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You saw my posts a couple pages back, this thread was valuable when I bought my Outback. I got mine 2 yrs old, 4,000 miles for about $13k less than a new one. I thought it was a good deal until I had to wrestle down/off all the add on fees the dealer was putting there. And even when you get most if not all of it off, they act like they are doing you a favor.
I'm considering trading in the Forrester to the same dealer I bought it from and try to purchase a Crosstrek, I like them especially the ones a little higher off the ground.
Some of us leave the State often
Funny because of the double post, but if there were a car worthy of a double post LS’s are on that list. Fantastic cars with legendary reliability. Here’s a great article on the first generation of LS’s…
Recently had a LS400 for three years. Most comfortable, smoothest driving car I’ve ever owned. Still miss it. My 20 something daughter made fun of it as an old man’s car. She came to visit from the west coast and drove it quite a bit. When it was time to leave she wanted to take it back with her. All of that said……given their age, they are getting quite expensive to keep on the road and parts are getting harder and harder to source. Things have been together for 30 years and they don’t come apart easily, often breaking other things in the process. Got to the point where it didn’t matter what broke or needed replacement…… $1200-$1500. Fantastically beautiful car.Funny because of the double post, but if there were a car worthy of a double post LS’s are on that list. Fantastic cars with legendary reliability. Here’s a great article on the first generation of LS’s…
The Million-Mile Lexus
Crossing seven digits in the luxury car that changed everything.www.roadandtrack.com
I usually charge mine to 80% and get about 285 miles on the charge. I have the 2 wheel drive version though.
Other than long road trips, can't imagine I would ever need more. I could drive to Miami and back from where I am around Jupiter and not have to stop for fuel.
Head gasket?
I miss it too. One of my saddest days on the inter-webs was when I found out you weren't driving the '96 LS400 anymore ('96, right?).Recently had a LS400 for three years. Most comfortable, smoothest driving car I’ve ever owned. Still miss it. My 20 something daughter made fun of it as an old man’s car. She came to visit from the west coast and drove it quite a bit. When it was time to leave she wanted to take it back with her. All of that said……given their age, they are getting quite expensive to keep on the road and parts are getting harder and harder to source. Things have been together for 30 years and they don’t come apart easily, often breaking other things in the process. Got to the point where it didn’t matter what broke or needed replacement…… $1200-$1500. Fantastically beautiful car.Funny because of the double post, but if there were a car worthy of a double post LS’s are on that list. Fantastic cars with legendary reliability. Here’s a great article on the first generation of LS’s…
The Million-Mile Lexus
Crossing seven digits in the luxury car that changed everything.
You are correctI miss it too. One of my saddest days on the inter-webs was when I found out you weren't driving the '96 LS400 anymore ('96, right?).Recently had a LS400 for three years. Most comfortable, smoothest driving car I’ve ever owned. Still miss it. My 20 something daughter made fun of it as an old man’s car. She came to visit from the west coast and drove it quite a bit. When it was time to leave she wanted to take it back with her. All of that said……given their age, they are getting quite expensive to keep on the road and parts are getting harder and harder to source. Things have been together for 30 years and they don’t come apart easily, often breaking other things in the process. Got to the point where it didn’t matter what broke or needed replacement…… $1200-$1500. Fantastically beautiful car.Funny because of the double post, but if there were a car worthy of a double post LS’s are on that list. Fantastic cars with legendary reliability. Here’s a great article on the first generation of LS’s…
The Million-Mile Lexus
Crossing seven digits in the luxury car that changed everything.
I'm sure they went up a bit, but the cost per mile is something like 10-20 TIMES higher with gas than electric. I did a direct comparison of monthly costs but there are too many variables around average temperature, how much I used my AC, etc. to be certain. On average, the last 12 months were cheaper for me than the prior 12, at the same electric rates. I also know I pay less than I was paying for gas but I don't drive very much.
Yep, that's it.
Regrettably, my electric bill is about to increase by 40% because I'm reaching the end of a 3 year commitment in this deregulated state, and the rates have increased that much in that time.
Did I hear the word Lease?
Yes I leased for exactly the reasons you mention above. And I'm super happy because in 2 years I'll have a much better selection than I was looking at last year. I have never leased before and likely never will again.
Leasing in Texas is nearly never a good idea because you have to pay the full tax bill, not just the tax on the portion you lease.
It was my first ever EV - never even owned a hybrid. The market was limited and it was a new model for Kia. I'm very glad I made the decision to lease for this first dip in the pool.
Leasing an EV can get you the tax credit if you wouldn't otherwise qualify. I mean that's a good reason.
![[icon]](/data/avatars/m/5/5167.jpg?1660313464){kind=avatar}
. I told him recently that I'm interested in his Highlander if he's buying something new soon and that hasn't appeared to move him to buy. I think I'll have to mention it to him one more time and tell him I'm ready to get something in the next few weeks to see if that does anything. That would be nice and easy and I'd know the condition I'm getting.
