u/sims226

Wife and I are thinking of taking the plunge on a new or CPO Type S. It's kind of the midpoint between the wilder models I like (Type R, GR Corolla, etc) and the lux brands she likes (Lexus, BMW, etc).

I'm curious what other models you all considered before you ultimately chose the ITS and how happy or not you were with the decision?

Context: wife is early 40s, I'm early 50s, have always driven used. Her family owns a Toyota/Lexus service shop so she's always been in used Lexus (SC and currently IS250 convertible). I've owned two cars in the last dozen years: a 2003 350Z from 2014-2020, and a 1996 LX 450 from 2020-present.

We've decided we want to buy a new car that we'll both love—which is to say, performance dynamics for me and luxury enough for her. We intend to keep it for 10 years.

ITS is our current front-runner, but we're willing to shop around and test drive everything before taking on a new payment.

Selling my LX450 and looking for honest advice on pricing and prep

I'm getting ready to list my 1996 LX450 (239K miles) and wanted to get some input from other owners and enthusiasts.

Quick background: I bought it in 2020 with around 220K on it, used it as a highway commuter, never took it off road. Stock everything, beige interior, no mods save for plastidip on the bumpers, flares, and rockers. It's been reliable and I've taken good care of it, but I'm moving on to something different and don't really have any interest in building it out.

Last month it got hit in a parking lot and the front bumper and brackets were damaged. As I'm sure everyone knows, it's an odyssey to actually get the parts, so I took what seemed like a fair settlement and brought the truck back home. So it's here in my driveway, no bumper, and also some minor fender damage.

Since I'm not interested in restoring or building it, will I take a total bath if I sell it as it sits, unrepaired? Other than the missing bumper and the fender damage, it's a great daily driver with the normal irritations (an intermittent airbag light that doesn't throw a stored code, and an ABS light that's been on since I bought it without ever causing an issue, and a speaker buzzing).

Want to get $11,000 out of it, which is my calc for fair price minus the insurance check I'm expecting. Based on comps I've found, that feels right for the mileage and condition, but I'm second-guessing myself on the bumper situation. Part of me thinks the right buyer is someone who's going to put an ARB or Slee or whatever on it anyway and doesn't care about the missing OEM setup. Part of me thinks the listing photo of a bumperless truck is going to kill my chances with most buyers before they even read the description.

Is $11K realistic given everything, or am I kidding myself? And would you bother going ahead and installing an ARB/etc and tidying up the fender or just price accordingly and let it go?

I'll post photos later today, but any advice or perspective appreciated in the meantime.