I’ve seen .09% (new hybrids), 1.9% (new) and 2.9% (certified used) for up to 60 months thru Toyota Motor Credit since the new year. 4-Runners are not included. This is really unprecedented for Toyota but with prices up to $46K MSRP, the payments can still be quite high. For certified used Lexuses, TMC is also charging only 2.9% financing and now appears to be accepting qualified vehicles into the program as far back as 7 model-years hence (yr 2004). These rates are for the best credit. Not sure if a downpayment is required but I don’t think so, depending on credit. Under these circumstances, if you can afford the payment, I would go with the payment instead of paying cash even if I had the cash. This is assuming you could also negotiate a competitive price. The Kelly Blue Book trade-in values are still high on Toyotas/Lexuses, even those 7-12 years old!
Not sure if Toyota will continue this promotion after its April 4 expiration date due to recently destroyed and partially destroyed shipments to the US stored at a port in Japan. And I really don’t see the new-car dealers here dealing on the hybrids too much as gas prices are beginning to climb again.
As for me, I just got several more repairs done on my nearly 18-year old Lexus and it runs like a charm :). My insurance co just lowered my annual premiums for full coverage almost $200 year (probably due to the low book value of my car).
My mechanic of 21 years states that the Lexus Luxury Sedan for years ’89-’92 (older than my car) is the finest built car on the road and if maintained properly, it’s all-alum engine will last 500K miles (and they have many customers who have 300K+ mi on them) :=] See:
In addition, these vehicles have 10-12 coats of paint and if garaged for their life, look new after 20 years. Some model years have better-quality interior leather than others, though.
When you also take into account sales tax, tags, annual registration fee and insurance, it’s a lot cheaper to fix Toyota products and drive them into the ground, IMO, no matter what their current value . . . that is, if you don’t mind driving a vehicle without the latest gadgets.
As you can see here, I’ve always been partial to Toyota products due to their superior reliability.
