Operation replace the 4GS...or don't...the search begins
04-04-15, 04:37 PM
#121
I'm pretty excited. My gf and I are planning to go for at least ten days. Trying to get a few more days off work so we can extend the trip a little haha. I was in Europe a couple years ago but never got a chance to drive there. I'm looking forward to visiting all those wonderful countries and maybe even taking the M4 to the 'Ring.
Is it you?
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=834638
04-04-15, 09:20 PM
#122
You definitely need to drive through 5 countries minimum especially on autobahns with no speed limit! BWM should include temp license plates and car insurance for 2 weeks... well, i'm pretty sure you've done your homework
Is it you?
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=834638
Is it you?
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=834638
04-06-15, 11:40 AM
#123
yeah definitely autobahn. my friend took delivery of his 335 back then and hit 140 or so. it was very smooth he said
also, yes there will be temp plate. when you drop off your car at the port, make sure you take the license plate with you and also the triangle emergency sign in the trunk. i don't know if things have changed but it used to be if you didn't take those away, they will remove them since they are not for the US
also, yes there will be temp plate. when you drop off your car at the port, make sure you take the license plate with you and also the triangle emergency sign in the trunk. i don't know if things have changed but it used to be if you didn't take those away, they will remove them since they are not for the US
04-26-15, 06:46 PM
#124
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Just to update everybody.
So here's where I'm at with this thing. I've looked around at everything else currently in the segment, I haven't driven anything else yet that I haven't reported on, but really theres not anything else out there I like as much as or better than the GS. I haven't even really had the desire to go drive anything like a CTS etc. Perhaps the A6, but Audis leases are so bad I'd be paying $900 a month for one and thats not worthwhile. I do need to look at the new Jag XF, but the pics I've seen it still looks a little austere inside for me.
So...if I stay in this segment, I think it will be in a 2016 GS or in my 2013 GS in the form of a lease extension or buyout. Which one would depend on the look and the packaging of the 2016 (i.e. can you get one with the luxury package? Right now its almost impossible to get a 2015 here with it, and I'd rather have my 2013 with it than a new one without it).
So, I think I've decided if I'm going to leave the GS, its going to be for something different, such as a flagship car or perhaps a luxury SUV.
So, options there would be:
1. LS460.
2. Jaguar XJ. This is an interesting one, I love the car and they seem to have really great leases out there, have to do some more due diligence on that.
3. Hyundai Equus (perhaps)
The A8 will have the same lease issue the A6 has, and the S550 is too expensive. Something like a Panamera would likely be too, I want to stay under $1,000 per month. 7 Series doesn't appeal to me.
The luxury SUV thing has been piquing my interest, options there would be:
1. Range Rover Sport HSE. Really like these, but they get expensive quick. Friend has one he just got priced in the mid $70s and he says his lease payment is $1,300 a month, no clue if he negotiated it properly, or if he has a ton of miles or something. They are VERY popular, my guess is that you don't get the huge departure from MSRP you get on say an LS or Jag XJ and it makes the lease payment nuts.
2. BMW X5. Have a few friends with them, and I like them very much with nappa interior upgrades, etc. Leases aren't great though I know from having helped them lease theirs.
3. New MB GLE. I like the upgrades, need to see pricing.
4. Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Hemi. Did love my JGC Overland and miss it, the Summit has some of the additional luxury goodies like active noise cancellation, extra sound deadening, better audio, suede headliner, etc that I didn't have in the Jeep my wife had before we got the van. Thats an outlier, but it would be really cheap...
The impetus for the SUV comes from the fact that my cousin and I are planning on heading down to WV like we do a few times in the spring/summer/fall every year. Without the Jeep, we'd really be limited as to what we could do down there. Really with any higher clearance vehicle we could get everywhere we would want to go, even something car based. I love the new RX, but don't think I could go back to a FWD based vehicle.
Feel free to post thoughts and comments!
