Advice Needed.

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I need honest opinions on the LC500. I now own a C-7 Corvette. Beautiful car. I am 62 and I'm beginning to have minor back issues when I drive long distance in my vette. I am thinking of trading for a luxury/muscle car. The LC500 is the only car to me that matches what I'm looking for. My wife drives a ES350 LEXUS and the car is so comfortable on trips. So, can anyone tell me if the LC500 is comfortable on long trips? What is your overall opinion of the LC500? Is it like my Vette and hard to get in and out of? All thoughts are appreciated, this is a tough call for me.
Hello Hero, I also have some answers for you to add to your consideration list.
As I am a young 63, former Pilot (with back issues from an ejection seat argument), and absolute car lover, I think I can speak to your concerns from personal experiences. My LC500 is my 67th vehicle since the early 80's, so I have seat time in many different vehicles and brands.
I had been researching my "retirement" car for the last two years - I was close to obtaining a pre-owned CPO Porsche 911 Carrera, but I chose to test drive the LC500 as a benchmark. That test drive resulted in a beautiful white 2018 LC500 coming home with me.
My search was based upon a car that would accomplish ALL the following things:
1. Comfortable Long Distance Sports GT with enough space for self + Mrs + baggage for 1-2 week jaunts to cool locations with awesome roads.
2. Exceptional good looks that you do not see on every street corner - I wanted a stunningly good looking car, not a commonly seen model.
3. Reliable, beautifully constructed interior and exterior. The final car needed to work & go, all the time, and not be in the shop.
4. Affordable luxury: Relative to cost to obtain, it needed to be affordable for the next 8-10 years. This speaks to maintenance, not depreciation as I intend to pass this along to one of the boys when I am no longer driving as much.
5. Performance. Sound. Handling. I wanted it all.
The LC500 IS a long distance machine, regardless of 20 or 21" wheels. I have the 21s, as I can tell you they ARE comfortable. Run Flats are what they are, an insurance policy against being stranded, but they are so much better now than 10-15 years ago. I have a 2008 BMW retractible hardtop with them, and the original spec tires were not nearly as comfortable to drive with as the current Run Flats. As a bonus, the 21" Forged rims are very strong. Check the forged prices for a 911 or your Vettes, they are VERY $$$, and a bargain on the Lexus. I do suggest you buy the wheel/tire insurance when you get the car, you can negotiate the cost down - I went from the $1900 asking price to $1250 for 4 years coverage, cheap insurance when one tire runs $450-500. The additional warranties are all from Lexus, not a 3rd party.
The 500 is a LUX GT. The rear seats offer plenty of space for my soft bags, and the trunk is fine, as large as a 911, and more stylish IMO. Slightly faster cars are out there, but NONE of them will feel as comfortable after a day in the seat - the Porsche 911, Aston, Mercedes GTS and Jag are all in this league, but costing more and delivering less Lux, comfort, and in my opinion, performance as well. The suspension design on this car is space aged. It soaks up bad roads and rewards smooth ones. The very LONG wheelbase means the ride is very different from the lighter, smaller cars.
A faster 0-60 MPH may be one performance measure, as you know - it is not the whole story. Please Test drive the car on twisty roads, bad pavement, and smooth interstate and you will have a smile on your face when you finish. The feel/handling, and SOUNDS! All make for an awesome experience. The Vette with Sports exhaust can sound loud at times. The 911 can have the sport exhaust for a very steep $$. You can select the level of sound coming from the Lexus via the mode settings - from Economy to Sport and Sport +. One more word of advice. Find a just off -lease 2018 or 2019 that is Lexus L Certified. As a CPO car, mine had only 3000 miles, but had 3 years of warranty remaining. The CPO adds 2 more years of full Lexus warranty coverage, so I can drive mine for 5 years with no worries of any complex systems costing me a dime. It also includes maintenance for 4 service visits, a considerable savings. I even opted to add 3 additional years of full factory warranty for about half the $$ they wanted. This gives me the perfect vehicle to drive the heck out of. I intend to do big trips and miles for 5-10 years. My Only costs will be brakes/tires and fuel/insurance. Try that in a Vette, 911 , Jag or Aston. All will cost huge $$ for maintenance over the same time and distance. Good luck, and make sure you look in the mirror following your test drive, you will see a smile that is wide. Love mine. Bravo Lexus. Cheers, Cash in Washington.....
 
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I can't imagine a dealer saying the car is not comfortable on long trips. I sold my C7 Grand Sport in anticipation of the C8 and decided to move to an LC500 in the interim. I doubt I could ever go back to a Corvette after owning this amazing car. I bought a CPO with 3K miles in Pheonix and drove it home to Las Vegas. It was no doubt the most fun and comfortable four hour drive I've ever had.
 
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I need honest opinions on the LC500. I now own a C-7 Corvette. Beautiful car. I am 62 and I'm beginning to have minor back issues when I drive long distance in my vette. I am thinking of trading for a luxury/muscle car. The LC500 is the only car to me that matches what I'm looking for. My wife drives a ES350 LEXUS and the car is so comfortable on trips. So, can anyone tell me if the LC500 is comfortable on long trips? What is your overall opinion of the LC500? Is it like my Vette and hard to get in and out of? All thoughts are appreciated, this is a tough call for me.
i have on occasion driven my 2019 LC500 for a two hour jaunt, eaten lunch, and returned home - and felt i could do it again. the car is the most comfortable vehicle i have ever experienced...i'm 70, and love it..if you can, give it a test drive; you wont regret it, its a remarkable work of art.
 
