The princely sum of $15,000 doesn't buy you much these days. Maybe a top-end bicycle, or a cheap retail franchise (apparently), or perhaps 8,000 cheap coffees. But when we are talking about new cars, that figure doesn't make much of a dent in anything. When it comes to buying a secondhand performance car, however, there are a few more options. But the very fastest car for that kind of money might be a huge surprise, not just because of how fast it is, but also that it was once the height of luxury and technology. What could possibly go wrong? Around $15K Buys You A Lot Of Sensible Nissan Before we get into perhaps the craziest way to spend $15,000 on a performance car, let's have a look at some of the most sensible options. A very normal 2006 Corolla would seem like a very safe bet, considering Toyota's reputation for reliability, but that still comes in very close to $15,000, says Classic.com. Yep, you'll be looking at $14,700 for a 20-year-old Corolla.If you want to go new, you're out of luck, unless you are on very good terms with your local Nissan dealership. Even a 2025 Nissan Versa S, America's cheapest new car, costs $17,190, so you'll need to bargain for a discount. If you can do without four doors (or a roof), then a new, 73-horsepower Ducati Scrambler costs $11,595. Then There Are Some Fast Sports Cars For The Same Price Via Bring a TrailerFor something with a bit more sporting kudos, how about an MK7 Volkswagen Golf GTI, with 2016 models having an average price of $15,993. A 2015 Subaru WRX, packing a turbocharged 2.0-liter flat four boxer engine, comes in at $14,350. For a bit of muscle, a 2016 Dodge Charger R/T has an average price of $13,200.But what if we told you that the fastest car that you can buy for this price is not only as cool as a hot hatch, and as practical as a Charger, but it also blows all these cars out of the water when it comes to performance. And just to be clear, we're not talking a turbo four-banger here, or even a V8, we're talking 12 cylinders of pure Stuttgart Autobahn charging madness. And it's not even that old either. If you have several brave pills to hand, read on to find out how to spend $15,000... The Mercedes-Benz S600 Is A Glitch In The Matrix Bring A Trailer Hmm, the Mercedes-Benz S600, that's quite a car, isn't it? Even by Mercedes' standards, the S600 of the late 2000s was in a different stratosphere. Arriving in 2005, the W221 was the latest in a long line of super sedans that sat on the very top of the company's tree. Then it was the S600 that hovered above the said tree. These are cars for pop moguls and dot.com millionaires, and the tech, luxury, and performance were out of the reach of mere mortals. Want to get to that Myspace presentation on time? The S600 was the car for the job.Don't believe us? When a popular car mag in the 2000s wanted to pitch a 2007 Mercedes-Benz S600 against its nearest rival, all they could find was to give it a fair fight was a $330,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom, aka the most expensive mass-produced car in the world. But in a straight line, the Phantom didn't stand a chance against the S600.Even though the 5,577 lbs Phantom manages to whoosh to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds, the S600 would already be at that Powerpoint Presentation in Frankfurt. The S600 was clocked at 4.2 seconds to 60 mph, and that, folks, was faster than a Porsche 911 Carrera S, a Chevrolet Corvette convertible, and a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti F1. The S600 glides through the quarter-mile in 12.6 seconds, which was the same as a Lamborghini Murciélago. Prices Of S600s Then And Now Bring A Trailer Mecedes-Benz W221 Prices At A Glance Price new: Approx $144,000 2008 Model: $10,608 2009 Model: $14,916 2011: $17,500 When new, the S600 certainly wasn't cheap. You'd be looking to part with just shy of $150,000 for the car. But time and depreciation haven't been kind to the S600. As with all incredibly complex, powerful machines, there is a paradox when they are a few years old. That is, only rich people can really afford to run them, and rich people don't buy old cars (they buy new ones).That means that you do need to be brave to get the keys, but if you are prepared to take the plunge, here's the good news: they are crazy cheap. A 2008 S600 has an average price of $10,608, says Classic.com. That's four grand cheaper than a two-year-old Toyota Corolla. A 2009 S600 will set you back $14,916, and a 2011 car will bust the budget slightly at $17,500. The S600 Combines Supercar Speed With Super Luxury Bring A TrailerWhile the S600 is limited to 155 mph, rest assured that it will probably do 300 mph if you remove the limiter and fit aircraft tires (maybe). The S600 is powered by a 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine that is good for 510 horsepower at 5,000 rpm and 612 lb-ft of torque. A Ferrari F430 of the time only produced 490 horsepower. But then again, the Ferrari wasn't a boardroom on wheels either.The S600 came fitted with wood and leather trim, plus almost every S-Class option as standard. You got infrared Nightview Assist, DISTRONIC PLUS with Park Assist, Keyless Go, rearview monitor, Active Body Control (ABC), four heated and multi-contour front and rear seats, 18-inch forged alloy wheels, four-zone climate control, and an integrated hands-free communication system with voice control. Not bad when you consider you could also drag race supercars and likely win. The S600 Might Not Be The Most Sensible Way To Spend $15K Bring A Trailer The 2008 Mercedes-Benz S-Class actually fares really well in KBB.com Consumer Reviews, getting an overall score of 4.8/5. Comfort, styling, and performance all get 4.9/5, while the reliability score is also extremely impressive at 4.8/5. JD Power also gave the 2008 S-Class an overall score of 84/100. But the problem that many people on forums will tell you is that while these cars are reliable, when something goes it can be very expensive. Repair Costs Could Spiral With The Wrong Car Bring A Trailer Repairpal.com has totted up some of the main components and what they cost to repair. You could be looking at up to $1,095 for an emergency brake cable replacement, for example, or $661 for a new set of brake pads. This wouldn't have been a problem for the latest EDM sensation in 2008, but it could be a problem now if you spent your life savings on an S600.The bottom line, if you really want an S600, is not to find the cheapest one on the market, but rather seek out the best one you can afford, or at least one that you know the history of. Then save a few bucks for if/ when anything goes wrong.Sources: Hagerty.com, Repairpal.com, Classic.com