Paul B

I tried a search for this and was unable to bring up any previous posts. Perhaps I'm using the wrong search terms.

For those of you who have ordered an RX 350 with your desired options, what experiences did you learn that would make it easier for those of us who are thinking about it:

1. Are certain dealers more amenable to this process than others?
2. Is the relative discount from MSRP close to dealer inventory discounting?
3. What is the approx. wait time?
4. Is there a specific dealer rep. who does this?
5. Do out of state dealers offer any advantages?
6. Does Lexus North America get upset when you order out of state?
7. Would you order direct again if circumstances were appropriate?
8. Do Lexus North America dealer incentives apply to direct orders?

Thanks for your feedback and direct experiences.

Paul

BertL

1. Yes.
2. No relative discount. Some dealers only do MSRP with special orders, others don't.
3. 3-4 months
4. No, any sales person is your contact point, but they generally take it to someone that then enters it into the dealer ordering system
5. Look at other posts -- some people believe there are better deals on the West Coast
6. No
7. Yes. The Lexus dealer will first check if there are any available vehicles in the US or not sold and already on a ship that match your configuration. They can cause it to be rerouted to them and improve your delivery time that way -- otherwise, they can place an order.
8. Yes

Paul B

Thank you Bert! Here in the Northwest, as in other parts of the country, dealers tend to order the RX 350 in very specific configurations, aiming to satisfy 95% of their general customer requirements, but foregoing those who want rarely ordered but desireable options, like the HUD and blind side monitor, buth useful and to me essential from a safety perspective.

Ideally, if I could find a vehicle with those two options, I could bargain for a better discount from dealer inventory, get a much faster delivery, and achieve most of my wants without submitting a custom order. Alas, I am not aware that dealers routinely order vehicles with these two options.

BertL

Right. It's why I placed an order for my RX. I'm not like some people that flip cars every few months and apparently have loads of cash to burn with that approach, or one that just drops into dealerships on a whim and ends up purchasing a car or two. It has amazed me the couple of times folks have posted here on the forum in the past few months complaining their brand new ride does not have this-or-that option or capability, because they didn't even look for it before they signed their name on the dotted line. I honestly can say I would not purchase any brand auto with these sort of price tags, if I didn't know exactly what I was getting first and it had what I wanted. I'm big on prioritization and walked into my first dealership with a list of "must have" and "preferred" options to discuss. That set a huge tone with the sales people that I was informed and wouldn't compromise on some things.

On price, it's an interesting thing, since for a dealer, if they special order, they essentially know they have a buyer so they won't have carrying charges, etc for something sitting on the lot for a while, but the car still comes out of their allotment or bonus vehicles they would otherwise receive. I hate the whole negotiation thing as it's a big fat game that I don't like to play, so I let the dealer know that too up front, and that I'm comfortable with purchasing via Internet Sales or places like Costco or my Credit Union that will do the shopping for me to get the configuration I want (have you thought about that?) Anyway, I knew going in that I wouldn't get as good a deal especially buying my RX before the first new MY hit the shore or if I bought at the end of a month and found an RX that had been sitting on a lot for a while. We negotiated the deal up-front, so that was out of the way, and when I finally got my email that my truck arrived, it was nothing but a big smile and setting up the time to come pick it up the next day.

Good luck with your continued pursuit!

Paul B

Good ideas on purchasing through alternative sources, like Costco and the internet.

What would really be useful to me, and I'm sure many others, would be to have access to the country-wide Lexus dealer inventory system enabling me to search on car color and specific options. I'm sure that occasionally orders are placed somewhere in the US with the two options
I mentioned above and then for whatever reason the buyer backs out of the deal when the car arrives or some dealers may actually order the HUD and blind spot monitor in expectation of a customer wanting them. I know the Lexus dealers can supply me with this information but it would be useful to me to do this excercise at home while I'm doing my "what if" analysis. Just for information's sake, I'm going to email my salesperson and ask him to do a search on the HUD and blind spot monitor on the 450h and see if anything shows up, although I'm not sure if the blind spot monitor has begun to ship yet.