So here's where I'm at with this thing. I've looked around at everything else currently in the segment, I haven't driven anything else yet that I haven't reported on, but really theres not anything else out there I like as much as or better than the GS. I haven't even really had the desire to go drive anything like a CTS etc. Perhaps the A6, but Audis leases are so bad I'd be paying $900 a month for one and thats not worthwhile. I do need to look at the new Jag XF, but the pics I've seen it still looks a little austere inside for me.
So...if I stay in this segment, I think it will be in a 2016 GS or in my 2013 GS in the form of a lease extension or buyout. Which one would depend on the look and the packaging of the 2016 (i.e. can you get one with the luxury package? Right now its almost impossible to get a 2015 here with it, and I'd rather have my 2013 with it than a new one without it).
So, I think I've decided if I'm going to leave the GS, its going to be for something different, such as a flagship car or perhaps a luxury SUV.
So, options there would be:
1. LS460.
2. Jaguar XJ. This is an interesting one, I love the car and they seem to have really great leases out there, have to do some more due diligence on that.
3. Hyundai Equus (perhaps)
The A8 will have the same lease issue the A6 has, and the S550 is too expensive. Something like a Panamera would likely be too, I want to stay under $1,000 per month. 7 Series doesn't appeal to me.
The luxury SUV thing has been piquing my interest, options there would be:
1. Range Rover Sport HSE. Really like these, but they get expensive quick. Friend has one he just got priced in the mid $70s and he says his lease payment is $1,300 a month, no clue if he negotiated it properly, or if he has a ton of miles or something. They are VERY popular, my guess is that you don't get the huge departure from MSRP you get on say an LS or Jag XJ and it makes the lease payment nuts.
2. BMW X5. Have a few friends with them, and I like them very much with nappa interior upgrades, etc. Leases aren't great though I know from having helped them lease theirs.
3. New MB GLE. I like the upgrades, need to see pricing.
4. Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Hemi. Did love my JGC Overland and miss it, the Summit has some of the additional luxury goodies like active noise cancellation, extra sound deadening, better audio, suede headliner, etc that I didn't have in the Jeep my wife had before we got the van. Thats an outlier, but it would be really cheap...
The impetus for the SUV comes from the fact that my cousin and I are planning on heading down to WV like we do a few times in the spring/summer/fall every year. Without the Jeep, we'd really be limited as to what we could do down there. Really with any higher clearance vehicle we could get everywhere we would want to go, even something car based. I love the new RX, but don't think I could go back to a FWD based vehicle.
Feel free to post thoughts and comments!
Last edited by SW17LS; 04-26-15 at 06:55 PM.
04-26-15, 06:59 PM
#125
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Picking an Equus at a HUGE discount may be considered. At a typical discount level I'd say it is the wrong moment. The line will need a brand new follow on soon. And it will be very different.
You may have some buyers remorse as the new Genesis is currently a more modern and feature rich car.
Good luck!
You may have some buyers remorse as the new Genesis is currently a more modern and feature rich car.
Good luck!
Last edited by BrazLex; 05-03-15 at 07:01 PM.
04-26-15, 07:11 PM
#126
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Yeah that would be my reservation, I'm sure the new Equus will be a huge upgrade as the new Genesis was compared to the previous one. Getting say, an LS knowing that the 5LS is right around the corner wouldn't be a big deal to me, as I love the LS and would still enjoy it immensely even with a new one out there. Plus, the new LS would likely be outside my price point as they're supposed to be moving it upmarket.
The Jag XJ appeals to me. I saw a lease deal, $849 with 0 down on a $89k XJL. Its a 10k mile lease and I would need 15k, but I wouldn't get an L and I wouldn't get one that expensive. An XJ optioned like I would want it is right at $80k.
The Jag XJ appeals to me. I saw a lease deal, $849 with 0 down on a $89k XJL. Its a 10k mile lease and I would need 15k, but I wouldn't get an L and I wouldn't get one that expensive. An XJ optioned like I would want it is right at $80k.
