We have three cars in our three person household---a 2000 Leuxs LS400 with 60,000 miles, a 2003 Subuaru Forester with 50,000 miles and a 1992 Honda Accord with 45,000 original miles (yes that's not a misprint). It seems like all three cars get somewhere between 19-23mpg in city driving. We definitely want to keep the Subaru Forester because we of it's a small SUV and nice to haul stuff in, but we're torn on whether or not to sell the Honda or Lexus to get a used Prius? The Honda is somewhat of a rarity with its extremely low mileage and it seems like they are still in high demand today. Dad says sell the Honda due to its age and keep the Lexus because of the luxury ride. I say keep the Honda and sell the Lexus because it depreciates a lot every year. What do you all think? We are fortunate to be able to afford to continue driving our cars despite the high gasoline prices. We don't like it, as we do a lot of city driving, but it won't put us in the poor house. We purchased our cars when gas was under $2 a gallon and gas prices weren't a factor. No question the Lexus is the pinnacle of a luxury ride, I'm trying to help my father understand that a lot of wealthy people drive a Prius and that it must ride nice for them and that a Prius doesn't have much depreciation at all. It doesn't matter to me whose position you take, I would just like your opinions.
although you might get the least $$ of the 3 from the accord, IMO its the one that needs to go! LS for nice dinners, going out etc Subaru, utility vehicle etc. accord???? for what??? my .02
The Prius is a similar tool as the Accord. The Accord is the oldest and the Prius replacing that vehicle seems appropriate to me. Lexus when luxury and extreme comfort is needed and the Subaru when you need the SUV factor and then the Prius for economy at the pump.
i agree that the depreciation on the lexus is higher, but you can also attribute that to it being 8 years newer and it has a much higher value right now. you're not really comparing apples to apples. do you pay annual property tax on your cars? that might be one thing to consider, as the lexus would cost more for that each year. obviously, you'd make more selling the lexus then, to presumably help pay for the prius. but there are plenty of ls's available from that era, and your competition might draw the price down or increase the time it takes to sell. a 92 honda with that few miles would get you a pretty nice price- clearly not as good as the ls but it would get snapped up like THAT. all things considered, IMO the prius is a more appropriate replacement for an accord than for an ls. it's a working car, not a luxury car.
Sell the Accord, keep the LS. The LS is Lexus' flagship and the pinnacle of Toyota workmanship. Plus, what are you gonna drive to the dinner party? Yes a Prius works but the LS is better . The Accord will find more buyers too because it's popular (esp. among highschool kids) and it's low mileage.
Well, I would keep the Lexus. Consumer Reports says that the 2000 LS400 is the most reliable used car. I had one and regret selling it to this day. But it did pay for a good portion of my Prius.
The LS is one of the best built longest lasting cars on the road. With only 60k miles...you can drive that thing hundreds of thousands more miles and still have it be as nice a car as it is today. Ditch the Accord and keep the Lexus.
