Lease is nearly up, what car next?

MikeCumbria · January 8, 2019

Hi Everyone,

Long time reader of these forums. Decided to come on today and ask for your advice. Sadly I think I already know the answer to my question, which may well be bye bye Lexus.

I bought a brand new CT200h Sport on a lexus financial plan 3 years ago. It's just going in now for it's service and first MOT. So it will soon be time to look at buying a replacement.

Previously had an IS200 Sport 1999 from newish and prior to that an LS400 1995 which was a bargain as it was 4 years old. So I'm a long term lexus lover for about 20 years. Love the quality and what was a good list of standard premium features. Those features seem to be becoming more and more additional expensive add on's tho.

I feel loyalty to Lexus, but feel like I'm starting to get a bit short changed and I'm feeling more inclined that it might be time to buy something different. No doubt there won't be much, if any value left in my current car for using as a new deposit.

Driving only just over 8000 mile's a year. I drive mainly short journeys with just me in the car, and on quiet roads which are generally 10 mins to town. I am heavy on the acceleration from time to time, which combined with short trips seems to mean I only average about 40mpg Not great, especially at the expense of a hybrid. Obviously non hybrid was not an option on the CT.

My thoughts are that I still enjoy having my Lexus but the cost is likely to rise at a time when I'd like to be saving rather than paying out more. Time to move maybe?

Recently persuaded the Mrs, to swap her 206 for a new Yaris, she loves it, and that 5 year warranty too. I quite like it, but it's not a Lexus. 😭 But I'd most likely pay £25k on another new CT200h Sport, and about £10k less for a reasonable new Yaris.

What do you think?

Mike

olliesgrandad · January 8, 2019

Crikey your CT200 is barely run in at that mileage. Can you not keep it and get an extended warranty. If necessary get a personal loan to clear the finance?

colin79666 · January 8, 2019

Keep it and have a look at the new Corolla when it gets released next month.

https://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/corolla/corolla-2019

The CT is going to look old and expensive when that comes out (the Auris was never much competition with a poor cabin).

MikeCumbria · January 8, 2019

Yeah I know 😆 But for the last year I've been looking forward to a new car. Plus cost of extended warranty Vs cost of winging it and hoping quality wins. 🤔 Whichever I pick will be wrong no doubt!

New car means new warranty too, hmmmm.

MikeCumbria · January 8, 2019

1 hour ago, colin79666 said:

Keep it and have a look at the new Corolla when it gets released next month.

https://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/corolla/corolla-2019

The CT is going to look old and expensive when that comes out (the Auris was never much competition with a poor cabin).

Ooohh had no idea that was happening, looks nice. Corolla, that takes me back 35 odd years to my parents car. I'm liking the look of the new one tho. Wonder if there's a new Yaris on the horizon too? Mmmm 5 year warranty, is very tempting!

olliesgrandad · January 8, 2019

2 hours ago, MikeCumbria said:

Yeah I know 😆 But for the last year I've been looking forward to a new car. Plus cost of extended warranty Vs cost of winging it and hoping quality wins. 🤔 Whichever I pick will be wrong no doubt!

New car means new warranty too, hmmmm.

For many years I used to buy new cars. I then realised it made sense to buy relatively new used. A £26000 loss on a 3 year old Audi A4 Quattro in 2001 made me see light.

My £250 private plate bought from Dvla in 2001 hides the age and often the plate has been on a current model. With my high mileage a new lexus would be out of warranty before 3 years because of mileage.

MikeCumbria · January 8, 2019

1 minute ago, olliesgrandad said:

For many years I used to buy new cars. I then realised it made sense to buy relatively new used. A £26000 loss on a 3 year old Audi A4 Quattro in 2001 made me see light.

My £250 private plate bought from Dvla in 2001 hides the age and often the plate has been on a current model. With my high mileage a new lexus would be out of warranty before 3 years because of mileage.

I have done the same and bought older generally. Like the LS400 would if been £45k brand new back when I bought my first Lexus, I bought it for £12k when it was just over 4 years old. So I get you.

