Best Deal Possible

[SH20]

Decided to trade in my Aug 2019 ES300h with velvet black paint and Topaz leather trim  fitted with a Premium Pack.   Chose an ES Premium Edition in Messa Red with Hazel Tahara Trim, delivery around end of March 2022.   The dealer worked out everything and it cost me  £800  to change  after 26  months of flawless motoring.      The dealer valued my car at  £29,200  which I thought was a good price.  Two other dealers offered £26K and £28K.

My original ES  was on a PCP over 42 months at £319 a month after I put down the maximum deposit of £11K.    Apparently if you are a Toyota Finance customer the dealer can now add a loyalty allowance of a further  £750 to the £2000 finance allowance that Lexus will give normally for new retail purchases on a PCP/Finance

This resulted in a final PCP quote for me after deciding I wanted  a shorter PCP period of  30 months but now I will  have monthly payments of £208, again paying the maximum deposit of £11,028.  I'm guessing these very strong used car values for 2 or 3 year old cars is influencing deals on new cars.   Bear in mind the UK Lexus dealer network of 46 sites has only around 70  ES cars for sale  with some dealers showing only one ES car for sale, others two or three  thus proving the strong demand for Lexus approved ES's. 

I regret not having real leather but having seen what Taraha trim feels and looks like it is remarkably like leather so I'm ok with that.   My 2019 Premium pack has a higher level of spec that a Premium Edition has but again nothing that I can't live without.   

I elected to give my car in now to the dealer to secure the £29,200  and will happily wait for the new one. My wife has a 2021 Toyota Yaris hybrid which is a lovely car and no hardship to use for a few months.   The velvet black paint work on my first ES was very demanding despite a ceramic  coating I laid down after I had the car a week.   I'm hoping Messa Red will be more forgiving. 

 

    

[steve2006]

So you are going to be without a Lexus for 4 months, I know what you will be wanting for Christmas never mind the end of March 😀

I don’t blame you though, prices are going through the roof at the moment.

[Mike246]

Hi Steve (SH20),

Interesting move and good for you. If I changed from my ES Premium Edition I would only want the same model again!

What you are giving up on the Premium Pack is the real leather and the autofold mirrors. My Lexus service receptionist runs a Premium Edition ES and tells me that with three kids all with sticky hands, the Tahara is much easier to clean - interesting point.

What you are gaining is the 12.1 inch display which is really nice.

 

[Tonyw]

And the new touchscreen interface which was key to me

[SH20]

Back in Feb 2019 I traded my 2012 GS450h in against the ES and handed over the car then to achieve the £16,000 trade in fig rather than in August when the car finally arrived.  Same thing for me was to wait and use the wife's car when I needed it.

I agree Tony that new 12 inch touch screen will be a nice to have although the control pad became easy to master over time.   

The luxury fitments on the 2019 car that are not Premium Edition fitments are,  rear screen and rear door blinds, driver's seat extension, air cooled front seats, wood/leather steering wheel, wood trim and driver seat memory.  I think that was all so no real hardship.  Given I had a rear screen dash cam I never once pressed the rear screen blind as it would have hit the camera and never used the rear door blinds as no one ever travelled in the back. Never used the air cooled seats either.  If I'm honest the only thing I would want in the new ES is the auto seat positioning when you get in and out of the car, that was useful.    Had we not had a second car then I would have no option but to hand the car in next year but loose some money on the final value.    The 18 inch wheels on the 2019 model were a nicer design I think.  Keeping everything under the magic  £40K  saved that ridiculous extra £335 a year after the first year on top of the £170 which the new car will cost in road tax.  A Takumi ES  in the dealers showroom was very nice though and probably worth all the money or not.

[Tonyw]

2 hours ago, SH20 said:

Back in Feb 2019 I traded my 2012 GS450h in against the ES and handed over the car then to achieve the £16,000 trade in fig rather than in August when the car finally arrived.  Same thing for me was to wait and use the wife's car when I needed it.