04-27-15, 03:59 AM
#127
Maybe a holdover 2015 LS, say in October or November? By then new LS's should be on the lots and dealers would be discounting 2015's. Be plenty of back seat room for a couple of child car seats in a LS.
04-27-15, 05:20 AM
#128
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Yeah and thats when I'll be looking...we shall see!
04-27-15, 07:25 AM
#129
04-27-15, 08:00 AM
#130
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Well the Jeep as a non-primary car for me again would have to wait until the kids are much bigger. For now, the van is a must have. The decision for me would be if I would be happy trading my luxury sedan for a Jeep Summit. That I don't know...I don't think so...
05-03-15, 10:50 AM
#133
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Drove a couple of cars today, my thoughts:
2016 Audi A6 Prestige. I liked the pre-refresh A6 very much, and in fact had it not been for Audis poor leases I would probably have one right now. Today I saw and drove a refreshed 2016 model, only thing it lacked that I would want is the multi-contour seat package, MSRP was about $63k. Overall I like the exterior refresh VERY much, Its very sharp. They tightened things up in all the right places, and it really resembles the big brother A8 in a lot of ways, which is a good thing. I think the A6 is a great looking car.
Inside it still lags behind the GS. Material quality is overall very good, but its not as luxurious as the GS, no stitched leather anywhere but the seats, the seats themselves are small and the leather is coarse. Rear passenger area isn't finished as nicely and isn't as spacious. I want to see one with the contour seat package because I think that would help the feel to me, but I'm told none of the salespeople have seen one yet.
Out on the road, the car impressed me as it did back in 2012. Not a lot of changes there. It rides very well, a little less agile feeling than the GS, rides about as well.
Pricewise, with the seat package we'd be looking at $66k for a car roughly equivalent to a $60k luxury GS. The killer again is the lease. Audi has a good MF at .0003 but their residual on a 36 month is only 54% which is terrible compared to the ~60% residual for the GS. Payment wise, it would be very hard to get an A6 optioned like this under $900 a month, so roughly $300 more than a similar GS. Not at all worth that. For that money...I'm in an LS.
Speaking of that:
2015 Lexus LS460. It had actually been quite a few years since I had driven an LS, and years longer than that since I had driven a new one. Drove a 2015 model today, and loved, loved, loved it.
The specimen I drove was a pretty basic LS460 SWB AWD sticking at $79,500. It has blind spot monitoring and a couple other things. This is an example of a spec I would choose, obviously trying to keep pricing as in check as I can.
Stylingwise I like the implementation of the spindle grill. It flows with the older midsection of the car pretty well. Overall, its not as good looking a car as the GS IMHO, but its a good looking car. I like the smooth solid DRLs and the detailing in the taillights. I like the chrome door handles and the chrome strips at the bottom of the doors, especially on darker colors. The GS in say, black or nebula looks a little plain IMHO, one of the reasons I got silver.
Love the interior, even with the base leather material quality is excellent throughout. Theres an improvement over the GS here, no fake metal in the LS for instance, no imitation leather in the LS. Should be that way for the price differential. Seat comfort was excellent, I would miss the upper backrest adjustment of the GS luxury, and the passenger thigh extender.
Out on the road, every time I drive an LS I remember what an incredible car it is to drive. So creamy smooth and quiet, so refined, nothing it does is rude, or abrupt, no roughness in anything. Acceleration is smooth and almost silent. Sizewise, the LS has become a BIG car. I like big cars, but Its almost too big. The proportions of my GS remind me more of the LS's that my dad had, the stance and the feel when looking out over the hood. The 460 hood seems to go on forever. I can't imagine an LS460 L...which I've never driven.
Driving it down the road, my immediate reaction was "I must have this". I had to leave right after the drive to get to an appointment, but he's going to send me some numbers.
