chumsdad

I guess that's the best time to get it.

Supposedly "my" NSM 460 SWB arrived in port in New York yesterday. Expectations are I can take delivery toward the end of next week. I have all the money staged in the right places and cofirmed a thousand times my conservative budget can handle this. Yet here I am scared that if I do this, an out of conrol log truck will ram into me on the way home from the dealer. Then, when I get home there will be a bill in the mail form the IRS asserting I owe 70k in back taxes and penalites.

The problem is I never have spent 70k on a vehicle before- the RX was 43k and the CTS was 36k after all the goofy GM $1000 discounts for owning a Lexus, having 2 cats and having a defunct Olds Aurora to trade. All others were less and included a couple 20k Camaros and a bunch of those 1980 something Mustang GTs.

Any of you out there go through the same kind of feelings? I think once I see the car, that will be it and hopefuly about 6 months from now, I will laugh when I think about this.

exBMWowner

I still struggle with the fact that my LS460L cost me $86K when I could have purchased my 2004 LS430 with Ultra Luxury package at the end of my three year lease for $32K. I would guess that the 460 is about 10-15% more enjoyable than my LS430, yet I paid almost three times the price. Yikes!

I would assume that if you are contemplating buying a brand new LS460, that you have no other personal debt outside of a mortgage, and a boatload of money put away in the bank for the more important things in life - medical emergencies, job loss, stock market crash, other unanticipated events, etc. This is purely a luxury item, and it should come at the bottom of the priorities list, so I'm hoping that all of your other priorities in life have been covered and you plenty left over to have a little fun with, and this is your way of having some fun.

If not, perhaps you need to give things a bit more thought?

Johnny

Having just gone through a similar experience, I can re-assure you that you won't regret your decision. Don't be too paranoid about it either. Cars tend to keep their distance from yours for a better look.

chumsdad

I could not agree more with that viewpoint, which is why I am hesitant. Moneywise, my wife and I are set- we could both quit our jobs tomorrow and actually stay in our 800 grand house- but a new LS would no longer be on the list. From what my salesman tells me, people buy LS's all the time that do not have anywhere near the resources I have. I suspect the reason my wife and I are fast approaching independent wealth status, is because I have been conservative over the years with my car purchases and other big purchases. At some point though,it dawned on me- I am 52 next month, am a car nut, and always wanted a Caddy STS by age 50 (got a CTS instead). Having driven both the Caddy STS and the Lexus, I must admit Lexus does it better and gets the nod. That and another day spent not driving an LS is another opportunity lost.

Nospinzone

Let's see, car arrives in NY on April 4th. Guy who unloads it takes it home to show the little woman and the neighbors over the weekend. He's out Monday and Tuesday to celebrate Canadian Easter and then the end of Passover. So he drives it back to the port on the 11th. He raves about the car so much his boss has to take it home for the next weekend.

Finally on Monday the 16th the car is loaded on the truck for DC. Unfortunately the driver has not kept up his commercial license and is stopped oputside Philadelphia. The truck is confiscated and impounded. On the 23rd a new driver shows up to pick up the truck, but he can't afford the impound fees and must wait for Tokyo to wire the funds.

Finally, the truck is back on the road by May 1st. It arrives at you dealer in time for the weekend, but your idiot salesman is out that day so it sits there over the weekend. The salesman would have called you Monday, but with the bender he was on over the weekend, he doesn't make it in until Tuesday afternoon. By that time the last thing on his mind is your car, he'll get to it on Wednesday. He calls you but your cell phone is out of range that day and he doesn't know how to work your phone mail system. He finally reaches you Friday, but by then you've already left for that weekend in the mountains.

Yup, looks like Monday May 7th that baby is yours!

I'd say my prediction is right on scehdule so far!

lexus111

I went through the same tough decision... I had to take an $10,000 loss on selling my 8 month old Acura RL not to mention the payments that I made for 8 months. I did it though and took delivery of my LS460 LWB in December and have NOT regretted my decision at all. This car is incredible. It sounds like you have the finances in order to make the purchase but are afraid of letting go of that much $$$ just like I was. Well I can say that once you see the car and after about a week you will be cured of this problem completely.

I have to say that looking back I would have done it again for SURE... I can't say that for the RL... The RL was one of the worst mistakes that I made in an automobile purchase. I bought the RL for $500 over invoice and then the car turned out to be a SOFT car that no one seemed to want... Acura is having a very tough time selling the RL....

