nc211

Example: My old 2001 Nissan Maxima. Purchase price $29,500 back in Aug. 01'. I put $5,000 down, leased for 36 months @ $290 month. Residual purchase price at end of lease term was $14,500. Total up the payments, add the $5,000 plus the residual price, and it actually cost $440 more.

SWO3ES, you are correct in regards to not being incorporated making a difference. If you're a Sole Proprietor, then your business taxes are done on your personal returns, under schedule C. The two "you and your business" blend together in the regards of assets and depreciation. If you're incorporated, and most likely a Sub "S" corporation, then your taxes are split from your personal 1040's and the company files on 1120S returns, completely different. Assets are not blended, which in turn gives the personal owner of the S corp more legal protection if his / her company is sued. The plaintif has a much much more difficult time going after any assets outside of the business. This being said, if your personal vehicle is showing up anywhere on the company balance sheet w/o a paper trial "i.e...lease payments from the company to you", then you're in violation and co-mingling assets. This is A GREAT way to get audited and fined from the IRS. Sole proprietor shops are "all and everything" blended into one, and the IRS, legal world and investors/lenders sees it that way. Example: Sole Proprietor day care....kid slips, hurts himself. Parents are mad and decide to sue. Parents will be going after everything, including the primary home of the owner "unless you live in Texas or Florida, then home is protected." If day care center is Inc... then parents are suing just the Inc. and it's assets only. No link to personal assets, unless of course it can be proven the slip was no accident and done intentionally by individual "I threw little Johnny down the stairs".

Since it was a Florida car, it could have been a retired person's winter vacation car. That person might have been in a nursing home or somehting for a few years, never got down to their florida home, and never kept up with the registration. Person could have passed away and the car was sold as a part of their estate. Judging by the milage reported v. age of car, it seems to be that type of car. just my 2 cents worth.

Army, not to be a smart a** amigo, but with no credit, are you sure can get that loan rate? Have you been prequalified yet? I understand you motive, and an installment loan is a kick a** way to build it up. But as a lender myself, when I get someone with no credit, it reads almost the same as bad credit, and therefore makes the interest rate move up. FYI: Homer is hooking me up, we're getting it all set straight. Got the front parts today and wish I could change them out RIGHT NOW! I'm cutting it close with these bad control arms, got lots of bangin', clankin' and shimmyin' goin' on.

this is right up my alley, as I am a business loan officer for a credit union. Your credit union probably won't do the business loan because it's not an approved business lending outfit from NCUA. Most credit unions aren't. Only a few in the country actually offer business loan services to thier members. Now...lease or purchase...Purchase grants you a deprecation deduction right off the bat. This is a non-cash expense...aka...when doing a cash flow analysis for your business, that depreciation is added back to your income. Leasing does not offer you that ability, since you don't own the car. Payments will be lower with a lease, but as the others indicate, it can really be a wash when considering your mileage penalty at the end. AND, not to mention, if there are any "dings, scratches, etc..." the cost to either repair them yourself, or have the dealer charge you for them at the end of the lease. The only way your business can claim ANY expense for the car if you get it in your name is if you lease it back to the business. However, that can cause some "glitches" sometimes due to the car being titled and registered with the DMV in your name, not the business. I personally won't do lease situations for my members. Only purchases. I'm not really sure if the mileage deduction calculations are correct, I think it's a percentage of the mileage that can be deducted. But I'm not a cpa, just a loan officer. Here is my lease story. I leased a 2001 Maxima SE with 15k miles a year allocated for 3 years. My payment was $289, which fit my budget. During the summer of 2003 hurricane Irene hit us here in NC. A tree branch fell and hit the top back corner of my roof, right above the door. It put a nice sized baseball dent right on that corner. It was in the wrong spot, no dr. ding fixer could fix it because it was on the support beam for the roof line. They couldn't get behind it. When it came time to either sell it or turn it back in, that ding killed my resale. For me to fix it was $450+. For the dealer to hit me with the penalty was $875. I got lucky however, since the guy who came out to inspect the car, was a customer of mine and a friend. Since the dent did not break the paint, I just waxed it really well, parked it in the hot hot sun, and he missed it completely when he did his check out report. If the credit union won't do the business loan, with you as a co-borrower, then go to a bank. I say purchase. Just my 2 cents worth.

My only concern with buying a used SUV is the abuse it substained from the previous owner. Cars run on roads. SUV's run on everything, mud, gravel, all of it. I bought a 94' Jimmy SLT back in 97. It had 25,000 miles on it. Turned into the biggest pain in the tail because the guy who owned it before me, had a young son, and he drove it off road quite a bit. That wear and tear made that Jimmy not see the 60,000 mile mark with me. I'm not kidding, suspension, struts, brakes, leaf springs, bushings, mounts, seats....you name it. But again, it was a chevy after all. My opinion, used car or new suv. And of course you know what used car I recommend!! The LS 400!!! Just becareful with a used suv. You don't want a shiny, freshly waxed, new looking,,,,,,, mud buggy.

