Updated
With a worldwide production run of only 500 for the Lexus LFA -- of which only 150 will come to the U.S. -- the possibility of speculators attempting to buy up a coveted few for the $375,000 retail price and flip them for a big profit is high. Dare we say, ridiculously high.
To head that off, Toyota will only do leases on the 2011 Lexus LFA, which starts production in December 2010. That's right. Lease a supercar for two years, and when that's up, you'll have an option to buy.
"If someone buys it the first month and then decides to sell it, that could be damaging for the ownership experience," Brian Smith, vice president of sales and dealer development for Lexus, told Automotive News reporter, Kathy Jackson. "If it is not controlled and hits the speculation market, all bets are off."
Interestingly, this lease-only program appears to apply just to the U.S. for now. The Lexus Europe communications division reports that LFAs will be sold, not leased, in Europe.
isaacl says:
08:38 AM, 11/23/09
This is a good idea. It sounds a bit harsh, but I can see why Toyota is doing this, especially after what happened regarding mark-ups with the Ford GT...and certain high-end Mustang Cobra editions.
deagle13 says:
09:33 AM, 11/23/09
Ferrari did this with the F50. I don't remember excatly how the program worked out, but I know that they didn't do it again with the Enzo...
compliance says:
09:59 AM, 11/23/09
I really don't see the secondary market making a lot of money on these. I think Toyota is being a bit optimistic.
gharry says:
11:12 AM, 11/23/09
I don't see how the lease will make a big difference. The speculators will wait longer to make their money, but do you think anyone would hesitate to park this in a garage for two years and then purchase it? As for not making a lot of money on these, come on - the world still has far too many rich chumps without enough to spend their money on. Of course, they'll still command a premium. Especially a low-mileage, mint copy.
jackson611 says:
12:12 PM, 11/23/09
Ferrari has done this on multiple cars. the F50 and FXX for sure. Toyota's plan doesn't make sense. if they will go for more, sell them for more. sell to the 250 top buyers. if they all come from the same country so be it.
desmolicious says:
03:41 PM, 11/23/09
My take on this is that Toyota knows it will have a really hard time selling a $375,000 Toyota in the current economic conditions. Which could be embarrassing...
So.. offer it as a 2 year lease, come up with a story saying they are trying to prevent flipping cuz the demand is so high (!), and in 2 years time they can either absorb the loss as people would have forgotten about the hoopla around the Loofa, or hopefully economic conditions would have improved so that some people would actually buy the car.
billt9 says:
06:10 PM, 11/23/09
I'm hoping Toyota just gives up this charade and go ahead and build an all-steel body Toyota Loofa for less than $100,000 instead. None of this "luxury" "carbon fiber" nonsense.
Somebody start a Toyota Loofa petition! And maybe they can rename it the Supra.
lexusaddict says:
08:21 PM, 11/23/09
makes sense, but i doubt many people will blow 400K and sell a car for 500K when somebody can buy it for a 100K less? this is a very sensible idea for a fun car, so with this comment i create the WIN system. like the FAIL system, i rate the car on a win situation.
so, this is a WIN7
12rings says:
07:57 AM, 11/24/09
First of this car is way over priced, but secondly paying the lease off (total lease payments + residual) allows one to sell the car for whatever they want. So how does this help price gouging? (assuming one would pay it of couse).