The Lexus LS460 to me seems to be the best car purchase that I have made. I know that it is a lot of $$$ and I know that as I drive the car that the value of the car is going down just like any other car would. But, I love this car and every day I like it more... You can't put a price on the feeling of owning and driving this car.

The most ironic thing about the car is that my Escalade got 12.2 mpg... The RL was averaging 15.4 mpg .... The LS 460 with my same driving style is averaging 18.8 since I got it. The longest highway trip is about 25 miles.... no long trips yet so I am sure that the average could even go higher if I had more Hwy driving.

Good Luck with your purchase.

Helmar

I have a similar situation. 8 months left on a 2 year lease on a 2006 BMW 330xi.

I can't stand the car. It's been in the shop 3 times (Once I had to PAY for) and my passengers have to struggle to get in and out.

The car's a lot of fun to drive about 2% of the time. The rest of the time, it's harsh, noisy, and, with the i-drive, just plain annoying.

It's SO worth it to get back into an LS that I have very little problem with losing the money on the lease.

HBH

Ex-Lexic

Don't forget the fact that if your financial situation changes for the worse in the future you can always sell the Lexus. So the money isn't GONE, its just in a different form. Of course you don't get back what you paid, but the point is that you still have access to most of the money you paid for the car.

chumsdad

Boy you aren't kidding! A few months ago I had the CTS in for an oil change and decided to drive the STS. It was a loaded left over 2006 with AWD, 320 hp Northstar and a 67K sticker price. It was a demo with a 1000 miles but looked and drove perfect. Without me even saying a word, the sales manager said he would give it to me for $47k- 20k off! Needless to say I told the guy no and that I was going to check out the LS Lexus. To that, he said one word: "BORING."

Okay, yeah whatever you say pal...

joedaddy1

iTrader: (1)

i wouldn't buy the LS, if you are second guessing it, and don't have a lot of $$$ in the bank..
it's a great car, but spending ~$70k wasn't really "worth" it for us.
Maybe we should have gone with a GS.. for under $50k..
and they are coming out with GS460 fall of this year I believe..

chumsdad

yuk yuk yuk. So when is your 2008 LS due to arrive again??? Actually, it might be better to wait anyway- I hear they are putting in a 9 speed with a 2speed reverse

Nospinzone

Yea, the sales manager is right, it is so boring compared to the STS. You'll miss the excitement of breaking down on the road, the rush you get when something suddenly stops working, and the thrill when you get it back from the shop and the thing they were supposed to fix still doesn't work.

Boy did you mess up. Put a little excitement back in your life!

chumsdad

Actually, I was sold on the GS 350 AWD but for two notable things- its ride isn't so good with the run flats and its ergonomics are not very good. I am large framed - 6'1", 300+ and have trouble getting in and out of the GS. The LS fits me perfectly and is the first car I have ever driven in which I do not have to move the seat all the way back.

Consumer Reports indicates that the GS depreciates more on a percentage basis than the LS, I assume because it is a low volume seller. Sure, on a dollar for dollar comparison I assume the LS will depreciate more but the difference between the two over 3-5 years probably won't be that much.

Helmar

That brings up an interesting question.

I'm finally going to use a major LS feature that I've never used on my previous two LS's, that of long term reliability. I plan on keeping my LS600hL for 10 years.

MSRP is 116K, so I wonder what the value will be in 10 years and 120K miles, assuming I keep it as spiffy and well maintained as I plan to.....

HBH

Evitzee

I hear you. I'm 55 and have always owned cars that were never top drawer. A '71 Corolla, a couple of Opel's back in the 70's (good, reliable cars), a '77 Mustang II (junk), a couple of Mazda sedans, another Corolla, and two Subarus that we still own. Last year I came to the realization that I wanted a higher quality vehicle. I looked at BMW's and Lexus's, and settled on a fully loaded IS 350 with the Sport Package, Mark Levinson, Navigation, upgraded wheels and other stuff. At the end of the day it was pushing $50k which was a lot of dough for a car IN MY EXPERIENCE. Younger people don't have any trouble leasing or buying these expensive cars, but, like you, I wasn't brought up to spend that kind of money on something as basic as a car. I bought the car and really enjoy it, but I still get a nagging feeling sometimes that the money spent on it could have been used more efficiently. But as we get older you have to start enjoying the fruits of your labor, and if you like cars, and can really afford it, why not? Enjoy your new Lexus!