Lexus launches in Philippines
Like the others said, I'm sure people will still be picking up those cars.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,459
Likes: 1
From: Makati, Philippines
1) Maps are not updated (that often)
2) Certain Street names can change frequently (mostly crazy politicians are the ones responsible for such)
and the funniest and perhaps craziest reason of all
3) Some locations would just get converted into talipapas (wet markets) and basketball courts
Granted, BMW Phils. has tried developing one (currently for 1-series, 3-series and X3) and it is quite good.........however it is not part of the I-Drive system (meaning it is a separate device). Still a farcry but at least were getting there.
So yeah, as for your question though regarding the IS 300? Well yeah, it sells for 2.93 M pesos (or around 60-62K in American dollars using current exchange rate). But this is expected as car prices in the Philippines are more expensive than in America or Japan.........due to different taxation procedures.......and part of it due to corruption and red tape in our country today
. Thankfully though, with the help of the recently signed Japan-Philippines bilateral trade agreement, we could see price cuts starting year 2010.With that said, I think that at 2.93 M pesos, the IS 300 is worth it (based on Philippine car pricing) and I'd take it over an E90 series BMW 3 series and perhaps over a MB C180 or C200. It may not have the touchscreen but at least it's quite fine. However, my biggest gripe is that the local spec version IS 300 DOES NOT have Mark Levinson sound system (only "Lexus Premium Sound system 13-speakers). But hey, our car only has 6 speakers (4-speaker plus two tweeters) so why should I complain? :P
And hey, this is the Philippines and you'd be blest if your car has at least 4 speakers. Heck, even if you only have one speaker, you'd do just fine (a reference to public jeepneys and tricycles
)
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,005
Likes: 0
From: CA
Oh yes I'm quite familiar with the bureaucracy in the Philippines. It's frustrating to say the least and there's little to no transparency as to how politicians conduct their business.
The dealership looks great! If I have time, I'll stop by there in March when I go home. My GF says it isn't far from Makati.
The dealership looks great! If I have time, I'll stop by there in March when I go home. My GF says it isn't far from Makati.
Official in-car navigation is not yet available in the Philippines yet for many reasons:
1) Maps are not updated (that often)
2) Certain Street names can change frequently (mostly crazy politicians are the ones responsible for such)
and the funniest and perhaps craziest reason of all
3) Some locations would just get converted into talipapas (wet markets) and basketball courts
Granted, BMW Phils. has tried developing one (currently for 1-series, 3-series and X3) and it is quite good.........however it is not part of the I-Drive system (meaning it is a separate device). Still a farcry but at least were getting there.
So yeah, as for your question though regarding the IS 300? Well yeah, it sells for 2.93 M pesos (or around 60-62K in American dollars using current exchange rate). But this is expected as car prices in the Philippines are more expensive than in America or Japan.........due to different taxation procedures.......and part of it due to corruption and red tape in our country today. Thankfully though, with the help of the recently signed Japan-Philippines bilateral trade agreement, we could see price cuts starting year 2010.
With that said, I think that at 2.93 M pesos, the IS 300 is worth it (based on Philippine car pricing) and I'd take it over an E90 series BMW 3 series and perhaps over a MB C180 or C200. It may not have the touchscreen but at least it's quite fine. However, my biggest gripe is that the local spec version IS 300 DOES NOT have Mark Levinson sound system (only "Lexus Premium Sound system 13-speakers). But hey, our car only has 6 speakers (4-speaker plus two tweeters) so why should I complain? :P
And hey, this is the Philippines and you'd be blest if your car has at least 4 speakers. Heck, even if you only have one speaker, you'd do just fine (a reference to public jeepneys and tricycles)
1) Maps are not updated (that often)
2) Certain Street names can change frequently (mostly crazy politicians are the ones responsible for such)
and the funniest and perhaps craziest reason of all
3) Some locations would just get converted into talipapas (wet markets) and basketball courts
Granted, BMW Phils. has tried developing one (currently for 1-series, 3-series and X3) and it is quite good.........however it is not part of the I-Drive system (meaning it is a separate device). Still a farcry but at least were getting there.
