My sentiments exactly. So much so that I have ordered a new one and will be paying MSRP for it. The fewer people that own one the happier I get.

 

Actually, Supra MK4 never sold well. It sold OK for the first two years, but by mid-90s, sales plummeted hard and were barely selling. Toyota started slashing prices, but sales kept dropping and then was discontinued in 1998. It was not until 'Fast and the furious' came out and suddenly it acquired a cult status.

Having said that R35 is the slowest selling car in the US with an average of 200 days/car on the lot.

 

 

The gen-3 Mazda RX-7 also comes to mind. It was introduced in the US in '92 and because of slow sale Mazda stopped importing it in '95 although they kept selling it in Japan until 2002. This model is now very rare and commands quite a bit of dough. I made a quick check and found nothing selling for less than 20 grands. So if Lexus stops the RCF production after next year model, this car will probably be in the same boat in the future. Good thing I have another car for daily driving to save the miles on my RCF, but it takes a lot of discipline. The temptation is there every morning for me to jump in it, but I digress...

 

Agreed. It has been 3 weeks since I last drove it and it does really get difficult, but there is solace in the fact that it will pay dividends in years to come. I will slowly mod it and it will make the drive more rewarding. I own a unicorn especially in this color/package combo (at least, where I live) and it is never lost on me.

 

Always wanted a 3rd gen RX7, almost bought this one back in 1998 when it only had 2500 miles.



These days I'd prefer one with an LS swap...just not technically proficient enough to do it myself and way too much of a perfectionist to trust just anyone else to do it.

 

The RC doesn't sell well and the SUV trend isn't probably a stranger to that.
But not only.

I love the RC. I, sometimes, dream about it at night, it's that magnificent....

BUT....

...Lexus did everything they can to make this car as unappealing as possible. They didn't imported the RC350 from the start. This summer, they scrapped the 200t of my market, making the 4 cylinder RC300H the only version you can have outside of the RCF.
And there, the demise of this car is logical. This is a coupe, and more of a sporty coupe. And then, you only have hybrid and a CVT ? Come on !

Lexus would have sold much more with an engine suited to this task and this market. A 6 cylinder 3 liter, double turbo-ed engine, or even a 270TT would probably have worked. We don't need pychopath amount of power in Europe, but at least a bit would have had been nice. Kia, for example, managed to understand it and the Stinger sells. Lexus failed to deliver the car we expected, so the sales are down to miserable numbers.

In Switzerland it's absolutely true. Resale value is catastrophic. But I would add that most of the buyers nowadays have internet, and the Lexus logic to sell every car 10'000$ more in Switzerland is starting to crack down. I look at the portals and see RC's waiting since more than a year to beeing sold ; with, sometimes really laugh-triggering high prices. Now, slowly, I see the prices going down by 200$ steps. But nobody wants to make the great step that it requires to sell them. So they stay in front of the garages until one will make them the right price.

 

"Lexus would have sold much more with an engine suited to this task and this market. A 6 cylinder 3 liter, double turbo-ed engine, or even a 270TT would probably have worked. We don't need pychopath amount of power in Europe, but at least a bit would have had been nice. Kia, for example, managed to understand it and the Stinger sells. Lexus failed to deliver the car we expected, so the sales are down to miserable numbers."

Sorry. I have to disagree with this statement. Numbers aside- The NA V8 is exactly what makes this car (The RCF, not RC or RC350) as special as it is. Personally, I never in a million years would've purchased my RCF if it had a 6 cylinder engine. I'd be interested to know the average Age Bracket of RCF Owners. Any chance you can locate numbers on this Rolla?

 

I think the person you're quoting was specifically referring to the non-F versions since Lexus canned the 200t in his market he says. He has a point, while it's not apples to apples, I'd rather drive a Stinger GT than an RC350 and soon the G70 will join the picture.

You can't really help it, there needs to be this gap between the RC-F and the lower models. If the 350 was a 3.3tt and had performance like the GT then the V8 would've been criticized even worse in performance now not only relative to the M4, but the lower model RCs.

But again it's not necessary to compare, if you want to drive a top of the line KIA then you for sure nowadays can get power for cheap, and a $50k Lexus would be just that, a luxury coupe that isn't meant to be faster but has the fit and finish you'd expect. Simply put, no need to compare a top of the line non-luxury vs a base model luxury car.

 

resale value might have something to do with it as well. In canada a RCF track package retail price is $109k with tax. After 2 years you can pick one up for $55k-59k. Terrible resale value if you ask me. I was able to pick up a 2016 track package 2 months ago for $56k with 18000km.

 

That's a steal!!!

 

Well said!!!

 

Indeed, you have me spot on.

And I'm also agreeing with the post above. The V8 is what makes the RCF great and gives it his distinct personality and appeal. I couldn't imagine the car without that and it's what pushes me to him.

Whatever, in a RC broad range related discussion, I should say that V8's are impopular in Switzerland. There is nearly none of them on the streets, and if, those cars are generally bought and driven by wealthy car enthousiasts. This makes a very little niche community in regard to the market sales.

It's the reason why I have spoken about a 2.7L TT above, because I clearly can imagine that a more powerful turbo engine could partially make a shadow on the RCF, but not so much either because, as said, it would have difficulties to find it's buyers anyway.

 

Agree 100%

I drove an M4 and was not impressed in the least. I drove an RS5, and it was better, but the styling is (imo), a bit bland and I hated the transmission. As far as other cars "in class", I was most impressed by the ATS-V coupe that I drove, but it was modded and tuned so it had zero warranty (amazing multi-point adjustable Recaro's though, the only seats I liked more than the RCF's) and, well, its made by GM so reliability was questionable even in stock form. I also drove Corvettes and Mustangs, but while they were fun, they rattled and squeaked more than I care to deal with and quite frankly they're a dime a dozen (plus I've owned several already).

I feel like the RCF had the best interior overall, and while I enjoyed the ATS-V's manual gearbox, I felt the RCF had the better transmission compared to the autos in the M4 and RS5. While aesthetics are obviously a matter of personal preference, I feel the RCF was the best looking one of the bunch. As I watch more and more manufacturer's kill of naturally aspirated V8's, the engine in the RCF was the only one that really moved me (literally and figuratively).

People like to criticize the car for being heavy and not having enough torque, but I feel like the build and ride quality are superior to the competition and that's the price you pay. As far as resale value, these cars essentially all start in the same ballpark, and all suffer similar resale value woes...but I'm confident that the Lexus will outlast the others in long term reliability. And quite frankly, the current resale value is one of the reasons I could afford a used version of this car to begin with. Let the haters hate, the only opinion that matters to me (in regards to my car), is mine, and I am very satisfied with my decision.

 

I like the idea of keeping my car, at present at least.

Its 4 years old and have 20,000 miles, so it has a chance of being 'low milage' in a few years as I winterize it for about 6 months out of the year.

Otherwise, I don't know what kind of 'value' it will keep in the long term.

Does anyone have any examples of other modern cars that have retained value in the fuel injection era due to unusual combinations or being 'rare'?

It would seem by watching barrett jackson or mecum auctions that very few modern cards attain any sort of value worth keeping a car and most of those are rare porsches or other super cars. You don't see any low mileage BMW's from 30 years ago on there but maybe thats because they weren't that rare? Anyway, I don't hold out a lot of hope for my RCF going up in value.