Next month residual on the car will take a plunge. It might be the lowest one ever put on a Lexus before. Infact they are saying it might be lower then the one that was put on the old gen IS. They are talking high 40's that will be crazy. That means you will be able to lease a LS for almost the price of a GS. This was all spoken about last week at a LFS meeting. I will try to get more info but it's not my side of the job.

 

I'm confused on two things. Lease an LS at the price of a GS? Then why would you go for the GS, why no the LS if its the same price? Second, why is the residual going to be lowered so low?

 

Oh nevermind..I see what you're saying....I misread the post....but why is the residual dropping so much??

 

I am sorry. But even now a fully loaded GS350 will lease out at about 850 a month if you get it for 1500 over invoice which they will not do because the northeast anyway doesn't have any.

 

Damn, I was hoping for just the opposite to happen (in terms of lease deals getting more attractive, not more expensive).

Now, I am really stuck. My current lease isnt up to August.

Is it even worthwhile to talk to Lexus about letting me out of my current lease and into a new one?

 

Def wait till Aug you will get the best deal then. That is when Lexus gives dealers rebates on the cars plus special money factors.

 

Why lease...just buy the new one when your lease is up...or ask them to sell you the current vehicle early for residual and sell it so you can get into a new one...they may go for it....after all, they've made enough off of your payments to date

 

If the lease price of the LS is the same as the GS, why not lease an LS? This sounds like a great deal if true.

 

the gs has had special money factors on it here in the southern area since the middle of november

 

Thanks for the help and input guys. I feel alot better this morning after reading this information than I did last night.

I love the GS and definitely want another one but I would be lying if I said the monthly payment doesnt scare me.

Right now, I am leasing because there are some "tax" advantages for me to do so, so I will probably go with another lease in August. Besides, I am one of those guys who likes having a new car every few years. So, leasing is definitely for me.

I just don't understand why Lexus is making the GS lease terms so unattractive as compared to its competition.

I just have this fear of walking into the Lexus dealership in July/August and being one of those who falls in love with the car and everything else (like price, eating, vacations, etc) becomes secondary.

 

Just thinking outloud. Does this residual price adjustment (plunge) has anything to do with CR report on Lexus reliability with GS rattles being a specific example? Based on the reported sales number and considering that, at least here on East Coast, GSs are not collecting dust on dealership lots - its definitely in a lower supply. But with this *bad* publicity, will that affect a resale/trade-in value of our cars in the future? Because, I look at residual value as their *educated* estimate of what car will worth in a future. I mean, we should be realistic to see that Lexus is not *working out* their numbers in favor of more potential lease customers...

 

FYI - the lx470 and ls460l with exec seating both have lower residuals currently than the gs350 does. the rx350 FWD with rear seat DVD has the same residual.

 

I wonder if the lower residuals and higher money factors are just a function of Lexus knowing people are willing to spend a little extra for their cars.

Towards the end of January, I took my GS in for servicing and was speaking to one of the sales guys there.

He basically echoed what a lot of other posters have said about the GS being in short supply, but he also pointed out to me that, despite the higher monthly lease payments, people were still leasing the GS.

If I remember correctly, I think he said his dealership had one GS on the lot and about 4-5 orders for new ones.

 

I know what you mean! My $800 a month lease payment for the GS 450h is about $200 lower than the typical payment for this car, since I got an amazing deal for it. But I often see commercials on TV that advertise something like a $199 or $239 lease on a Honda Civic or Accord LX and I think, "Holly Crap! I could lease four-five of those cars for the GS450h monthly lease payment!"

 

Yeah, I am sort of in the same boat.

I mean, I love the GS, but when I check the Infiniti M35/M45 boards on edmunds.com and see some of the lease deals those guys and gals are getting, it does make me think twice.