I am in the market for a 2013 CPO ES, but noticed that the 2013 GS are often listed only a few thousand more. (2013 ES around 33k and 2013 GS 36k range if you shop around). I was shocked to see this difference.

Any reason for this? Is it because a lot of the GS models are coming off lease and it's more of a niche car? By all means relative to European cars the GS still holds its value well.

 

There is no real negative reason, other than the ES outsells the GS. The GS has the "middle child" syndrome where often shoppers come in looking for a Lexus and they are steered immediately to an ES because it is a higher-volume seller and the entry into a Lexus mid-sized sedan. Many clients don't see the reason to pay the additional money for the GS when they can "buy a Lexus" for less, but the extra money gets you so much more.

My '13 GS F Sport cost almost $61k when new and when I traded it in January the Audi dealer gave me $33k on my trade-in. It was loaded, with Mark Levinson, HUD and DRS and had only 20,500 miles. They did give me $$$ off my Audi, so who can say exactly what I got but it was still almost half of what I paid 3 years before. The GS is a fantastic car that can now be had at a fantastic price. Mine was off their lot within 3 weeks.

 

I am in the similar situation - OP is right. 2013 GS with luxury pacakage and 18-20 K miles can be had for 38k..
I have thought long and hard about this - and I think the only thing to think about is mileage.

To me - GS looks and feels fantastic....no doubt there at all...

 

The less GS on the road here the better for me, it kinda feels like driving an exotic car.

99.9% of my friends and family don't even know what a GS 350 looks like, all they know is that L logo on my front grille means serious business. but everyone knows what IS 250 looks like. The last thing I want is to see everyone driving a GS like Corolla peanuts.

 

Unfortunately there is less demand for pre-owend GS when compared to pre-owned ES so our resale value takes a hit. If you want to see high depreciation take a look at S class or 7 series. Wow.

 

Well, typically the more expensive the car the higher the depreciation, just because you have wealthy buyers who would rather buy a new one and non-wealthy buyers that may be able to afford an S Class or 7 Series once it has depreciated but can't afford the maintenance. That doesn't leave much of a target market.