bcwttw Posted August 24, 2005 Posted August 24, 2005 My eccentric 75 year old mom leases an LS every three years and then returns them at the end of the lease. I decided to buy her lease out last week on her behalf for $29,000. Now I have a 2002 LS 430 with only 8,000 miles on it. I have no clue if I should keep it, I've driven it once and I'm picking the car up from her nexxt week. I'd appreciate some comments. Should I trade it in for a new Avalon of newer ES model? How reliable should this car be? Thanks
Dust Posted August 24, 2005 Posted August 24, 2005 http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=23407 ^Hope that helps. Althought I have never drove an LS 430, but they are magnificant cars because everyone that I know was satisfied with its luxury, performance and comfort If you dont mind me asking, How much would a montly lease for a car like that cost? Good Luck.
PK_Lex Posted August 24, 2005 Posted August 24, 2005 I would say keep it. 8000 miles on an LS is nothing....it's almost like a brand new car. Why sell it and pay more for Avalon which is a step lower than what you have?
bartkat Posted August 24, 2005 Posted August 24, 2005 Typical pricing from Edmunds.com Wholesale = $34,676 Private sale = $37,082 Dealer retail = $41,448 With that low mileage, and the LS being a great car, personally I'd keep it and drive it for a long time. ( Or sell it to me for $37,000 :D :D )
bcwttw Posted August 24, 2005 Author Posted August 24, 2005 My eccentric 75 year old mom leases an LS every three years and then returns them at the end of the lease. I decided to buy her lease out last week on her behalf for $29,000. Now I have a 2002 LS 430 with only 8,000 miles on it. I have no clue if I should keep it, I've driven it once and I'm picking the car up from her nexxt week. I'd appreciate some comments. Should I trade it in for a new Avalon of newer ES model? How reliable should this car be? Thanks ←
bcwttw Posted August 24, 2005 Author Posted August 24, 2005 He lease was $850 per month for 36 months. Cap cost was 56K. That's many dollars per mile, but she could care less
akewlguy Posted August 24, 2005 Posted August 24, 2005 Hell yeah man keep it. If KBB states those prices you have a great deal.
nc211 Posted August 24, 2005 Posted August 24, 2005 Dude, you must keep this car...it will blow the doors off that avalon in every aspect...every aspect...hands down. Just drive it for a few days and then see if you really want to get rid of it for the avalon. You'll ask yourself "why was I even thinking of that?"
SW03ES Posted August 25, 2005 Posted August 25, 2005 Trade it for an Avalon or new ES?!? Keep it! Its a steal at $29k with that mileage. Its an 8k mile LS430 you picked up super cheap and you know its entire history. No brainer there.
dcfish Posted August 25, 2005 Posted August 25, 2005 Trade it for an Avalon or new ES?!? Keep it! Its a steal at $29k with that mileage. Its an 8k mile LS430 you picked up super cheap and you know its entire history. No brainer there. ← Definetly keep the LS, No doubt about it.
akewlguy Posted August 25, 2005 Posted August 25, 2005 The new Avalon is nice, but LEXUS is a LEXUS! The king of the road! The 8k is awesome! Good luck
SW03ES Posted August 25, 2005 Posted August 25, 2005 The new Avalon is a nice Toyota, but its not as nice as any Lexus.
RFeldes Posted August 25, 2005 Posted August 25, 2005 That sure makes you want to lease a new one and then buy it out wholesale at the end. Great!!!! deal. I would not hesitate. Is there something about the car you don't like?
branshew Posted August 26, 2005 Posted August 26, 2005 That sure makes you want to lease a new one and then buy it out wholesale at the end. Great!!!! deal. I would not hesitate. Is there something about the car you don't like? ← Yes, but after making the lease payments for 36 months and putting the $$ down up front - that $29K isn't as good of a deal as it would be to swoop in with no investment in the car and steal it for $29K. bcwttw: At least drive the car for a thousand miles before you make any decision. After the 1000 miles go to the Toyota dealer and drive an Avalon. You will see that there is a HUGE difference between the two and I guarantee that you'll want to keep the LS.
SW03ES Posted August 26, 2005 Posted August 26, 2005 If you add it up though, spending the $850 for 36 months then buying it for 29k, as long as he didn't finance the 29k he bought the car, and got to make some payments on it, for very little interest. Pretty cool. Total payments: $30,600 Buyout price: $29,000 Total: $59,600 What was the original cost? $56k. Not a bad deal, and it certainly would have cost more financing it from the start.
jainla Posted August 27, 2005 Posted August 27, 2005 Wow. I must confess I am a little jealous.. Definitely drive it for a month or two but if you like it I vote keep it. You won't find anything that's half as nice for that price new, and 8,000 miles on these cars is barely broken in. You know the complete history of the car which is rare for pre-owned cars and the major stumbling block when looking for a pre-owned vehicle. Also the depreciation will be less than a new car (at least initially). If you decided to sell in a couple months you probably can walk away with a small profit, ultra low mileage cars like that are going for about $30-35k+ here in LA. I've driven about 10 different cars in the last 2 months (am shopping) and NOTHING is as nice as the LS 430, especially for anything near that price. It's almost unfair. It's not that sporty, but after almost losing my fillings driving an Acura TL on LA's crappy roads sporty gets old fast. Plus it's still fast (almost too fast), quiet, and reasonably fuel efficient for such a large speedy car. The turning radius is also amazing...smaller than a Mercedes C class. To find a car that's substantially nicer you're probably talking about an S 600/S55 Benz or a 760iL (or possibly a Bentley or a Rolls). None of which will be as reliable or easy to live with. In real world terms how much more you'll get for all that extra money is debatable (aside from huge insurance and fuel bills). Your wallet however would be much easier to manage owning one of those cars--it would be empty. Your mom have any more cars she's about to return? :D
margorp Posted August 27, 2005 Posted August 27, 2005 My eccentric 75 year old mom leases an LS every three years and then returns them at the end of the lease. I decided to buy her lease out last week on her behalf for $29,000. Now I have a 2002 LS 430 with only 8,000 miles on it. I have no clue if I should keep it, I've driven it once and I'm picking the car up from her nexxt week. I'd appreciate some comments. Should I trade it in for a new Avalon of newer ES model? How reliable should this car be? Thanks ←
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