noby76

Just do the maths comparing the cost of running your existing 250 for X amount of years you are looking to keep it for i.e servicing, fuel and tax against the 300 over the same amount of years  then add £8000 to the final cost of running the GS300 over that same amount of years to see if you will be better or worse off.

thing most forget or might not be aware of is that  0-60 does not automatically translate to having a quicker car or being quicker in each and every gear on rolling acceleration.

i personally have experienced and seen cars with a quicker 0-60 from 1st to 2nd gear but slower or not having any more of an advantage  in a rolling start from 3rd to 4th to 5th gear when run against another car with a slower 0-60 with slightly lesser or similar horse power figure over the one with a 1 to 1.5 second advantage 0-60 . 

in gear or rolling acceleration is more important for everyday usage than 0-60 figures in my opinion.

29 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

 

@noby76 - you are the other one who cannot grasp with the question at hand. The topic is about GS being discontinued - yes there are all sorts of used cars.. it is irrelevant. Going forward you will have single type of engine and it will be 300h... that is IS300h, ES300h, RC300h... what if I don't want used car? 

my grasp of the question is 100%... it has been discontinued. nothing you can do to bring it back.. is like crying over spilled milk...so only option if you want a high powered GS is to go 'used'.. which is not a bad thing as it puts more money in your pocket but that's another topic on its own for another day.. and if Lexus does not have the spec in term of performance or trim, just go somewhere else where its offered.. there is always a trade off in someway shape of form with every car brand one goes for anyway..

2 minutes ago, Jamesf1 said:

Why on earth did you buy a 250? Focus ST sounds a better car for you

Apparantly Focus ST is not a 6 pot , is FWD and not Premium so wont cut it 😄

@Linas.Pi can see at least 20 GS450h's from 2013 -2018 in difference shades and spec on autotrader at the moment... i would like to think thats plenty for someone who is interested..

34 minutes ago, Ten Ninety said:

 The 300h drivetrain is many things, but fast is not one of them. It's not sharp or responsive either, so 'sluggish' is probably not a bad description. But for me, that's fine. For me, the 300h shouldn't be fast, sharp or responsive. It should be a nice relaxing, smooth way to cruise around in comfort.

 

Which is what most complaining is slow are forgetting to grasp. it was not designed and sold as a high performance saloon by lexus... The GS450h was more along those lines

17 minutes ago, The-Acre said:

Rightly or wrongly I paid a deposit on the very dark blue, almost black Celsior today.  Bodywork is what you'd expect on a 3 year old (I don't know how the Japanese manage it) and it drives well.  Back windows are very dark tinted, as most Japanese imports are, which makes it look a bit like it should have a case in the boot which used to house a musical instrument. Thankfully it has the Pioneer system rather than the ML system with its cheap and nasty speakers which always go south. 61k on the clock and all history, albeit in Japanese, cam belt done as well.  Oil nice and clear.  So time will tell. Just getting my own reg plate put on so hopefully late next week.

Very Nice Celsior indeed. will you be doing a badge swap to Lexus one's?  I prefer those seats to leather ones to be honest..  

Just now, FTBBCVoodoo said:

Was my 1st venture into RWD.  Not my best choice.  Next up was a 350z.  Much better handling albeit slower and a tad heavier 😉

I would love a 370Z Nismo.. very rare cars on the roads

2 minutes ago, FTBBCVoodoo said:

Have you ever driven a DC2 Integra Type R?  One of the greatest drivers cars in the world and it's FWD.

It was more fun than my RWD S2000 which just wasn't a nice car to drive on the limit as opposed to my Integras (I had 3).  I had an AP1 S2000 which wasn't the best handling version though.

 

Yes aparantly the AP1 S2000 was 'deadly' in the hands of should i say 'wannabe ' RWD drivers and AP2 was tonned down to appeal to most..

6 hours ago, Flytvr said:

Playing devil's advocate.

RWD, a petrol head's final drive nirvana. The motoring press ram it down our throats, advanced drivers tell us it's the best, blah, blah, blah.

But do you exploit this wonderful thing - do you slide your car around - do you adjust the attitude of your car in the corners? Have you got the skill to do all this? 

Most of us don't (or very infrequently) venture on to the track. This leaves us with the public highways. Does RWD therefore make even less sense?

