Twelve thousand kay with Jay.

Twelve months and as many megametresi into my journey with Jay – my stalwart Lexus LS460L – it’s time to assess the expected value proposition against the actual one given that this was a considerable motivation for the purchase.

Idly figuring that it would cost me no more to run for a year than Saddam, a motor vehicle 18 years Jay’s senior, I must unfortunately report that in this one narrow regard, Jay came up short! Factoring in maintenance, depreciation, insurance, and fuel, Jay ended up costing 45% more than the Merc in the somewhat tumultuous first year,ii meaning that the Lexus was no free lunch even though I spent only 66% of its purchase price on the first year of running costs compared to 250% for the 560SEL. Furthermore, compared to Saddam, over the past year I’ve come to appreciate that Jay enjoys :

  • A smoother ride
  • Exceptional acceleration
  • Even better brakingiii
  • An even quieter cabin
  • More spacious back seat and trunkiv
  • Every electronic gadget in working orderv
  • Considerable curbside presencevi
  • UltraThug (TM) sound systemvii
  • Remote car starterviii
  • Keyless entry and startix
  • Multiple driving modesx

Still, Jay isn’t perfect. His foibles are thus, if singular :

  • Fat rear tires and over-intrusive traction control make snow days suck.xi

That’s pretty much it. To be sure, AWD versions of the LS460 were made starting in 2009 but long-wheelbase models so equipped are practically hen’s teeth, especially locally. Since I don’t buy new cars, that the old dorks who do don’t go for the full boat when loading up their carts is to my very modest detriment. But hey, maybe when I’m 70 I’ll understand their perspective.

While other AWD luxobarges would be tempting,xii I’ll take variety between segments in my garage before I’ll take mild improvements within the same segment. I’d rather add a purebred sports car / rally car with a manual for the 30ish deep snow days a year than replace Jay with a similar but not identical version of himself.

Then again, when I’m looking for thrills on any given day, it’s hard to beat my little black bicycle.

___ ___ ___

  1. Wait, what do you call kilo-kilometres ? 
  2. Jay was on the losing end of two hit-n-runs within a week. The repair to the rear bumper set me back $1`087 and had him out of service for 4 days. The water pump, radiator, and starter motor also have up the ghost in the first year. This was more than a bit unfortunate but can hopefully be amortised over a few more years of ownership. That is, if I can keep my dick in my pants (and wallet in my pocket) long enough to not buy an F-150.
  3. Especially in adverse weather conditions.
  4. A trunk even further enhanced by last spring’s minivan madness.
  5. Saddam’s sunroof, headlight wipers, and cruise control don’t work properly.
  6. Black-on-black whip on 19s says P.I.M.P. Yo.
  7. 19-speaker “Mark Levinson” with components actually being sourced from whogivesashitcuzshitsoundsthebomb.
  8. For those typically “Canadian” winter mornings, of which there are easily 100 a year.
  9. The former is much cooler and more practical than the relatively gimmicky latter.
  10. The suspension and throttle each have three settings. Comfort, Standard, and Sport for the former ; Snow, Standard, and POWER for the latter. They’re all put to regular use and the only annoyance in the whole adjustable suite is the Snow setting, which resets when the car turns off. Because God forbid anyone ever needed to drive their RWD Lexus on icy roads multiple times in one day or for multiple days in a row!
  11. Never stuck, mind, just annoying as fuck.
  12. VW Phaeton anyone ? And did I ever tell you about the time I broke one while test driving it ?

5 thoughts on “Twelve thousand kay with Jay.

  1. […] when you own your own metali – particularly when it’s classic or performance metal – you tend to notice such things.ii It doesn’t take much extrospection to discover […]

  2. […] the Japanese have built the last car but the point stands either way. […]

  3. […] the GT-R – the Tesla Model X also seemed to be a very compelling candidate to replace my LS460L, at least on paper. But we don’t drive cars on paper, do we ? So taking a road trip in one, […]

  4. […] has to be said for Jay, my daily LS460L, not SCR’s owner, that he’s aging the way only Asians can. It’s not his fault […]

  5. […] or whatever replaces them both, gets parked on the frozen street outside my house. )) and since our last proper update lo these many moons, Jay has gone and… totally redeemed himself! Certainly in the sense of […]

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