I'm talking payments not total vehicle cost. If I decide to sell it after 3 years, and I get 50% then I would have paid less than if I leased it. Unless the LCI of the X6 is that much better, then I will keep it until the warranty runs out. At 49K I will have it CPO'd to get the warranty to 100k.

 

I'm not talking about manufacturer incentives. I'm talking about how much discount (off MSRP) you can get when you go to a dealer to buy one.

Lexus typically has a bigger gap between invoice and MSRP than BMW. Which means that the dealers can discount more off MSRP.

Go out there and get some prices (for purchase) on a GS350 vs. a 535i for example. You can get a bigger discount (off MSRP) on the GS.

As I've already said, leases on BMWs are better than Lexus.

 

Genesis came out in August so it didn't even have a full first month.

Plus, most (if not all) models initially come in short supply. Some people still don't know it exists. Also, you're looking at one of the worst car sales months in recent history. Let's reserve judgment until the car get's into full swing and the economy takes a turn.

 

Today on CNBC, Maria Bartiromo talked to Ernst Lieb, president and CEO Of Mercedes-Benz USA about the company’s outlook. He said that in his 30 years he had not seen an environment as bad as now, that the US is in a slump but signs are Europe may be worse off. He expected the US to recover first. There was also this chart with data, source stated to be MB.

The video is on MSN Video under Mercedes outlook.

 

Wow, so IS sales for August were 222% more than TSX sales? Also, the ES outsold the TL and TSX combined. IS wasn't too far from outselling TL and TSX combined.

Further, ES and IS sales combined were almost equal to Acura's *total* sales for the month of August.

What happened to all the talk that the TSX would do great? TSX sales were down for the month, meanwhile the IS achieve all-time record sales.

 

The IS sales will further take off when the IS 250 C/IS 350 C arrives...now only if Lexus brought back the IS sportcross...

 

Not to mention the TSX is tons cheaper and ALL NEW. Some of us predicted it won't hit sales targets (40k a year) and it might not.

I don't expect the new TL to do much better or any better than the outgoing TL.

 

That is what i think too. Let's see.

 

Wow, there are Lexus/Toyota fans and then there is TRD

that said....
correct me if I'm wrong, but the IS (and ES for that matter) had some pretty sweet lease deals (and purchase deals) on them where as the TSX had none. So of you could get an IS for less than a TSX would you?

However, I'm not even sure they are in the same market space

 

With comparable features and options, you will never get IS cheaper than TSX. It may have sweet lease and finance deal, but price is still higher than TSX. IS250 with Navi invoice is still higher than TSX with tech packager. So, would you buy TSX for couple hundreds cheaper than IS?

 

Ah, but you are talking a cash transaction here.... My bet is that MOST people do not do an all cash transaction.

So right now you can lease a 2008 IS250 for $299 a month with about $3K down OR a 2009 TSX for $329 a month with about $3K down (from Sunday Chicago Tribune) and LAST MONTH (not sure about this month) you could purchase an IS for 2.9% finance rate where as you would pay market rate for the TSX. That makes the IS less expensive than the TSX for the majority of the buyers out there.

 

I know that I'm a little late on this thread but as Oct looms closer I was taking another glance over the August numbers.

A few notes...

The IS has a particularly good August. I was thinking today about what the breakdown would be between sales of SEDANS between IS, G, C, 3, CTS and TL but BMW does not separate their sales numbers.

IS-6318 C- 6990 TL- 5000 G35- 4014 3-10,756 CTS- 5867

My prediction is that the 3 sells somewhere around 7,000-7,500 sedans with the rest being M3s, coupes, and wagons. Looking at model for model (ex. IS sedans to G sedans to 3 sedans) the IS isn't that far off from BMW. If the next generation IS spawns coupes and convertibles and possibly a wagon, the IS range would be in a position to give the 3 series a run for it's money as the sales king. If Mercedes beefed up the C product line then they too might have a chance at beating them.

I'm surprised the G35 is not outselling the TL considering its age.

Surprisingly, the ES may very well outsell the 3 series sedan

I will be very interested to see how the new TL does in it's first month on the market. Same for the new A4.


Genesis sold 1177 units in August...it will be very interesting to see how October shapes up as I have seen a lot more advertising for the car this month.

RX sold almost 9K units...the clear sales leader in it's class by a long shot. Pretty surprising considering it's age. Next gen will be interesting.


Interesting that there is SUCH a dropoff after looking at 5 and E sales, then considering GS, A6, and M. I don't really think the BMW and Mercedes are really much better than the other three, but all five are to be redesigned within the next few years. FWIW, RL is pitiful.

 

While I don't doubt this, I don't think the ES and 3-series are cross shopped much. The IS and 3-series? Sure, but not the ES - completely different crowd.

 

Agreed. I wish BMW broke down the 3's sales numbers just for comparisons sake.

 

If you want to get a ballpark just look at 5 series to 6 series sales, and X5 to X6 sales. That will give you an idea of what the ratio is.

-King Bimmer