yellowgts

Hello,

I am currently a BMW owner and am looking to switch to a Lexus. Wanted to see what the feedback is from people in Calgary or Canada about the experience they had on returning a lease back to the dealership.

Did you have any bad experiences?
Were the conditions acceptable, or did the dealer charge excessive damage fees, etc?
What are your feelings on owning a Lexus after 3 or 4 years?
Would you buy another Lexus, or move to another brand?

Thanks,
Steve

spwolf

why are you switching from BMW, what car did you have and what are you planning to get?

My own Lexus experience was quite great ;-)

rominl

iTrader: (4)

welcome to clublexus!

i can't say too much about in canada, but if you talk about lease return here in the US and leasing lexus in general, here's what i think

1) they used to be quite easy on lease return. when i returned my sc430, there were scratches on front and rear bumpers, no questions asked, zero penalty. they did check on the tire quite carefully on the tread. technically on paper they have a list of checklist, like how many dings you can have, scratches size, etc... interior tear, etc...

2) in recent years i heard (from my sales) that they got a bit tighter on the checklist, including miles (they were a bit loose back then)

3) my experience was very pleasant, no hassle at all

4) overall the checklist is about the same as that of bmw imho. i am leasing a m3 right now so i kind of have an idea. but good thing is for my m3, i got tear and wear insurance so i can return the car scratched up and such and not worry about anything. but i didn't recall lexus having such insurance back when i leased

5) lexus and bmw are different, that's just how i will put it. lexus is more reliable, more comfortable, but you have to pay for maintenance. bmw i love the fact that everything is paid for (at least that's how i think), i don't go into dealerships often at all, far less than my lexus

6) one thing to keep in mind is bmw usually have better lease programs than lexus. bmw tends to jack up the residual pretty high and lease numbers are more attractive. for example on all lexus and bmw i had priced before, bmw always seems to be "cheaper" to lease (especially if you take into account the maintenance). since it's lease, you don't really care after 3 yrs.

7) my feeling is, it's better to lease bmw and buy lexus. if i get bmw, i don't want to keep the car for long anyway, lease is perfect. if i get lexus, i might as well keep the car for longer for its value. but if you change your cars every 3 yrs or so anyway, then lease is always the way to go. just keep in mind you might pay a bit more to lease lexus. not always, but fro my experience, usually

again, that's how i feel about the lease programs here in the US

CDNROCKIES

According to Henry I must be doing it backwards.

I've leased a couple of Lexus' and bought a couple of BMW's.

Lease return was a breeze. Leased our RX in Edmonton, owned it in Manitoba and returned it in Calgary. The mileage overage (about $1200) was deducted from our MSD. Zero charge for any of the little "dings". Anything less than a credit card sized mark is not charged for.

I'd have no issue with owning a Lexus after 3 or 4 years. Both of ours have been essentially bulletproof, except for a couple of minor issues. We only leased the RX and F because we like to be in current models and understand that we're paying to be in the latest and greatest.

We got the ML because of a dealer issue that was not resolved to our satisfaction. We would have bought another RX with no hesitation, but I couldn't stomach paying a dime to the dealership at the time. I will quantify that statement with the fact that the dealership has since replaced the GM that I had the problem with and the new GM has made attempts to apologize and rectify the situation even though it had nothing to do with him.

We have moved on to MB and BMW but still are happy with our Lexus purchase. At this point, for us, there are only 2 other Lexus' that we'd even consider (the LX and LS). Lexus makes several excellent vehicles but you need to decide what is the most important driving criteria for your next purchase.

mmarshall

Then why punish or hold a grudge against the the new GM for the sins of the old one? If you want another RX and the dealership is (now) run according to your satisfaction, then, by all means, buy or lease one.

In fact, if you read the review I just did on the new GX460 (and I know you look at my reviews), you'll see, at the end, where I make a case that the RX is a significantly better daily-driver, for most people and most driving conditions, than the GX.

CDNROCKIES

Ummm....'cause I've already bought an ML and X5 since Mike.

mmarshall

Welcome to CL and CAR CHAT.