Cruiter

RE: ordering out of state. Maybe you should touch base with this poster, he seems happy. PM him and maybe he can give you specifics of what his experience was. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/7339025-post1.html

dctex99

Regarding using Costco...DON"T....I went thru the Fleet manager to get a great deal on a '13 and got to know the guy...he told me straight up that he had to kick back $300 to my CREDIT UNION buyer,,,but if it had been COSTCO it is another $500,,,for a total of $800....He said COSTCO is pretty greedy...............!

Paul B

Hello Paul,



I just wanted to give you updates. So far we don’t have any heads up or blind spot monitor on any RXs. We believe it will arrive later in the month. The heads up is a little more difficult. It may end up we would have to locate or order a vehicle with heads up.

BertL

Paul, I suggest when you are ready to pull the trigger, you should just decide to order the vehicle you want from the dealer, or go with a buying service to locate or do the same. The comment from your dealer is just like it will be from any of them... They have some visibility, to what is coming to them, but not 100% especially when it's a little further out. You're just going to be frustrated playing a waiting game for something that may never arrive.

...oh, and some others have Blind Spot Monitor coming on their special ordered RXs in the August timeframe if I remember right. They are just a few weeks ahead of you in the ordering process.

Paul B

Good advice, Bert. I'll continue to ponder for a while.

mklemovitc

I put my RX450h AWD order (with Comfort, HUD, Luxury + BSM, ML, NAV and IPA) in at the end of May. Got confirmation from the dealer that the order is in the system. Projected delivery is "August-ish". No push-back at all from my dealer on going this route. Any incentives offered at the time of purchase should be available.

For me, the wait is worth the while. (But then I've had my current RX for almost 11 years :-p ) Having the one I want exactly the way I want it is worth 90 days or so wait.

kitlz

Paul, the best thing you can do is your homework. Figure out exactly what you want in your RX. I know it's not easy with only a brochure or website but it can be done. If you go the special order route, I want to point out that you can have them remove a feature you may not like. BertL might not want to hear this. I wanted the LED headlights (an option). The HID headlights were included as part of the comfort package. I asked to have them removed them along with the corresponding cost. Why pay for headlights twice. Now that doesn't mean you can go a la carte but it might help if there is something you don't like with a particular package. I didn't push it.

I had no problem working with my sales guy. He had placed a few special orders before. I also managed to get a discount even though he told me it doesn't happen. Might be because it was my third RX from the dealer. After going through every detail, my special order was submitted to CA for approval before it made it into the system. Four months later I took delivery on my 450h with every feature and option I wanted. Would I do again? In a millisecond.

Good luck with your decision.

Paul B

Thank you Anita for sharing the benefit of your experience with ordering directly. When I was working, I was selling a very complex product and the company provided us with an on-line configurator to use to prevent costly order errors that resulted in the company eating the cost of any errors made that were in the customer's favor. I find it hard to believe that the Lexus configurator would permit the customer to pay for two lighting options when only one is required. Normally there would be a delete option that would prevent this, hopefully before the order is entered into the manufacturing system and the bill of materials is prepared. I also would like to see Lexus offer a discount when options are bundled into a package, like the luxury package or premium package, etc. Generally, options are at a much higher gross margin than the car itself.

RXSF

I ordered my RX and it took exactly 3 months if not a week or two earlier. I was able to negotiate 3000 off msrp but the dealer did at first say that he could not discount on a special order. It depends how well you are at negotiating.

Paul B

Talked to the Internet Sales Manager today at my local Lexus dealer. I told him I'd like to order a car and asked him for a 10% discount. He said no discounts and in so many words, take it or leave it, but very politely of course. If I wanted to custom order, list price only. He claims it requires a lot more work to manage special orders and that's why they won't discount. Nothing but marketing puffery as far as I'm concerned.

He also said no luxury package RX 450 h vehicles were on the horizon and that it could be 6 months before any show up. He looked around the Western Region inventory and said there were none at any dealers.

Time to go to Plan B, once I figure out what that is.