The LS460...for posers or for honestly wealthy?
05-21-07, 04:58 PM
#31
I own my business and I believe wealth is time, not money. I could care less what other people think, I bought this car after extensive research. Beamers and Mercs have issues and I just don't want to deal with it.
And again, since for me wealth is time, I don't want to spend any of it repairing cars.
And again, since for me wealth is time, I don't want to spend any of it repairing cars.
05-21-07, 05:35 PM
#32
Aren’t things getting a bit elitist here?
So, a “Poser” is a terrible person who’s trying to raise their image and status artificially by buying an expensive bauble that’s beyond their means?
That makes them inferior and someone to be sneered at?
Cheech, give the poor guys a break. They're undoubtedly overspending in other ways and leaving themselves vulnerable to financial disaster.
Their time to enjoy the pleasure they get from this Lexus will surely be all too brief.
HBH
So, a “Poser” is a terrible person who’s trying to raise their image and status artificially by buying an expensive bauble that’s beyond their means?
That makes them inferior and someone to be sneered at?
Cheech, give the poor guys a break. They're undoubtedly overspending in other ways and leaving themselves vulnerable to financial disaster.
Their time to enjoy the pleasure they get from this Lexus will surely be all too brief.
HBH
05-21-07, 07:04 PM
#33
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Its all relative, some people pride themselves as being so smart and passing judgement on others for spending too much on a car. When those same individuals have 2-3 rugrats and a $700k+ home.
Where the other guy they are passing judgement on has 0-1 rugrats and a $500k+ home.
Both make relatively the same $.
You can't compare peoples situations. One person may make less $ than you driving that same priced luxury car..... but they might have less expenses than you do in other regards.
Where the other guy they are passing judgement on has 0-1 rugrats and a $500k+ home.
Both make relatively the same $.
You can't compare peoples situations. One person may make less $ than you driving that same priced luxury car..... but they might have less expenses than you do in other regards.
Last edited by Beltfed; 05-21-07 at 07:07 PM.
05-21-07, 08:08 PM
#34
Pole Position
Good points Beltfed. One could be a drinker, smoker, mortgaged to the hilt, owns three 60" flat screens, a 40-foot cabin cruiser, 20 maxed out credit cards and a leased 760iL in the garage. The only thing that'll free him from debt is death itself. The other may be a teetotaler, stays in a quaint simple paid up home, lives a simple life, but who also just happens to like a nice paid up LS460 in his driveway. How can you compare the two? They're both out there, apples & oranges... Which is the poser?
05-21-07, 08:11 PM
#35
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I know this is SLIGHTLY tangential to the LS460 topic, but I am wondering who can really afford these and who is reaching. Or put another way, do people earning a mere $150,000 per year feel comfortable buying a $70,000 car (half a year's income) or are more buyers earning $250,000 and up? I guess net worth also comes into play.
Or put YET ANOTHER WAY...are LS460 drivers "posers" or the "real thing"?
I absolutely am sincere in this thread and do not at all mean to be condescending to anyone. I am sincerely wondering out loud if spending $70,000 on ANY car is prudent and for whom.
Or put YET ANOTHER WAY...are LS460 drivers "posers" or the "real thing"?
I absolutely am sincere in this thread and do not at all mean to be condescending to anyone. I am sincerely wondering out loud if spending $70,000 on ANY car is prudent and for whom.
2. You will have people who buy a LS and maybe should NOT buy a LS, they are not wealthy and you might call them "posing'. However, that is their choice and they must be happy with it.
3. There are poseurs no matter what car or brand. People will say and JUDGE people regardless. You can have a Bentley and people will comment and say something.
4. Lexus will never have the prestige or heritage of the Germans. Lexus simply wasn't around 100 years ago. You will have your German owners who will always call a Lexus just a Toyota and call it a car for poseurs.
I guess to me, if you can afford a LS 460 new, how on earth can you be a poseur? That is more expensive than maybe 90-95% of the cars sold today.