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No 2020's have arrived. The deals on 2019's are insane right now..
As a financial decision, the L certified LC500 was an easy decision for me - insane deals? Good business sense it seems. I was especially happy with my 5 years of warranty, PLUS the ability to save over 25K from retail. If $$ is not an issue, then order the EXACT car you want, or dealer locate it, fly and drive home. As so many have said, this car is a ROAD Machine. The 21 inch forged wheels are so beautiful, and you can select the drive mode that fits your unforgiving back. On some days, I get into the car and break into a smile. and then I start it up, and then the fun begins. After over 70+ vehicles in my lifetime, this one ticks all the boxes - looks, sounds, performance, abilities... it has it all, and as many have said - be prepared to get lots of thumbs up and comments, this is not a C7. It is a well thought out, well sorted and priced entry into FUN. I retire in 8 days, and road trips - LONG ones on smooth, non interstate roads, are ahead for us. We bought two beautiful leather duffles to increase capacity, as the rear seats are basically beautiful storage areas. Keep the C7 for short trips for a while, the LC500 in the proper ride setting will be the car you choose more often than not.... Enjoy, Life is too short. Cash
 
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I need honest opinions on the LC500. I now own a C-7 Corvette. Beautiful car. I am 62 and I'm beginning to have minor back issues when I drive long distance in my vette. I am thinking of trading for a luxury/muscle car. The LC500 is the only car to me that matches what I'm looking for. My wife drives a ES350 LEXUS and the car is so comfortable on trips. So, can anyone tell me if the LC500 is comfortable on long trips? What is your overall opinion of the LC500? Is it like my Vette and hard to get in and out of? All thoughts are appreciated, this is a tough call for me.
So, I feel your pain. After 40+ years with one new corvette, three manual 911s (good weather and weekend cars) and an assortment of Lexus, BMWs, and Audi daily drivers all 4door sedans and several SUVs my wife and I owned, I can attest that you are thinking along the right lines. I am 70. My knees and a few other parts really started to ache after a few hours on the road in those sports cars but not in the LC. True sports cars are not daily drivers or comfortable on long trips (maybe at 40, max 55 not 70) I don't care what anyone else says. I came to the same conclusion last year after buying my wife a 2019 Lexus SUV. While at the Lexus store I sat in an LC in the showroom then kept looking back at it for an hour while she bought an RX. I returned for a test drive a few weeks later. It then took a couple of months for the dealer to find an LC with the color and specs I could swallow. Actually, they located a new car in the state exactly the way I would have specified it. I said goodbye to my last manual 911 and hello LC. I really haven't looked back. I enjoy the car for what it is~ a nice comfortable GT car and a bargain however, most people probably don't see it that way. Two-door coupes with V8s that sound great (IMHO) are an acquired taste and a dying breed if not already dead and extinct in the minds of most drivers. It is not a very practical car but more so than any of the previous 911s (or the Corvette). Yes, it is much easier to get in and out out of than a Corvette or a 911 (I also had a 2006 manual Cayman S when they first came out). Those cars were all fun and a pleasure to drive when I was younger and more durable and didn't ache all over after an hour and a half in heavy traffic. I'm done with that stage. An automatic LC 500 - cause that's what it is - an automatic (but a quick-shifting one if you use the paddles) which I hardly ever do - it's like all the other auto-shifters (I always preferred the manuals) but it still has a genuine, natural breathing V8, plenty of HP and torque, enough electronic gadgets to keep you entertained and handles really well but NOT as well as any of those 911s regardless of what you hear in a bar. Still, it is comfortable, fast enough, handles (way better than ES350) especially with the rear-wheel steering and maybe best of all, I am fairly certain it will be a LOT MORE RELIABLE AND LESS EXPENSIVE TO OWN AND MAINTAIN than any previous Porsche, BMW or Audi. I never had a minutes problem with that 1985 (7-speed manual) Corvette after seven years but only put 24000 mi on it in all that time. I got almost what I paid when it sold in 1992. As long as you are ok with a two-seater (or have two very small grandchildren, a pair of legal car seats and a daughter or daughter-in-law who will let you bring them along, don't expect ES350 practicality or that degree of interior quiet regardless of what the dealer or magazines say. You can hear the engine and exhaust in this car clearly unless you're coasting in tenth gear on an abandoned freeway at 70mph. That's one of my favorite things about it. Incidentally, my wife won't drive the LC (she could but won't). Loves riding in it but I think she's intimidated by the growl when it starts and the sound it makes going up an expressway on-ramp. I do not drive very aggressively. After six months I'm getting about 17-18.5 on Shell premium around town and 26-29 on the highway depending on the terrain and my mood. That's better than I was expecting given the published ratings. If fuel cost and gas mileage matter much it's not the right car. Stop over-thinking it and just do it. Hold out for the options and a color (inside and out) that you want, then just go buy it and enjoy the ride.