hello,

saw the GS450h over the weekend at the autoshow... its coming in 2nd- quarter 06 right?

anyone already putting down deposits on the GS450h ?

is it too early to put down one?
and how much do you think is a good amount to put a deposit?

tim

 

I think the earlier the better, b/c the RX has over 13k deposits and only 24k will be produced. There will be a limited number of GS 450Hs produced, much less than the RX 400h.

Rockville and Longo maybe able to help with deposit, I think its $500.

 

how do you guys already get your deposit and your place in line already?

i called my contact over at Lexus of Manhattan ... they said they haven't started a list
for the 450H ...

maybe I should try another dealer, to make sure that I really get the car when it comes out.

Tim

 

with gas prices, i'm highly considering the hybrid...but i think i would take a major loss...i figure selling my new GS next year will loose about 5k-7k, then the gs will be about 10k more epensive so i'm in the hole 17k.

 

I spoke to Tom Balou at Lexus of Westport. He put me right on the list. Tell him Gregg sent you.

 

$17K certainly can buy a lot of gas.

 

I put down a deposit the day it was announced, now I just need to wait the year.

 

My dealer gave me the impression they haven't started a waiting list yet, but could start one.

For fun I test drove a RX400h hybrid today. On the upside, it has lots of power. Very refreshing compared to our 2000 RX300. And when you first "turn on" the car, it's dead silent, until you press on gas and wake up the engine.

I only drove the car for about 10 minutes on both freeway and city streets. Surprisingly, I didn't like it. On the freeway the car tended to slightly surge, as if either the motors or engine was cutting in and out. It didn't do this all the time, but it was noticable. Also when city driving I could occassionally hear and/or feel the system changing modes. Kind of like a mild klunk.
I've read reviews about the RX400h that say you cannot notice the system operating. Well, I think it's very apparent when it switches operation. It's not a big deal, but yet it is noticable.

I don't know how similar the GS450h will be to the RX400h, but you might want to do yourself a favor and test drive the RX before committing to the GS450h. It is different and will take some getting used to. As a side note, the brakes on the RX400h were far too sensitive, perhaps similar to the GS430? And the fake brushed aluminum trim (no wood) in the cabin looked cheap, but I guess it supposed to give a green impression.

 

I didn't really commit to much. I was going to upgrade my 99 gs400 to the current gs430 but when I heard about the hybrid coming out next spring I decided I would wait. I asked my dealer here in Austin if I could back out and he told me that wouldn't be a problem. Are family has already gone through about 10 lexus's or lexi (not sure how to make it plural) so he knows I am going to get another no matter if its the hybrid or not. I might just wait for that following fall and get the gs460.

 

I have a deposit down for a GS hybrid as well. Was within days of writing the check for the GS430 when I heard about the hybrid. The only problem is forcing myself to be patient for a year.

 

Welcomer to Clublexus. The newest report is 0-62 mph in 5.5 seconds for the 450h

 

And you're going to have to drive it 180,000 miles before you even BREAKEVEN on the cost.

Assumptions:
The 450H has a $10,000 premium
@ $2.50 gallon that equates to 4,000 gallons of fuel
Normal car = 18mpg and the 450H = 30mpg

180,000 miles / 18mpg = 10,000 gallons of fuel
180,000 miles/ 30mpg = 6,000 gallons fuel

Hmmm - you gotta be a fairly altruistic type of person to rationalize that type of investment into a hybrid...

Eric

 

nice calcs.

 

So the new gs450h is going to cost $10,000 over the current gs430?

I might be mistaken but i thought I read that the gs450h will come standard with all the premium options. So if you took the current gs and put all the options onto it, i am sure the cost difference would be much less then $10,000.

 

$10,000 premium - heck, I dont know what it will be. I was just taking a stab in the dark.

What I do know is that if it's only a $5,000 premium - you're still gonna have to drive it 90K before you make your $$$ back on the gas you've saved - assuming you're buying it because of the fuel mileage versus being nice to mother earth.

Either way, I thought it was an interesting way to determine your ROI on the additional 'investment' required for the 450h.

Eric