Glashub

From another thread on this forum. IS 350 RWD owner in Hong Kong paid this for his car -- "yes that's not cheap at all @ USD91000"

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...sport-rwd.html

Even if loaded with all of the things missing from NA IS350 Fsport -- not too many people in NA would ever pay $91,000 for an IS350 -- especially in America where car size still equals status and the IS is considered small.

jhs82

You can't compare prices between countries like that.
A fully loaded 250 F-sport with LEDs, leather, cooled seats and so on costs 70'500USD in Sweden. An equally equipped non F-sport goes for 69'100USD.

Dark9t316

I agree, not comparable at all. In other countries like in Asia, where cars are a lot more expensive than US, even owning a small car gives you some status, most people rely on public transportation such as trains and buses because it's a luxury to own a car in densely populated environments. Large cars especially gives you greater status in other countries than it would in the US.

Glashub

I doubt anyone would pay 69,100 for a loaded IS. My point is that really smart people with large databanks of offline and digital consumer data have decided that the US car can't exceed 50K US to succeed -- and that it would be better if it came even a few hundred dollars below the competition hence the missing features predicated on overall goals and an analysis of what each country/culture will tolerate and not tolerate. Since 2014 IS sales are up YoY -- I'd say the smart people at Lexus know what they're doing.

Based on LA and the number of large cars/trucks/SUV's in LA -- I'd say Americans still view a large vehicle as more desirable and small vehicles as cheaper quality.

I may be wrong.

flipside909

They do. It's called the IS F.

If given the choice, I'd want to have all the options available to me in buying a luxury car, especially if the ads and brochures promote these great features. That's what makes comparable BMW and Mercedes Benz models enticing. Sure people will pay more for a loaded 3 or C class but if you look at the sales numbers, the German competitors outsell the IS every year. Owning a luxury car is about having options, not being forced to take whats only available on the lot.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Glashub

Here ya go -- the car you can customize the way you want it except --

"Premium unleaded is not the only thing the Gran Coupe likes to drink, either. The low oil level warning light flashed on at just 2600 miles, causing mild consternation, not just because I was traveling at 70 mph on a freeway at the time.."

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...#ixzz2eVkUb49y

Want to check that oil -

"Checking the oil is quite a ritual. You must first park on a level surface with the transmission in Park or Neutral, and the engine idling at operating temperature. Then you have to hit the menu button on iDrive controller, scroll to "Vehicle Info," depress the controller button again, scroll to the fourth icon down, and depress the controller once more. The revs will rise from normal idle speed of 750 rpm to 1100 rpm, and 72 seconds later, you'll be told how much oil to add. Ah technology…making our lives simpler."

Good thing a person can order butt coolers because it seems you have to sit and sweat it out a bit to get to the "oil gauge".

And when you talk about the Germans selling a lot of cars what you don't mention is that, as Dan Neil put it, anybody with a big enough welfare check can get into a BMW lease. Of course he was exaggerating but his point was that German leases are low and the requirements are too.

"Leasing is pretty much a tactful way of saying, “I’m driving a car I can’t afford to buy,” but without having to swallow your pride. It makes for a great show, but when all is said and done, you own nothing. Hence, lease rates are carefully crafted to be attractive in the short term while not enticing enough to deter potential buyers from the benefits of new-car ownership. If you have the means, it’s almost always better to buy as you end up owning the car. But that delicate balance was shaken when automakers (and creditors alike) were making something of a last-ditch attempt to combat a collapsing economy a few years back. Leases were absurdly cheap, and even if your credit was bad, you were in."

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...pping-websites

jhs82

Well, you'd have to pay more to get an equivalent beemer or Audi. That's just how the pricing looks in Sweden.

A lot of things are significantly cheaper in the US in comparison. I import a lot of small things, and often saves 20-50% despite costums and import taxes.

Glashub

Ah, but Business Insider listed Sweden as the 5th most happy country in the world. From memory -- Denmark 1st, Norway 2nd, Finland 3rd -- all in all 9 of the top 10 spots taken by northern countries. Australia came in number 10.

SW17LS

Thats just not at all true. Many people, myself included, lease because its the most economical way for us to drive the cars we want to drive, and to replace those cars as often as we want to. Many of us can also deduct business expenses for vehicles, and that makes leasing even more attractive.

I could pay cash for a car, but why would I want to have $50,000+ in cash tied up in a depreciating asset when I can lease it for very little interest and write the entire cost of that lease off of my taxes? I don't care about "owning" the car, because I'm just going to replace it every 3 years anyways. If I ever did decide to buy a car and keep for a long time, I'd buy. Leasing saves me money and it makes the whole process of driving, expensing, and replacing my car much simpler for me. I know MANY people who lease, people who make 7 figures a year and lease. Its a financial management tool, thats all.

Leasing has been around for decades and decades. I remember my Dad leasing cars when I was a little boy, its not a product of the recession, if anything leasing kind of died down during the recession and has picked up a lot here recently.

SonyHome

I don't think $91,000 price is attributed to having to add additional features as much as import tax put on foreign cars.

SW17LS

Correct...adding cooled memory seats isn't going to add $44,000 to the price of an IS F Sport, its regional differences, national differences, currency exchange, import tariffs, etc. The IS Luxury model has those features and doesn't cost $91k.

John510

Ugh NO. Obviously not a business owner there. I could have purchased my car outright. Why did I lease? To write off my ENTIRE car payment. I need every single write off I can get.

Bass Mech

i couldn't disagree more!
maybe leasing isn't for you but as a self employed business owner who makes over a quarter of a million a year leasing is smart for me for several reasons.
1. i can write the entire cost of the car off on my taxes each year.
2. living in colorado where a RWD Lexus is a very unpopular car i don't have to worry about getting screwed on trade in or to sell to a private party when i am ready for a new car. the resale value of the car was already pre-determined the day i drove off the lot! also i dot have to put any money into a car for repairs since it is covered under warranty the entire time i own (rent) it.
what do you think will happen when some day the cost of fuel skyrockets and everyone wants an electric car? how much do you think yours will be worth?
3. why tie up my money into a depreciable asset? when i can use my money for other things and still enjoy a nice car?

your comment only has merit amongst the people who plan to keep a car for a long time. ask yourself how many cars you've bought and paid in full before buying another? did you sell them to a private party or trade them in?
unless you pay it off within the first 3 years with a really low interest rate, then market and sell yourself your really not benefitting anything cost wise from a purchase.

i guarantee you my ability to lease and be in a new car every year is a lot less hassle and negotiation involved and i get to stay in a newer car than one i purchased for the same money spent.

I could afford to pay cash, but why do that? if the money is cheap to borrow and i don't need to make a long term commitment why would i?

if this is the first new car you've bought in the past 10 years, then your argument may have merit. but my guess is here that 99% of the people on this forum keep their cars no more than 4 years on average.

Bass Mech

AMEN BROTHER!

i probably paid more in taxes last year than Glashub earned all last year!