flektone

iTrader: (1)

you can get decent tires for $100-150 per tire. You dont have to go with the ones that came on the car. Also theres cheaper aftermarket maintanance parts like brakes, roters, oil filters etc. that you can buy. Like someone said before its basically a toyota

15951

Obviously we're fans of Lexus - most everyone on this board owns them. The OP was asking for opinions regarding the IS350 for his particular situation, which involves driving 40k miles a year and pretty much beating the hell out of a car, leaving it worthless in 4 years. THAT is the scenario that was being discussed.

Now if we're all so blindly brand loyal that we're just going to buy a Lexus no matter what the situation is, then great - but I was trying to offer a reasonable opinion.

As for finances being a "stupid" discussion on a Lexus board - I don't think anyone got their car for free. This is a major purchase, and one that deserves some financial intelligence.

IS-SV

A lot of garbage lately on this thread lately, I hope the OP finds something useful.

shui3000

boom

+1!!!

highstakes

Well said!

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Except, he wasn't.

He said he'd drive 40k a year.

At no point did he ever suggest he'd "beat the hell" out of the car.

It's a lot more likely, given the amount of miles, he'd mostly just be on the highway a whole lot. Which is the least harmful driving as far as the car being reliable is concerned.

Further, as the OP noted, the actual depreciation between 100k and 200k miles is pretty small, in dollar value.

But just to give ya some numbers. A 2006 IS350 with say 80,000 miles, say base with nav, has an average NADA trade in value of $19,575

Same car with 200,000 miles? $16,075.

Pretty small difference, huh? And hardly "worthless"

If I were spending that much time in my car I'd sure as hell want to be riding inside a nice car, not a base model civic.

IS-SV

Agreed, considering the comfort, performance, safety, convenience, luxury differences just get magnified to the megamile driver.

omelet1978

HEY, GUESS WHAT... I'M THE ORIGINAL POSTER!!!

Below is one that I am seriously considering. I'm looking for a good all around vehicle, so the fact that this was a 40k car 3 years ago and now a 26K car is very tempting.

Any thoughts on this one. As in stuff it might be missing that I might want. I really like the color combo.

http://www.luxurymotors.com/inv/sear...ype=&keywords=

350PsDMeuP

iTrader: (1)

EPIC. i totally agree.

350PsDMeuP

iTrader: (1)

ok ok here you go from a person that put 90k in a year on IS250 and then opted for the IS350 and now I'm 95k in two years.

Before the bashing begins, I was driving roughly from work to grad school which is a hell of a commute across Houston. I didn't want a crappy car and an unreliable vehicle, so that's why I chose to drive my Lexi.

With that being said I didn't drive my car into the ground and I did this on Iforged 20's. with that being said of course you'll be at the dealer getting maintenance every month, but that's just maintenance not some of the major problems you MIGHT get if you went with another vehicle, which could equal your yearly monthly cost.

I say if you're going to be in traffic and you want to enjoy life, get what makes you happy. Don't go with something else, the IS350 IN MY OPINION is a performance vehicle that was meant to be driven and driven hard, so why the hell not.

It is true that your car will depreciate like crap so forget about trading it in, youll be stuck with it. Not that that's a bad idea, because its a lexus, and itll look the same as everyone elses on here, except the odometer will read a little different. that's it

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I'm rather a fan of that color combo too

Anyway option-wise it looks like Luxury package w/18s, Nav without ML, and Park Assist...

So really the only options it's missing are:

Headlight washers
Mark Levinson (moderately rare)
Pre-collison system (the rarest option AFAIK)


Headlight washers who really cares...

Personally I'd want an ML car if spending that much time in it... (I spend a lot less in mine than 40k/yr and I special ordered ML) but in a used car you can't be quite as picky... and if you're not a big music-o-phile, well, the stock stereo still sounds pretty good for a stock system.

PCS might be nice if you spend a ton of time on highway driving (it's basically radar cruise control with a few safety bits connected to it) but as I say it's an extremely rare option.

So among what you're likely to find options-wise in a used IS that car is a pretty good choice



Oh- It's missing XM too (at least as far as the description, it might still have it)... this is a big deal for a high-mile-driving car, especially if you travel much in places with poor broadcast radio choices, but it's very easy to install yourself with the OEM parts from Sewell for around $300. Installs entirely in the trunk, totally plug and play, so not a big deal if the car doesn't have it.

15951

C'mon, Kurtz. I think you know that putting that kind of annual mileage on a vehicle isn't generally considered a good thing - that's all I meant. How about "significantly depreciated, perhaps putting the OP in a situation that leaves them upside down on a loan, or at least having lost a significant amount of money on the vehicle"?

And as for your NADA values - best of luck getting that on private sale, much less on a trade. Would YOU pay that much for an IS with 200,000 miles? I think we'd all be laughing at the idiot that did. Re: trade in value, I checked trade in on my 2006 IS350 in 2009 with 12k miles (loaded), and was offered in the 23k range. Something tells me the value would drop more than $6k if I brought it in that day with another 188k miles or so.

(FINAL EDIT: I checked KBB for trade in for a 2006 w/Premium Package w/200k miles -- Excellent cond. = $11,650. Good = $10,500)

Omelet - this became a philosophical discussion about car buying in general, rather than about your situation. Sorry if I hijacked your thread, and good luck!

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

KBB is what folks who don't know much better use. NADA is what dealers and banks use.

And I quoted the trade value- private party sale values are higher than that.



Put it this way, I know cars pretty well... I'd sooner buy a car with 200,000 highway miles (a lexus anyway) than I would one with 100,000 all-city miles.


You're simply greatly exaggerating the actual depreciation difference... most depreciation happens during the warranty period, both of which are over by 80k miles, let alone 100 or 200k.

But even if the difference were twice what NADA claims it was, he's still only losing roughly an extra 6k over 200,000 miles vs. 80k. And getting to enjoy a vastly nicer ride, features, and interior for a whole whole whole lot of miles.

15951

Car dealers must be very generous where you're from. They use Black Book values in the southeast, and that book contains values significantly below KBB, much less NADA.

I would expect that there's not much data out there right now for trade in values on a 2006+ IS with 200,000 miles, because not many exist. Maybe that's skewing the values.

I hope that the car maintains its value that well, but I highly doubt it with that many miles. 200k is generally considered near the end of a car's life in most circles.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

I routinely see mid-90s GS and SC models selling around here with 200k miles on em... Lexus holds value extremely well, and high miles hurt less than you think. Doubly so if you can show they're highway miles (which 200k in 5 years would just about have to be)

A ford focus with 200k is probably worthless...a Lexus not so much.

(I'm in the Southeast too BTW, last time I went to buy a used car the bank guy literally went to NADA.com to determine the used vehicle value for the loan)