Lexus RZ450E $486 per month if Registered in NY or $402 if in NJ

Ask the Hackrs
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Seems like a really good deal on a 2024. As mentioned up thread, see what the pricing would be on the luxury trim at 27mths (which was the sweet spot fr the RZ last month). The Luxury trim adds the ability to electronically “opaque” the panoramic roof, which would be a must for me in NC to ratchet down vehicle heating. (might not be an issue in the northeast).

I tried to hack one of these (2023) pretty hard last month, but my local dealer sold all 20 of the 2023s they had after the lease cash on those hit $20K in 2nd half of month. I really like the idea of the Lexus reserve program to borrow a Lexus ICE vehicle for up to 30 days of vacations while you are leasing the vehicle.

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Dude, chill and relax, I’m simply stating the limitations of the car. I like the car and I would’ve taken it over the Ariya at $300/month sign and drive. Just don’t think it’s worth its hassles, given the plethora of options available, and that prospective owners should understand that many, many owners on Lexus forums have regretted their decision due to range limitations in winter. Better to warn someone ahead of time so that they’re fully prepared for the ownership experience. Do you have one of these cars or something?

Clearly OP is from NY and might have trouble getting NJ registration for that $400/month deal, since nobody who actually lives in NJ would even consider registering and paying NY rates. So $500/month is a very reasonable round up.

Also, I’m bringing up the RV just to point out that even Lexus knows what a clunker they’ve built and sold. The range limitations are real, and if you’re from LA, perhaps you should consider that some of us gotta deal with snow. Just take a look at this experience. 22F isn’t even that cold. RZ450e Winter Road Trip observation - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

Charging limit, from Lexus’s website themselves: "To get the most out of your driving range and to avoid range anxiety, make charging a regular habit by setting a charging schedule using the vehicle’s Charge Management System or using the Lexus App4.

Depending on the type of charger, we recommend charging to certain limits to maintain the long-term battery health.

AC (Level 1 and Level 2): Go ahead and charge to 100%. Once 100% is reached, it will stop charging to help preserve the battery.
DC Fast Charging (Level 3)3: We recommend charging to 80% to achieve the maximum benefit of the quick charging speed. It is possible to charge to 100% with this method, but the charging rate will automatically be reduced once it reaches 80% to help preserve the battery. To help maintain long-term battery health, DC Fast Charging is limited to two cycles of charging (Low → 80%) per day throughout the year.

Do you think this is something a prospective would like to find out after, rather than before, their purchase? It’s limited, period. I got the details wrong, but the essence right. Not only does this car have shitty range, you can’t DC fast charge it often. You’re not gonna run it down to 5% left to get to a DC fast charger, esp with this state of infrastructure in NJ, literally worst in the US per capita. Lexus should have been honest and just marked it **city drivers only.

PS: Why does it matter when I first started lease hacking? It’s not exactly rocket science, there’s no seniority here.

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FWIW, I don’t consider lexus RZ as luxury, it’s more like premium plus which put it on the same category as XC40, EQB n GV60. YMMV of course.

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@LAK1ngs - Thanks for your kind referral.

My RZ deals are listed below.

@Rqp5013 - Ravi, I am not sure if your vehicle being quoted is 450e based on MSRP but if it is it must be super bare bones.

Use my link below where all the calcs, specs everything that anyone looking for a RZ would want.

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This is a new for '24 Core version that strips away all nice options basically turning it in a Toyota with a Lexus badge at about $6K list price discount.

You’re certainly entitled to an opinion (like you have on safety features that most folks consider potentially life saving) but I’d rather stick a conventional definition of auto luxury - as probably most would - and go with what Motor Trend, Car and Driver, etc consider to be luxurious. You’d have a stronger case with the above-referenced stripped down Core edition as “not a luxury”. FWIW, I was stuck with a rental C40 for 5-6 weeks and I am convinced that the C stands for Crude.

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Oh, I am totally chill, just don’t appreciate you dispensing a lot of questionable and outright incorrect advice, especially with your new TH status.