Maybe in in 5-7 years, when prices drop to levels where many more people can afford it, will you encounter poseurs....
Like me
lmao
05-21-07, 09:13 PM
#36
My opinion is that anyone who makes time payments to a bank or finance company to buy or lease a car is thoroughly in the "poser" category.
The main way to build wealth is to avoid debt. Make others pay you to use your money; avoid paying others to use their money.
This simple truth is what prevents most people from building wealth. No one of real financial substance finances or leases a car or buys anything that costs more than he can comfortably afford to buy.
The main way to build wealth is to avoid debt. Make others pay you to use your money; avoid paying others to use their money.
This simple truth is what prevents most people from building wealth. No one of real financial substance finances or leases a car or buys anything that costs more than he can comfortably afford to buy.
However, when the lease on my LS430 ended, I ended up buying and reselling it and making almost $9,000 profit on it, which had the same effect as if I had purchased it in the first place, but it allowed me to take the full tax deduction in the 3.5 years that I operated the car.
Which brings me to another interesting point. Since I bought the car for $67,000 and sold it for $38,000, it ended up costing me $29,000 to drive it for 3.5 years. So the depreciation on the car was only about $8,300 per year. I know some $30,000 American cars that don't hold their values nearly as well as a Lexus which could end up costing not that much less after 3.5 years of ownership than what I paid for the LS430.
The real "cost" of a car is not it's purchase price. It's the difference between what you buy it for and what you eventually sell it for, plus the ongoing maintenance and finance costs. If you buy a high end luxury car for close to $100K, but you end up getting a high residual on the resale, you really have not "indulged" quite as much as one might first think when talking about a $100K car.
You would really be indulging more by buying a BMW or Mercedes in the $60-$70k range, knowing how much of a hit you are going to take if you sell it in 4 or so years, right around when the warranty is about to end. You may end up finding out that you actually incurred greater costs of ownership for that car than you did the $100K Lexus.
Just my two cents, for what it's worth.
05-22-07, 05:59 AM
#37
I don't know if its been said yet but "posers" don't buy for themselves, they buy for the status that comes with the car. Thats lame. Personally If i had the means to pull of a loan on an ls460 (new or used) I'd do it. I love the car that much. I'd do it for me and only me. (although a jealous stare here and there would stroke the ego a bit )
)
05-22-07, 06:10 AM
#38
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I'm not sure I would completely agree with your lease/finance comments. Leases are generally 100% tax deductible when used for business purposes, while purchases must be capitalized and depreciated over longer periods of time. As people's business income increases, the desire for tax deductions increases as well, and leases are often considered more attractive when they can be deducted against active income from a business. That is the main reason I lease my car instead of purchasing it.
However, when the lease on my LS430 ended, I ended up buying and reselling it and making almost $9,000 profit on it, which had the same effect as if I had purchased it in the first place, but it allowed me to take the full tax deduction in the 3.5 years that I operated the car.
Which brings me to another interesting point. Since I bought the car for $67,000 and sold it for $38,000, it ended up costing me $29,000 to drive it for 3.5 years. So the depreciation on the car was only about $8,300 per year. I know some $30,000 American cars that don't hold their values nearly as well as a Lexus which could end up costing not that much less after 3.5 years of ownership than what I paid for the LS430.
The real "cost" of a car is not it's purchase price. It's the difference between what you buy it for and what you eventually sell it for, plus the ongoing maintenance and finance costs. If you buy a high end luxury car for close to $100K, but you end up getting a high residual on the resale, you really have not "indulged" quite as much as one might first think when talking about a $100K car.
You would really be indulging more by buying a BMW or Mercedes in the $60-$70k range, knowing how much of a hit you are going to take if you sell it in 4 or so years, right around when the warranty is about to end. You may end up finding out that you actually incurred greater costs of ownership for that car than you did the $100K Lexus.
Just my two cents, for what it's worth.
However, when the lease on my LS430 ended, I ended up buying and reselling it and making almost $9,000 profit on it, which had the same effect as if I had purchased it in the first place, but it allowed me to take the full tax deduction in the 3.5 years that I operated the car.