I agree Tony that new 12 inch touch screen will be a nice to have although the control pad became easy to master over time.   

The luxury fitments on the 2019 car that are not Premium Edition fitments are,  rear screen and rear door blinds, driver's seat extension, air cooled front seats, wood/leather steering wheel, wood trim and driver seat memory.  I think that was all so no real hardship.  Given I had a rear screen dash cam I never once pressed the rear screen blind as it would have hit the camera and never used the rear door blinds as no one ever travelled in the back. Never used the air cooled seats either.  If I'm honest the only thing I would want in the new ES is the auto seat positioning when you get in and out of the car, that was useful.    Had we not had a second car then I would have no option but to hand the car in next year but loose some money on the final value.    The 18 inch wheels on the 2019 model were a nicer design I think.  Keeping everything under the magic  £40K  saved that ridiculous extra £335 a year after the first year on top of the £170 which the new car will cost in road tax.  A Takumi ES  in the dealers showroom was very nice though and probably worth all the money or not.

Yes, keeping under the £40k with lots of extras is a key reason I chose Lexus over a German brand. I have air cooled seats in my Jag which I used a lot before when I was doing 1000 miles a week, but my work has changed and I do everything from home now, only done 4000 miles in last year. My biggest concern is audio quality from the standard Pioneer, it’s a shame you can’t upgrade. I currently have an amazing 16 speaker Meridian which I think I might miss 

[Scoops]

3 hours ago, SH20 said:

Back in Feb 2019 I traded my 2012 GS450h in against the ES and handed over the car then to achieve the £16,000 trade in fig rather than in August when the car finally arrived.  Same thing for me was to wait and use the wife's car when I needed it.

I agree Tony that new 12 inch touch screen will be a nice to have although the control pad became easy to master over time.   

The luxury fitments on the 2019 car that are not Premium Edition fitments are,  rear screen and rear door blinds, driver's seat extension, air cooled front seats, wood/leather steering wheel, wood trim and driver seat memory.  I think that was all so no real hardship.  Given I had a rear screen dash cam I never once pressed the rear screen blind as it would have hit the camera and never used the rear door blinds as no one ever travelled in the back. Never used the air cooled seats either.  If I'm honest the only thing I would want in the new ES is the auto seat positioning when you get in and out of the car, that was useful.    Had we not had a second car then I would have no option but to hand the car in next year but loose some money on the final value.    The 18 inch wheels on the 2019 model were a nicer design I think.  Keeping everything under the magic  £40K  saved that ridiculous extra £335 a year after the first year on top of the £170 which the new car will cost in road tax.  A Takumi ES  in the dealers showroom was very nice though and probably worth all the money or not.

In terms of spec, the Premium Edition is probably a good place to be. Sure it doesn't auto fold the mirrors which would be nice but it does move the steering wheel away (both height and reach if you go into the settings) so if you are taller, it is just as effective and doesn't bug the person behind you when the seat moves back without warning. The screen is very nice, especially when using Google/Apple Auto/Carplay and not being a fan of touchscreens in cars, I am quite happy with my version (although the new one comes with the touchpad anyway). 

The Takumi seats feel just like the leather equivalent in use to me and the cream seats I have seem much more resilient to staining than the leather I have had previously although that might be just because it is still new.

Just in terms of reference, I chopped in a CT one year into a two year PCP for the aforementioned ES over four years (although the way Lexus work, it will be unlikely to reach that as they try and get you to swap more often in my experience) for £1000 deposit and £14 more a month over the same mileage.. I thought that was a pretty good deal although I didn't have a choice of colour since the group only had two ES at the time and one was the F-Sport so out of budget.

[SH20]

Forgot to add it took only a week for my dealer to sort out settling the outstanding finance on my pcp with Toyota Financial Services sending the acknowledgement directly to me  that the agreement had been settled in full by Lexus Leeds.   I was left with £9500 equity from my original ES which I left on account with the dealer and their contribution of £1500 made up the maximum deposit of £11,000.    When you consider Toyota Financial Services (or Lexus Financial Services) gave £2,750  finance allowance as a repeat PCP customer  it made so much sense to trade in my first ES now 12 months ahead of schedule.