I tried to push my father-in-law into upgrading his mint-conditon Outback to something else so we could scoop it up. No luck for me either.Ugh, probably need to get back into the car market. This time just looking for something cheap but pretty reliable to give us an extra car for a year or two to bridge the gap to a better one later on. I already have two car payments on new cars (one should be one in about 6 months) and I don't want to add another newer car to insurance nor pay the Virginia property tax on a newer car, so definitely want something old right now. Prices have dropped some, but still hard to imagine paying so much for something old with high mileage.
Ideally, my dad would sell me his old Highlander on a nice cheap family discount as he gets a new car. He's been looking for a new car for about three years
Congrats! Don’t pay it off fast if you have 0% financing.
I meant the three years being faster than normal.
Yeah, I feel like I’m seeing some decent prices and many cars have had price decreases recently.
I wouldn’t touch an older high mileage Audi
We scratched Audi as unreliable
Love both Audi (owned an A6 3.0t) and Volvo. They are fantastic cars. But zero chance I’m buying them used with high mileage (80k-100k plus). Both get troublesome above that and are costly to fix.
I had this experience too with my local Subaru dealer a few months ago. We did the whole deal over the phone/text, and we had agreed on both the price of the vehicle I was purchasing and the price of my trade-in. On the day of the transaction, of course they want to inspect the trade-in and I have no problem with that -- I had given them an accurate description of my car's condition and repair history, but I can't reasonably expect a buyer just to take my word on it.
Volvo is a different brand now that they do so much in China. We have a xc90 with 100k on it and have liked it. Needed a new AC system (Texas) but otherwise has been fine.
It's like insurance companies just denying every claim as a matter of policy. Then if you complain, oh, sorry, yeah that's covered. But if you don't, they keep your money. No skin off their nose either way.
Pricing on them went up big post 2020. Not nearly the value anymore.
Interesting that you found the Honda too narrow. We were going back and forth with Honda and Toyota and found that that the Honda interior was much nicer and roomier. Across all models.
My son test drove both and liked the Honda better. He had been driving a 2011 CRV his papa gave him when he couldn’t drive anymore due to his cancer, so he might have felt more comfortable. That said his 2024 CRV is a big 2 generation jump with a lot more bells and whistles. My son bought it and is paying for it so definitely his choice. He tried the HRVs and Mazdas as well as the RAV4.Interesting that you found the Honda too narrow. We were going back and forth with Honda and Toyota and found that that the Honda interior was much nicer and roomier. Across all models.
Yeah there's something about the seats and the footwells. My knees hit the center console a bit from both sides in the CRV and not in the RAV4, but more importantly, my wife felt the seats in the shoulders. We're both very broad shouldered, with dads and brothers that have even broader shoulders, so if she and I feel it, the chances that any relatives and also kids do is very high.My son test drove both and liked the Honda better. He had been driving a 2011 CRV his papa gave him when he couldn’t drive anymore due to his cancer, so he might have felt more comfortable. That said his 2024 CRV is a big 2 generation jump with a lot more bells and whistles. My son bought it and is paying for it so definitely his choice. He tried the HRVs and Mazdas as well as the RAV4.Interesting that you found the Honda too narrow. We were going back and forth with Honda and Toyota and found that that the Honda interior was much nicer and roomier. Across all models.
We are both broad shouldered as well, but you’ve got us by 4” in height so knees were fine. I have an RX350 and it was the most comfortable seat I tried at Carmax including Acura, Range Rover (really narrow to me) Volvo and others. That was the main reason I got it because we drove a lot for vacations from FL to NY and I always drive. Still love it even though it’s 9 years and 113k miles old.Yeah there's something about the seats and the footwells. My knees hit the center console a bit from both sides in the CRV and not in the RAV4, but more importantly, my wife felt the seats in the shoulders. We're both very broad shouldered, with dads and brothers that have even broader shoulders, so if she and I feel it, the chances that any relatives and also kids do is very high.My son test drove both and liked the Honda better. He had been driving a 2011 CRV his papa gave him when he couldn’t drive anymore due to his cancer, so he might have felt more comfortable. That said his 2024 CRV is a big 2 generation jump with a lot more bells and whistles. My son bought it and is paying for it so definitely his choice. He tried the HRVs and Mazdas as well as the RAV4.Interesting that you found the Honda too narrow. We were going back and forth with Honda and Toyota and found that that the Honda interior was much nicer and roomier. Across all models.
The car seat mattered a lot too for me. In the CRV, something about the seat angles either couldn't change or couldn't change enough, whereas I could set the front seat to my liking and there was an entire hand's width between the seat and the car seat edge in it.
Cars are weird. Like I never would have guessed the ancient looking infotainment in Subaru would be such a deterrent. I thought for sure we'd end up with an Outback and not much further investigation.
Is there any reason you didn't look at BMW or Mercedes? You looked at some in the segment (Acura, Lexus, Range Rover) but not all of them.
