Tried to trade my '15 gs350 with 5000 miles on it and came to a startling realization. Top offer on trade was $34500 although Kelley and NADA said more. This offer was repeated in three different states and various dealers, so it wasn't just a single low ball. The explanation? Too many lease cars coming off lease, flooding the markets. Makes the prospect of buying another car look less appealing than leasing. However, I am sure the lease returns are priced on the lot at much higher retail prices but they may sit a while longer. Most luxury cars take a big hit the first year but this is a bit of a shock. As you can see from my mileage, I would have no problem with a low mileage lease. I don't like making payments though. Seems the bountiful lease deals from two years ago came back to clobber those who paid cash to purchase. I don't need to trade that badly, so the wife can just keep it but what kind of company looks after resale like this? One of the reasons I went with Lexus was for good resale but they have cut the legs out from under me with the discounted leases. Lesson learned. The loss in value should moderate in a few years I'm hoping. It's a fine car, I just like to trade often. Until I trade it it, it suffers no loss at all!

 

I saw 2014 base for 29k with 12k miles at a dealer looks like the prices are taking a huge hit.

 

Don't want to sound like a jerk but... Uh what did you expect trading in a car within 1.5 years and the next year model is coming out in a few month? Low mileage with a mass produced car has little to no effect for value. Like you stated, maybe you should do a short term lease so you can sleep better at night. What did you pay before ttl? Losing 20-30% msrp is almost expected unfortunately with any new car

 

If you want trade often, then you need to lease. You can do a one-time lease payment, though I wouldn't recommend it because that money is gonzo if it gets totaled.

The resale is horrendous right now for the reasons you mentioned.

 

I was in the market for a 2015 GS last month and the prices ranged from $36k/22k miles(random used lot) to 41k/16k miles CPO. It was eye opening to see a 56k car drop down that much in one year, but I heard the same, in regards to the lease returns and that model changes 13,14 and 15 years wasn't much that the market was flooded.

 

Yeah the GS really sucks when it comes to holding value. The GX however is holding its value. I'm currently shopping for a used 14-15 GX and man even with 40k miles they still want 42-45k. That's crazy in my opinion.

 

Above is all true, so much that I considered when my wife's lease return in feb to go ahead and look at used GS's buyers market.

 

yea, i'm waiting for the price of the GS gets closer to my IS value, so i can do an almost even trade. Seems the IS holds value slightly better than the GS

 

Huge glut in the used car market (so many lease returns), they just want to get rid of them. Huge supply, low demand.

 

Demand is definitely low on GS I live in a good neighborhood of Dallas and hardly see any on the road.

 

Options still seem to make a difference too. Considering the vast difference between a GS (non-FS) and a loaded out Lux GS-FS...that would affect resale as well. 15K in options is 15K in options...

 

I see quite a few by me, I also see a lot of ES's too. Park Place pretty much dominates my city..lol

 

Yeah, if you like to trade cars every other year, leasing would be better.

 

It's kind of like cell phones nowadays...you just never stop paying for the car.

 

Some people just consider it a fixed cost like paying rent or a phone bill.