My IS is still a keeper…..

[Vintagesixtysix]

I thought some interesting facts in this article.

So many things play into this decision…… I’m glad I have reliability and driving pleasure in my mix of reasons.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/cars/article-10804657/Car-mileage-quarter-cars-Britains-roads-100k-miles-more.html

[Linas.P]

My guess would be that increased age/mileage is partially cost of living issue, but not directly because people do not have money, but because nowadays accessibility not the same. Not only that - demand is not the same.

Remember the days where every decent job offered car scheme? It was no-brainer not to take as a work benefit and keep replacing car with new one whilst saving on tax. This is why historically cars in UK depreciates much quicker and user car prices are much lower and by the way this is not how it is in other countries - in most Europe even before covid/brex**** debacle decent IS250 costed 10k Euro, whereas in UK they were already selling for £2500 in 2014. Nowadays company car schemes pretty much no longer exists or are simply no longer economically feasible due to extortionate BIK and other costs. I remember I wanted to get on car scheme in 2016 and nearly got BMW 530e, but in the end they wanted so much for insurance and BIK was so high that it just wasn't worth it, I decided to wait for MB C300e to come in stock, but they cancelled the whole scheme before I could get it... and since then there was no car scheme.

And all this comes with what I call "war on motorists" in UK - there are so many groups of retarded vegans in lycras trying to make people ashamed of simply owning the car... and it largely works! Young people now don't even desire driving or owning the car, having a license, it is out of fashion, it is considered something almost undesirable - car culture in UK has died. As such companies can afford to cancel the car scheme, because new generation of employees no longer demands that. So lower supply, means lower depreciation, higher prices and lower demand = people keeping cars for longer. Besides car is no longer seen as expression of freedom or status symbol, so having very new car no longer matters for many. 

Another thing in puzzle is cars themselves - before every generation of car was almost revolutionary, new tech, new features, new comforts, more power lower fuel consumption. At some point I can argue they were even getting cheaper, not in literal sense due to inflation, but there was time where new model almost seemed better value, maybe costing a little bit more but with a lot more tech. But look at cars lately what is there in new car that you don't have on IS250? I been in same place when I was considering replacing mine like 5 years ago. Take for example 2005 IS250 and 2016 IS200t/250/300h, what was there in 2015 car that wasn't already present in 2005 car? If anything 200t engine is in all measurable ways worse (and I can say it because I owned the car for 2.5 years), 250 is the same engine form ~2003 in heavier 2015 car, 300h efficient in city, but far worse driver experience and generally less nice to drive and much slower.. and on motorway not even more efficient, just in city. All standard equipment the same or even worse, for example 2005 car had better standard audio, had keyless entry standard (option in later cars)... so what is the point of even upgrading from 2005 and 2015? Really not much. The only little bit bigger change Lexus introduced was LSS+ in 2019 when it became standard in all cars - but that is about the only bigger tech upgrade in 14 year! So the cars themselves stagnated and not 10 years old car pretty much has all the tech one would ever want. Hence the BEV scam - people no longer want to upgrade cars so ban on ICEV is coming to force the change to happen.  

Now all thing considered, this is government policy and it is working exactly as planned, people stop driving, stop buying cars and relying more on government to provide transportation. Is it better for planet, maybe, maybe not - remains to be seen, but this is definitely not accidental. The only issue is that now there will be need for new for of tax to replace £40Bn generated by motoring, so we still be paying the same tax in some form just going to be deprived of having personal transportation.

[GMB]

46 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

My guess would be that increased age/mileage is partially cost of living issue, but not directly because people do not have money, but because nowadays accessibility not the same. Not only that - demand is not the same.

Remember the days where every decent job offered car scheme? It was no-brainer not to take as a work benefit and keep replacing car with new one whilst saving on tax. This is why historically cars in UK depreciates much quicker and user car prices are much lower and by the way this is not how it is in other countries - in most Europe even before covid/brex**** debacle decent IS250 costed 10k Euro, whereas in UK they were already selling for £2500 in 2014. Nowadays company car schemes pretty much no longer exists or are simply no longer economically feasible due to extortionate BIK and other costs. I remember I wanted to get on car scheme in 2016 and nearly got BMW 530e, but in the end they wanted so much for insurance and BIK was so high that it just wasn't worth it, I decided to wait for MB C300e to come in stock, but they cancelled the whole scheme before I could get it... and since then there was no car scheme.

And all this comes with what I call "war on motorists" in UK - there are so many groups of retarded vegans in lycras trying to make people ashamed of simply owning the car... and it largely works! Young people now don't even desire driving or owning the car, having a license, it is out of fashion, it is considered something almost undesirable - car culture in UK has died. As such companies can afford to cancel the car scheme, because new generation of employees no longer demands that. So lower supply, means lower depreciation, higher prices and lower demand = people keeping cars for longer. Besides car is no longer seen as expression of freedom or status symbol, so having very new car no longer matters for many. 