We started with Range Rover as like a cool used option to get in our price range, but the used ones aren't reliable enough and don't have the updated tech she wants. The BMW equivalents (X5/X7) started at the high end of the RX350 models (without adding any of the features) so we priced it out right away (I think the X5 starts at ~$66 and the X7 in the $80s).
Yeah it's definitely her favorite. It all comes down to being comfortable with the price. I'm 100% ok if she's not comfortable with the price. The fact that her reaction is that is part of why she and I are so on the same page about finance stuff all the time.We are both broad shouldered as well, but you’ve got us by 4” in height so knees were fine. I have an RX350 and it was the most comfortable seat I tried at Carmax including Acura, Range Rover (really narrow to me) Volvo and others. That was the main reason I got it because we drove a lot for vacations from FL to NY and I always drive. Still love it even though it’s 9 years and 113k miles old.Yeah there's something about the seats and the footwells. My knees hit the center console a bit from both sides in the CRV and not in the RAV4, but more importantly, my wife felt the seats in the shoulders. We're both very broad shouldered, with dads and brothers that have even broader shoulders, so if she and I feel it, the chances that any relatives and also kids do is very high.My son test drove both and liked the Honda better. He had been driving a 2011 CRV his papa gave him when he couldn’t drive anymore due to his cancer, so he might have felt more comfortable. That said his 2024 CRV is a big 2 generation jump with a lot more bells and whistles. My son bought it and is paying for it so definitely his choice. He tried the HRVs and Mazdas as well as the RAV4.Interesting that you found the Honda too narrow. We were going back and forth with Honda and Toyota and found that that the Honda interior was much nicer and roomier. Across all models.
The car seat mattered a lot too for me. In the CRV, something about the seat angles either couldn't change or couldn't change enough, whereas I could set the front seat to my liking and there was an entire hand's width between the seat and the car seat edge in it.
Cars are weird. Like I never would have guessed the ancient looking infotainment in Subaru would be such a deterrent. I thought for sure we'd end up with an Outback and not much further investigation.
Yea it’s weird. I hit my head on the door jamb getting into the Toyotas and felt cramped n side. Especially in the Land Cruiser. I’m utterly average sized as well so odd. And to us, the interior of the Honda was more attractive.Yeah there's something about the seats and the footwells. My knees hit the center console a bit from both sides in the CRV and not in the RAV4, but more importantly, my wife felt the seats in the shoulders. We're both very broad shouldered, with dads and brothers that have even broader shoulders, so if she and I feel it, the chances that any relatives and also kids do is very high.My son test drove both and liked the Honda better. He had been driving a 2011 CRV his papa gave him when he couldn’t drive anymore due to his cancer, so he might have felt more comfortable. That said his 2024 CRV is a big 2 generation jump with a lot more bells and whistles. My son bought it and is paying for it so definitely his choice. He tried the HRVs and Mazdas as well as the RAV4.Interesting that you found the Honda too narrow. We were going back and forth with Honda and Toyota and found that that the Honda interior was much nicer and roomier. Across all models.
The car seat mattered a lot too for me. In the CRV, something about the seat angles either couldn't change or couldn't change enough, whereas I could set the front seat to my liking and there was an entire hand's width between the seat and the car seat edge in it.
Cars are weird. Like I never would have guessed the ancient looking infotainment in Subaru would be such a deterrent. I thought for sure we'd end up with an Outback and not much further investigation.
Interiors visually all looked about the same to me. CRV screen felt like it was up a bit higher, which I found annoying but not important. One thing that's "huge difference" between the Lexus and all others except the Pathfinder was that her purse would fit inside the center console (talk about things I never considered).Yea it’s weird. I hit my head on the door jamb getting into the Toyotas and felt cramped n side. Especially in the Land Cruiser. I’m utterly average sized as well so odd. And to us, the interior of the Honda was more attractive.Yeah there's something about the seats and the footwells. My knees hit the center console a bit from both sides in the CRV and not in the RAV4, but more importantly, my wife felt the seats in the shoulders. We're both very broad shouldered, with dads and brothers that have even broader shoulders, so if she and I feel it, the chances that any relatives and also kids do is very high.My son test drove both and liked the Honda better. He had been driving a 2011 CRV his papa gave him when he couldn’t drive anymore due to his cancer, so he might have felt more comfortable. That said his 2024 CRV is a big 2 generation jump with a lot more bells and whistles. My son bought it and is paying for it so definitely his choice. He tried the HRVs and Mazdas as well as the RAV4.Interesting that you found the Honda too narrow. We were going back and forth with Honda and Toyota and found that that the Honda interior was much nicer and roomier. Across all models.
The car seat mattered a lot too for me. In the CRV, something about the seat angles either couldn't change or couldn't change enough, whereas I could set the front seat to my liking and there was an entire hand's width between the seat and the car seat edge in it.
Cars are weird. Like I never would have guessed the ancient looking infotainment in Subaru would be such a deterrent. I thought for sure we'd end up with an Outback and not much further investigation.