So yeah, as for your question though regarding the IS 300? Well yeah, it sells for 2.93 M pesos (or around 60-62K in American dollars using current exchange rate). But this is expected as car prices in the Philippines are more expensive than in America or Japan.........due to different taxation procedures.......and part of it due to corruption and red tape in our country today
. Thankfully though, with the help of the recently signed Japan-Philippines bilateral trade agreement, we could see price cuts starting year 2010.With that said, I think that at 2.93 M pesos, the IS 300 is worth it (based on Philippine car pricing) and I'd take it over an E90 series BMW 3 series and perhaps over a MB C180 or C200. It may not have the touchscreen but at least it's quite fine. However, my biggest gripe is that the local spec version IS 300 DOES NOT have Mark Levinson sound system (only "Lexus Premium Sound system 13-speakers). But hey, our car only has 6 speakers (4-speaker plus two tweeters) so why should I complain? :P
And hey, this is the Philippines and you'd be blest if your car has at least 4 speakers. Heck, even if you only have one speaker, you'd do just fine (a reference to public jeepneys and tricycles
)
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,459
Likes: 1
From: Makati, Philippines
Oh yes I'm quite familiar with the bureaucracy in the Philippines. It's frustrating to say the least and there's little to no transparency as to how politicians conduct their business.
The dealership looks great! If I have time, I'll stop by there in March when I go home. My GF says it isn't far from Makati.
The dealership looks great! If I have time, I'll stop by there in March when I go home. My GF says it isn't far from Makati.
Heh, in any case though, I too am also from Makati (and I think another forumer named 'rsantiago' is also from staying there atm). My house is near the corner of EDSA and Buendia Avenue (dun sa may tapat ng stasyon ng gas ng Shell hehe).
In any case though, then perhaps we should have a sort of gathering or meet-up of pinoy clublexus.com members then hehe
P.S.
The touchscreen is nifty. In fact, only less than 1% of cars in this country have it (namely Jaguar XF and XK and these new Lexus models). Really high-tech and a relatively new concept to us local pinoys here. In short, nakakaadik talaga
^^ If those Lexus cars don't have navigation there, i wonder what the imported Lexus say on their navigation screens, and even with these prices being so high, people will still buy them, the camry (which i found out is actually a really nice car there) sells, these Lexus will sell no problem
Thread Starter
Lexus Champion
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 8,695
Likes: 2
From: CA
The design of the showroom is a collaboration between Japanese and Filipino architectural firms (Nomura Co. and Recio + Casas Architects respectively) so it is indeed a world-class design with local styling and craftsmanship. Truly a FIRST for car dealerships here in the Philippines.
I wonder how the customer lounge facilities are like.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,005
Likes: 0
From: CA
Pinoy ako But I left when I was young so my grasp of Tagalog is elementary at best. I wonder if rsantiago is Randy Santiago lol.
I'll have to check with the schedule since we're visiting a lot of places If I have time to fit in, I'll definitely send you a text. You can buy pre-paid sim cards at Ninoy Aquino right?
I wonder who else here is from PI. Would be nice to have a mini meet. There's a ton of places in Makati IIRC.
Thanks for the background on the design team that came up with the final product. I agree with encore, the results look great.
But I left when I was young so my grasp of Tagalog is elementary at best. I wonder if rsantiago is Randy Santiago lol.I'll have to check with the schedule since we're visiting a lot of places If I have time to fit in, I'll definitely send you a text. You can buy pre-paid sim cards at Ninoy Aquino right?
I wonder who else here is from PI. Would be nice to have a mini meet. There's a ton of places in Makati IIRC.
Thanks for the background on the design team that came up with the final product. I agree with encore, the results look great.
Oh so pinoy ka rin ba?
Heh, in any case though, I too am also from Makati (and I think another forumer named 'rsantiago' is also from staying there atm). My house is near the corner of EDSA and Buendia Avenue (dun sa may tapat ng stasyon ng gas ng Shell hehe).
In any case though, then perhaps we should have a sort of gathering or meet-up of pinoy clublexus.com members then hehe
P.S.
The touchscreen is nifty. In fact, only less than 1% of cars in this country have it (namely Jaguar XF and XK and these new Lexus models). Really high-tech and a relatively new concept to us local pinoys here. In short, nakakaadik talaga
Heh, in any case though, I too am also from Makati (and I think another forumer named 'rsantiago' is also from staying there atm). My house is near the corner of EDSA and Buendia Avenue (dun sa may tapat ng stasyon ng gas ng Shell hehe).
In any case though, then perhaps we should have a sort of gathering or meet-up of pinoy clublexus.com members then hehe
P.S.
The touchscreen is nifty. In fact, only less than 1% of cars in this country have it (namely Jaguar XF and XK and these new Lexus models). Really high-tech and a relatively new concept to us local pinoys here. In short, nakakaadik talaga
Pole Position
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 380
Likes: 0
From: Carson, California currently in Makati City, PI
Oh so pinoy ka rin ba?
Heh, in any case though, I too am also from Makati (and I think another forumer named 'rsantiago' is also from staying there atm). My house is near the corner of EDSA and Buendia Avenue (dun sa may tapat ng stasyon ng gas ng Shell hehe).
