Will you be staying with the CT or switch to another brand? Will you stay with a hybrid or switch to a PHEV (Volt, Prius Prime or Audi A3 etron)?

 

I have a strict policy of not repeating a car brand back to back (life is too short and there's so many options). I've never leased a car and tend to keep them for a long time, so with that said, my next car (including the wife's) will not be a Lexus or Mercedes.

My wife is aiming at a 2WD Tesla, and because it's an EV, my next car will most likely be an AWD gas car.

 

I'd love to stay with a luxury auto maker, but my first requirement when I start shopping for another car will be having an autonomous vehicle. Since Telsa was awesome enough to make their tech open-source, many other car companies will soon have have autonomous models as well and will make some for interesting car shopping decisions.

 

I am considering keeping my CT as a daily driver until it dies and getting something exciting and obscure on the side. I am thinking of something like a Lotus Elise, a 1980's or 90's Rolls Royce/Bentley or a 2004 Dodge Ram SRT10.

 

This actually is my second CT (2013 and 2015), so I won't lease another one. I've been with Toyota for a few years, so I'm kind of getting bored with that. Maybe the next one will be an Audi, or a VW of some kind, just for more "fun to drive" options. I love my CT, but I don't think it's particularly fun to drive (though it is comfortable). Although, I'm sure that sitting in a new IS may sway me for the next lease.

 

All I know is what we WON'T be buying..... German cars have burned us so badly that they are definitely out. Likely staying with Lexus. My LS460 and our CT have been so reliable that it makes it hard to move onto something else. We've had Jeeps, Fords, GM's Acura's, Honda's Chrylsers/Dodges, BMW's, and Nissans, Even the most reliable of those was far less reliable than our Lexus's have been. My 08 LS460 now has nearly 120k miles on it and has cost me a water pump and mufflers, for a grand sum of 550 bucks. So far, the CT has cost us nil.

Anyone considering a BMW, should spend some time on the Bimmerfest forums. That should scare you enough to stay away, unless you're only leasing and dont mind having your car in a service bay for half it's life. Both our X5 and 7 Series were unbelievably troublesome. Imagine a 7 series spewing blue smoke at 50k miles and needing 7k dollars worth of engine work and an X5 with so many oil and coolant leaks, that the environmental protection agency is following you around in Hazmat suits. LOL.

 

I was considering a muscle car (Dodge Challenger or Charger), high end w a lot of horsepower. My previous car was a Honda 2013 EX-L V6. It
was a powerful car, and it was that V6 engine that got me revved up about power. But the suspension was bad - really bad, harsh.

This time around I went with a Lexus ES 350, (leased) w a bunch of packages (Nav, Luxury, etc.). Has almost as much power as my Honda, but it's
a much smoother, and in a certain way, sexier car.

Next time? No idea. I do know that I'll spend more time on the relevant forums to get an 'insider' picture of what the next possibility is really like.

I was considering Audi, but it didn't seem like they were willing to negotiate as much as Lexus was. I drove a couple, and they seemed nice, but also more expensive for not that many more features really.

I would consider the Chrysler 300, or maybe a Lincoln for a next car.

 

BTW I still think the Accords are solid cars - it's just that suspension, ugh.

 

I will be keeping my CT and will probably get a GX, i love the LX but it's beyond my budget at this time, like road frog said no BMW (idk about audi or MB) but BMW's can be a hassle at times, I have X5 4.8is and it drives like a dream but there is always some minor issue somewhere, it has never left me stranded so that's good.

I believe the 3 series is much more reliable when it comes to BMW and the E class when it comes to MB (from what i heard).

 

You all are scaring me with your German car experiences! I had a 2007 VW Jetta and I just remember it needing more work than any of my Toyotas have in the same period of time (about 3 years) that I owned it. Depending on what Toyota/Lexus is offering when my lease ends, that's probably the direction that I'll go. I think jloftus is pretty spot on with that Audi wouldn't negotiate like Lexus, at least the past couple of times I looked into them.

 

You thought BMW is bad.. try Mini Cooper. The reason I bought the CT was because my Mini Cooper S was so bad.. that it cost me over $6K in repairs right after the warranty went out after 3 years. One of our friends who repairs luxury cars said he loves Mini Cooper owners as they are good repeated customers. So I asked him who are your worst customers? He said Lexus owners. LOL. This is a true story. I went on and start looking at the Lexus and bought the CT.

I actually thought BMW was pretty good. My wife is on her 2nd X5 and it is still running great after 6 years. She wants her next car to be X5 too. I was trying to talk her into Lexus SUV (NX, RX, or LX) but she doesn't like how they look. NX too batmobile like and too small. RX too boring. LX too blocky and big. Oh well.

 

I always thought those Mini Coopers looked so cute though....I almost test drove one of them. I heard they're a pretty hard ride though.

Doesn't BMW make them, or own the company that makes them?

That was the other reason I started looking at Lexus - a lot of the ratings on reliability for luxury brands seemed to point to Lexus.
And I know a few people in our office that drive Lexus ES and RXs and always talked about how nice they are.

I also have colleagues that have BMWs and think highly of that brand also. If I could afford an Audi A6 (3.0 Premium plus) I'd probably get one. :-)

 

Yes BMW makes them in England. Don't get me wrong, it handles the road like a dream. It is a hard ride but very fun. When I test drove the CT, the sales guy took me up to a hill with curve roads trying to show me how the CT handles the road. He even asked me something like "This is as good as your Mini right?" I just looked him in the eyes and ask.. "Obviously you have never driven a Mini." LOL.

You are very lucky that you didn't test drive a Mini. You would have fall in love with it and then hated it after 4 years when it started to burn 1 quart of oil over 1000 miles. And when you take it to the dealer they will tell you it is normal to burn 1 quart every 750 miles. I drove over 600 miles a week and have to add a quart of oil every 2 weeks. And then you read about all these problems other people are having on the forum and think that you are the lucky one who does not have them. Right after the warranty expires... you get all of them back to back.. each one will need $1500 to $3000 to fix...

 

I have the 2012 CT200H for a daily.
2004 S2000 for a weekend/spring/fall vehicle.
A few years after marriage with the lady, probably another CT200h (most current) for her, she loves my 2012.

Add another decade or less and the McLaren 650-s or 575LT will be on the list. If that's still out of price, I'll be looking at the newer 911 turbos for a weekend car, GTR, and/or 02-05 NSX-T. All those otherwise would stay within the family.

For me, I can't break away from having a Lexus as a daily driver, I've owned only one other in my prior years (02 IS300 5-speed single turbo), and they've never done me wrong. Even with me owning numerous Honda/acura, I've always enjoyed the refinement by Lexus just a tad more.

No regrets.

Long term goal though.. LFA.

 

GS450h