Buying a new Lexus

Buying a new car in this family is a rarity.  The last new car we bought, A RX300 Lexus, was in the 20th century, 1999 specifically, nearly 13 years ago.  In this post Helen and I visit a Lexus dealer in Santa Monica where we purchased a new, first year model, Lexus CT200h.  The "h" stands for hybrid, our first experience with this relatively new technology. Toyota/Lexus has been our brand(s) of choice since 1990 when we purchased a Toyota 4Runner that is currently in regular service as a "station" car for our daughter and husband who commutes daily by train from their home in New Jersey to New York City.  As a sports car aficionado (previous ownership: two Porsches and an  Alfa Romeo) I currently drive a 10-year old Celica. And of course, at least for the time being we still have the RX300, easily our favorite car among all the many we have owned in 43 years as a family.  Viva Toyota/Lexus!

The purchase experience was unique.  Asking for written bids to our carefully detailed specifications from 10 dealerships within a one hour drive from our home, we received 9 back.  There was a $2,500 spread between the lowest and highest bid, most bids coming in roughly $500 more than the winning low bidder, a dealership in Santa Monica.  Other than a test drive early on, we never entered a dealership in this whole process until we picked the car up one Saturday morning.  Really quite a hassle-free buying experience and we can claim a $2,500 savings since one of the high bids was our local dealership.  We put the "savings" into an extended 8 year warranty basing this decision on the facts we keep cars over ten years, and on all the electronics failures we've experienced with our  Miele and Thermador high end appliances since we bought them 5 years ago.  When electronics go, replacements are costly.


The dealership, located in the heart of Santa Monica, proved to be luxurious, in keeping with the brand's image.

 This dealership specializes in the sale of hybrids.  The full line of Lexus hybrids must have been on display in the showroom, a beautifully appointed room with unique appurtenances.

 Helen enjoying her freshly brewed coffee and homemade cookies.  An original mural in the background.

 A chessboard and baby grand automated player piano for passing paperwork time away.

Our salesman Danny was a model of politeness and attentiveness.  A 30 year veteran of car sales!

Here's our Magenta red beauty, the color was Helen's choice.  Kinda Ferrari-like, eh?

Out the door and ready for its first voyage.  Helen was too nervous to drive it the 45 miles trip home.  She stuck to the old Lexus until she could read the manuel on the new hybrid and practice some things in our driveway.  There are some unique features on hybrids that take some getting used to.  But by and large when driving one never knows its different from a conventional gasoline only powered car.