In any case though, then perhaps we should have a sort of gathering or meet-up of pinoy clublexus.com members then hehe
P.S.
The touchscreen is nifty. In fact, only less than 1% of cars in this country have it (namely Jaguar XF and XK and these new Lexus models). Really high-tech and a relatively new concept to us local pinoys here. In short, nakakaadik talaga
Heh, in any case though, I too am also from Makati (and I think another forumer named 'rsantiago' is also from staying there atm). My house is near the corner of EDSA and Buendia Avenue (dun sa may tapat ng stasyon ng gas ng Shell hehe).
In any case though, then perhaps we should have a sort of gathering or meet-up of pinoy clublexus.com members then hehe
P.S.
The touchscreen is nifty. In fact, only less than 1% of cars in this country have it (namely Jaguar XF and XK and these new Lexus models). Really high-tech and a relatively new concept to us local pinoys here. In short, nakakaadik talaga
, with a price tag of 3 million on the IS300, I'm sure it'll sell to young wealthy "clients". But if you ask me Blackraven, I'd rather get the Camry, btw IMO exterior wise is 10x nicer than US version, even the ES350 at 5 mil it might be a hard sell as well though you'll get the exclusivity unlike in the Camry
We might complain about not having Mark Levinson or Nav, having a car in this country is a luxury.
Driver
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 153
Likes: 0
From: BC
Sorry for going off-topic...
Yeah. Ranges from as low as $160k (Carrera) to close to $400k(GT2). But there's certainly no shortage of them: (Some pics from local 'fun runs')
(yes, that above is a RUF RT12)
I also heard that all the 997s allocated for the Philippines for 2009 are all sold out (including 20 of each of the following: GT2, Turbo, GT3, GT3RS)
Last edited by lex-phil; Jan 20, 2009 at 11:07 AM.
Lead Lap
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 708
Likes: 0
From: New York
Oh. Then your walk to the casa wasnt so bad. Just across EDSA from Bonifacio
S
Sorry for going off-topic...
Yeah. Ranges from as low as $300k to you name it. But there's certainly no shortage of them: (Some pics from local 'fun runs')
(yes, that above is a RUF RT12)
I also heard that all the 997s allocated for the Philippines for 2009 are all sold out (including 20 of each of the following: GT2, Turbo, GT3, GT3RS)
S
Sorry for going off-topic...
Yeah. Ranges from as low as $300k to you name it. But there's certainly no shortage of them: (Some pics from local 'fun runs')
(yes, that above is a RUF RT12)
I also heard that all the 997s allocated for the Philippines for 2009 are all sold out (including 20 of each of the following: GT2, Turbo, GT3, GT3RS)
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,459
Likes: 1
From: Makati, Philippines
I'm guessing you live around the Bel-Air Area , with a price tag of 3 million on the IS300, I'm sure it'll sell to young wealthy "clients".
But if you ask me Blackraven, I'd rather get the Camry, btw IMO exterior wise is 10x nicer than US version, even the ES350 at 5 mil it might be a hard sell as well though you'll get the exclusivity unlike in the Camry
We might complain about not having Mark Levinson or Nav, having a car in this country is a luxury.
, with a price tag of 3 million on the IS300, I'm sure it'll sell to young wealthy "clients". But if you ask me Blackraven, I'd rather get the Camry, btw IMO exterior wise is 10x nicer than US version, even the ES350 at 5 mil it might be a hard sell as well though you'll get the exclusivity unlike in the Camry
We might complain about not having Mark Levinson or Nav, having a car in this country is a luxury.
And I think all the other models have Mark Levinson as well (except for the local-spec IS 300). Yet as I've said again, this is the Philippines anyways so you should be lucky if you car even has a sound system to begin with
@rsantiago
Yup tama ka nga diyan. I am from Bel-Air Village (Zodiac Street to be exact). Basically, I'm just less than a minute away from the Jaguar/Land Rover official dealership along Jupiter Street lolz (though I think they now also sales of Ferrari and Maserati).
@regarding choosing a Camry
Hmm.....at 2M pesos, the 3.5 V6 Camry we have here is neat. Though then again........I'm not really sure. I was also aiming for a Previa (pero not the local-spec model kasi 2.4 liter lang sya). I'm gunning for the V6 model with 4WD then I'll just import nalang through TMPC so I won't have much problems if customs questions me.
Btw, I'm thinking that those Porsche vehicles plus that Audi R8 could belong to Coyuito (the owner of PGA Cars Audi & Porsche) and his millionaire buddies.
:P