Army, I picked mine up last May w/ 84k on the clock for $14,200. I got it from a lexus dealership. I paid a little more than normal, but I got my money's worth when I hit them with the ecu replacement under their 3000k / 90 day warranty. Plus I had them do the 90k service as well, which saved thousands as well. NADA for a 98 with 60,000 miles, nak stereo and trac control is: Trade in = $17,825 Loan = $16,350 Retail = $21,150 ps, homer and i are having to negotiate a bit. he sent me the parts, but misunderstood what i needed. when he faxed me the invoice, he was charging me full retail. we're working on fixing everything. i sent him a fax with exactly what i want, and how much each part costs at the discount toyota parts place. said he'll get it all fixed.

I've got a 95 as well, does the exact same thing. I've had the ecu changed to fix that 40mph buckling, and it still lurches, so that didn't fix it. I am in the process of replacing my differential bushings as one is torn pretty bad. The differential when shifted into gear flexes quite a bit due to the torn bushing. Once I finally have it fixed "it's a pain in the tail to get the old ones out" I'll post up on what it did. I agree with monarch, it's something flexing too much in my opinion. I think it's either these bushing mounts, or the flex couplings between the drive shaft units, or both.

I just like that little green light on the lower left side of my instrument cluster that says PWR!!!!! Kick butt PWR.

Absolutely, with out a doubt. Is the seller savvy enough to know about Jim's services? If not, play the angle that it will cost at least $1,200 to fix it, since it's a dealer fix item.

Listen to lexls, he's absolutely correct, I did. It takes a while to get everything down loaded, as it's in pieces. It also takes a while to get it organized. I got it all, printed it all on the office printer "after hours of course :whistles: " and organized 4 large 3 ring binders with tabs like "steering, suspension, etc...." You get the whole enitire manual for $10 and a few hours.

This is the NADA values, specific to your geographic location and mileage. Trade-In Value: $7,725 Loan Value: $6,975 Retail Value: $9,650 Original MSRP: $49,900

And Ribbler, be nice to armyofone, he's that "guy who knows that guy". He's the one who hooked me up on the control arms for my 95, not to mention several other great pieces of advice. cheers to ya' bubba!

Oops, now I see the uppers were done. But what about the lowers, and the rear?

what about the rest of the control arm bushings? I only saw the rear carrier bushings mentioned. I think $8,500 is a bit high myself. I would say $7,000 - $7,500 personally. Especially if the rest of the bushings need to be replaced.

Oh no kidding? Hmmm, I did not know that, interesting. Learn something new every day. I drove my friends 99 and it didn't seem as bad as the new ones, but maybe it's the weight of the vehicle? Either way, get the LS man, you'll be so much happier. Or even the GS is an excellent choice too! I was on the fence between the two when I got my LS. I was looking at a 98 GS300, and it was sweeeeeeet! But, the price difference between the two, and the LS was sold from a lexus dealership with history, GS was on a country boy used car lot. LS had 84k miles, GS had 98k. LS was $14k w/ 90k service included. GS was $18k.

Hahaah, me neither! No more brand new cars for me. I'd rather give the money to a three legged hooker to kick me in the boys. It's LS400's for me for a very very long time. Spent so much time reading and learning about this car, I feel like I'm trained for them. I hear a squeek, I know what it is, where it is, how much it costs and how long it will take me to do it. These cars are just perfect, perfect perfect.

Not to mention the depreciation SMACK you'll take the second you register the avalon in your name. :chairshot: At least with the LS, you'll be buying the car and not all that depreciation you'll take on the new avalon. My $28,000 fully loaded 01 Maxima SE couldn't even pull in an offer three years and 44,000 miles later for a penny over $14,200. I just gave it back to the dealership at the end of the lease term. And it was in perfect condition! Not a flaw anywhere.

Personally, I would take the LS for one main reason "beyond the obvious"....no fly by wire throttle set up! For some reason, Toyota's today all seem to have this throttle set up that nobody seems to like. My dad just picked up a 04' Solaro convertible, loves the car. But he said the exact same thing one of our guys here in the office said about is 05 Camry. "I hate the throttle feel. It's got a split second delay, it's shift happy, and it's very hard to drive smoothly. It delays for a split second, then slams into gear and lurches the car forward." I agree. I've driven lexus loaners "RX and ES" recently and said the same thing. I know Toyota has been issuing new transmission software upgrades to try and fix this, but to no success. I think the new Avalon is a sexy machine, and this is a tough tough choice. But, drive the two and you'll see what I mean. I bet the Avalon is shift happy too, always hunting around for what gear to be in. As for gas milage. My 95 4.0 liter V8 with 98k on the clock gets 26.5 mpg on the highway. My older 01 Nissan Maxima 3.0 liter V6 got 25. Might have said more, but didn't get it. The lexus does much better in mpg than my maxima did. The V8 rarely needs to rev beyond 2,000 rpm. As were the Maxima was in the 2,500-3,200 rpm range for city driving. But, she could take a turn like a bat out of h*ll. And that was fun!