And reposting from Canadian forum thread does not make it factual.
Show us where if states it on the US site in proper English… What does quote=“mborelse, post:22, topic:559790”]
limited to two cycles of charging (Low → 80%) **per day throughout the year**
[/quote] even mean? Are you complaining about being limited to 730 fast charges a year if we read it the same way?

PS: Still waiting for your plentiful list of luxury AWD EVs for under $500 effective monthly.

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It surely is not a rocket surgery… but your knowledge is skin deep and it really really shows.

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If someone is considering a car with effective 140 mile winter range, I think they should be 100% aware of that fact, regardless of what their payment is. Add to the fact OP is surrounded by literally the worst infrastructure in the country for EV charging, that you might leave at least 20 mile buffer range at the empty end, and that the car might be kept at 90-95% due to discharge in winter, well, I stand by what I said even if it wasn’t exactly correct.

You might not care if OP ends up stranded at some charger visiting family during Thanksgiving/Christmas, but it’s a real risk here, especially given the unusually deep snow storms we’ve had over the past few years. Nobody will say that experience would be worth saving $50-100/month.

I personally went to multiple Lexus dealers in NY/NJ to test drive this car when I was first learning about EVs, all of whom gave me the same warning about charging limits. That’s how I found out about it in the first place.

You want cheap luxury EVs in NJ?

  1. Model Y
  2. Mustang Mach E
  3. EQB
  4. GV60
  5. Nissan Ariya, plat trim (better than many base German cars imo)
  6. Lyric
  7. Q4 etron
    8 GV70 last month
  8. XC40
  9. EQE, if you count the ‘23 March Madness deals, but they don’t exist anymore.

There you go, all of them can be had around $500/month. I’ve cross shopped and test driven all of them except the XC40.

If you’re an RZ owner, I’m sure you’re having a great time because you’re aware of its upsides (price and quality) and limitations (range), especially in sunny CA. But everyone should be aware, because lack of knowledge and running into long charge times/low range is why people don’t want EVs.

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Why would you test drive the same car at multiple dealers?

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Because I was shopping over 6-8 months and forgot what the car was like (my 300k mile Honda Odyssey that I wanted to replace just wouldn’t die!)

And just jumped into a dealership sometimes when I was passing by the area

31

As an update

This is a secondary car for au pair and me to share. I travel to nyc to work. We have a bmw x5 phev for our longer trips.

Main use: au pair to get around and take my kid around. Once in a while run local errands for me.

This is a Lexus rz450e premium with almost everything but heads up display and changing some sun roof setting. I really wanted it but it’s fine.

I ended up getting it

$450 a month. 12k miles a year. 36 months.
1600 title and fees and first month. No sales tax because NJ.

21689 residual. .00063 Money factor.

I hope it was a good deal for my first lease ever.

Anyone wanna know anything else ?

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I checked most of those cars.

Q4 etron was good but was running mid 5s on mid level package. Wasn’t cheaper.

Also I know range issue and don’t mind charging often if needed. Used to a phev charging daily.

And big snow storms I don’t plan to use that car and use my primary. If my au pair has to go somewhere in a snow storm it won’t be with my kid and it better be darn good reason because I want to ensure her safety as well.

33

Congrats on the deal! You beat the resident broker’s effective monthly, so pretty good overall.

I didn’t run the math on this, but on certain vehicles it’s actually better to take the lower mileage and pay the mileage penalty. It’s not a big difference, but you pay for what you use + don’t feel guilty for driving extra. Something worth noting for the next lease, I think it’s only really applicable for high MSRP cars though due to how mileage affects residual%.

Something else you should be aware of is that NJ is going to start charging additional annual EV registration fees, $250/year, rising $10/year until $290/year. And if you purchase new EVs in the future, you need to pay 4 years’ of EV reg fees upfront, which is complete bullshit. Not sure how it’ll work with leasing, will have to see how it plays out. Starts July 1 this year.

And yeah as long as it’s not your main driver, it’s not gonna be a problem. Pretty nice car for an au pair, I’m sure (s)he will be very happy.

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