My0gr81

MattyG

All else being equal and money considerations aside, haven't you already paid the depreciation cost on that IS at this point? Now you'll be possibly buying a new car and that too will depreciate. When you liquidate, you will then once again take a depreciation hit on the Camry. I would look at a vehicle that you can take with you to whatever country you're considering retiring in (assuming it's a Caribbean nation). Basic simple Toyota that's well used but in great condition.

evident

In short- driving dynamics of IS300 will be much better than the camry.

But i'm questioning the logic of your decision here. How does trading in your car that you're probably still paying money for, for another brand new, fully loaded camry that pretty much cost the same as an IS300? you would then have to pay fees, markups for, and eat the cost of the trade-in (depreciation) of your older model IS300. How does doing this help your goal of downsizing expenses? it won't help you get to your 55 freedom goal any faster, and may even slow it down.

If you wanted to simplify, you should sell your IS300, and buy a used older car that's in good condition, that has already eaten the majority of its depreciation.

mmarshall

Why move? What's wrong with Ontario? Climate too harsh? Too much snow?

I agree with evident. Consider not only the cost of actual replacing a new car, but the added cost (in your case) of shipping it, the paperwork-mess involved with shipping, and making sure that the vehicle is legal in the country you are moving to.

My0gr81

Thanks for the replies so far. To answer some of the questions:

The IS is leased @ a fleet rate, I can basically trade it in within the 2 year for essentially the plate transfer fees. I have zero to loose, other than what I have paid into it fo the last 2 years. The monthly net savings on gas, insurance and lease payments justify the costs over the next 2 years.

We would keep a car in Canada as we would maintain a property here to go back and forth (hence the snowbirds). The Camry would be a buy out candidate, the IS would not be due to the financial as a fleet car (high residual).

We are from central Africa, but lived in Edmonton for well over 23 years, so harsh weather is not something that concerns us, but it's nice not to deal with that. We are looking at south of Spain, Portugal or one of the Caribbean islands. Still researching.

MattyG

Spain is quite beautiful and it's a good possibility. My friend traveled through the south of Spain a few years back and loved it. But, Spain has also been invaded by Brits in its hotspots and it's rapidly being colonized with those folks for good or bad. You'll be competing with rich Brits with pounds to pay for whatever and it's not always a good thing (yobos). Caribbean is still decent. Costa Rica and Panama come to mind. Panama is decent but it is still a 3rd world country in many parts. Snakes, bugs, local authoritarianism. Frequent outages of water, power etc. Poor municipal planning.

Keeping a car in Canada? Just keep a cheap summer beater. No need to keep an IS around and no need to buy a new Camry either. Find yourself a nice BC car that will age gracefully.