Well, with a Lexus you're officially joining the geriatric set on the roads. I can see why it wouldn't be the most exciting milestone.

Get a minivan. They're the new SUVs. Soccer mom car, but cool.

I feel like most people love their BMWs the most the day they buy them. Gradually fades as expensive maintenance, repairs, gimmicky electronics overshadow better "driving dynamics". Especially true of most recent models, because they're just a little sterile compared to prior gens

Opposite tends to be true with Toyota / Lexus. People buy them because of their reliability and generally good bank for buck, at the expense of latest tech, etc. Takes years to prove out cars reliability, etc., so the validation just takes longer

txcincinnatus said:

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I feel like most people love their BMWs the most the day they buy them. Gradually fades as expensive maintenance, repairs, gimmicky electronics overshadow better "driving dynamics". Especially true of most recent models, because they're just a little sterile compared to prior gens

Opposite tends to be true with Toyota / Lexus. People buy them because of their reliability and generally good bank for buck, at the expense of latest tech, etc. Takes years to prove out cars reliability, etc., so the validation just takes longer

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BMWs are great the first 3 years. Buy/lease and get rid of it when the warranty runs out. My Jeep has been in the shop more times (actually more than twice the number) than the total number of times my previous 3 BMWs were in the shop.

Well when the other car you've been shopping for is a Testarossa, that's bound to happen.

I would much rather have a Toyota or Lexus in the long run. Beemers generally have horrible resale value and lots of expensive repairs.

agracer said:

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Trading in my 60,000 Mile BMW 435iXDrive. Decided it was time to trade in or sell b/c of silly used value and it's going to start needed stuff soon (brakes, battery, tires and whatever else the car decides to break for no reason $$).

Dealer gave me a good trade $$ in for it so I put a deposit on a to be delivered Lexus ES350. Has all the options I wanted (except HUD), no ridiculous dealer add on's or dealer options (like nitrogen). Paying sticker price + $699 dealer fee (which was their fee years ago when I was searching in 2018).

I don't know why but I'm not that excited about it. When I was looking I was ready to get this thing sold and a new car in the garage, but now that I've waited 6-weeks I'm all "ok, whatever" about the whole thing. Definitely still want to sell the BMW though before something fail$ on it.

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Sorry OP, user name definitely does not match.

Goat Man said:

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agracer said:

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Trading in my 60,000 Mile BMW 435iXDrive. Decided it was time to trade in or sell b/c of silly used value and it's going to start needed stuff soon (brakes, battery, tires and whatever else the car decides to break for no reason $$).

Dealer gave me a good trade $$ in for it so I put a deposit on a to be delivered Lexus ES350. Has all the options I wanted (except HUD), no ridiculous dealer add on's or dealer options (like nitrogen). Paying sticker price + $699 dealer fee (which was their fee years ago when I was searching in 2018).

I don't know why but I'm not that excited about it. When I was looking I was ready to get this thing sold and a new car in the garage, but now that I've waited 6-weeks I'm all "ok, whatever" about the whole thing. Definitely still want to sell the BMW though before something fail$ on it.

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Sorry OP, user name definitely does not match.

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Uhm, what?

To be fair though, I drooled over the BMW Z3 back in the day. That 3.0 inline six and a manual transmission sure appealed to 17 year old me. They had an M roadster version for a few years too with like 315 hp.

That sexy sonuva***** is in your garage and you are fussin' about daily driving an ES350? I don't want to hear it.

My 86 325es has 290K. I've found the older bims are much more reliable than the junk bims they sell nowadays (nowadays = last 30 years).

agracer said:

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Trading in my 60,000 Mile BMW 435iXDrive. Decided it was time to trade in or sell b/c of silly used value and it's going to start needed stuff soon (brakes, battery, tires and whatever else the car decides to break for no reason $$).

Dealer gave me a good trade $$ in for it so I put a deposit on a to be delivered Lexus ES350. Has all the options I wanted (except HUD), no ridiculous dealer add on's or dealer options (like nitrogen). Paying sticker price + $699 dealer fee (which was their fee years ago when I was searching in 2018).

