It does in that it highlights how different people's perception of money is. That's why this always brings up such a huge debate.

 

Agreed, imho, the less one "has to" have the lowest price, meaning whatever is left on the table when one drives away, the more "no haggle" would work. Edmunds already does this, as do many other car buying services, it looks like Lexus is looking to do it on their own to cut them out....you know these services do not offer the lowest price going in...

 

Its amazing how much nonsense has been said.
Anyone with a Corvette or a sports car very very likely has no issues with summer performance run flats that don't last very long. It's the piece you pay for performance. Vehicle maintenance and costs almost always go up as the MSRP increases. Simply more materials, parts, fluids, etc etc. Tires are no exception. Premium stuff costs more. All the Germans have gone run flat, imo that is the right move because if they are not going offer a full size spare, then just make it a run flat.

I have respect for the LS and GS as they still offer a full size spare. If Toyota won't give me a full size spare, then might as give me a run flat as that way I can't skip the whole tow truck, and tire change. I have to go to the dealer anyway.

As for mainstream tires, they are not all all expensive. Over the course of 3-5 years, the cost is minimal compared to cell phone costs etc etc. The problem is that when it comes time for a set of new tires, 90% of the population cannot come up with the $750 needed to pay for them in one shot. So it looks really expensive. But at least they have their crapple iPhones.

 

Unfortunately the GS no longer has a full sized spare. My 4GS had a space saver spare. My LS does have a full size spare on a matching wheel, I'll be interested to see what the LS500 has.

 

I am pretty sure the next gen LS500 will go to run flats. There pretty much is no point offering a small spare. You would need to return to the dealer to get your flat fixed, so why not just make it easier and skip the whole tow truck change.

 

Hopefully the runflats are better for everyday cars because the ones on the GTRs and some other sports cars are terrible. They are decent performing tires but they are also very loud tires. Many people can't wait to get rid of them.

 

I sure hope not. The issue with run flats IMHO is the fact that they ride a lot harder and are a lot louder than normal tires. If you look at BMW forums, MB forums, etc you see people getting rid of the run flats despite not having a spare all the time, and the payoff in ride is huge.

I'd rather have a tiny spare than runflats. Anyways, flats are becoming more and more rare, I had my spare on the LS last month before I wound up getting new tires when I had that flat, but that was the first time I had used a spare in decades...

 

Run flats are awful on everyday cars and even worse on performance cars. Hence why you don't see them on AMG or M cars. The fact that Corvettes come with them says a lot about Corvettes, and there's a reason why there are so many complaint threads about them on the Corvette forums.

Get an AAA +/Premier membership, problem solved. Either plan is a nominal ~$100/yr and gives far more free towing distance than run flats will last.

 

Most newer auto-manufacturer Roadside Assistance Programs (which come with their new vehicles) simply contract with AAA for the services, anyway. So why pay an extra $100 when the factory, with a new vehicle, gives it to you free for at least 3-4 years anyway? And with GM, you also get free OnStar service and, on applicable vehicles, free XM satellite radio for a limited time also.

 

And AAA will pay for itself just in the hotel discount lol

Lexus roadside just calls AAA for you.

 

AAA members in California can quickly handle most DMV paperwork etc at a AAA branch.

The first time you've avoided spending time at the DMV you've more than gotten your money's worth.

 

Yeah...I can just imagine how crowded DMV offices are in SoCal. They are bad enough here.

 

Roadside Assistance from the manufacturers (which as you note, is usually just a AAA contract), is supposed to cover lodging and meals, if necessary. I can't actually speak for that from personal experience, though, as I haven't (yet) needed to use it to that extent.

 

A lot of them do, but lets be honest how likely are you to suffer real trip interruption where the manufacturer would have to pay for lodging and meals due to a failure on a vehicle within the warranty period?

Its going to be a gallon of gas, a lock-out, a dead battery, or a tire change.

 

Gonna have to disagree about run flats always running hard. Reviews of the new LC are that the car can ride like a dream in comfort mode. The LC uses run flats and they are big rims. I think it's more of a case by case bases. My sister has run flats on her 335 and loves the ride. My father has non run flats on his ES and it' rides like a truck.
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