Cheers!

what does the residuals look like for either after year 1, 2, 4, 6?

You can say it doesn't matter because you want to own the car for a while. But it does matter. Heaven for forbid you get into an accident and you total your car for a write off by the insurance company or it gets stolen, you are only paid the calculated residual of your car (whole sale prices for that matter).

Residuals do not take into account fun/soul/blah blah... but it takes into account the total market perception. A market price in a free economic system is very very accurate.

Mr.E.G.

Sure, it matters a little. But I'm paying cash, so I don't have to worry abut wrecking the car and being upside down on my loan or anything like that. Further, I limit my financial exposure with restraint.

You're certainly right a Honda-like residual is a good thing. It's just not the only factor. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Acura is the smarter purchase.

Cheers!

Even if you are paying cash, why risk your hard earned money to high depreciation? Sure you could buy gap insurance if you need to, but why? The free market market already tells you pretty much what is a good buy. Just do a google search and several lists come up all with pretty much the same rankings (this is if you are buying new).

If you want used, I highly recommend a used lexus ISF. Your budget will dictate what year you can afford. I came awfully close to buying a used 2011 for 39k with only 21,000 miles for a car that had a msrp > $70k new. It had lexus dependability. Nicely styled interior that would not get dated quickly. But the wife said too small with our growing family. It sounds like you are just starting out and it will serve you well for a bit of time. The market for them has bottomed out and staying relatively flat. They don't have the cache of a M3/M5 or even a S4. But they have lexus reliability, as well as not having the I'm an a-hole driving BMW/AUDI mantra to them.


whatever you get, good luck with whatever you buy. Just in case you were wondering I bought a 2015 Toyota 4runner LTD in 2014 for the family mobile.

s.hasan546

Insurance does not pay you by wholesale price. If your insurance company did that to you, you need to switch companies immediately

QUIKAG

Still think you should drive an Es350 or older LS430. Bet you could find a Chevy SS (the 4 door Holden) for a decent price if you look around. Then you get a subtle sleeper with RWD and an LS3.

rob-2

And if we wants AWD Lexus is rear wheel biased. TLX goes FWD above 40mph.

Mr.E.G.

I saw one at a gas station on Friday. I hadn't seen one up close before. It looks really cool. I searched for them on cars.com, and they're still out of my price range. Bummer. I'd love a V8 daily driver.

Marioshi

"Hey Guys, I have painted myself into this impossible situation where there are only two possible choices!"

"Choice A: The fun car guy choice, the car that I want. Choice B: The practical and reliable choice. WHAT DO I DO????"

This is like the original internet troll post. You are a car guy, you already know what's out there, you already know what you like. It seems like you have already made up your mind, so go forth and buy.

Mr.E.G.

I know, right? It's almost like I value input from people whose opinions I respect. Cray-cray, amirite?

But seriously, I went and drove a Lexus on the reccomendation of this thread. I'm not so easily swayed that I'm going to be talked into buying something I don't want, but I'm also open-minded enough to ask for input. But, in fairness, you guys are suggesting a lot of cars that are out of my price range, so, yeah, I'm going to say no thanks to those cars. That doesn't mean I'm pooping on your ideas.

Mr.E.G.

Also, I genuinely had not made up my mind, and I've always made the practical choice, not the car guy choice. For instance, when I bought my Vette, I did so for reasons of practicality. I almost bought a turboed Cayman S (twice), but ultimately shied away because of the obscene cost of a not-so-special replacement engine, whereas the Corvette is reliable, but, more importantly, cheap to fix. If I blew the engine in the Porsche, I'd have to spend 80% of the value of the car to replace the engine with another crappy 3.4. With the Vette, I could install a built 427 making close to 600 hp for less money. So, even though I preferred the Cayman, I chose the Vette because it was more practical given my needs (I wanted a car to beat the piss out of). Also, when I bought my Civic, I was thiiiiiis close to buying an e46 330ci for a little bit more money. I ultimately chose the Civic for pragmatic reasons. My coworker actually ended up buying the 330ci and had nothing but problems with it, but that's beside the point. The point is, I rarely (if ever) have gone th car guy route.

The funny thing, Marioshi, is that you are the one who convinced me to get the Vette. If you recall, I drove a Cayman, a Vette, and an Elise and concluded that the Vette handled like crap and that I couldn't discern where the ends of the car were. Now, the one I drove was highly modified and ended up not driving anything like the Vette I eventually bought. But the point is, I was really down on the Vette and I really wanted the Cayman, but you explained how after a few hundred miles the Vette wouldn't feel so big, etc. I took what you said to heart and started looking at Vettes again, found one that was nice, drove it, and ultimately bought it.

So, again, I reject the notion that I'm just asking questions to troll, that I will typically buy based purely on emotion, or that I don't take advice to heart when it appears to be sound.