walkagain

I'm curious on what kind of reactions people got from their coworkers regarding the purchase of their new Lexus.

True, the ES350 is one of the more affordable Lexus models but it's still a Lexus and that generally falls under the category of a luxury vehicle.

How is one's career affected by having a "nicer" car than his boss? Does it affect your salary and you bonuses?

How about with one's peers?

I've gotten comments like,

Wow someone's keeping up with the Jones'
Cool, let's go check it out
You're getting paid too much
We're paying you too much
You SOB
Bastard!
How much?


There's a perception that everyone in Southern Cal. is all into looks and cars but that is really exaggerated.

Thaishark

I'm timing my ES250 purchase so that i get the car AFTER my salary review. I know it sounds crazy but in my company i could guarantee if i showed up with a new car before my review i would get less.
It's a shame that comes into play.
It's all a huge game and you have to make the right moves to stay ahead.!

Macklin

I got that alot with the first ES I bought in '98. I got the "your company must pay you well" comments all the time.

Life is short. Enjoy it while it lasts!!

That car was a 40th birthday present to myself. It took me that long to realize the above statement. If you can afford it...go for it. Don't worry about what other people think!

twister

I have a number people at work driving $30k-$40k cars. But, when I tell them about purchasing Lexus, they make an assumption I bought $50k car. So, I already used to telling people about my new car along with how much I paid for it. I'm also trying to downplay all the cool features of the car, just tell them its an entry level Lexus. Its very sad, but its a part of life. I didn't buy this car to show off or to impress others, its for my own and my family comfort and luxury!!!

walkagain

It is sad that you have to wait for your salary review. That's just the way it is.

I bought a es350 for reliability (my busted transmission makes me wonder though) , comfort, customer service, and most importantly all the cool bells and whistles. If I wanted to show off I would have gotten a POS bmw or mercedes.

richbutler

Yes, I would have gotten a much more expensive and flashy car if I wanted to show off. For my situation, my car screams a sensible, comfortable choice.

Kaius88

Reactions at my office:
"It's about time!"
"youre finally fitting in"
"no more car troubles"
"yeah baby"

I work in a big office building in Beverly Hills. My old Miata was probably the cheapest car in the building. Among all the peers at my level, i had the worse car. Even lower managers making 40% less salary had better cars than me. Since I am an accountant, people expect me to be thrifty. The ES350 fits me just right...most bang for my buck in the luxury segment.

cocopops

iTrader: (1)

Thats why I am still driving my old camry to work. The ES is now used more as a weekend ride. Wanted to sell/trade-in the camry but I figured I won't get much anyway and it could still be used in case of emergencies or the family need a 2nd ride.

tstead

I live in Northwest Ohio and work up near Detroit. I get stares when driving my car not because it looks sharp but because it wasn't made by one of the big four American car companies.

Tim

Swobro

I put over 175K miles on a Nissan Maxima work vehicle before I sold it and got the Lexus. My organization is small and I'm the General Manager, yet I still found myself trying to explain to people that it really is not that expensive of a car. People certainly love the vehicle, but I still feel uncomfortable about any display of wealth, perceived or not.

I affectionately refer to it as "my Toyota" in order to downplay the reaction that "Lexus" invariably gets.

Lexmex

My boss knows I drive a Lexus, even though Lexus does not exist down here.

However, for the office I drive a Dodge Caravan, in slightly messed up shape for security reasons, but it does the job in keeping possibly jealous co-workers from sniping.

CyclopStan

When I showed the GM where I work my car, he was impressed. I told him I'd lend it to him if he ever had some big clients he needed to impess, he of course LHAO. My supervisor bought my last car, so he's happy I got it, my mgr. thinks its awesome & wants to buy 1 for her mom. So basicly everyone is jazzed for me and doesn't think $36,000 is too much to spend on a car. Here we are surrounded by no condo's less than 1/2 a mil and no houses under a mil, w/ most well above that, so in that perspective its just a great car at a decent price.

dp5

I'm self employed so there isn't much office politics to consider but I find that I can present the car in two ways. When meeting people who I want/need to impress, I will keep my mouth shut. They see that it is a Lexus and automatically assume that it is a $50-60K car. When meeting people to whom I want to appear more frugal, I'll explain what a great value the car is and tell them that it is built on the Camry frame so it is just a gussied up Camry. I'm in sales so both perceptions can be beneficial on occasion. One of the things that I like about this car is that it denotes success without implying that you are hugely materialistic.

Kaius88

What a nice approach! There are people I do want to impress, and others I don't. I guess in general people assume a Lexus is really expensive (as I did before the IS300 came out). It's nice that Lexus is affordable to many middleclass folks. I think MB totally diluted their brand by offering the C230 in the upper-$20k's range. BMW affected their brand by pushing out less reliable cars compared to japanese imports. Lexus seems to be doing the right things.