So, how important is RWD to you and why?

loved the NA V8 soundtrack on my Previous GS430, kept up with most high powered BMW's without an M badge and when not in the mood was extremely smooth comfortable Luxury cruiser..  majority of the time, the benefits of it being RWD and having nearly 300bhp under the bonnet was not being utilised on a day to day basis.  switched down to a FWD 2.4 Accord which is half the litres and half the cylinders of the GS and its more fun being lighter all round, no torque steer,  and 7300rpm rev limit, with race cam switch at 6000rpm makes it much more  raw lively and fun FWD compared to the more powerful RWD 300bhp GS 430 and my Straight 6 RWD IS300.. 

I am not pro RWD like some on here and would be satisfied with either FWD or RWD cars so long as the setup is good and enjoyable to drive. ☺️

21 pages later, and i can't believe  most have not realised there are  still IS's and GS's on the market with 400bhp and 340bhp which has all the power one needs on these roads.  One also has the freedom to go for another brand if these two models are not sufficient for power needs. Seriously, this is getting OLD now.. 

5 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

I'm not after anything 🙂

Just interested in other people's opinions on what defines premium. Been an interesting debate 👍

I think the flagship models are the ones which offer that little extra in terms of Comfort, quiet and luxuriously appointed cabin which cannot be found/ not included on purpose in the models below them.. that's why a premium price tag is attached to them..

4 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

I think one can forget the electronic gizmos. Two a penny these days.

Comfort, quiet and luxuriously appointed cabin is a must. As is effortless progress.

LEXUS LS600/460? (i have heard LS430's are better comfort wise?)

VW PHAETON

AUDI A8

MERC S CLASS

BMW 7 SERIES

Jag XJ L

I would like to think these would offer what you are after?

10 hours ago, NemesisUK said:

I'm being torn between a premium car being one with heritage and one that offers something over and above the norm. 

Premium these days must be something over and above the norm?

Thing is most modern cars are well equipped these days, so what is really classified as over and above the norm?  do you mean power?, comfort? quietness?, Luxury Toys?

11 minutes ago, dutchie01 said:

that might well be true Noby.  The youngsters in my village think of the hyundai kona as a premium car as it has apple car play, parking360degrees cameras, super stereo, 3d satnav, and all other goodies as standard. How about that? i am middle aged and have different qualifications for luxury or premium i tend to look at old world brands first.

 

 

 

which even flips the script... based on the article, e.g. a Ford Vignale owner with all the Luxury goodies can say to a Merc C class owner with bare bone base trim model their car is not a Luxury car? since the article says and i quote

"What it comes down to is that there is no clear definition of what makes a luxury vehicle, luxury. It’s mostly in the eye of the beholder"

things even get more confusing when people confuse premium car to automatically mean Luxury(comfortable) car... then get disappointing when they actually find out how difficult it is to live with long term once the 6 month new car novelty wears off and realise how hard/stiff the suspension setup is on a daily basis then start playing around with different tyre brands and wheel sizes in order to rectify the problem. 

The gap between high end and low end  car manufactures  has closed  that the words premium and luxury has lost its true meaning.

few quotes from the article below

"In order to be considered a luxury car, the vehicle must have high-end features that go above and beyond the average necessities." 

"The term luxury is used to categorize vehicles that are equipped with better performance capabilities, lavish interiors and all the latest safety and technology features"

Pretty much all car manufactures models can be spec'd with such toys.

"What it comes down to is that there is no clear definition of what makes a luxury vehicle, luxury. It’s mostly in the eye of the beholder"

Which means e.g.  can a Ford Mondeo Vignale owner  say they own a Luxury car?  without the BMW driver laughing?

http://www.certifiedautoplex.com/blog/what-is-considered-a-luxury-car/

14 minutes ago, Ben01 said:

 but reliability alone does not define quality.

mmmh might have to disagree on this one.. last i checked in order to produce a reliable product, a quality part/material had to be used to produce it...  e.g. Genuine Leather lasts longer than PU Leather. the PU Leather may have flashy bits on it but does that make it quality over Genuine Leather because its fashy?

2 hours ago, Zotto said:

typical premium car driver likes to scream to all world " I am a premium car driver, I have money you don't" even if often it is not true, premium car driver don't own actually their car.  nobody will envy you if you buy the best flagship car with all bells and whistles made by Skoda (just to say one).

