mmarshall

Part of that is because BMW traditionally gives good lease deals....they are able to do so because of relatively low depreciation.

MattyG

By any measure Lexus and Toyota buyers and long term owners are going to be older and more mature about buying and owning choices. When you're young and relatively carefree, you take more car owning risks. We learn by experience when it comes to car ownership and repair so that means eventually we come to a conclusion about what's good and what's not.

The more car ownership experiences you have, the more you know about what a car or truck means to you. Eventually you will get to a balanced view of what you will look for in a car. Find that car and you'll hang onto it for a long, long time.

Anecdotally, I see Japanese and Detroit domestic cars on the road in equal measures. But I also see a lot of older GM, Chryco on the back of tow trucks and stranded vs Japanese metal aged around the title of this thread. That's not a coincidence. Just today I saw a 90s era Corolla on the highway doing stalart duty for a couple of plant workers. Rusting a little bit but absolutely running great.

On the other side of the highway was a Chevy Cavaliar from the same era on the back of a junkyard tow truck. And I've seen a few of these making their last trip like that. There is simply an observational and anecdotal experience about which cars from 15 years ago are good and which are not. It doesn't really matter about what the motivations of those original owners were - it's about now and why these are still in the hands of their present owners.

You still see 4Runners selling for outrageously high prices. Look at the equivalent domestic truck and it's basically a money pit that's seen its last nickel and dime repair bill and getting dumped.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Agreed.

Disagree unless you think it’s the last car you’ll own. Or maybe i’m not at a ‘balanced view’ because i want to keep cars less time than i did in the past.

We all have anecdotes. I see plenty of 30 40 and 50 year old u.s. pickup trucks running fine around here.

pman6

my 2003 beater ES is turning 16. Paint is peeling, valve cover gasket is leaking, but it still runs and I'm not afraid to get it dinged.

My next car will be a sports car, and I'm still keeping this beater. Hopefully it will last 30 years.

AJT123

My 2004 LS 140k is now 15 years old, the driver door lock actuator is broken and I disabled the tilt steering until I can grease it but other than that, it's just gas and change the oil once or twice a year. The paint still looks great, 430 is an old design but my car looks brand new when cleaned up. Have no plans to get rid of it, hell I feel like it's special. The last old school, true rolling isolation chamber LS. Will drive it as long as possible, many, many more years.

Freds430

Here are the top 10 fastest depreciating cars along with their percentage of how much value they lose in three years. Remember, the average for all vehicles is 35 percent.

1. BMW 5 Series - 52.6 percent
2. Volkswagen Passat - 50.7 percent
3. Mercedes-Benz E-Class - 49.9 percent
4. BMW 3 Series - 49.8 percent
5. Ford Taurus - 49.7 percent
6. Chrysler 200 - 48.4 percent
7. Volkswagen Jetta - 48.1 percent
8. Audi A3 - 47.9 percent
9. Cadillac SRX - 47.2 percent
10. Buick Enclave - 46.8 percent

Freds430

I guess technically they are correct but is deceiving. What they mean to say is these four Chevrolet models are most dependable in their class. Chevrolet is tied for 6th overall with Lexus #1 for seven straight years.

https://www.jdpower.com/Cars/Ratings...-dependability

Johnhav430

I have a 2007 335i (delivered from Regensburg) and a 2006 LS430. When I bought the LS430 used in 10/16, it was worth more than the 335i, and costed (still does) more to insure. List prices new were $47k and $65k respectively. Production dates (actual) are 11 mos. apart.

Flash forward 2 years, the Lexus is worth 2k less than the BMW.

Before I can get unhappy about the depreciation on cars, I punch in my address at the zillow website and laugh. My buddy calls them zillow bucks (intended on making a person feel good--he discounts the number by 35%).

Johnhav430

I just drove a 2019 Chevy Impala for a week. I have to say I liked the fit/finish, and I only hit my head on the roof for the first day.

Initially I thought, dang, this thing has none of the pep I would expect from a turbo 4, zero. Then later that day I noticed the V6 badge on the trunk. I thought oh no, pretty sure this would be a Traverse motor etc. No acceleration, rackety, and used a lot of fuel (18.x where most new cars would be 28 etc.). But I kid you not the fit/finish imho is above average. Maybe add some inductive wiring to the door handles and get a better motor and it's a winner.

Johnhav430

Yeah but apply common sense. GM cars are typically heavily discounted off of list, wholesale values take that into consideration. What's the base for the numbers, list? Or out the door prices. Ditto with a bunch of the cars on this list. We're not this simplistic, are we? The math I have seen at Edmunds TCO is that simple.

Toys4RJill

JDR76

I think I'm doing this backwards. I typically keep my Lexus/Toyota vehicles for no more than 3 years yet my Silverado is going on 18 years!

Toys4RJill

SW17LS

The reason for that is because a much larger % of Lexus vehicles are leased vs Toyota vehicles (as is the case with all luxury cars). I wouldn't infer its because Lexus vehicles are less reliable.

If you would buy a Toyota no reason not to buy a Lexus.