But I like knowing my exact motoring costs which you get with new cars as there are no hidden repair bills. I'm currently paying £259 pm for mine plus £21 pm service plan. So I know the exact cost. Can be super pricey for repairs especially on an older Lexus, buying warranties on older cars isn't cheap either.

Plus I would generally expect to get £2/3k off a brand new car which helps reduce depreciation losses. Hence my temptation to buy new again. But torn between Lexus or another brand to get better value.

Obviously the cheapest motoring is probably to buy an old banger for a £100 and throw it in the bin every two months. 😆

refurbished · January 10, 2019

On 1/8/2019 at 10:03 PM, MikeCumbria said:

[...]

Obviously the cheapest motoring is probably to buy an old banger for a £100 and throw it in the bin every two months. 😆

Why not to wait till your CT becomes an old banger? Mine is at least at 10% such one.

Nigel-Lexus Owner · January 10, 2019

Hi Mike,

One option would be to test drive the Nissan Leaf https://www.nissan.co.uk/vehicles/new-vehicles/leaf.html if you are not doing more than 300 miles per day and if you have a driveway to install a charging station. Another cheaper option would be Auris Hybrid: https://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/auris/ which is actually your CT in Toyota cover with 5 years warranty and you can probably have it for £200pcm and £15 services and replace it with 2 years remaining warranty and less depreciation.

I am driving a Lexus RX450h and find it a great car for my needs, so I am not promoting Nissan or Toyota. I have driven many cars before and once you get used to Hybrid you will be disappointed with combustion only engine. Maybe 100% electric is the future for you and Nissan might have the answer.

Please keep us posted on your future plans and experience.

Nigel-Lexus Owner · January 10, 2019

https://www.whatcar.com/nissan/leaf/hatchback/review/n17338

MikeCumbria · January 10, 2019

I think with my low mileage per year, actually now calculated at 9000 miles per anum, the extra cost of buying hybrid or electric isn't worth the saving I'd get with petrol. Which is a shame as I'm all for greener products.

As mentioned above by Colin the new Toyota Corolla is out soon which will be replacing the Auris, so as I still have a few months to go on my lease, I will be considering that. The CT is certainly based on the Auris, but having test driven both, I was definitely much more impressed with the Lexus.

Why Lexus as the premium Toyota brand don't do the 5 year warranty they do I'll never know. It would probably cost them very little as their parts are generally reliable and be more likely to retain me as a customer and persuade more people to buy Lexus.

200h · January 10, 2019

i have asked that question also, the reply given was

lexus dont need to offer a 5 year warranty as the other brands in their sector dont offer this length of warranty.

MikeCumbria · January 10, 2019

Rubbish answer from them really. Firstly that would differentiate them from the competition. Secondly it's available on their lower teared brand already, and thirdly as their parts are generally Toyota parts, that they expect to last at least 5 years anyway, the cost in offering it would be negligible to them.

Sadly it just tempts me further to switch I think.

200h · January 10, 2019

there is possibly more competition in that sector with the likes of hyundai having a 5yr warranty & kia has a 7yr warranty.

i do agree with you mike ,if your brand is so reliable why not give a long warranty you have nothing to lose.

colin79666 · January 10, 2019

They do sort of warranty for 5 years the parts shared with their Toyota cousins (the Hybrid system). Agree it is poor though not to cover the whole car to at least the same level as Toyota. In the US they cover just about everything for 4 years, power-train for 6 and hybrid system for 8 but they do have fairly low mileage limits.

royoftherovers · January 10, 2019

1 hour ago, 200h said:

i have asked that question also, the reply given was

lexus dont need to offer a 5 year warranty as the other brands in their sector dont offer this length of warranty.

None of the other brands offer an extended warranty until 10 years old or 140,000 miles covered !!

Wass · January 10, 2019

The last time I changed cars , I did a double take. I realised that I only really used the car for about 2000miles a year for myself and about 12000 miles a year for going to work.. a good less than half of the mileage I used to do. Instead of the thrill of buying a new car, I settled for buying a low mileage sports car which will become totally obsolete in a few years since things like that will use too much petrol to be considered socially acceptable. I still have the change in the bank ready for buying a "grown ups" car again.Hopefully by that time, the law makers will have decided what they want us to do. IE driverless, petrol-less, diesel-less etcetc.