And the truthful thing is, its all a Facad majority put on to impress others they don't know or their neighbours. majority will forego things like personal savings, pensions etc.. to be seen in a 'Premium' car by others..  only a small percentage of these will be in the position to keep up payments/run the car if the unfortunate thing happens in terms of job loss/redundancy. 

I hate handing over my hard earned cash to someone else (car dealer) at the end of each month or be in Debt and prefer to invest mine in my two online businesses but that's me.. Yes as humans we all do like the finer things in life but i could care less and actually do not want the envy of others based on the car i drive.    

16 hours ago, NemesisUK said:

As the title, what defines a premium marque these days? 

Electronic gizmos are "two-a-penny" Sat Nav, Telephony, Multi-media connectivity are cheap and common place.

So what differentiates the common-place from the exclusive?

Styling? Very subjective. 

Exclusivity? What defines exclusive? Cost? Numbers?

An open question ..

 

 

i think its more to do with the brand these days..as you say a corsa, aygo, mondeo, etc.. can be spec'd with pretty much most features/toys you can find in say a BMW/Merc these days. styling is subjective, exclusivity used to make a car premium but again not so much these days as i see more german cars on the road than say a mondeo. does this make the mondeo exclusive in most people eyes? I don't think so.. 

besides your usual exotic cars, Majority will class the top 3 German brands as premium some dont even classify Lexus as premium even though majority of the german car models the mass population go for do not offer anything exclusive when compared to a similar spec'd say a vauxhall, Ford, Renault. most modern cars i have rode in or driven are well built these days it has closed the gap. infact servicing and cost of parts on some models of these so called non premium cars are actually higher than the so called premium ones. 

so its more the Badge on the bonnet than anything these days..

14 minutes ago, Comedian said:

And I wouldn't dream of trying to tell you what to do with it. In fact I have no opinion on it at all. It's not a competition.

Sent from my STV100-4 using Tapatalk
 

every man to his own...

4 minutes ago, Flytvr said:

You are comparing incomparable items. An RC-F is not  an investment. It is an ultra reliable car that can be enjoyed. Your two 'classics' are completely different.

If you really want to invest £40k, buy some property,  play with the markets, etc etc. The low end Ferrari and the NSX are unlikely to make you big money percentage wise.  If you try to use them like an F car, chances are you'll be facing some big bills.

 

i dont think you read my comment i mentioned they will be more of an investment.. to sell on a good day for profit.... i think I have a few grey hairs to know where to invest my cash...but thanks for the investment advise anyway...

2 minutes ago, Comedian said:

It's easy to invest dream money and far more difficult to risk real money due to our inbuilt emotional attachment to it.
 

says then one who doesn't know me or has never met me to know what i like to do with my real money... sorry comedian my real money wont be going towards and RCF for sure..

@Flytvr of course these will be more of an investment rather than a daily car!! and every rich person i know or have been around always needs free cash trust me they are never satisfied with investments... so long as it wont drop to £15k in a years time then of course its worth it as the depreciating % value has stabilised..

21 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Are you saying - basically only an idiot can buy RC-F or any newish expensive car?

Yes... why buy new when you can buy a car that has suffered majority of depreciation? 

8 minutes ago, Comedian said:

You do realise interest plus depreciation equals a bigger loss?
 

Yes that's why i wont finance/lease a new car.. i am very happy buying ones ine good condition that have done majority of their depreciating...

I would rather invest my £30-£50k spare cash in these cars  .... as they are guaranteed to appreciate in value over some years.. infact one can buy one of these hold out for a few months then put it back on sale and could easily profit huge without doing anything .. not soo much for an RCF!!

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201807178532631?advertising-location=at_cars&make=FERRARI&price-to=50000&price-from=27500&postcode=b185jh&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&sort=sponsored&radius=200&page=1

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201807268812879?price-from=27500&sort=sponsored&postcode=b185jh&advertising-location=at_cars&make=HONDA&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&price-to=50000&model=NSX&radius=200&page=1

2 minutes ago, Ala Larj said:

If you can afford to pay cash you can probably afford the depreciation!

Thanks but no thanks even Warren Buffet won't side with you on this... why burn you money in broad day light??

let's see the 

13 minutes ago, Comedian said:

He also doesn't realise not all cars are financed.


 

goes to show the sort of person you are to think it makes sense to pay cash for a car like the RCF outright considering the depreciation.  What a Numpty!!