I’m thinking about my next vehicle and may wish to buy an older model as a second car. I don’t drive too far and this car would be more for in town and weekend use. I want a smooth riding car (sedan/coupe/convertible) with a good track record from owners. I would consider 1970’s - early 2000’s models. Styling, comfort, (smooth ride/drive) above average (or average) reliability. What vehicles would you consider?
You might consider a Lexus LS, GS, or ES. They are reliable and use Toyota parts. A Mercedes Benz or BMW would be a great ride, but they are much more expensive to repair. Anything in the age range you specify is likely to need repairs. If parts cost doesn’t put you off, I that opens up the possibilities.
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Ride comfort is so different to each person the thing to do is just make fresh coffee in the morning and cruise the online vehicle ads. See something that interests you go look at it and test drive. Before you buy have a good shop do a vehicle inspection to see if there are problems that you can’t see. As said vehicles that old may have trouble finding some parts.
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Wow, that is a loaded question with endless possibility’s…
A 70’s and even 80’s Luxury car with a S&L A arm (double wish bo.ne), and gear box is a totally different ride than a 2000’s MacPherson strut with rack-n-pinion… So, I will talk more reliability and it’s just hard to beat the Toyota/Lexus vehicles for overall and long term reliability… Just do a little research on the year and model you like, for most any Toyota/Lexus check out “The Car Care Nut” YouTube cannel and check out his reviews on used cars, he is a well known (in the Toyota World) Toyota Master Diagnostic Tech…
Stay away from Euro vehicles as they can be/are very costly to repair and maintain…
As someone that has worked at many different locations/shops, I delt with almost every normal make and model available in the USA and the one make that was towed in the least was Toyota/Lexus vehicles and to me that says a lot, also Toyota/Lexus has a large aftermarket support for parts when/if the dealer does not have the, and the dealer parts, if bought right, are very well priced a lot of times compared to your local parts stores…
As already mentioned, have the vehicle checked out by a quality shop of your choosing by a shop that does Pre Purchase Inspections…
Also as mentioned, you are not buying new, so expect to be buying brakes and tires and catching up on the maintenance, most people don’t put quality new tires and or brakes on before selling it, so even if new(er), the tires and brakes could be poor quality…
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I agree with @davesmopar
Stay the H E C K away from older European luxury cars
They WILL suck your wallet dry like a vacuum cleaner
What’s the purpose of this theoretical car?
Weekend cruiser?
Road trips?
Impressing friends and neighbors?
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You might be surprised at how comfortable and luxurious an Avalon is. A Lexus LS430 would be a step up from that.
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speaking of older luxury cars . . .
As you know, I worked at the Benz dealership from 1999 - 2009
Anyways, just like at any dealership, vehicles often got traded in and we’d go over these used cars before they went up for sale again
A few times, a used Lexus RX would show up and we’d be wondering why in HECK someone would trade in such a nice car for something far less reliable and with worse build quality
Not so infrequently, we’d say OUT LOUD “this Lexus is making our own cars look bad”
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It appears that the OP is considering cars as old as 50 years, so I really hope that he isn’t contemplating any long drives–unless he has very good mechanical skills and/or doesn’t mind paying for a tow.
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All the other advice is sound but remember, “1970’s” and “reliability” (as we understand it today) don’t really belong in the same sentence.
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I’ve got a friend with a 1995 Lincoln Town car. He got it with very low miles. It just floats along! It’s huge, but that’s what he wants!
If considering ANY old car your search should start with parts availability.
- How many of the cars were produced? The more the better your chances of finding replacement parts,
- How long were the major components produced? Some manufacturers used virtually identical components across their product lines and produced them for years.
- Many of the cars are still on the road? For example because of continuing interest, literal andy all MGB parts including the body shell are still available. Likewise Mustangs, Camaros, many Pickups
Toyota is an obvious example but counter intuitively also some of the components in MB vehicles which were used in taxis which were sold in huge numbers and are still on the road internationally.
For me, as far as 70s, would be a Lincoln Mark III or Mark IV, of course extremely deep pockets are required.
Not driving much and for something in the city I want small. Weekend driving I want fun like a Mustang . Just too many varibles to make suggestions for this person.
I would buy 2 cars, a low mileage Smart car for city and a restored MGB for weekends.
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Some words of caution for the OP if he is really considering buying a car from the '70s: The brakes on most cars of that era will be MUCH less effective than anything that you’ve gotten used to in the past couple of decades.
Back in the '70s, a woman with whom I worked gave me a “treat” 
by allowing me to drive her nearly-new Mark IV. I had gotten used to the 4-wheel disc brakes on my Volvo, and I found–to my dismay–that the brakes on that Lincoln were unbelievably weak, by comparison.
With 4 passengers onboard, the Mark IV’s brakes gave only a hint of slowing the car, and because of the lousy brakes and mediocre–at best–handling, I declined her “treat” the next time that she offered to let me drive her car.
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I wouldn’t buy anything from the 70s or 80s, and only a few from the 90s. Cars from this century make more sense. They are at least as much fun as the older cars and have much better parts availability. The first decade of this century had the Lexus GS430 and GS460 with either RWD or AWD available. Expensive gas doesn’t matter much if you put on fewer than 5000 miles per year. These would be nice touring cars for vacations.
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@AudiFlyGuy - you’ll get MUCH more useful recommendations if you provide more specifics on your car interests, and your interest/ability to do car maintenance and repairs.
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I honestly don’t see the point . . .
Even a boring Corolla comes with 4wheel disc brakes and automatic climate control nowadays
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I agree with jtsanders, anything from the last century is a vastly “different” driving experience than a modern vehicle.
The large luxury sedans handled more like a boat than a car, braking with wet or overheated drum brakes could be an adventure, conformity with the then new pollution control laws turned the engine bay into a plumbers nightmare and “rust through” was much more common.
Finally, as mentioned before there’s the parts availability problem and also the problem of the necessary repair skills. For example, back then speedometers were mechanical and there were several speedo repair shops in most cities but today the closest one to me is in NYC.
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+1
Additionally, compliance with new pollution control laws led to greatly reduced engine output. For instance, a mid-late '70s Caddy Deville needed ~12 seconds for a zero to 60 run, while a garden-variety (inexpensive) late model Hyundai Elantra can do that run in only ~9 seconds.
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Looks like @AudiFlyGuy has flown the coop…