For a long time, the idea of purchasing used was an unattractive option for luxury car buyers. After all, the person who wants a luxury experience doesn't necessarily enjoy the idea of traipsing around town searching for the exact BMW they had in mind. Though used luxury cars cost much less than new luxury vehicles, the time required to do the legwork and the uncertainty of the quality just wasn't worth the savings for many luxury-minded people.

However, times have changed and so has the process of buying used luxury cars. The first wave of change brought about by the internet in the form of online classifieds only skimmed the surface of the possibility. While online classified gave buyers the ability to search faster and within a larger area, the method still didn't solve the underlying problem of used car buying.

Once a shopper found a car they liked in an online classified, who knew if the vendor was just some fly by night internet company or if the car was flawed? The first stages of car buying online made for a better process, but one far from a luxury experience.

Now that we as consumers have had our fair share of experience with the internet, we've learned that what we want is exactly what most e-companies hoped would be eliminated from the buying and selling process-a real business with real people behind the website. In the case of buying used luxury cars, this is especially true.

Today, it's the established brick and mortar used luxury car dealers-not the dot-coms, that have discovered the smart approach to buying used luxury cars. Some of today's forward thinking used luxury auto dealerships have become all inclusive, luxury auto consultants rather than a local-only resource.

Full service luxury dealerships today offer vehicle location services that track down a particular vehicle within your specifications and deliver the vehicle to your front door anywhere in the country. The main difference between this process and the online classified, is that a personal relationship is first formed with the established dealership, not with a picture of a vehicle on a website.

The trained pros at the auto dealership do the legwork when it comes to locating the vehicle, which is a serious benefit to buyers of used luxury cars who prefer to spend their time in ways other than comparing the specs of dozens of cars on dozens of websites.

Now that the average price of a used luxury vehicle today is 50% less than the new sticker price, smart shoppers have more incentive than ever to buy used. Aside from price, luxury autos today are being manufactured to perform better and last longer than ever before. A two or three year old Lexus is in the prime of its life, compared with some other types of vehicles that may have reached middle age after just a few years. If you've shrugged off the idea of buying used in the past because of the hassle, now may time start saving while also enjoying a true luxury shopping experience.