Another thing in puzzle is cars themselves - before every generation of car was almost revolutionary, new tech, new features, new comforts, more power lower fuel consumption. At some point I can argue they were even getting cheaper, not in literal sense due to inflation, but there was time where new model almost seemed better value, maybe costing a little bit more but with a lot more tech. But look at cars lately what is there in new car that you don't have on IS250? I been in same place when I was considering replacing mine like 5 years ago. Take for example 2005 IS250 and 2016 IS200t/250/300h, what was there in 2015 car that wasn't already present in 2005 car? If anything 200t engine is in all measurable ways worse (and I can say it because I owned the car for 2.5 years), 250 is the same engine form ~2003 in heavier 2015 car, 300h efficient in city, but far worse driver experience and generally less nice to drive and much slower.. and on motorway not even more efficient, just in city. All standard equipment the same or even worse, for example 2005 car had better standard audio, had keyless entry standard (option in later cars)... so what is the point of even upgrading from 2005 and 2015? Really not much. The only little bit bigger change Lexus introduced was LSS+ in 2019 when it became standard in all cars - but that is about the only bigger tech upgrade in 14 year! So the cars themselves stagnated and not 10 years old car pretty much has all the tech one would ever want. Hence the BEV scam - people no longer want to upgrade cars so ban on ICEV is coming to force the change to happen.  

Now all thing considered, this is government policy and it is working exactly as planned, people stop driving, stop buying cars and relying more on government to provide transportation. Is it better for planet, maybe, maybe not - remains to be seen, but this is definitely not accidental. The only issue is that now there will be need for new for of tax to replace £40Bn generated by motoring, so we still be paying the same tax in some form just going to be deprived of having personal transportation.

Lesson number one. The government don't care about you. They just want to use you.

#2 The banks are not your friends. They just want to use you. Frank Zappa told us so!

This has always been the case. The car industry was to some extent protected in the past because it maintained UK jobs and therefore UK taxpayers. Now we have almost no car industry so the government just want to profit from the use of cars.

Cut to the chase - you are only here to provide revenue for the government and its mates.

BTW Linas you must admit the 200t is "special" in the sense that the French use the word.

I must remember not to post comments after a few glasses of wine. I'll get me coat.

[Alfalfa]

A new Lexus have a variomatic gearbox , my 250 Is 2006 have a real automatic gearbox.

[Linas.P]

9 minutes ago, GMB said:

BTW Linas you must admit the 200t is "special" in the sense that the French use the word.

"Special" indeed...

[Phil xxkr]

25 minutes ago, GMB said:

Lesson number one. The government don't care about you. They just want to use you.

#2 The banks are not your friends. They just want to use you. Frank Zappa told us so!

This has always been the case. The car industry was to some extent protected in the past because it maintained UK jobs and therefore UK taxpayers. Now we have almost no car industry so the government just want to profit from the use of cars.

Cut to the chase - you are only here to provide revenue for the government and its mates.

BTW Linas you must admit the 200t is "special" in the sense that the French use the word.

I must remember not to post comments after a few glasses of wine. I'll get me coat.

Graham, if this is the quality of your rant after just a few glasses I strongly recommend you try at least a magnum 🥳. Lesson number 1, you sound like a Karen not a Graham 😅

Lesson number 2, you are definitely a Karen 🤣

Lesson number 3, I agree in terms of the strict use of the word manufacturing, however assembly numbers reached over 2 million in 2016 way above anything achieved before. 

Lesson number 4, providing revenue to the government? Well what other purpose do you serve? Other than providing input to a particular knotty problem that CERN are having with the Hadron collider, if so I am in awe. 🍻

[GMB]

1 hour ago, Phil xxkr said:

Graham, if this is the quality of your rant after just a few glasses I strongly recommend you try at least a magnum 🥳. Lesson number 1, you sound like a Karen not a Graham 😅

Lesson number 2, you are definitely a Karen 🤣

Lesson number 3, I agree in terms of the strict use of the word manufacturing, however assembly numbers reached over 2 million in 2016 way above anything achieved before. 

Lesson number 4, providing revenue to the government? Well what other purpose do you serve? Other than providing input to a particular knotty problem that CERN are having with the Hadron collider, if so I am in awe. 🍻

Hi Phil

How we get to CERN and the Hadron collider from a 200t sounds like more than a magnum has hit the spot. Anyway who can afford good Burgundy nowadays. 🍷

[Phil xxkr]

3 minutes ago, GMB said:

Hi Phil

How we get to CERN and the Hadron collider from a 200t sounds like more than a magnum has hit the spot. Anyway who can afford good Burgundy nowadays. 🍷

Hi Graham, how very true 🍻, the days of an everyday St Julien or Gevry Chambertin or Puilly Fuisse are now just distant memories. As a hard-pressed OAP I now find myself reduced to the inevitable Amarone, Barola or Rioja 1, 😕😎

[GMB]

2 minutes ago, Phil xxkr said:

Hi Graham, how very true 🍻, the days of an everyday St Julien or Gevry Chambertin or Puilly Fuisse are now just distant memories. As a hard-pressed OAP I now find myself reduced to the inevitable Amarone, Barola or Rioja 1, 😕😎

Don't get me started. As an OAP myself I used to  enjoy some nice fine wines but now its not Puligny Montrachet  ..   it's Macon Villages!!!😪

[Phil xxkr]

4 minutes ago, GMB said:

Don't get me started. As an OAP myself I used to  enjoy some nice fine wines but now its not Puligny Montrachet  ..   it's Macon Villages!!!😪

As you will observed having just returned from the Amalfi Coast I find myself far more tolerant of non French wines. Who knows, in say 20 years from now I may even grow to like the New World stuff 😉