Howiiieee

The lease monthly payment are almost the same for 36 months or 60 months. However, I know this is a car that I want to keep for a long time (I once kept my 97 ES300 for 8+ years). Due to the big down payment I put down to reduce the monthlys, I don't want to go through the finances again in 3 years. I may buy it after the 5 years lease is up.

The good thing is, after 5 years, this probably will still be the "current" model. I have it for two days and I have already put in 300 miles on it, including a morning joy run in the mountain near home before I went to work. So far so great. I will write a review in another post soon that will be specific to this car.

jj14

True - but is the maintenance cost for the GS350 really that high? Given that you need oil changes approximately once a year (or 10k miles), your first 'big' expense maintenance at the dealership should be the 30k mile service, followed by the 60k mile service. I'm not sure if putting down $3000 upfront for this is really worth it (I don't know - just wondering).

Service schedule available at the following link
https://xws.xtime.com/xmmmenu/?varia...estimate=false


ok - maybe that is a benefit... personally, I'd rather hold on to the money in my hand, and pay it when it is actually needed, but everyone has their own preference

faifai83

Toyota OEM spark plugs are $10 each...

...I ordered all the necessary parts except oil and spark plugs until 60k for $180 when I picked up the car...

I have everything including the oil filter cartridge, oil drain plug gasket, engine air filter, cabin air filter and wiper inserts!

jj14

True - but a lot of folks don't do oil changes and other work themselves, and don't want to go to non-lexus dealerships. More expensive, yes, but everyone is entitled to their choice

Still - even with the dealership expense, I'm not sure if it is worth 3k (I don't know because I haven't had any service done on my GS yet - but on my previous Lexus, my scheduled maintenance certainly didn't cost 3k within 60k miles)

DrChill

First, let me say that I base my comments below having purchased or leased approximately 50 vehicles and have numerous new and used car dealers who are friends. I am very savvy on all aspects of these transactions.

Leasing is a better solution under a few conditions:

1) Factory subsidized leasing programs where the manufacturer kicks in $ to make it a sound deal

2) If the car is leased to a business and paid with pretax dollars (30+% discounted dollars)

3) If you insist on a new car every 2-3 years and cannot afford the extra $ to finance the whole purchase price (although this will usually cost more money in the long run, in effect you are able to drive a nicer car than you really afford)

In virtually every other situation, leasing will cost more over the time of ownership. Leasing for 5 years is NEVER a good idea because in most cases you are locked into that car with questionable ability to get out without it costing you. If you are lucky, the car will never be upside down in the value it holds in resale or trade which would allow you to get out of a lease early like I have done on my last two leased vehicles.

The problem is the new car dealer usually hooks you up on a hot new vehicle like the 4GS and offers what appears to be a great residual but makes up for it by pumping up the MF or interest rate on the loan. You are therefore beholden to Lexus to return at or near lease-end to turn it in and are offered a new Lexus at similar rate to get out a few months early. It is a great business practice for them and is similar to what Mercedes Benz has done forever.

If you buy and hold a car for more than 4 or 5 years, adding up the cost of financing over that time vs leasing, purchasing always will cost less. I feel sorry for people that live in states that require payment of taxes on 100% of vehicle sale price rather than just on the monthly payment over the term of the lease. That requirement basically robs the majority benefit that a lease provides, with the exception of business write-off.

The lease Howiiieee showed is prototypical of what not to do. The idea of throwing the maintenance cost into the lease to predetermine your expenses is not a bad one, but owning the car past the warranty period leave that door open for significant expenses. Paying down the lease by paying $7000 up front, really removes a lot of the lease benefit of "minimal out of pocket". I highly recommend avoiding the scenario of the long term lease with high down payment. If you add up the purchase price, tax, maintenance agreeement and figure a 3% 60 month auto loan which is very available today, after $7000 down with the rebates used and taxation on the full amount, you will get a monthly payment of around $1000-1050. Total of payments including $7000 down is $68-69000. After five years, nothing is owed and the car has a theoretical value of $23,000. Cost of ownership $45,000. With the lease he stated, the total of payments is $53000 (775 x 60 +7000) and you walk away or buy the car for an additional $23,000. Sorry Howiiieee.

GX4704ME

Great post Doc! How negotiable is the MF?

faifai83

Easily! How many dealerships are you currently working with?

DrChill

MF are negotiable to a point and like all financing, the lowest rates require the best credit scores on the buyer's part. The manufacturer's financial arm sometimes does not have the best MF/residuals available. It pays to check out other banks like US Bank and others. Your dealer should not care where the lease originates because they are selling the car for whatever you negotiate the sales price to be. Sites like leasecompare.com are helpful as a reference, but frequently when a new model comes out, there aren't any other leasing options available other than from the manufacturer.

If two leases with similar terms and payments have different MF's and residuals, the lower residual will make the car more attractive at lease end.

GX4704ME

None but I am trying to learn something so when the time comes, I have an upper hand.

DJGS

I'm a sales manager for Toyota and we also own Lexus. I was only able to get gs f sport awd for $1000 over.

jkeifer3

On March 31 I took custody of a '13 GS-350 AWD luxury in Riviera Red over black and got $2k off sticker and approximately $8k more than I expected on my '08 IS-F trade. I'm happy with that.

zoombie99

What dealer in VA?

Axxlrod

Jeez, Howiee!

Between the $3K maintenance contract and the $7K extra down payment, you got hosed for $10K!!!! And for a 5 year lease??????? Why?

You could have put all that $$$ down on a loan and your loan payment wouldn't have been much more than your lease payment. And you would have owned the car outright at the end.

Oh well. It's only money. Enjoy your car.

patricksr5

If you like a new car every 3 years, you don't drive more than 12000/year (10,000 even better) AND you get a good lease deal as defined by good residual and interest rate; leasing is cheaper every time. However, if you hold on to a car for 5-6 years (6-8 even better) or put a lot of miles on your car then buying is the way to go. I still think leasing is the way to go in that a car is a depreciating asset so it is better to just rent it rather than purchase it. Also there is the time value of the money you put down to buy it.

Howiiieee

I have used the car loan / lease calculators many times. On a $60K + tax car, even with $10K down, I still need to pay around $1000 a month. The lease reduced the payment to around $710. I know it is a bad deal and I will pay more over the long term. However, I want a really nice car that I can barely afford and this is a way to do it. I consider this as a way to do a 8 years loan.

$60K is as expensive a car I ever bought. The last expensive car I bought was 1998 ES300 at $43K. I enjoyed that car for 8+ years and I think I will enjoy this one for just as long. No regrets as long I am hitting those corners with the ML audio blasting. Who say life is good only for the rich?