A poor mans Mercedes? I don't think you could say that anymore. When the new VE Commodore program launched its billion dollar baby, alongside came the WM and following WN Series of the Caprice. Man, seriously, this thing is a gem. These days you can pick one up with moderate kilometres for between $11K-$15K AUD. Not bad considering that when new, this dandy was over 60,000 bananas. OK, so we know the Holdens don't hold their value, and that's cool, because these days, it doesn't mean you'll necessarily get a bad one. In fact, we reckon you can get a real good one.
The Caprice comes with all manor of schmick. It's uber-comfy, has electric everything, it's got some groovy tech and boy oh boy is she pretty. Whether you're a V8 person or not, you're not going to suffer like a crazy person on fuel consumption for a car this size - I mean, don't get us wrong, it's not a Hyundai Getz but you'll be able to happily pot along on the daily cummute without making a bankruptcy claim. The V6 is where you'll truly get the bargain though.
The Caprice is world class and there would be zero shades of embarrassment frankly. For a large car, it has the turning circle of a champ and well, it's a Holden so it will probably have a few of the usual culprits which a used car has so look for a good service history and make sure that as with all the lineup from the earlier models, that the timing chain was replaced by the Holden recall or replaced by the owner - cos if it hasn't, you could end up parting with $2K-$4K for the pleasure.
That being said, ask some good questions, be a little frugal and you'll have yourself a simply beautiful car.
Australian Car Sales
New & Used Sedan cars for sale in Australia - carsales.com.au
US Car Sales
Chevrolet Caprice for Sale in Beverly Hills, CA 90210 - Autotrader