Poundy · January 11, 2019

I cannot really see the sense in buying new when you look at the massive depreciation hit they take in the first 2 years. I bought a 2 year old dealer approved Jaguar with 13,400 mls and saved over £20k on it. It came with 2 years full factory warranty and I purchased another 2 years which gives me 4 years trouble free usage plus Jaguar breakdown cover and MOT failure insurance

The same with our Lexus CT200h, low mileage, Lexus 12month warranty and they had a special on 2 year full waranty for the price of one for £450 which included full breakdown cover. When you look at what AA and RAC are charging for their top cover, that would cost close on £300 for 2 years.

It's nice to buy the New and latest models but when I think I have saved over £35k on these 2 which are both in top condition, it's a no brainer for me 🙂

olliesgrandad · January 11, 2019

On 1/10/2019 at 7:02 PM, 200h said:

there is possibly more competition in that sector with the likes of hyundai having a 5yr warranty & kia has a 7yr warranty.

i do agree with you mike ,if your brand is so reliable why not give a long warranty you have nothing to lose.

Interestingly we have a similar situation to the Toye/Lexus warranty difference. Hyundai and Kia are owned by the same Company, so why the difference in warranty?

200h · January 12, 2019

why not use carwow or the likes to get a reduction in the purchase price

then over the 1st 2yrs the depreciation wont be as great and your payments

will be less.

olliesgrandad · January 12, 2019

17 hours ago, Poundy said:

I cannot really see the sense in buying new when you look at the massive depreciation hit they take in the first 2 years. I bought a 2 year old dealer approved Jaguar with 13,400 mls and saved over £20k on it. It came with 2 years full factory warranty and I purchased another 2 years which gives me 4 years trouble free usage plus Jaguar breakdown cover and MOT failure insurance

The same with our Lexus CT200h, low mileage, Lexus 12month warranty and they had a special on 2 year full waranty for the price of one for £450 which included full breakdown cover. When you look at what AA and RAC are charging for their top cover, that would cost close on £300 for 2 years.

It's nice to buy the New and latest models but when I think I have saved over £35k on these 2 which are both in top condition, it's a no brainer for me 🙂

In 2014 I bought a 9 month old ex demo Mini Cooper Clubman John Cooper Works with 1500 miles. The dealer needed to shift it and I paid £5000 less for it than it was advertised for the previous week. Less than a base model demo my locaI dealer was selling. I drove it for 20000 miles and 9 months and sold it for £650 more than I paid for it (bought at end of quarter in December picked up in January).

MikeCumbria · January 12, 2019

2 hours ago, 200h said:

why not use carwow or the likes to get a reduction in the purchase price

then over the 1st 2yrs the depreciation wont be as great and your payments

will be less.

I've bought my last 2 cars using carwow, hence me saying above about the discount I would get to reduce the depreciation. Carwow is excellent in that regard. Means you don't really have to faff about negotiating. On most new or pre registered cars you would get a £2/3k discount going through them as standard. Plus no need for "ohh I'll just have to check with my manager", type of negotiations!

colin79666 · January 12, 2019

2 hours ago, MikeCumbria said:

I've bought my last 2 cars using carwow, hence me saying above about the discount I would get to reduce the depreciation. Carwow is excellent in that regard. Means you don't really have to faff about negotiating. On most new or pre registered cars you would get a £2/3k discount going through them as standard. Plus no need for "ohh I'll just have to check with my manager", type of negotiations!

They can be good but sometimes doing your research and playing the game works. We got more off a new Suzuki Ignis than the carwow or what car target prices recently by visiting the dealer and helping them meet their January target (often a quiet month).

Beduffshirl · January 14, 2019

It depends how you are paying too. We priced up a Toyota CHR for my other half on Sat and a two year old one with 10k on the clock came in the same as a brand new on on PCP as the new one is on 0%

MikeCumbria · January 14, 2019

Yeah I had that when I bought the CT 3 years ago. Plus they were very keen price wise to sell me a new one instead of a pre registered. Brand new you often get an extra finance contribution towards your deposit too.