JPritch

What's up everyone?

I have a question for those of you who are or were once in my shoes. I just graduated from school and will start a new job in August with a beginning salary of $46,000.

I am interested in a three year lease on a '01 GS 300 with the DVD/ML option. My "calculations" say I can afford the car, but I know from past experience that it rarely works out that way.

Is there anyone out there making about the same salary that can provide some feedback on the "burden" of making payments on a new Lex? The only other major payments I will be making are for rent/living/food figured at around $1,000 a month. No kids, other cars etc...

Think I can do it and still live easy?

Thanks to all those who help...Hope to join your ranks soon!

BananaGS

I know you can affort the car, you can afford thing the up to 3 times your salary, but my rule of thumb is: always have backup of everyting when it come to money, dont' spend what you don't have...hee hee

here are the thing I think you should consider
first,
do you have any other loan? ie student loan?
if so, pay them off first, that is what I did
anything else?

second:
how secure is your job? with today ecconomy, i may also ask, how secure is your company or so. :eek:

third:
got any saving yet? for rainy day...you know what i mean by that.

from your salary, assuming you are single, then you are paying around 25% on tax, insurrance and other thing, you probaly take home around 60% of that salary

now you decide

disc108

Yes, you can afford it. Just be sure to have savings to fall back on. I would also recommend getting a base GS4 instead of a fully-loaded GS3. The GS4 is A LOT faster and anemities like nav and sound system you can upgrade yourself. IMO, Lexus rips you off w/their ML system. I'll admit that the touchscreen nav kicks ***, but IMO, it wont make up for the 75hp, esp. after you get the alpine IVA and nav.

GS4Will

BA pretty much nailed on the spot, and i will approach this from another angle.

take a pencil and paper, and add up all the bills you need to pay/month. any debt, bill, anything that requires writing checks and using stamps to mail them. plus do not forget the IRA contribution deduction. also look at your bank statement, how much cash, on average, do you withdraw/ month.

take you monthly income, less all the money from above that goes out, and see how much you wuld have left for a luxury gs. actually, to a certain extent, if one cannot afford to BUY the car, one should forgo the idea of leasing it. if i were you, i would do either of the followings:

1.get a nice pre-owned gs300.

2. if you think th numbers would work, get the premuim gs300 only.

let me know if you want to know some good numbers on buying/leasing the car.

will

TOPSPEED

I would wait for a little longer before I make a car purchase when starting a new job. $46000 minus the tax and your 401k leaves you not much left. I would consider a used Gs300 or Gs 400. You still drive a nice car but for a lot less.

Silver300gs

I would consider getting a used gs400. You could probably find a nice 98' gs400 for fairly cheap considering most of them came off a three year lease. When I used to make your salary, I bought a new M3 for $43k, at the time, I was fine but then a year later, I got married, then another year later, we had a baby. So you can see how fast the money disappears.

Silverg300gs

JPritch

Thanks to those who replied. I guess it's a good sign that everyone gave the go ahead!

I posted this thread b/c I wanted to go and get my GS next week...so I could cruise in my new LEX while it was still summer. It's hard, but after thinking about it, it would probably be safer for me to wait until I actually start working and living on my own for a month or two in order to determine what my actual expenses will be. Bummer that summer will be over by then. But I guess it's better to play it safe just in case I was to get in over my head.

Who knows, I might find out I can afford a GS430!

Thanks.

GS4WILL: tell me about the figures you mentioned on buying/leasing the GS3. I would appreciate it.

GS4Will

JP,

you are totally on the right track in life, especially when it comes to financial matter. kind of remind me my first gs(93 used, 15k miles, $30k), had tons of fun w/that car.

i will post some numbers for you later today, check you PM box tonight/ tomorrow.

will

davezaristo

Let's just say I am making almost double your amount, with NO rent, NO food, No car bills (my dad pays for insurance and registration) to pay and I still think that I can't really afford my 01 GS3 w/premium package (although I paid cash for it). If I was you, I will definitely save up for another yr or 2 and try to get a used one then and pay it all off. Like the other guys are saying, you should save up for rainy days these days since those dark clouds are still above our heads. Just my 2 cents...