[SH20]

I'm wondering what has changed at the Lexus factory.  My new ES was ordered on Tuesday the 26.10.21 verified by the dealer sending me a copy of the order that Lexus UK received.

Took a call on the 12.11.21 from my dealer to say the car was now built, been through final quality control and has left the Factory in Toyota city Aichi Prefecture.

The car is on it's way to the ship transporter and then on to Portbury  in the UK.  It came as a surprise that after only 18 days the car is about to drive up the ship's ramp given that I waited 6 months  for my previous ES.  So much for manufacturer shortages or is it  that Toyota/Lexus are immune to supplier chain problems.  My dealer now said January 2022 is more than likely to be the hand over  month.  

As a foot note  my friend  owns a 2019 Toyota Prius and is considering a new Rav4 or CHR.  He was told only 3 weeks ago he would be allowed £19,500 on his Prius if he ordered a new car.  As he has only the one car he was concerned what the dealer would value the car  in 4 months time which is the  delivery time for a new Rav4.    Yesterday  the dealer rang him again and keen to get him signed up offered him £20,000 for the Prius and said he could hang on to the car till the new one  arrived and they would still guarantee him the £20,000 !!

What a time to be considering a new Toyota car purchase.     Are Toyota and Lexus dealers the only people being so generous or are other manufacturers doing similar I wonder.  

   

 

[peniole]

Toyota/Lexus didn't get hid as hard with supply chain problems as they were hit had in the past. So they moved away from the "just in time" supply model and keep some of their own stock. They slowed down last month, their stock surplus did eventually run out, but now they're back to full production again for December.

https://jalopnik.com/toyota-prepared-for-the-chip-shortage-years-ago-why-di-1846641653

[paulrnx]

On 11/7/2021 at 7:43 PM, SH20 said:

Forgot to add it took only a week for my dealer to sort out settling the outstanding finance on my pcp with Toyota Financial Services sending the acknowledgement directly to me  that the agreement had been settled in full by Lexus Leeds.   I was left with £9500 equity from my original ES which I left on account with the dealer and their contribution of £1500 made up the maximum deposit of £11,000.    When you consider Toyota Financial Services (or Lexus Financial Services) gave £2,750  finance allowance as a repeat PCP customer  it made so much sense to trade in my first ES now 12 months ahead of schedule.

You have left £9500 on account with the dealer and you won’t take delivery of your new car until next year? Surely the money would be better and safer in your own account until you take delivery? Businesses, including car dealers, do go into administration and you wouldn’t likely see any of that money back if they did go under. I’d strongly recommend having the money in your own account to be honest.

[SH20]

Fair point Paul, Lexus Leeds are part of a big motor group called Vantage,   I lived in Leeds for 40 years and they have been trading all that time but who knows what might happen in business.    I'll take a chance and leave the money with them and if the car does turn up in January as they suggest,  it's already left the factory,  then I will just be able to collect it with all the PCP paperwork completed already.  

We have a bit of faith in the Vantage group as we bought a Yaris hybrid back in March 2021 and they were very professional in all the necessary ordering etc.  Fingers crossed they can survive till after I get the car.

[paulrnx]

5 hours ago, SH20 said:

Fair point Paul, Lexus Leeds are part of a big motor group called Vantage,   I lived in Leeds for 40 years and they have been trading all that time but who knows what might happen in business.    I'll take a chance and leave the money with them and if the car does turn up in January as they suggest,  it's already left the factory,  then I will just be able to collect it with all the PCP paperwork completed already.  

We have a bit of faith in the Vantage group as we bought a Yaris hybrid back in March 2021 and they were very professional in all the necessary ordering etc.  Fingers crossed they can survive till after I get the car.

Fair enough. Understand your reasoning. I wouldn’t. Doesn’t make me right though 😀