The Lexus LF-A - not for sale, only for lease
In a surprise move Lexus has revealed they will not sell the new Lexus LF-A supercar but will only make it available on lease.
Update: It took Lexus all of 10 minutes from us posting this report to them telling us that the lease-only deals apply only in the US. I guess that means any US citizen who wants to buy an LF-A will be on the ‘phone to European brokers to get a car!
You may think ‘Not for Sale’ is a very odd headline when it’s only a month since we reported that the Lexus LF-A is for sale at £336,000. But it’s not that you can’t get one – just you can’t buy one. In a surprising move Lexus has decided that they will only lease the LF-A on a two year deal to interested parties.
The reasoning behind the unusual move is to foil owners and speculators from cashing-in on the scarcity. With any limited edition, high-end car there is always money to be made by brokers and owners and Lexus wants to make sure the cars are on the road and being used, not sat in a garage waiting to be sold or stuck away in someone’s collection.
But we’re not all that sure it’s the most sensible move. It’s a nice thought – keeping all the cars and the money in the control of Lexus – but it has the potential to backfire. The Lexus is a very pricey car – many say too pricey for a Lexus, however good it is – and to move 500 cars you’re looking at a chunk of those cars going to be the playthings of very wealthy people.
The normal buyer for a car at this price – if there is such a thing – will probably want more kudos than a ‘Lexus’ can deliver. To them it’s a big investment, and they want their money to shine as brightly as possible. But for those lucky people where the price of the latest toy is immaterial won’t be looking at it as ‘bang for buck’. The rarity will be enough, and the cache of being the first kid on the block with the new toy.
But these sort of people won’t be leasing. They want to buy and when they’re bored they’ll sell on and get the next latest thing. Or just stick it in the garage. If they can’t just flash their cash to get what they want, they may just decide they don’t want it. Then of course there’s Sharia Laws on finance. I’m sure Lexus don’t want to rule out the entire Islamic world from acquiring a Lexus LF-A.
Just a thought.
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