finny76

Given my determination to acquire an IS coupe (guess ill wait for the 2025 year as all are SOLD OUT), I've invested considerable effort into researching the Inspiration Series. It came as quite a surprise to learn that the first one sold for $2 million at the BJ 2020 auction. I've since compiled data on sales from various auction sites, and the findings are rather intriguing:



Seems that the 2021 was the most popular, and the 2022 was the least. Anyone have idea of the reason as to what sets the 2021 so apart from the others?

Niko25

2021 Inspiration Series was the Structural Blue exterior with white interior. It's the most sought after color combination, enough that Lexus created a very close option combination for the 2024 Bespoke Build. Those sale dates are also during peak covid pricing. Prices have come down a bit since.

azmojo

The $2M sale could have been a charity auction or some other unique circumstance and probably does not reflect reality. Your table is inaccurate though because there was no 2018 convertible.

355F1

The $2mm sale was a charity auction.

100851 (not on your list) was the one I bought at MSRP with no dealer-add-ons but sold my "place" in line to a fellow CL forum member who wanted the vehicle 20,000 more times than I did.

What a fun time that was.

jbuffett

A quick clarification:

The 2018 Inspiration Series coupe was Structural Blue: https://pressroom.lexus.com/album/20...ructural-blue/

The 2021 Inspiration Series convertible was also Structural Blue: https://www.chathamparkwaylexus.com/...dition-luxury/

But the 2021 Inspiration Series coupe was Obsidian (black): https://pressroom.lexus.com/2021-lex...-takes-flight/

+1 to the new Ultrasonic Blue bespokes killing the value of the Structural Blue cars -- https://bringatrailer.com/lexus/lc/ -- which just shows how tone-deaf Toyota is on the collectability of this car.

finny76

Ah, that explains the dilemma because i was confuse as to why some 21's were Obsidian vs Structural Blue. I had no clue that they did different colors of Coupes/Convertibles in 2021.

Reinvention

Ah I've been wanting to do this as well, keep track of IS pricing and trading. If you're open to setting up an editable database (google spreadshet?) and want to kick me a link or DM or on discord or whatever I'd be happy to contribute - I follow used inventory daily but have been too lazy to write it out. I actually caught a few IS models at Carmax recently for low prices - one was a 2021 OB coupe, one a 2020 NG coupe. Both were reasonably priced in the mid $60s with around 30-40k miles which made me believe they weren't valued as a special edition model on trade in, specifically the Nori Green had an asking price of approximately $67,000 with 38,812 miles - it sold within a week.

2018 - Structural Blue 100 units (coupe)
2019 - Flare Yellow 100 units (coupe0
2020 - Nori Green 100 units (coupe)
2021 - Obsidian Black 100 units (coupe) / Structural Blue 100 units (vert)
2022 - Iridium Silver 150 units (coupe/vert)
2023 - n/a
2024 - Polar Satin 125 units (coupe/vert)

What I see currently:
2018 SB coupe - 41,185 miles asking $82,995 Edmond, OK (modified)
2018 SB coupe - 9,922 miles asking $99,888 Costa Mesa, CA (this has fluctuated from $82k-110k wildly for nearly a year, currently $89k on craigslist, and appears to be a SEMA model car?)
2018 SB coupe - 14,105 miles asking $89,581 Lockhart, TX (modified)
2019 FY coupe - 55,000 miles asking $64,270 San Diego, CA
2021 SB vert - 18 miles asking $169,070 Beverly Hills, CA
2021 SB vert - 927 miles asking $129,000 Irvine, CA
2021 SB vert - 2,001 miles asking $199,995 Honolulu, HI
2022 IS coupe - 8,347 miles asking $87,895 Raleigh, NC***
2022 IS vert - 19,301 miles asking $88,495 Atlanta, GA
2022 IS vert - 7,880 miles asking $97,906 Owings Mill, MD
2022 IS vert - 180 miles asking $120,000 Buffalo Grove, IL
2022 IS vert - 5,800 miles asking $94,750 Fort Lauderdale, FL
2022 IS vert - 20,000 miles? asking $83,000? unk craigslist ad

There are at least (5) new PS in Lehigh Valley, Chester Springs, Wayzata, Van Nuys (coupe?) and Wesley Chapel

*** I'm really digging the Iridium Silver inspiration series model - I dismissed it at first but the more I'm diving into it the higher on my ranking it goes. This particular car is both out of my $75k budget and my purchasing window (August '24+) but I'll be keenly watching it. My wife has nixed any convertible model and while I'd love a structural blue car to geek out over the paint technology I'm unsure if an unmodified SB coupe with under 20k miles is going to ring it sub-$95k which begs the question would it bring ~$20k more in joy than another IS model. And that begged the question does a hypothetical IS model at $75k bring $10k more joy than a standard $65k deal for a similar spec'd car without a number badge. I'm sounding like Mari Kondo over here but that's been the topic of conversation in my head for the past several days. I'm not concerned about any financial protections an IS model brings, I assume it'll hold a tiny 1-2% premium in depreciation over the long run - SB not withstanding, but this ought to be purely an emotional purchase I am a geek for the LC in general however I've never owned a numbered vehicle - I'm curious if that adds to the obsessive ownership experience for me.

For the tracking geeks out there, courtesy of cargurus:



The 2024 model doesn't have enough data to be relevant yet in my opinion - I'm hoping it'll be put some downward pressure this year on pre-update models but that could take another year or so to see production numbers and have them trickle into the used market to have a material impact. Then there is also the car discontinuation value phenomena - in a current contemporary case the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio, for example, it being discontinued has had stellar effects on discounts by the dealerships - seeing upwards of $18,000 negotiated off including $16,000 in incentives. That's a 'pure' car similar to the LC; special ICE motor, beloved by media outlets, traditional car virtues, low retail sales, etc. This is also cratering the earlier QV model resale values harder than their anticipated trend. If that happens with the LC then the new-car discounting will have higher impact on the depreciation velocity for the 2024- models. I'd say the GX460 is a comparable case study, especially as it had the 2 final years with the updated interior, but I feel like the GX460 was a bit of a depreciation machine compared to the flagship LX or entry RX, and that announcement of the new GX was closer to the COVID-bump return last year. I don't have the smarts to control for that.

What does any of that have to do with Inspiration Series? Nothing, just wanted to share data for conversation sake.

finny76

Good Data... Here is one that i didnt see on your list:

2021 IS CONVERTIBLE
https://autosourcehawaii.com/2021-le...-96814/7295461

finny76

Any more data points yet?

Dukeaudio

Not sure a used LC IS $199k is competitive with a brand new Bespoke $110-120k. Maybe there's more back story.

finny76

Found a listing for a 24 IS Coupe... This looks like the one that was as Longo Lexus with a $25K ADM

https://www.exoticmotorsportsok.com/...ok/?make=Lexus

NickL

This is the same car listed at the same place for $160k during covid time. Seems like nobody wants to pay that much so they jacked it up to $200k. 😂

StuM

Here’s a ‘22 in San Diego …

Barncobob

when I waslooking for a used coupe21-22 they werent much less than a new one...I just ordered a 24 and had to wait 4 months..

finny76

That is a really good deal, but for some reason the 22 IS is the least desired color./combo. The 21 Structural Blue is till the most desired, followed by (maybe) the 24 Polar Satin Surge with the beautiful Blue interior.