LexFather

If you read forums, this is sadly the story for many. THey bought what they thought was a smoking deal but the reasons why the deal was so hot start popping up left and right.

Here are RL sales, they are down almost 30% from last month.
1320 in October.
1941 in November.
1967 for December.
1,371 for January 05.

akbergq

I give Sick a lot of credit for these numbers being factual... reason?

He is right...I have only seen 2 RL'S on the road since October 2004 when they came out...LOL and we are in February of 2005 now...4 months now and onyl 2 RL's on the road....lolllllll thats pretty sad for a picture in HOUSTON, one of the largest cities in the country, dont you think?

Incendiary

You probably saw this in the same thread I did. I suspect the decline is in large part due to historically slow January sales for automobiles, but I do find them troubling (for Acura). When the public's attention shifts to the M and GS in the next couple months, I wouldn't be surprised to see RL sales hover slightly below 1,000/month.

Regardless, it'll be interesting to see what happens.

merlin70

ok, don't flame me, but does anyone think the GS300 is a bit steep when you compare to the new M35? I'm not a huge Infiniti fan but the M35 has 280 HP and starts at $39K, or you can even get the M35 sport model for $42k. That's still about $3k less than the new GS300 with mandatory premium package, and you are giving up 35 horsepower and .5 liters engine size to boot. It seems like the only Lexus advantage is the 6sp trans vs. 5 sp in the M.

Like I said I'm not a huge Infiniti fan but you have to give them credit for agressive pricing + performance. Hell, you can get the M45 starting at $45K I think? Over 330hp, that's pretty impressive at that price point in my book.

IMHO Lexus needed to have the GS300 start around $40k. There just isn't that much to blow you away about this car, especially when you start pushing $50 for a GS300!

LexFather

merlin, close your eyes and forget the HP for a minute. The Lexus has a new 6 speed auto, the M has a 5. The GS has strong resale, the M does not. Basically, the M shares tons of parts, thus the cheaper price. The GS is built in the worlds best auto plant alongside the LS 430.
The GS has the goods deserving of its price.

Well some cars saw an increase in sales, that is why I can't blame the weather/January. And AWD vehicles sell stronger in winter months b/c that is a huge selling point (snow, inclement weather). 20k is the RLs goal, 1500k x 12 months is 18k so they need to sell about 1700 a month avg. I think they can still hit it.

flipside909

Well if you did that, looking at the long term...you'll have 1) A fad car like the Nissan/Infiniti sales roller coaster, 2) resale value tends to drop when there are more of the same car out. The Camry unfortunately suffers that syndrome being the best selling passenger car in American for several years now.

For the "target demographic" of this car, the GS3 will appeal to most. There are alot of things that people see in the new 06 GS that people tend to forget like quality, prestige, value and longevity. This is something Lexus and Toyota in general has over any other car manufacturer, and explains why they have more repeat customers than any brand. Brand loyalty is key here.

merlin70

[QUOTE=1SICKLEX]merlin, close your eyes and forget the HP for a minute. The Lexus has a new 6 speed auto, the M has a 5. The GS has strong resale, the M does not. Basically, the M shares tons of parts, thus the cheaper price. The GS is built in the worlds best auto plant alongside the LS 430.
The GS has the goods deserving of its price.


No question the GS is a great car, well built and has a lot to be said for it. And HP is not everything, that's for sure. If it was I wouldn't be driving a GS300 now!

But as I think about getting a new car this year, it is just tough to justify another GS300 at $45-$46k+ As I mentioned, the M35 sport looks awfully tempting at the low $40's

And I don't think you can use the current M's resale to predict the new one. It is a different model, more in common with the G35 (which has good resale) than the current M45. The early reviews indicate good interior quality, too, although Lexus will probably win in this regard.

I haven't seen both cars in person so I can't make any judgements now. I'm just a little bummed that Lexus went up in price quite a bit when some of the competition seems to give you a little more for the same or less.

LexFather

[QUOTE=merlin70]
No doubt, the M35/45 is a great buy. Similar to how the 2nd gen GS stunned with pricing 8 years ago.

jrock65

It seems that a similary equipped GS300 is about $2500 to $3000 more than a M35. No doubt both cars will sell near MSRP at the beginning.

I'm sure that when you get a chance to test drive both cars, you'll have a clearer idea what you'll want. Either way, both seem like great cars.

I also agree with you that the M resale will be more like the G35, FX, and Altima, all of which have great, if not class-leading resale.

Incendiary

Audi sold 1209 A6's in January. This was an increase from last year. I found that pretty surprising...

BTW, I read that January allocations of the RL were down from previous months. I can't remember if February ones are as well, but March is back to normal.

knihc2008

iTrader: (1)

longo lexus, about when are you expecting your first shipments to come in?

AsianGirl007

iTrader: (1)

Feb 14th..same as everybody else! I can't wait......*drool*

akbergq

Elizabeth...i talked to my dealer yesterday..my sales rep told me that if i decide to lease the vehicle, i do NOT need to have full insurance coverage on the car, but i WILL need GAP coverage. After talkign to ppl who have lease vehicles right now, they told me theres no way that can be true as lease vehicles all have to have FULL insurance coverage.

So why did my sales rep tell me that? I asked him THREE times to be sure and his answer was the same..."you do NOT need to have full coverage..you can get minimum insurance coverage, but you MUST take GAP insurance". Is he telling me the truth or playing with words, with me?

AsianGirl007

iTrader: (1)

Most banks require the maximum insurance coverage. Lexus Financial Services requires medium coverage.
The problem is this: why would you want to have the cheapest coverage on $45k car? Get the maximum coverage, just in case. Doesn't matter if you lease OR buy. You never know what might happen.

And always always always get GAP insurance. Usually GAP is included with high-line car leases.

AsianGirl007

iTrader: (1)

Yes, both features are on the car. The control panel is located on the lower dash to the left of the steering wheel.