VitB6

Ok here is the specific situation that I am in.

My dad bought a new Corvette in June of '05 and needs a winter car. My '04 A4 is leased of which I changed jobs and am driving way too many miles now. So I am going to give my car to my dad and have him take over the payments and now I can look at a new car. It is between the IS 250 and the '06 325i.

The word that I got was that 6 sp MT IS 250's are only going to be 1% (!) of the initial developed IS's! . So my question is, what are my options if I need to order one? I MUST give my A4 to my dad before it starts to snow. You think Lexus will give me a loaner car for a few weeks (I would pay a monthly fee to them just as I do now)? What else can I do besides to go to BMW and get the 325i?

Thoughts?

Vit

LeslieRC

I hope that you have informed your "dad" regarding the mileage limitations on your leased A4. If you've used up most of the alotted mileage, then it may not be such a great deal for him. Also, you should keep in mind that he may be taking over the payments, but that excessive mileage may be your responsibility if it's your name that's on the lease contract.

I read somewhere that there won't be any ISs with manual transmission for a while following that car's launch. Have you visited a Lexus dealership and spoken with a Sales Manager? If you're serious about ordering that car, the dealership can probably give you a definitive timeframe for when you could expect to take delivery on your car. Regarding your other question, it just doesn't seem realistic to me that a Lexus dealership would "give" you a loaner car "for a few weeks". My experience has been that a dealership will extend use of a loaner vehicle as a convenience/courtesy when the car that was purchased from the dealership is there for service.

It's decision time!

VitB6

I was ahead of the mileage game on my A4 before I changed jobs in June. Now I am right where I should be. My dad will only use it for 3 months out of the year and probably only drive it 5K per year when I have a 15K lease. Mileage won't be an issue at all once he takes it over.

The salesmen I am working with says that they are lone of the largest dealership in the country and they should get a MT if they request it, which he said has already been done. As far actually having the car to take home, I am willing to wait if I have a loaner. Hopefully I can work something out with Lexus on that. Was just wondering if there was someone here with some experience in doing this type of thing.

Other thoughts?

Vit

Faraaz23

Well you can either rent a car... which can get expensive.... or have you considered buying a old honda or toyota beater for like $1000? The car will surely last you a few weeks.... and it'd be old enough that you don't have to worry about depreciation, you may be able to sell it back 1 month later for the same price. I know some people who've driven a beater for a year and then actually sell it for 1 or 200 more. This may be the most economically feasible option. Good luck with everything.

VitB6

A beater for $1000 for the winter, doesn't sound like the smartest thing. I don't want to deal with worrying if the car will start all the time. I wonder how much an extended rental car would be. As long as it is the same price as my lease per month I would mind that at all.

vwong

I don't know how much your lease payment is for your A4, but from most rental car companies, a standard size car will probably run you about $30/day +tax. So a month will run you about $900 +tax. From what my dealer told me, I have to wait about 3 months if I want to order one to my exact preference. If that's the case for you too, then you're looking at $2700 +tax. Not worth it, man. Just buy a better condition beater car, then sell it once you get the new car. You may lose $500 or so on the beater, but it's still better than $2700 +tax.

knox_sport

The last info I saw was that the manual transmissions won't be vailable until December. It's all automatics for the 250/350 until then.

So buying a beater may be wise versus renting.

snapgt

I'm in a similar situation, and was referred to leasetrader.com (not sure if posting the site is against the forum rules). Does anybody have any experience with the site or with trading a lease to another person?

-snap-

kensteele

You can get a rental car for about $650/month and if you charge it to your AMEX, you should be able to keep it insured. I'm looking into this now, the savings to me would be 1) I can sell my car privately now instead of trade-in so I should get more, 2) I don't have to pay insurance for one month, 3) I should get a bunch of frequent flyer miles, and 4) I will rent an economy car so I can save money on gas for one month.

So I'm thinking about it just in case.....