I don't know why but I'm not that excited about it. When I was looking I was ready to get this thing sold and a new car in the garage, but now that I've waited 6-weeks I'm all "ok, whatever" about the whole thing. Definitely still want to sell the BMW though before something fail$ on it.

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My wife also wanted the heads up display and it was a main option she wanted. We picked up her new car a couple weeks ago. She turned off the HUD the next day as it was distracting to her lol.

Well the OP can at least be comforted that the car won't depreciate very quickly when he resells it.

Did I just find the only "honest" dealer in America?

Went to check car at lunch and wife wanted to see it to approve. She actually thought it looked a lot better in person than in photos and the palomino interior color really looks good with the black accents.

Salesman said they tinted the windows, put on some paint protection film, and nitrogen in the tires (which is standard on all new cars). I said, we did not discuss that and I don't recall seeing that in the numbers we exchanged when I left the deposit. He said that should have been I there and would double check.

Got an email from him confirming that those costs were not in the numbers we agreed to so they will not charge me for those items. Yes, the nitrogen is complete BS but the other items are not exactly free.

I'm 100% sure they could sell this thing in about an hour if I'd walked since their are almost no cars on the lot and I've been waiting 6 weeks for this after I left a refundable deposit.

Thought I was going to have a fight on my hands but this has been pretty painless. That and a good friend has been working there 20+years and is the shop Forman!

I was in an ES350 with Lyft last week. Nice car. Very comfortable. I would go with the GS over it but then I don't have a f'ing Ferrari in the other bay!

I have HUD on my Cadillac and I never use it. Its fades from my eyesight almost immediately and I don't even see it. I find them to be useless.

agracer said:

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Did I just find the only "honest" dealer in America?

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I purchased a new truck last August. I contacted the dealer on a Saturday about a truck they had in stock. I couldn't make it down until Wednesday because of travel. They scheduled an appointment for Wednesday morning at 10:00am with the understanding that they may sell it beforehand. I called Tuesday evening and they said it was still available so I drive down on Wednesday morning (the dealer was an hour away).

At 9:59am the dealer called and said, "we just wanted to make sure you were still coming." I replied that I was sitting at a red light and I could see their sign on the other side of the intersection.

"Great! Pull in the front, we have the truck ready for you."

I pulled in and while the salesman is showing me the truck, there is an old man walking around the truck opening doors, the tailgate, etc. If you have lived in any rural area in the U.S. you know this guy. Flannel shirt, trucker hat, and suspenders. He drives a white XL that gets a gate post fender rub while it still has dealer tags on it. This guy just kept messing with the truck. The salesman says, "let's go for a test drive" and I thought this old guy was going to jump in the back because he wouldn't close the tailgate.

As we drive off I told the salesman, "I guess I need to hurry up and get back so that guy can buy this truck." Salesman said the old man test drove the truck yesterday but wanted to think about it overnight. Dealer said that was fine but that since I had an appointment the next day if he didn't buy it on Tuesday they would honor their appointment with me on Wednesday. Guy showed up at 9:45am and said he would buy the truck and was told that I had first refusal that day. I mentioned to the salesman that I had an X-plan and that I would understand if they wanted to sell the truck to the other guy at full price.

"No sir, X-plan will be fine."

Ended up buying the truck. Strangest experience ever. I don't know if they were honest or just annoyed with the old man. My wife said she was glad we don't live in that town because the old man would be trying to key the truck.

txcincinnatus said:

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I feel like most people love their BMWs the most the day they buy them. Gradually fades as expensive maintenance, repairs, gimmicky electronics overshadow better "driving dynamics". Especially true of most recent models, because they're just a little sterile compared to prior gens

Opposite tends to be true with Toyota / Lexus. People buy them because of their reliability and generally good bank for buck, at the expense of latest tech, etc. Takes years to prove out cars reliability, etc., so the validation just takes longer

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Plus, if you wait a few years, you're a few years older and therefore like Lexuses more.