Then...I get back in the GS...and I'm conflicted again. While driving the LS, what about it that is superior to the GS is clear to me. It rides incredibly smooth and quiet, it feels more expensive and substantial. But, back in the GS, it struck me how similar it really is in a lot of ways. It rides 90% as smooth, its 90% as quiet, the interior is 90% as nice, the seats are actually better IMHO, and when I want to I can go to Sport S+ and it becomes a VERY fun car to drive on a country road...the LS never would be. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride home over the same roads I had just been driving the LS on.
So...conflicted I sit! I love the LS, but is it worth an extra $20,000? Is it worth an extra $350 a month in a lease payment? Should I consider buying one, or a used one? If it were $100-200 a month more that would be a no brainer...but its a significant jump.
So...I'm back to thinking I may just keep the GS...
Thoughts?
2016 Audi A6 Prestige. I liked the pre-refresh A6 very much, and in fact had it not been for Audis poor leases I would probably have one right now. Today I saw and drove a refreshed 2016 model, only thing it lacked that I would want is the multi-contour seat package, MSRP was about $63k. Overall I like the exterior refresh VERY much, Its very sharp. They tightened things up in all the right places, and it really resembles the big brother A8 in a lot of ways, which is a good thing. I think the A6 is a great looking car.
Inside it still lags behind the GS. Material quality is overall very good, but its not as luxurious as the GS, no stitched leather anywhere but the seats, the seats themselves are small and the leather is coarse. Rear passenger area isn't finished as nicely and isn't as spacious. I want to see one with the contour seat package because I think that would help the feel to me, but I'm told none of the salespeople have seen one yet.
Out on the road, the car impressed me as it did back in 2012. Not a lot of changes there. It rides very well, a little less agile feeling than the GS, rides about as well.
Pricewise, with the seat package we'd be looking at $66k for a car roughly equivalent to a $60k luxury GS. The killer again is the lease. Audi has a good MF at .0003 but their residual on a 36 month is only 54% which is terrible compared to the ~60% residual for the GS. Payment wise, it would be very hard to get an A6 optioned like this under $900 a month, so roughly $300 more than a similar GS. Not at all worth that. For that money...I'm in an LS.
Speaking of that:
2015 Lexus LS460. It had actually been quite a few years since I had driven an LS, and years longer than that since I had driven a new one. Drove a 2015 model today, and loved, loved, loved it.
The specimen I drove was a pretty basic LS460 SWB AWD sticking at $79,500. It has blind spot monitoring and a couple other things. This is an example of a spec I would choose, obviously trying to keep pricing as in check as I can.
Stylingwise I like the implementation of the spindle grill. It flows with the older midsection of the car pretty well. Overall, its not as good looking a car as the GS IMHO, but its a good looking car. I like the smooth solid DRLs and the detailing in the taillights. I like the chrome door handles and the chrome strips at the bottom of the doors, especially on darker colors. The GS in say, black or nebula looks a little plain IMHO, one of the reasons I got silver.
Love the interior, even with the base leather material quality is excellent throughout. Theres an improvement over the GS here, no fake metal in the LS for instance, no imitation leather in the LS. Should be that way for the price differential. Seat comfort was excellent, I would miss the upper backrest adjustment of the GS luxury, and the passenger thigh extender.
Out on the road, every time I drive an LS I remember what an incredible car it is to drive. So creamy smooth and quiet, so refined, nothing it does is rude, or abrupt, no roughness in anything. Acceleration is smooth and almost silent. Sizewise, the LS has become a BIG car. I like big cars, but Its almost too big. The proportions of my GS remind me more of the LS's that my dad had, the stance and the feel when looking out over the hood. The 460 hood seems to go on forever. I can't imagine an LS460 L...which I've never driven.
Driving it down the road, my immediate reaction was "I must have this". I had to leave right after the drive to get to an appointment, but he's going to send me some numbers.