You'll also want new motor mounts (2), tranny mount (1). Maybe $140 bucks?? makes a big difference in smoothness of the car.

Ribbler, the reason why you see most used ls400's for sale in the 100k mile mark is because of one main thing you need to be cautious of, the suspension bushings in the control arms. Now, I'm not saying that is the only reason, but from what I've seen, and my 95 with 97k miles on it, I can say with confidence, you'll probably need to replace them soon. I usually see LS400's in that 80-100k milage range, or in the 200k mile range for sale. The ones you're looking at typically have this story behind them "previous owner loved the car. Started to feel a vibration that he / she couldn't fix via ailgnment or balancing. They take it to the dealer. Dealer says front control arm needs to be replaced. Owner says what do you mean? Dealer says uppers and / or lowers are worn out. Owner asks how much $ to fix? Dealer usually shocks them with like $1,600. Owner says it's not worth it, I'll trade it in on something else. Usually a new LS400." Guys like that get new cars and love them. Guys like us, get a perfect used car for an additional $1,600 in parts. You can get great deals on these cars, put some money into the suspension, and it's like new again. Sure some have glitches with the instrument panel going dark "usually 90-94 models". Some have glitches with the computer "95 & 96". My advice to you is spend some time on this site, read the threads. Do searches for "bushings, steering, control arms, dash lights" and you'll get the general picture. If you go to the dealer to have it fixed, you're wasting your money big time. If you get active on this site, you'll meet great guys who know people who know people who can get you in the loop on prices. For example, my 95 needs new control arms all around. Dealer quote for parts ALONE was $3,200 +/-. Here, I got them all for $1,400. There aren't any glitches with these cars, they're the best car made in my opinion. They're great deals, they last forever and they become very addictive! I like the generation 2 styling myself "95-98". But Gen 1 guys would argue me into the ground. You become very loyal to these cars. When looking, check and do the following: Look at suspension control arms, see how dirty the bushings are. Drive it on smooth black top as well as highway. Hit some bumps and dips in the road at normal city speed! Listen for any "clunking". If you're in a 95 or 96, cruise up to 40 - 45 mph and gently take your foot of the gas, feel any stumbling? "ECU problem" Cruise the highway the come to a stop with the a/c off, does the idle fall drastically? Car stall? "ECU problem". Use the cruise control for this as well, it's related. Turn the wheel while moving at parking lot speed, hear any clicks up front in the steering? "Ball joint and / or tie rod issue, or simple rack mount" Other than that, it's basic used car inspection stuff. These are just some specific ways to test these cars main problems. Dealers can run any Lexus Vin for maintence history, even if done outside of dealership. These sound like a lot of problems, but trust me, in comparision to all other luxury autos out there with that milage, it's NOTHING. You'll love a LS400, no matter what year you get. Proper maintance and you'll get 250k miles easily! And, might I add, comfortably and rattle free.

Johnson Lexus here in Raleigh offers the option of upgrading the leather steering wheels to the current wood wheel on ALL LS400 models, from 90 to current. Don't ask me how they do it, but they do, for $1,400+ too might I add. You can call them if you like. Look up the number on the official lexus website and drill down to the raleigh dealership.

I called and placed the order today! He's a nice guy! I got a great deal too, looking forward to getting all these new parts on the car. Actually looking forward to doing them myself as well. A sense of gratification on doing things yourself. All of this cost me about the same as if I was doing just one wheel at the dealership. I'm getting ALL wheels done, all control arms, all everything. Can't freakin' wait to drive her then! Gonna be a smooth machine. Army, thanks man, seriously appreciate the help!

Army...correction: your place is MUCH cheaper than mine!! Thank man!! Just on the control arm stuff, not the tie rods and rack mounts, it's $195.75 CHEAPER. Dude, can't thank you enough for that info. If this is the place you were talking about, and know the guy's name for me to contact and give you a "good guy award", just tell me his name. To All who read this: If you own a Lexus, and you're not active on this forum, you're making a very big mistake.

Could it be a throattle position sensor going bad maybe? Question: when you were on the highway, did you engage the cruise control? I know the TSB issued on this matter calls for the cruise control ECU to be replace as well. Along with the spark plugs. Don't why they needed to be included, but they are. I'm wondering if this highway cruise=stalling engine isn't related to a faulty code being sent from the cruise ecu to the main, like they can't talk to eachother properly.