If you turn the car back in before the lease-time is up, even with mileage and wear-and-tear within the contract limits, you mght (?) have to pay an early-termnation fee, depending on exactly how the lease-contract was written up, and how zealous the dealership, bank, or auto manufacturer is in enforcing those clauses. Leased cars are not always owned by the dealership....sometimes they are actually owned by the bank that finances the dealership, and the bank determines those rules.

yellowgts

Thanks for the advice.

I like to stay current on my models, always wanting to be within warranty. BUT, the biggest reason why I am considering a lease is because I have an interest in the CT200h and am worried about owning a hybrid due to the batteries

mmarshall

Well, since you apparantly own them and are not leasing them, I'm sure that the new GM will gladly take one or both of them in trade on a nice new RX.

Of course, if you are happy with them, then that's another matter. And the X5 is, admittedly, with the superb BMW steering and chassis, fun to drive. Me, though....I like the RX's reliability and refinement....and I can see what originally attracted you and/or your wife to one. I consider it the best mid-size, car-based SUV on the market.

mmarshall

Sure...anytime.


Yes, with most cars and most lease-terms, you will be covered by the warranty for most or all of the term. Some cars, though, have only 3-year/36 thousand-mile bumper-to-bumper warranties and 4-year lease terms, but they don't include the upmarket brands you are primarily looking at.

I just did a write-up on a new CT last week. (I do car-reviews)

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...us-ct200h.html

Interesting little hatchback, well-built and with good fit/finish. But, for a guy my size (I don't know how big you are), it has several flaws, and, overall, I felt it might (?) have been better-marketed as a Toyota instead of a Lexus.

As for the the batteries go, don't let that, alone, determine your choice........all hybrids, by Federal law, have a minimum of 8 years warranty on the battery-pack. There used to be some environmental disposal problems, too, on worn-out battery packs, but I understand that is now been solved. the CT is just too small and cramped for me, but if you like it, and can fit in it.......go for it. Right now, though, it's not only a hot-selling new product, but also in demand because of high gas prices, so look for the supply of CTs at dealerships to be tight, and don't look for any bargain-prices on them. Prices wll maybe come down as the car's novelty wears off later in the year and it becomes more-established in the marketplace.

If you find that the CT is just too hard to get, or to get a decent price on, check out the HS hybrid. It doesn't have the versatility of the CT's hatchback, but even the CT's hatchback has some limitations (see my review). The HS lists for a little more, but is also not as cramped inside, and will likely be at least a little easier to deal on (if not much) than the CT.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

oh, that should be the least of your worry at all... honestly i would not worry about it much at all leasing a ct200h

caddyowner

I don't know what BMW you have, but in considering the CT200h, I suggest you make very sure you would be happy with the performance, handling, ride, and room. 0-60 in 9.8 seconds, IIRC, would give me pause. If you lease it, you basically commit to keep the car for the term of the lease - which may be a good or bad thing. If you buy the car, you can sell it privately after 6 months if it disappoints you. I think this hybrid will tend to hold it's value well and if there ends up being a shortage of these cars due to the earthquake / tsunami interrupting the Lexus supply chain, you could likely sell it for every cent you spent on it. (Not trying to be unfeeling, but just pointing out a possibility.)

Also, run all the lease numbers in an online lease calculator. The numbers make or break leases.

spwolf

Prius batteries have proven reliability record and there is nothing to worry about, in fact it is one of the most reliable cars on the road and long term maintainable is cheapo!

I suggest you check our CTh forums for impression as some people in car chat have negative opinion of it simply because it is smaller car.

I was just reading over German Lexus forums, and there was a lot of positive feedback there from both media comparing it to 118d and new buyers comparing it to everything.

spwolf

Toyota has been paying bounty for return of spent batteries, which is rare as it is... So I have no idea what problems there were "in the past".... I would guess that such problems might be some "blog" journalist writing about assumption of problems... which were never existent :-)

yellowgts

This is a good thing, but my biggest concern is that batteries are a wear item and would be quite expensive to replace, so what would LONG term ownership be like, 10-15 years, as an owned car, versus a lease of 3 or 4 years with minimal commitment.