Which brings me to another interesting point. Since I bought the car for $67,000 and sold it for $38,000, it ended up costing me $29,000 to drive it for 3.5 years. So the depreciation on the car was only about $8,300 per year. I know some $30,000 American cars that don't hold their values nearly as well as a Lexus which could end up costing not that much less after 3.5 years of ownership than what I paid for the LS430.
The real "cost" of a car is not it's purchase price. It's the difference between what you buy it for and what you eventually sell it for, plus the ongoing maintenance and finance costs. If you buy a high end luxury car for close to $100K, but you end up getting a high residual on the resale, you really have not "indulged" quite as much as one might first think when talking about a $100K car.
You would really be indulging more by buying a BMW or Mercedes in the $60-$70k range, knowing how much of a hit you are going to take if you sell it in 4 or so years, right around when the warranty is about to end. You may end up finding out that you actually incurred greater costs of ownership for that car than you did the $100K Lexus.
Just my two cents, for what it's worth.
05-22-07, 01:40 PM
#40
If canadians look at you funny when you drive a Lexus how do they look at Mercedes owners? Down here in California driving a Lexus is just like driving a Toyota. Most people don't see any prestige in a Lexus, unless you own one. Mercedes owners get more attention even if they are just driving the POS C230. Its all about status here in Southern California and the LS460 might grab looks from Mercedes owners but they will still just refer to it as a "glorified toyota" which is BS. To even get your payments on an LS460L resonable you have to put at least $60,000 down if your getting the $80,000 L edition. The avreage person doesn't have $60,000 in their account so this means most buyers are making in the $200,000+ range.
Up here, seeing a white person in an S-Class is a rare thing. It probably has to do with the exchange rate (i.e an S-Class here is probably only a C-Class in HK). I'm not trying to discriminate or anything but ask anyone else (e.g Burnaby) and he'll probably say the same thing.
As to the OP's question, I don't think an LS is a poser car. They'd rather get a 911 Carrera. I usually respect those who have an older SL or older 911. Those, you know are true enthusiasts because it takes time and money to maintain those vehicles. Anyone can lease a new SL or 911 and not give a damn about it.
05-22-07, 01:52 PM
#41
Lexus Fanatic
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Well 'afford' is the key word. Some people buy/lease a nice car like the LS460 with payments of $1200 or more a month, which to me, unless it provides a nice deduction, indicates they probably can't afford it.
05-22-07, 01:57 PM
#42
Super Moderator
True for Greater Vancouver in general, & particularly in Richmond, but West Vancouver is the exception.
Actually, it's the horrendous import taxes they levy on cars in HK & many other Asian counties ...
Actually, it's the horrendous import taxes they levy on cars in HK & many other Asian counties ...
05-22-07, 03:45 PM
#43
oh.. I was thinking those people who have parents or what not earning in HK or other Asian countries and then spending the money here. The amount they earn there gets them a C-Class but over here gets them an S-Class.
05-22-07, 05:35 PM
#44
Pole Position
OK, I'm coming out of the closet, I shamefully admit I'm a poser. 
Check out mbworld's poser thread; it's a scream...
If you de-badge your car, are you still a poser?
Check out mbworld's poser thread; it's a scream...
If you de-badge your car, are you still a poser?
05-22-07, 09:01 PM
#45
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My opinion is that anyone who makes time payments to a bank or finance company to buy or lease a car is thoroughly in the "poser" category.
The main way to build wealth is to avoid debt. Make others pay you to use your money; avoid paying others to use their money.
This simple truth is what prevents most people from building wealth. No one of real financial substance finances or leases a car or buys anything that costs more than he can comfortably afford to buy.
The main way to build wealth is to avoid debt. Make others pay you to use your money; avoid paying others to use their money.
This simple truth is what prevents most people from building wealth. No one of real financial substance finances or leases a car or buys anything that costs more than he can comfortably afford to buy.