Then...I get back in the GS...and I'm conflicted again. While driving the LS, what about it that is superior to the GS is clear to me. It rides incredibly smooth and quiet, it feels more expensive and substantial. But, back in the GS, it struck me how similar it really is in a lot of ways. It rides 90% as smooth, its 90% as quiet, the interior is 90% as nice, the seats are actually better IMHO, and when I want to I can go to Sport S+ and it becomes a VERY fun car to drive on a country road...the LS never would be. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride home over the same roads I had just been driving the LS on.
So...conflicted I sit! I love the LS, but is it worth an extra $20,000? Is it worth an extra $350 a month in a lease payment? Should I consider buying one, or a used one? If it were $100-200 a month more that would be a no brainer...but its a significant jump.
So...I'm back to thinking I may just keep the GS...
Thoughts?
Last edited by SW17LS; 05-03-15 at 10:55 AM.
05-03-15, 01:39 PM
#134
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Thanks and congrats for the great narratives. I felt like test driving the cars myself.
A LS is very different from an A6...
So, I dare to say you are in love with two women: GS and LS.
And, unlike real life you are already married to one but free to change without much trouble.
Maybe your LS moment has arrived. New, used? It is a matter of math.
Always remember you can extend a little the life of a brand new LS, thus reducing the real difference in the cost of ownership.
Good luck!
A LS is very different from an A6...
So, I dare to say you are in love with two women: GS and LS.
And, unlike real life you are already married to one but free to change without much trouble.
Maybe your LS moment has arrived. New, used? It is a matter of math.
Always remember you can extend a little the life of a brand new LS, thus reducing the real difference in the cost of ownership.
Good luck!
05-03-15, 06:19 PM
#135
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
I'm glad you enjoyed them!
Yeah the goal wasn't to compare the A6 and the LS. I've been looking within the GS' segment, and I just can't get excited about any of its competitors. The LS is a car that I've wanted for many years, I think I've decided that if I'm going to leave the GS (be it this one or a refreshed 2016) its going to be to an LS. Its the only option that gets me excited at all. I'm still 6 months away, and I think I will have to keep my GS all of that time due to the high residual, but we'll see.
I requested the latest lease rates for the LS. It looks like 57% residual on a 12k mile lease with a MF of .0014 and $2k lease cash. The MF is not great at all compared to the GS, but the residual surprised me a little. My GS lease is 15k miles, and I use that, but now that we have the kids and the van we'll never drive the LS on trips (where I alternated between the Jeep and the GS), and I think that ultimately its a car that I may want to keep, making the mileage less important.
Putting all of these things into my lease calculator based on being able to purchase that $79,200 LS for $70k, which looks to be doable with that lease cash, I come up with payment of $850 with taxes and tags out of pocket (about $3k) which ain't bad...
We'll see. Before I commit to the change I will need to drive the LS a lot more thoroughly compared to my GS, have the time to do that.
Yeah the goal wasn't to compare the A6 and the LS. I've been looking within the GS' segment, and I just can't get excited about any of its competitors. The LS is a car that I've wanted for many years, I think I've decided that if I'm going to leave the GS (be it this one or a refreshed 2016) its going to be to an LS. Its the only option that gets me excited at all. I'm still 6 months away, and I think I will have to keep my GS all of that time due to the high residual, but we'll see.
I requested the latest lease rates for the LS. It looks like 57% residual on a 12k mile lease with a MF of .0014 and $2k lease cash. The MF is not great at all compared to the GS, but the residual surprised me a little. My GS lease is 15k miles, and I use that, but now that we have the kids and the van we'll never drive the LS on trips (where I alternated between the Jeep and the GS), and I think that ultimately its a car that I may want to keep, making the mileage less important.
Putting all of these things into my lease calculator based on being able to purchase that $79,200 LS for $70k, which looks to be doable with that lease cash, I come up with payment of $850 with taxes and tags out of pocket (about $3k) which ain't bad...
We'll see. Before I commit to the change I will need to drive the LS a lot more thoroughly compared to my GS, have the time to do that.