My95tsi Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Hello everyone! I currently own a 2011 Lexus CT200h. I love the car but it's size is really getting to me and i'd like to get into something larger and alittle more luxurious. I'm in the market for a MKZ hybrid as a commute about 70 miles per day with 90% of those miles being highway. I currently average about 42 mpg with my CT200h. The problem with my Lexus is that it hasn't held it value as much as I expected it. I'm getting trade in offers no more than $15,500 on a car I still owe about $25,000 on. I recently found a 2013 MKZ hybrid with a lot of bells and whistles. It has the equipment group 203A package with a sunroof (not panoramic). The original sticker on the car has it at $43,350. The car has $22,500 miles on it and they are asking $29,900. Now what is inticing me more is that they are going to offer me $19k for me Lexus which is far more that what i'm being offered elsewhere. With $4000 down they can get me to $33k out the door (including TTL) for the MKZ. I'm concerned about the MKZ holding it's value throughout the years as I do put 25,000 miles a year on it. I'm also concerned about long term reliability to let's say 150,000 miles. I see that trade it on this car is only around $25,500 so it has me worried that it's not going to hold it's value well throughout the years. The only thing to base value off of is the older generation MKZ which do not seem to be holding their value well at all. I'm looking for some opinions here. Does this seem like a good deal or are their better deals out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davisjl Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) First off...at 25k per year mileage, I'm not sure why you are worried if it will hold value... no car you drive will hold much value to the 125k mark what that many miles per year. Sorry... I'm in the same boat so I do feel your pain. Now, will it hold up... on that I can't say. 150k isn't that big of a stretch for you (6 years) so I would say that it would, but there isn't a lot of data to support that. As for the 2013 you've found... at $ 29,900 seems a bit high for that car. I would have expected $ 24k-26k. I guess the cost may be because it's being sold from a dealer and not a private party... Your value of trade on that car would be in the 23k to 24k range... so you're starting out with adding somewhere in the range of 6-7k negative equity on top of your existing negative equity. On top of that, with 25k miles per year you will be putting on it... the value will drop from there quickly. Personally, I think you're making a bad deal. Even at the $ 19k trade in you have $ 6k in negative equity... it's not time for you to trade, you really shouldn't roll that negative amount into the next car. On top of that, I don't think the value of the car you're buying is to be close to $ 29,900 adding to that negative equality and making it more like 10k or more. I would wager that your financing rate will be higher than you are paying at the current loan AND you'll be extending that out another 5 years, so in the end paying more. If it were me... I'd drive the Lexus until I at least broke even on the trade/loan amount... or more preferable until the car was paid off... The biggest issue being if you total the car, the insurance is only going to pay you for the value of the car and you're on the hook for the remaining 10+k on the loan you'll own... and the bank will want that money in a lump sum payment since the car will be totaled. It would be a bad situation to be in. I am a bit confused as to how you have a 4 year old model car and still owe 25k on it? Did you role negative equity into that loan too? Edited November 12, 2014 by Davisjl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2D2 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Check Kelly blue book on the used car pricing, it sounds a little high (10% or so.) if you are getting 42 MPG on your current Lexus, do not expect that with the MKZ as they list it as 38 overall And I agree with the above poster about not rolling negative value in, it is not a wise financial step to take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My95tsi Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 Well the funny thing is that this is one of the cheapest priced MKZ's on the market. Most with this many miles are around $32-34k. I still have 4 years of payments left on the Lexus. I made bad a decision on the Lexus, trust me I know. My Lexus won't really break even until about 2.5 more years and at that time it'll have 131000 miles on it. If I put $k down on the MKZ with the amout of miles i'll be putting on it each year my break even will also be at around the 2.5 year mark but with far less miles. I also did a 75 month loan with the Lexus which was just plain stupid. With the MKZ my loan will be for 60 months and i'll have an identical monthly payment from the Lexus. I'm also approved a 1.9% apr on the MKZ. Currently on the Lexus I have a 2.6% APR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davisjl Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) Yes, but that putting 4k toward the bottom line for the MKz...If you put 4k payment to the lexus... how much does that move up your break even date? My guess is you'd been even in a 1 1/2 years. The issue I would be concerned about is that you'll have a rather LARGE negative equity on the MKz even after you front the 4k toward the down payment. Its going to be a tough pill to swallow if you total that car and you have no car AND the bank demands a 10k payment... The trade value of the car you're looking at buying is 23k... so that's all you can expect to get IF it's in clean shape. You're loan AFTER paying the 4k will be 33k... so you will have AT LEAST 10k negative equity if not more... With the Lexus... you could take that 4k and paydown the loan and get out of it quicker than the 4 years you have left. I would have more confidence in the Lexus long term reliability at 130k than I would the Lincoln at 100k... Lexus has a pretty good track record of reliability. It's your decision... but if it was me, I'd put the 4k toward the Lexus and get that loan under control... all you're doing with the MKz is swapping dollars and staying upside down. It isn't as smart a choice as paying the 4k down to the loan you already have. That may not be the "emotional" choice, but it is the more finically smart choice... and the Lexus is a good car, so it's not like you're in a heap of junk that's breaking down every other day... I think you're thinking too much with your wants/heart... IMO... Again, it's your decision... but since you asked for advice, I'm going to give it to you straight. You'll have to live with the decision you make... Edited November 12, 2014 by Davisjl StealthMKZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tucker Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 I perfer the MKZ over the lexus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertlane Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Well the funny thing is that this is one of the cheapest priced MKZ's on the market. Most with this many miles are around $32-34k. I still have 4 years of payments left on the Lexus. I made bad a decision on the Lexus, trust me I know. My Lexus won't really break even until about 2.5 more years and at that time it'll have 131000 miles on it. If I put $k down on the MKZ with the amout of miles i'll be putting on it each year my break even will also be at around the 2.5 year mark but with far less miles. I also did a 75 month loan with the Lexus which was just plain stupid. With the MKZ my loan will be for 60 months and i'll have an identical monthly payment from the Lexus. I'm also approved a 1.9% apr on the MKZ. Currently on the Lexus I have a 2.6% APR. Did you go with the MKZ or are you still debating? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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