Are You Getting A New Car For 2013?

[Steve]

So, who’s having a car change in 2013? What car are you thinking of getting? Or are you happy with your car and if you are, tell us what makes you happy about it

[LexBob2]

So, who’s having a car change in 2013? What car are you thinking of getting? Or are you happy with your car and if you are, tell us what makes you happy about it

Kind of. In late-November we traded in our 2010 ES350 (with 25k miles) on a new Audi Q5. An early Christmas present, although my wife is still wondering why we did it. :) We like the Audi a lot, but just didn't really need a new car.

[SW03ES]

I gave myself an early Christmas present too!

[pj8708]

I was being held at "GITMO" - Cuba, where they tried to break me over and and over again. Finally, I couldn't take any more of the water boarding so I signed the purchase order. But I wil say as a gesture of international good will, they swapped out the Bridgestone tires for new Michelin Primacy's at no cost, and a car with leather not the Nu-Lux covering.

(Truth? I was in an accident with my 2010 ES and it was totaled. Darn shame too because that great car had less than 12,000 miles on it.)

Happy New Year to all of you here in the Lexus Owners Club.

[nc211]

I jumped the gun early this year for my christmas present (August), with the new GTI. I'm hooked on the balance of the 2.0t engine to the DSG transmission in these cars. The VW does everything I could ever want from a car. Haul bulky items, or 4 adults, gets 34mpg's on the highway, automatic when needed, manual when wanted, easy going on Sundays, and light your tail feathers fast and fun on the monday commutes. When purchased fully loaded, there is just enough luxury appointments to push them out of the "econobox" segment and into the middle/upper altitudes of the german cars. I like these little pocket rocket cars that actually have a useful purpose in everyday life. Cruises very nicely too, although nowhere near a Lexus (or any other main badge asian build car) for that matter, even at $30k. Neighbor just replaced his 2010 IS with a brand new BMW 328xi last week. Nice car! Love that smell of a BMW. But those run-flat tires are just deal killers for me. Turns out when he went to trade the IS, the dealer pulled the carfax, and it had been in two serious accidents in Florida prior to his purchase, as a CPO Lexus from a local dealer. He blew his top, took it to the dealership where he had bought it, and they bought it back from him on the spot.

The wife will probably be getting a new car in March to replace our Volvo, which has been a real dissappointment for us in terms of quality. Will most likely be back to the Toyota SUV family for her. Thinking a Highlander Limited might be the pick.

[SW03ES]

Let me guess, he bought the IS originally from Pohanka Lexus in Cantilly?

My problem with the Highlander is that its so cheap inside, like all Toyotas nowadays. Reliable, but devoid of any quality or style...

[LEXIRX330]

Let me guess, he bought the IS originally from Pohanka Lexus in Cantilly?

My problem with the Highlander is that its so cheap inside, like all Toyotas nowadays. Reliable, but devoid of any quality or style...

I don't know SW my sister has a new highlander limited. And it is nice- super nice.

I also got my new ride early too. 12 Range Rover Sport Supercharged. Love it...still love my Lexus too!

[SW03ES]

My problem is the materials inside, the headliner is cheap, plastics are hard and cheap, carpet is thin and cheap. Just such a contrast from how a Toyota used to be. They get expensive pretty quick too..

[nc211]

Let me guess, he bought the IS originally from Pohanka Lexus in Cantilly?

My problem with the Highlander is that its so cheap inside, like all Toyotas nowadays. Reliable, but devoid of any quality or style...

Yep, you guessed it SW, Pohanka!

Yeah, the Highlander might be Camry based, but some of it certainly feels more Corolla than Camry to me too. The problem though is that we really like the split captain chair option for the rear seats. That really just leaves us with the Buick and Highlander. I like the Traverse myself over the Buick, but my wife doesn't like it. The Highlander is one of those cars that I think has to grow on you with actual use. We both aren't exactly blown away by its styling, but can't argue against all of its features that we like. The 7 seater when needed, tech toys if convenience, safety factor (albeit no Volvo), and bullet proof reliability. I really wasn't a fan of the 4Runner when we got it, but grew to love it after a couple of months. Too top heavy though for any real sense of safety control. Who knows. We're both on the fence with the Volvo. It is really hard to argue against the safety factor of it. It really is a solid tank that I have no doubt would be the deciding factor in a worst case scenario. I feel like I'm missing something here with it. Folks just seem to love their Volvo's, and rack up hundreds of thousands of miles on them.

[SW03ES]

Pohanka is the only time I have ever walked into a Lexus dealer and felt dirty when I left. Sleazy place!

Have you looked at the Pilot? Are you looking new or used?

[nc211]

For the longest time when I would hear their name on 103.5, I thought it was two names, like Paul Hanka. Thought "poor guy probably got beat up a lot in high school with that kind've last name".

We looked at the Pilot a few weeks ago. It's boxy style didn't really do much for us, and didn't particularly care for the dash layout. Although had the dealership actually been open (Sunday), I'd of probably bought one out of frustration with the Volvo. Our son literally handed me his power window switch as my wife and I were standing outside of the car looking at the Honda..... If she would just own up to the reality (which ain't that bad) that she is a suburban house wife with two small kids in tow, she would realize that a minivan answers all questions, and we'd have this thing wrapped up by sundown. But noooooo.... That beach babe still exists and the minivan isn't allowed on the property. So the next best thing is probably an SUV with minivan seating in the back, for 30% more in cost. Not sure if we'll go new or used at this point. Given what will ultimately happen to the car, spending the silver dime on brand new is hard for me to digest. My kids are hard on cars man! I had to take a flat head screwdriver the other day just to vacuum out certain parts of the Volvo. You don't want to know what the screwdriver was for....trust me..

