Friday, August 25

Thinking About a Newer Vehicle

 My wife and I each have a vehicle.  Mine is a 2015 Toyota Venza; she has a 2015 Lexus.  Each of these vehicles were purchased after being leased for a year at a substantial savings.


At some point in time, we want to only have one vehicle but we are not there yet.  I suspect the downsizing of vehicles will happen in the next 2-3 years.


Currently, we are thinking about trading in the Venza for a new car but not a brand new car...  another leased vehicle perhaps.  We are looking around at a variety of cars but all within the Toyota family or Lexus.  They are the Lexus RX350, Toyota Venza, or Toyota RAV4.


The dimensions for all three vehicles are about the same give or take an inch or two.  So, that realization neutralizes the size issue.  Our other issues are:

  • Cost
  • Quality
  • Repairs
  • Ride

If we can get relatively the same level of quality of ride from a cheaper vehicle, then the cost issue is eliminated and we have saved $20,000 from the getgo.

The cheaper vehicles have cheaper repair costs so that issue is basically resolved.

One of the things that we could do on the cheaper vehicles is swap out tires and put the widest tire that is acceptable.  The bigger the tire the smoother the ride.

We know from the getgo that the Lexus RX350 is going to be a great FINAL VEHICLE for us as we have owned an RX350 (used) once before.  However, the taste of saving money is a huge tease for one of the other two vehicles.

One of the issues that we both are facing is back issues, so getting in and out and how it sits, are going to be worth a higher price in the long run.

Of course, these are all paper notations and the only way to be sure with any of this is to go out into the field and actually sit in the car.

We were thinking about doing this when we go to Myrtle Beach in a couple of weeks, so we could tell the salesperson that we are on vacation and just looking for something to do.

It ain't nothing personal...  it's just business.

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