Go argue with AutoWeek

 

Argue what with AutoWeek?? Where did it say LFA sales were a disappointment?? I have seen the video and know what the review and also Scott Pruett's impressions about the LFA. All it said was "sold-out is a relative term and as it turns out, still 60 allocations are available". I posted a recent video of a few weeks ago from the LA morning TV show where it said "only 20 left".

AutoWeek said nothing along the lines "LFAs sales are disappointed". That is something you concocted.

 

Again, go READ AutoWeek.

 

Between AutoWeek and the news cast numbers, 60 vs 20, I have a feeling that they are both correct. Perhaps 40 Units are sold to dealers for resell and 20 are available straight from Lexus USA. That would make 110 out of the 170 sold to actual owners. Would that take rate surprise you?

 

At this point I have no idea what to believe. They also say in the article that the reason for the extra allocation is because of weak worldwide sales yet some here are posting that they can't get the cars so something is really odd. All other exotics are reporting strong worldwide sales, weak US sales and that sounds more consistent with those who say they can't get cars, so who knows. Nothing has been as it seems from the start with Lexus and they keep changing their story so time will tell. If it's so few available, with the cost of advertising running as high as it is, it's practically like giving away a car with every two or three national TV ads. None of the other exotic brands ever run TV ads and Lamborghini runs very little in the way of print ads.

 

Talk to DaveLS600h (member on this board) and he will tell you how vocally upset he is because Lexus maxed out all of the allocated sales in his country and turned him down when he was perfectly willing to buy one.

Then, there was the "Chuck" leading actor Zachary Levi who went on radio to rant about Lexus turning him down for the LFA (good or bad, that is what happened).

I know for a FACT that Lexus Canada asked for more LFAs for the Canadian market since there was very strong demand for more than 10 LFAs in Canada, but Lexus refused. I mean, why wouldn't they ask for more? LFA went on sale in late March and by May the sales process was closed down and the LFA microsite removed.

There is also rumor here in Canada that Lexus Canada had to do a draw to select 10 people they would offer Lexus LFAs to since there were way more people willing to put the cash down.

Don't believe everything you read.

An example here for a market where LFA costs a ridiculous and over the top $875,000 AUD:

http://autoalliancegroup.com.au/anya...alia-news.html

 

Some countries are subject to 100%+ import tax, then when you do the currency conversion rate they are more than double what something costs in the US. China for example. Go take a look at what LSs go for in Australia, you will see it's over $200k, so that price is probably right. Google any Australian dealer.

On to your next point. Something isn't making sense. I have no reason to believe my own dealer is lying to me. They came to my garage, took pictures of my cars, came back and made a soft pitch on the LFA, said there was no lease, that it could be financed anyway I wanted, no commitment, nothing, other than I had to pay for the damn thing one way or another. He didn't give me an availability date for a car I'd pick because I was more interested in looking for a replacement for my LS, but made some comment that there was something available and coming soon if I didn't mind what was already ordered. This is in addition to the black car the dealer is getting.

Now, if my dealer isn't lying, then it sounds like there is absolutely nothing that stops someone from Canada or Japan from buying a car here in the US that AutoWeek claims is readily available and importing it themselves. It happens with every other car I know. The offer I got on my SV came from Canada. I know of SVs that have gone from here to Japan. I don't know if there are special restrictions on Japanese cars going from the US to Japan.

The LFA article in AutoWeek opens with them talking about the very reason for the article is to help get the remaining cars sold. To quote the tongue in cheek punchline in the paragraphs about cars still available, "("Acres and Acres of LFAs! Come on down! We're dealin'! Elephant Rides for the kids.")" Again, please read it and draw your own conclusions. I'm sorry it's not up on their site.

The article went on to say that the reason for writing it isn't because there is something new, but to get the word out that cars are still available.

As for some other kind of hurdle, such as US citizen, etc., if my dealer is telling the truth, and AutoWeek is telling the truth, then another option is to use a surrogate buyer, which is how a lot of car sales are managed. So no matter how you argue, something isn't adding up.

I'm merely the messenger on this one so again, don't argue with me, call AutoWeek and argue with them or the journalist who says 20 are still for sale.

 

So your dealer told you the remaining LFAs can be bought by anyone as long as they have the money?

