spwolf

he is buying US spec and shipping it to germany (military)... it is a lot cheaper than buying any kind of car in germany... for that US price of GS, you can get Golf TDI (105hp) with A/C in Europe. Military perks :-).

Having an GS in Germany will be cool too... Hybrid would be perfect if price is not an big issue.

jre002

Actually, I didn't decide on which way I would buy the GS. There is a Lexus dealer right in Stuttgart. Or I could buy from the US and my job will ship it over here. The way I buy doesn't make a difference. The problem is if I buy the US model the NAVI won't work in Germany. If I buy the German model, the NAVI won't work in the US. Either way, I'd have to get rid of the car in 2 years or so. Maybe a short term lease is an option. Probably more expensive but the only option right now if I want the 4GS.

BTW, it's the value added tax which kills the price in Germany/Europe. Americans are exempt from the 18% VAT markup, so buying in Germany actually is cheaper than buying in the US. They just make you keep the car for at least 6 months after you buy it to prevent people from buying and flipping cars to make money.

spwolf

how can it be cheaper? Did you check GS pricing in germany? :-).

GS450h fully equipped, without MwSt, is 65k Euros, which is $86k :-).

Not only that but value drops drastically, so much better is to import it from US.... I did that with my GS350 AWD but I lived in the country that had no Euro homologation rules at that time.

Lexzam

Has been like this as long as I recall. Europe has been way more expensive.
In the EU Japanese cars are subject to 10% customs duty + VAT (in Germany the VAT is 19%). US military staff are exonerated from both I think.

Back to the issue of the navigation system not working in Europe...Lexus has been consistent trying to keep the markets separate. Price differentiation could be one reason.