Paid $35.5K cash for mine when I took delivery from the dealer on Sept. 27, 2007 for my 2008 ES.

Deals (cash, finance, lease) differ on what plans I have for the vehicle. Obviously, I'm keeping this for a long time - 7 years or so.

 

He probably doesn't have anywhere to put his money and earn more than 4% on it. Or else he wouldn't pay cash for a friggin car.

 

you stole my complete thoughts I had when i read comments. Trying to not react so quickly, but some people express their opinions like there are no other options to purchase vehicle. I'm paying 1.9% interest @ 36 mos...will pay off car within 2 yrs. I have stocks that I have had for yrs and can assure you I can make a good chunk in 2 yrs with additional
40 k invested in them . I will pay $ 400 - 600.00 at most in interest but it's still better for me than to pay 40k cash for vehicle. Again to ea own but their are choices that suit ea individual.
Jags...I can say I almost always agree and learn from your post --- but you couldnt be serious when you say you thought most people pay cash for their vehicles....I assume its complete opposite. Especially with ES Lexus owner the avg age of owner seems to be dropping significantly when you see so many in the 30-40 age bracket, most likely they are not paying cash as they raise families, save for college, etc. Anyway got longwinded but couldnt agree more with Wetgravity.

 

Getting a loan at 4% is a definite 4% loss, so now you tell me how I can get a GUARANTEED 4% gain. Don't tell me how much you can make in the stock market because you can lose it all back in a minute. I know some people strike it reach with the stock market, and I also know some that basically have to start over from 0. To me, paying cash for something not only saves me in interest expense, but keeps me from living beyond my means. But, thanks to folks like you, banks are able to stay afloat to keep my $$$. So thank you!!

 

Again the point being there are choices for ea individual , I too am a stickler for avoiding to pay interest and live well within my means ( The Univ of Texas gets my daughters college tuition money just fine ) in fact the only two items on my wife's and I porfolio that gets chged interest is my Lexus - and our Home Mortgage loan. My stocks are doing fine inspite of the Economy. Hopefully for those who choose to pay 40, 50k upfront the car is not totaled in wreck...that would be bad investment. I will say again WE all have choices , and none are wrong if you are happy and comfortable with arrangements.

 

I had a BMW at 0.9% financing - almost free money. Chose to finance that one.

 

Perfect example racingt of great time to Finance veh. and invest $$ in other ways. Even my 1.9% int and heavy negotiation at time of purchase to get to price point.... I couln't go wrong... Hope you are enjoying the Lexus Brand !!

 

Jags...I can say I almost always agree and learn from your post --- but you couldnt be serious when you say you thought most people pay cash for their vehicles....I assume its complete opposite. Especially with ES Lexus owner the avg age of owner seems to be dropping significantly when you see so many in the 30-40 age bracket, most likely they are not paying cash as they raise families, save for college, etc. Anyway got longwinded but couldnt agree more with Wetgravity.[/QUOTE]

JR I agree that using other peoples money is a good way to go but I also believe that the majority of ES buyers are in the 55-60 year old range and a good portion of them are retired. I don't think this site is representative of the avg. buyer. If this is the case we are a group that has disposable income and also still have some old school hang ups of paying for things in cash when you have it. As for me I just don't like to have any debt. I do remember the sacrifices back when I was in my 40's (mac & cheese was a 2 course meal)to put my kids through college while paying for my house. Back then all I owned were used cars that we could afford. My father always used to say to me "if you can't pay cash then you can't afford it". Depression era thought process similar to what's going on today. Enjoy the ride.

 

jag, I agree that this site isn't representative of the average ES350 buyer. I've read numerous articles saying the average age of new ES350 buyers is in that 55-60 age range. Lexus would like to lower the average, but the car has a big appeal to that demographic.

 

JR I agree that using other peoples money is a good way to go but I also believe that the majority of ES buyers are in the 55-60 year old range and a good portion of them are retired. I don't think this site is representative of the avg. buyer. If this is the case we are a group that has disposable income and also still have some old school hang ups of paying for things in cash when you have it. As for me I just don't like to have any debt. I do remember the sacrifices back when I was in my 40's (mac & cheese was a 2 course meal)to put my kids through college while paying for my house. Back then all I owned were used cars that we could afford. My father always used to say to me "if you can't pay cash then you can't afford it". Depression era thought process similar to what's going on today. Enjoy the ride.[/QUOTE]

Jags...very well put...as a 50 yr old( young ) and youngest of 6 kids....have brother & a sister probbably in your age bracket that have similiar traits...esp sister & brother-in-law who pay cash fro everything. That being said the good news for Lexus is i feel they have done decent job and making sm changes to ES Model and bringing in some of the younger crowd into the buying equation. I wont include myself in that %,,,maybe when I purchased my first es330 in 2004 I could but not now. Enjoy Retirement and safe driving !

 

I have always bot cars.. cash down.. best way to get the best deal.. no need to muddle and get things confused up..with financing. and remember car dealers make 300-400 on each financed deal so they actually frown on cash buyers. but u dont need to mention that right till the end.. and trust me. the subvention APR teaser rates. which the manufacturers use to get buyers in.. its all factored in.. to push sales.. hence MSRP is jacked up. somewhere they do recover the money.. (BTW. i work for a auto finance company.. he he)

 

When we bought our 2007 ES, we found we actually got a better deal by financing. We put $2,000 on our credit card (for the miles), paid that off immediately, then paid the car off after 30 days. We made sure there was no prepayment penalty of any sort, and the loan was simple interest, not compound. I'm sure we didn't make any friends at Toyota Credit, but when they make the rules, you have to play the game their way.

 

ha ha.. u screwed them.... you are in the .1% population of loans who pay off in a month.. for us auto financers. we hate such folks. ha ha. I have pondered doing that.. but I dont want to go thru the unnecessary paper work. etc.. some folks do take auto loans to even improve credit..

 

Thank you to everyone for the responses. I wish I could respond to all of you individually but here's a short summary.

It seems the issues with keeping a Lexus ES for an extended period of time are pretty minor.

Oil changes aren't an issue for me - I like to do my own maintenance. I've only ever had the dealer perform the first oil change (where I found they use conventional oil) and recall work.

I guess I expected more testimonials about serious issues with the transmission for example and perhaps advice to buy some third party warranty - but pleasantly to my surprise that wasn't the case.

For those of you who may be wondering, I was 29 y/o when I bought the ES, before it I had purchased either new or used, VW Jetta, Passat V6, Passat W8, rabbit, Touareg, another touareg, Honda S2000, IS300, IS300 sport cross, IS350, and I'm ashamed to admit but even a couple Hyundai's which, if I'm honest were good cars (gave one to my mom who drove it till she totaled it). So living above my means wasn't the issue with financing but more of a way to to sustain my addiction. I love cars and always have the itch to try a different one. Some like gadgets, some like to party, and I like cars - they are my drug of choice.

Finally, I've always had a second and sometimes third car so my ES350 has relatively low miles, 29,600~ miles as of this writing, the way I feel right now after reading your posts is I will endeavor to keep this ES350 for at least a decade, maybe even two.

Cheers to all,
Paul

 

Whenever my car is getting close to being paid off, it starts an itch that can only be healed with a new car. Still immature at 56.