monacoDK

The lease on my wife's 2013 RX350 is up on 4/1. This is her second RX lease. She likes the car, although lately she's been wishing for an SUV with a 3rd row since we have two car seats and no room for when her parents are in town and want to go to dinner with us. Specifically, she likes the Acura MDX and the Infiniti JX/QX60.

Don't want to do another RX lease, as she only drives 6-7,000 miles per year and I feel like I'm always leaving money on the table by signing a 10k mile lease. However, in my current situation, I believe the low 17,000 miles on the RX leaves me with a 'little' equity over the residual price of $34k.

Weighing our options here. I was hoping to get some advice on what might be the best choice financially and practically.

Option 1 - Buy the RX at lease end for $34.1k. Wouldn't be 'certified' but with only 17k miles it's basically brand new. I would have to pay ~$3k in sales tax so I'd be all-in right around $37k. Ours is FWD Premium with every available option except ML sound (original sticker was $50k). I could see the wife driving this car for the next 4-6 years easily.

Option 2A - Trade the RX in on a 2012/2013 MDX or 2013/2014 JX/QX60 SUV with 3 rows of seats. There is a nice '12 MDX w/Tech 22k miles listed at $33k nearby that seems like the best deal. JXs/QX60s seem plentiful around town in the sub $35k range, although these seem to be base models without NAV or much else. In AZ, I would only pay sales tax on any amount over the value of my trade. So if I bought a $35k car and got $34k in trade value, tax would be on $1,000. If I bought a car at LESS than my trade was valued, I pay ZERO sales tax.

This option assumes I'd be able to take advantage of some of the equity in the RX. This seems to be the big wildcard at the moment. Will a dealer give me equal to or more than $34.1k in trade for the RX?

Option 2B - Essentially the same as above, but assumes I can't get enough in trade value. I would then have to hand over the keys to Lexus Financial and pay the $350 disposition fee. Regarding this fee, I suppose a 'break-even' trade value would be $34,100 less $350 = $33,750 since I'd have to pay that regardless under this scenario.

Curious what you folks would do in my shoes? Do you think I could get enough in trade value to pull off Option 2A, or am I just better off paying the sales tax and buying the car to drive for the next several years?

Thanks!

Yurka

i would go with option 1 simply because its Lexus, ive driven MDX, jx, qx60 and i dont like the way they roll, lexus definitely way more comfortable and easier drive, more reliable even if you pay now 3k more lets say, in the long run, if youre planning on keeping it for 4-6 years, i believe you would put more for parts if youd go with other brands. Acuras for example tend to fall apart after 3-5 years,not saying it will, but chances are high, ive had an opportunity to mess with a few acuras before i got to Lexus family, and i must say i spent a lot on parts, both cars,even though one was only 2 years old when i got it. IF your financial situation allows you to spend 3k now and go with Lexus- i would strongly suggest you to go with it.

nerv81

We cross-shopped the 12-13 MDX before getting our RX a couple months ago. We have 1 car seat now but will def have a 2nd in the next year so we really wanted a 3rd row. I haven't heard anything about Acura's falling apart in 3-4 years and we know 3 friends and 2 family members that have MDX's of various years that love their cars with no issues. Anyway, the reason we went with the RX is because it was going to be my wife's car and she preferred the quieter cabin and softer ride. If this was going to be my car we would have gotten the MDX because it was a bit more sporty but you do feel like you're driving a Honda more than an Acura.

Do yourself a favor and avoid the JX. We traded in my wife's Maxima for the RX mainly cause the CVT transmission was giving us issues. I also have a friend with a 2015 Altima and the CVT had to be replaced around 10k miles. I don't know if the JX uses the same one, but I will not buy another car with CVT for a long time.

If you don't care about the badge on the car, the new Highlander is pretty nice and has a decent sized 3rd row. They re-designed it in 2014 and even though the exterior is a love it/hate it design, the interior is pretty nice and it's a comfortable ride.

corradoMR2

JX35/QX60 uses the same powertrain as the Murano/Altima so CVT issues have and continue to be an issue.

The last Gen MDX has good reliability but the 3.7L V6 although powerful, is very thirsty and you should be using 91 octane.

Personally, if I were in the market for a 7-passenger SUV, I'd seriously consider the new Highlander for its near-Lexus-like interior quality and ride, noise characteristics.

Good luck!

Marqevans

Your best option is to by the RX and keep it. However if she really wants the 3rd row. I would definitely look at the 2015 Highlander. I have one and it is a great car.

User 41924

I have to qualify my response by explaining how horrible I am at buying used cars. I have NEVER bought one that didn't have major issues within the first year, so that would weigh heavily on my decision. When I was faced with the same decision with my IS in Oct, I had decided to just buy it out (I know. It was essentially a used car, but I knew how well cared for it was. ). At 3 years old and just 14K miles, it was a steal for the buyout price. I could have turned it around and made 6 or 7K easily. In the end, the dealer wound up giving me close to the actual value as a trade, which turned into a great down payment on my new car.

My point is, the low mileage you put on your leased vehicle isn't necessarily a disadvantage. You have to negotiate a bit at the end of the lease, but you CAN get your money back for the unused mileage.