Lexusxoxo

A CPO can be 6 years old as long as its under 70,000 miles.

Arty101

It's just a personal choice. Save money and buy a depreciated lux car, or get a new car with new technology and no history. I can see the argument for either since I don't change cars every 3 years (leased). The other equation is real: the cost to maintain wear items will be expensive, and if not for the extended warranty as you already know from the cost of the air suspension or control arms.

Now just enjoy your new to you LS. .

rustytank

haha, I'm not trying to beat up anyone. I can definitely see his point of view. If one can find a 6 year old certified with full warranty, great. But from my experience, this was near impossible to find at least where i'm located here in NYC...
Its really hard to find good pre-owned LS's period, as there are so few sold within recent few years.

Anyway, like what riknchar said, there is no right or wrong here. Its whatever suits you best and the chances you are willing to take and price you are willing to pay... To each his own.

Cheers!

riknchar

Thanks to all for a good spirited debate! There's no doubt that an argument could be made either way, and I do think the new ES350 is a beautiful car with some very nice features. I've been somewhat dismayed to read on the forum that some people feel that Lexus has "cheaped out" on some of the ES features to cut costs, but every car company is in business to make money, and I still would argue that the 2014 ES stacks up really well against anything else in its class/price point. If things don't go well with my "CPO experiment," I'll likely go the ES350 route for my next car.

Only time will tell if my CPO LS600 will be costly to maintain (for the wear items). I know I won't have to replace tires or brakes anytime soon, and everything else that truly matters to me is covered by 6 years of warranty, so I'm not too concerned.

My other car is a 2009 Lexus SC430 Pebble Beach which has no warranty, so if I'm going to worry about car repair costs, I'll worry about that one ;-) On the bright side, the SC430 only has 12K miles and is still showroom fresh (and is widely considered one of the most reliable cars ever made).

In the end, I do feel incredibly lucky to have two amazing luxury vehicles, and I think I'm a Lexus "lifer" unless something really goes south on quality/price for Lexus...

riknchar

Lesz: Interesting! Here's the list of items that are excluded from the CPO warranty, according to the Lexus web site:

The following components are specifically excluded from coverage under the Lexus Certified Pre-Owned Limited Warranty:

Standard Upkeep Items:
accessory drive belts, batteries, filters, fluids, heating and vacuum hoses, lines and tubes, tires, spark plugs, windshield wiper blades (rubber component).

Wear and Tear:
Examples include brake pads, rotors, shoes and drums and manual clutches.

Body and Interior:
bumpers, carpet, chrome, dash cover and pad, door trim, handles, fabric, glass (including windshield), headliner, hinges, interior and exterior trim and moldings, cupholders, ashtrays, covers and vents, lightbulbs, nuts, bolts, clips, retainers and fasteners, paint, rust and corrosion damage, seat covers, shiny metals, weather stripping.

Accessories:
any non-Lexus accessories or modified components, including but not limited to wheels, radar detectors and cellular phones.

Since all of the expensive mechanical things are covered (engine, transmission, air ride suspension, Mark Levinson stereo, Nav unit, A/C unit, etc.), which things were you referring to when you said "many of the excluded items are ones for which repairs can be quite expensive..."?

Also, I can't think of too many "wear items" that would need to be replaced sooner than on a new car, since the brakes and tires are brand new all around... Am I missing something? Wiper Blades (actually, never mind, those were also replaced)?

I think the only thing to really watch out for on a CPO car is the cosmetics (interior trim, paint quality/dings/etc.), since those things aren't covered. Of course, you still have to do some digging to make sure the car hasn't been in an accident and that it has been regularly maintained by a Lexus dealer, but all of that info is available online (although there are ways to "hide" accident damage from CarFax, I understand).

Great points, though... Only time will tell if my experiment will pay off... Thanks for the insights!

mcomer

My ES300h has a 51% residual with a 48 month lease, 2014 model, January 2014, 12K per year, Midwest

Arty101

That's kind of low isn't it? I thought I read that the ES retained about 50% or better for 5 years and had one of the lowest depreciation in that class. Maybe calculated differently for leases..

LexRuger

This website says 58% for 15k miles a year, 36 months. So, 12k miles a year for 48 months should be roughly around 58% as well.
http://www.ridewithg.com/lexus-lease-rates/

SW17LS

Those rates are for 36 months. A 51% residual after 48 months is excellent.

Max707

I think you will be very happy with both these very very dependable vehicles. Congrats.

Arty101

I don't lease. So is 51% residual after 4 years good for the leaser or leasee? The lower the residual value, the worst for the person taking out the lease?

SW17LS

Right, you want the highest residual possible. The lease is basically the difference between the purchase price and residual, plus interest divided by the lease term. 51% after 48 months is great. For instance, my 2014 Jeep I just leased is 54% after 36 months. My 2010 ES was 50% after 36 months.

Arty101

Makes sense, but I'm surprised the Jeep has a higher residual. Must be a higher demand. Also, I'm surprised a leased vehicle seems to have a higher depreciation, or am I mistaken?

SW17LS

Different eras. The ES was back in 2010, ES residuals now are like 58% for 36 months.

Arty101

Got it. Now that makes more sense.