If so, there is need to be so ambiguous with your answers. You could have been straightforward and said that in the first place.

Also by "your dealer" I assume you're not talking about a Lexus dealer, or are you?

 

Under US law, I don't believe they can restrict who buys the car as long as they can pay for it. They may have territory issues, but that can all be dealt with via a legal surrogate. It happens with some exotics. That's how some used car dealers end up with new cars. They have someone front for them in locations that are within other dealer territories that need to move cars.

Yes, I am talking about my local Lexus dealer. Again, they came by my house to drop off a new LS460L for me to drive. They then took pictures of my other cars in my garage. When they came back to pick up the LS, they soft pitched me on the LFA.

 

TommyJames, there is not about face regarding the LFA pitch to you now that we are getting clearer info.
First, you're an existing Lexus owner AND exotic collector. That is ranked pretty high on list of potential LFA buyers for Lexus.
Secondly, regarding the buy vs lease options, with the late build/delivery that would have to be for the last few unsold cars, I have a feeling that they do now have some flexibility in offerering the option to buy with no-strings-attached. My take on the whole lease idea was to make thing fair for all initial LFA buyers, and that includes preventing speculation activities by the early buyers, you may note that the lease duration is 2 years, and that is how long it would take to make and deliver all 500 cars according to plan.
Lastly, since you've twisted my intenet arms hard enough, I would admit that ownership issue did come up for me, and that my car will one of the last LFA's rolling off the assembly line...feel free to put 2 and 2 together

 

I've steered at least one canadian to look into buying an US LFA. The deal if now very attractive considering our currencies are at par.

 

I've never believed that the two payment lease was to protect buyers. I've always believed that it was to protect Lexus from competing against used cars with low miles, something that is a problem for most exotic manufacturers, as exotics tend to flip in a hurry, it doesn't matter how hot it is in the market. Reventons flipped three times in the first year and now Lamborghini has no idea who owns most of them and there were only 20. Enzos, the same thing, SVs, the same, and on and on. I think they thought they would have this list of buyers who'd then churn the used market while skipping new cars after the initial purchase. The problem is the market wasn't strong enough to even pull that off. BTW, is your agreement subject to a first rights clause?

I remain very skeptical that there are only 20 remaining or even only 60 remaining for two reasons. One, they are spending big dollars on advertising, something that is EXTREMELY difficult to justify with so few cars remaining if that's the case. The average TV prime time spot costs $120k, just for one ad, on average. I've seen them during major football games. That's even more expensive. So, how many ads have they run in the US market? Lots! Lamborghini or Ferrari never ever advertise on TV in the US market and they sell more exotics. They can't justify it either. If they had two years to sell only 20 or even 60 cars, why the worry? Why incur the expense?

Two, cars are already going to dealers and they were to be the last priority. Why in the world would you intentionally wait two years to get a car when the exotic market will look entirely different and the LFA, or any current production car for that matter, will be far less competitive?

 

I think everyone knows Lexus is losing money with every LFA. The main reason for selling or trying to sell it is to improve the image of the brand. Can you put a dollar value to that concept, I am sure Lexus marketing did the calculation and went ahead with the ads.

I like the LFA because it's made by Lexus. At least for now, there is no other plan for addional exotic from Lexus. Also, for now my plan is buy and hold, so it does not matter when I get the car. I believe if you purchased goods based on specs, then you'd be in this continous cycle of upgrading. I am glad that Lexus seems to deliver on the promise that the LFA's is a complete driving package, with intangibles that is hard to compare.

In spite of the soldout condition here, I have found that Lexus Canada is more than willing to help out with my requirement that would slightly alter the official lines from Corporate.

As you've said in an earlier post, if you're into fun/good cars you'll find reasons to like it, not the other way around.

 

TommyJames, in every thread you bring these points up but nobody can know the truth until we get more real world information.

You're special, we get it and if you are actually thinking of buying an LFA, that is great. Why don't you talk more about that instead of the crap nobody shows any interest in.

Nobody knows exactly how many LFA's have been sold, Lexus hasn't stated anything official so why do you keep hovering around the subject? If you think Lexus has so many strategic flaws, why not bring it up with your special Lexus connection? barking about it to the same LFA enthusiast crowd doesn't do anything.

 

This is the first I've heard of this. Which dealers have been allocated LFAs and already received them?