of getting A, B, and C separately, you get A, B, and C together, along with D, which you may not have wanted, but the total price for all four items is lower than if you purchased them separately," says Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis at JD Power and Associates.
Mercedes' Rasheq Zarif, a technology planning specialist, says that besides price, the other major benefit to option packages is that they streamline the purchasing process. "Mercedes-Benz's tiered option packaging strategy is built to offer simplicity to our customers, while providing value to each package option," he says.
This is why the Premium I Package is included on most Mercedes vehicles - it's what most Mercedes shoppers want. On a Mercedes ML350, this $3,650 package includes a navigation system, parking aide, hands-free telephone, an upgraded sound system, and a power-liftgate. If priced separately, these add-ons would run well above the package price.
One question that frequently arises after buyers add all the options they want and transform a $32,400 base BMW 328i into a fully-loaded $51,000 vehicle is whether it would be wiser to upgrade to a model with a higher base price but with fewer options, such as the more-powerful 335i or the larger and more luxurious 5 Series. Ultimately, it's up to the buyer to decide how much all the "soft content" is worth in the end. "A consumer must makes the final decision as to whether it is more important to have the comfort and convenience features, which may depreciate faster, or the upgraded engine or more expensive vehicle class," Wynne says. ( Forbes )