My favorite pick though is still a Tahoe. But again, the Carolina country girl has somehow associated Chevy with every hayseed in a camouflage hat at Taledega and won't even look at one. I mean seriously, do you know how easy it is to get through DC in a black Tahoe? It's a piece of cake!

[nc211]

We went and looked at a few cars today. It's going to be between the Highlander and the Enclave. The Enclave is soooo nice and luxurious inside, especially the new ones. The Highlander is also quite nice, but not "Cadillac" kind've nice. While we weren't able to test drive them (dealerships were closed today), we actually found one of each that were unlocked! Two things will probably dictate how this turns out. One, how they indeed drive. I have a feeling the Highlander will be easier to drive for my wife, with a "lighter on its feet" feel. The Enclave is cushy, but also a good bit bigger to handle. I have a feeling its probably more like this Volvo, with a lumbersome and rubbery feel to it. One of the drawbacks that they say when conspiring the two is the amount of cargo space behind the third row. Enclave has a lot, Higlander does not. That being said, I have a feeling the Enclave is going to be more "minivan" in feel than the Highlander, which is a no-no for the wife. Only have two kids, and rarely need the rear seats. When we do use the rear seats, its not in situations where cargo is needed, just people. However, the Enclave is just so nice inside, really world class now in terms of materials and comfort. I have no doubt which one would be best for the family cruises back to NC, in terms of comfort. But I also think, in the comfort category, both would be just fine for us. The Highlander wasn't exactly "slumin'" it either. The second factor will be revealed in about 10 weeks. Bonus season! Considering I produced over half of this years production for the office on my own, and this office had its best year ever, I believe I made a good showing for my first year with this team, and am expecting a nice reward for my efforts. Not sure what that will be exactly, but the figures I've been told are, well, to be honest, right about what I was making annually back in Chicago. So, we'll see. 2011 goal was to get out of Chicago. 2012 was to get in to DC. 2013 will be to replenish the bucket used to get in to DC, fund up some future obligations, and start to get settled in with the house. What's left, will be what avenue we take between the two cars, assuming the test drive still leaves this as an open question between the two.

I can tell you this though, after making another run to NC for New Years in the Volvo, this car has got to go! I haven't got this angry with a car since wasting all that time chasing the "wobble incident" of my former LS400. For those of you who've been on here long enough to remember....we don't want NC211 to go down that path again... I hate this friggin' Volvo! It really irritates me for one simple reason - it has the potential to be fantastic, and it teases me with it. For about 20 minutes on each drive, it's perfect. It's not pulling to the left or right, the brakes are squealing, the irritating humming noise of the V8 somehow goes away, and my lower back stops aching because I can't seem to get the stupid manually adjusted lumbar knob to work just right, and its perfect. Just as I'm cruising down the road, the 300 HP right under my toe and thinking "maybe this isn't so bad", the pavement changes and I'm back to fighting the slight pull of the wheel, tap the brakes to slow down for traffic and hear the fronts screaming, sit up to adjust the lumbar again and can feel my shirt sticking to the paint the dealership used to try and fix the crappy leather with...and then realize "nope, this damn thing sucks". Opening the center arm rest is like opening up a 200 year old wooden door. Put more than 4lbs of pressure on any of its interior trim pieces on the doors or center consol, and you're greeted with that annoying hard plastic on hard plastic crunching noise. I really fail to see how this car has stayed in the market for this long. It has to be the safety thing of having a boron steel frame/cage that sells these SUV's, because in my opinion, everything else about them is just tired and quite frankly, feeling pretty cheap to me. Safety is what got me to buy it, but probably failed to realize that all cars have made great strides in safety. Oh yeah, forget the second tire valve stem now going bad too. Having to put air in the tire every day to keep the warning light off until I can get the time to have it fixed ($50). That is, when I notice the warning light beyond the "required maintenance needed" light being kn for the past 6 months which not even the Volvo dealer can seem to figure out how to turn it off for more than 3 weeks. It's the "change your oil" reminder message. Just irritating beyond belief!

[LEXIRX330]

Myself I would take the Highlander. My sister's is nice. Has a lot of things my GX has. The only thing I hate about it is the front head lights. They stick out and it is just kind of weird. But other than that it is a sweet looking SUV.

[LEX-SV]

No plans for new car in 2013 at this point, still finding my F-sported IS350 to be fun.

(Last year I did buy a model year 2013 Mazda CX-5)

[SW03ES]

If you're going to keep it for a while, I'd also buy the Highlander probably. I'm still not 100% sold on the domestic carmaker's reliability.

Take our Jeep, great materials, great ride and drive, but the little electrical gremlins are a problem. Phantom right rear taillight out, cruise control that only works sometimes, rear window button that is inoperative. Have to take it to the dealer next week for a whole laundry list of little things...

Not used to that with Toyotas.

On another note, glad to hear things are going so well...that big bonus check...lets have lunch again and talk about investment property ;)

[SW03ES]

I remember that brake that was dragging on the 4Runner when you guys were here looking at houses LOL

Lets set that lunch up!

[LEX-SV]

I got my model year 2013 vehicle last year in March.

Athough my wife has her eye on the CLA, maybe that will come out later in 2013...

[SW03ES]

I was just looking at pictures of that CLA, that looks sharp!

[25gturbo]

heck no, im gonna run my car to the ground i love it.. very reliable