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

gs4will and davezaristo... interesting difference of opinions! dave - I TOTALLY agree with you.

JPitch - while you might be able to swing the payments after rent, bills, food, etc., you will be sacrificing your financial future. I know it's really hard for people just starting out to think about saving, but if you can hold back spending so much, life will be MUCH easier later in life. I'm 'old' by your standards now (40), but it doesn't seem like a long time to me since I was your age... and if I hadn't saved and spent within my means early on, I'd be nowhere near where I'm at now financially.

My advice: Buy a used car, or if you must get a new one, don't get a GS300, which is very expensive and in stock form is not that exciting (sorry everyone else). You might even consider buying a used ES300 if you like Lexus. It will still be a great car for you and if you have extra money, modify it!

Good luck.

biggie27

if I were you I would look into a used GS400 or if preformance isnt an issue and your just doing this for looks and comfort then get a used GS300

Ive seen a used 99 GS400 fully loaded going for sale at 35k with 9k miles on it so just check out the used sections if you are not sure that a new one will do

analogue

I'm going to be the one naysayer in all this. My opinion is hell no!! You cannot afford it, period! If I was in your shoes, I would consider the following:

1. There aint much left to $46k after taxes (~30-35k or so)
2. Can you honestly say a year and a half of you working full time justifies the satisfaction you'll get from owning a Lexus?
3. Got 10K stashed away for any possible emergencies?
4. Can you handle the maintenance costs? i.e. 17"s at $800-$1000 every 15-20K miles
5. If the car doesn't fit your income or lifestyle, then you won't enjoy it as such.
6. All good things come to those who wait. And how sweet it is when that time comes. Patience truly is a virtue.

But thats just me

davezaristo

For me, I am totally against leasing because you are renting a car NOT owning one!!! The only time I would consider leasing is if I was a multi-millionaire and I MUST drive a brand new car every 3 yrs and I EXPECT to make a stream of payments for the rest of my life on a car. Yes, for some people, leasing is a good option if you want to drive a more expensive car (that you can't really afford, for some ppl) with the least amount of money out of your pocket. BUT, remember, leasing=long term renting...if you lose your job or something else happens, you have NO equity on it and you are toast..Seeing your pretty lexo getting towed and reprocessed is not exactly a beautiful scene..I rather start off with something less expensive and then move my way up....Again, just my perspective...

Manaray

With 46K a year, you can easily do a GS300 lease especially if you don't have a lavish lifestyle and you don't eat out for every meal...but I don't like Leases...Leases are designed to MAXIMIZE profit for the dealership...trust me....

OF COURSE, there are some cases where a lease can work out...as in Genearch's case...but the way I see it, if you "rent-to-own", at least at the end of the payments, you actually have something. Granted, it's not worth anywhere near what you paid for it, but what happens if you loose your job at the end of the payments? At least you still have a car...not the case in a lease...and at the end of the lease, you have not a damn thing.

But if I were you, I would wait and see how the job goes first. If you get canned or your leave, guess what, you still have to make the car payments...they won't just "take it back" w/o screwing up your credit (trust me, don't do this).

If you already have a good working car, I would just drive that for another year and half and then buy the NEW GS that's coming out. That way, you can save up some cash and put it away, make some interests...and if the new GS doesn't do it for you, you should have enough cash saved up to outright buy a used GS300...

Benny

I was in the same boat few months ago. Go for the used 400, get it loaded. Once you have driven the 300 and 400 you'll know why you are getting the gs4.

1. you'll save probably 5-10K going used.
2. once you drive your new gs3 at $46k off the lot it is worth $39k
3. shop around and find the right used one, don't make it an impulse buy, find your color, mileage range, and options.
4. they are all over the country.