Hi, I lease a 2016 Lexus 200nx and the time is coming for me to return it. I love the car, but the cost of maintenance is soooo high. I drive about 20k a year, and that with the premium gas, I’m nervous about keeping it. Everyone seems to think I should keep it though since it’s essentially. Toyota and will be reliable for many years to come.
What I would prefer to do is to buy a larger Subaru Outback, about 2010-2014 with about 80k on it. Maintenance would be cheaper, gas would be cheaper, and my car payment would be cheaper. Plus I would have more room for the baby and dog.
I would really appreciate anyone’s input here as I’m struggling to make this decision on my own.
Two things: first, follow the owners manual schedule, not the dealership schedule. They often add unnecessary items. Second, find a good independent shop, no need to use the dealer. As you know, it’s a Toyota under the skin, nothing unusual.
I did both for my ES300 Lexus, ran great for the 15 years I owned it.
What mileage does you lease list ? Most are about 12000 miles a year so you might be looking at a penalty charge for excessive mileage when you turn it in.
I also am in the group that does not recommend a used all wheel drive.
I just looked at 2016 Lexus NX prices here in the Midwest. Good Grief , that kind of money will let you buy a lot of less expensive new vehicles . Plus new vehicles have full warranty and better loan rates.
And if someone is concerned about service and repair costs then I say used should be that last choice and you don’t need to impress anyone by having a Lexus.
I agree with texases that you might not be pricing the right items. The maintenance schedule for my Lexus GS is similar to yours and I spend nothing near that. Ignoring the larger 30,000-mile and 60,000-mile services, in 10,000 miles, I need two tire rotations, one oil change, and one cabin air filter replacement. Anyone can replace their own cabin air filter in about five minutes. The tire rotation and oil change can be done at an independent mechanic if cost is an issue, although you might also want to price a Toyota dealer for those as a compromise.
My kiddo’s dad live’s over a mountain pass in Colorado so we are making that drive a lot! I would feel much better in an AWD car. I can live with the size of the NX, it’s just not ideal. I do love the Highlanders though!
I accounted for my milage when I leased the car so I shouldn’t be dinged too much, I think all and all, it’s going to cost me about 2k to return the car. Yet another reason to keep the Lexus.
It just sound so nice to me to have an older Subaru that we can beat up a little more and I don’t always have to worry about the pristine ivory interior. And buying a car that’s closer to 10-15k sounds soooo nice in terms of a payment. To keep the Lexus would be about $150 more in a monthly payment.
It seems like once the Lexus turns 60k, the larger services happen every 10k from there on out. I will look for another repair shop here and see what they say.
Swapping a from a leased 2016 200nx to a similar age Subie Outback shouldn’t cause you much in the way of grief, reliability or maintenance wise. If you swap to a significantly older, higher mileage Outback, of course there’s gonna be more of a risk on both counts; but that’s b/c it is an older car, not b/c of Outback vs 200nx. If owning an Outback is what you want, go for it. I’d like to see you buying something in the 2015-2017 era, but earlier models can be considered too. Per the common advice here, whenever buying a used car of any make, make your offer conditional on your own mechanic’s pre-purchase inspection approval first of course. As mentioned above, maintaining a good relationship w/an indep repair shop will save you quite a few $$$ down the road on maintenance and repairs. A conservative driving style helps too; i.e. avoiding rapid accelerations, high speed cornering, and heavy braking whenever such a thing is safe. One more thing: Manual transmissions are less expensive to maintain than automatics.