BLK-FOX

I wouldn't pay a penny over 37500 for those options. It can be had for this amount, or maybe slightly less.

gatorcb

Not true...there are two hidden money makers for dealers...holdback and floorplan fee or wholesale fin reserve (allows the car to sit on the lots for a bit of time before the dealer starts to pay money on the vehicle). The faster they sell that vehicle the more money they keep

kalvano

Holdback is not exactly hidden.

And there is no "floorplan fee". Dealers are exempt from paying floorplan on a car for the first 30 days (it may be 45 for Lexus, I can't remember). After that, they pay a percentage of the cost of the car for each day it sits unsold. They don't pass any fee's on to people, but they do try and turn inventory.

Wholesale financial reserve is the term used to refer to F&I profit.


Stop reading Edmunds. You have just enough information to think you know what you are talking about.

gatorcb

I wasn't reading Edmunds just stating the facts like I ordered an 08 before Sept 08 (custom order) for $600 over invoice and not a single dealer fee. Deal was done in 10 mins (the time it took to write up the custom order)...I do my homework which some on here clearly don't. You don't attack people when you don't know what they have read. There is a ton of valid free and paid information on the web that allow people to make car buying a walking in the park when you spend the appropriate time studying...and dealers indeed try to double dip, so to say they don't pass the fees on is false. That's not to say all dealers do this

http://www.mahalo.com/answers/buying...price-or-extra

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forum...oice-fees.html

kalvano

My mistake, those are clearly much better sources of information than Edmunds.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

You're a very funny guy

Lou

Alo

waiting till the Fall or close to the end of the year is a good idea to get a better deal provided that we could wait 5-7 moths.

As for LS430, it's an interesting option and we will look into that route. However, buying a used car has its draw back from past experience.

Thanks for the suggestion tho...

kalvano

I am in and out of these cars all day, and I would take clean, certified 05-06 LS430 any day over a new ES.

They are just fantastic cars. Every piece of sheet metal just oozes solidity and class. I might even take a 430 over a 460.

Richie7

I bought an '09 ES350 about a month ago and offered the dealer $500 above invoice. He took it!!! I sort of wish I would have shot a lower price now but I was happy. I love and have driven Avalons for years. In my opinion the ES350 is better. I have read alot about the premium gas. What I read is yes, you can use regular gas but it affects your gas mileage. It was written that although you will spend more for premium you gas mileage improves to offset addtional costs totally. So I have used premium. One other comment I remember...when you spend that kind of money on a car why do you worry about 20c difference in price!! Good luck.

hughh

Geez, I've been driving an '07 GS 350 and I have never put a drop of high octane gas in it! Recently I took the car in for a recall of the fuel lines due to corrosion caused by 10% ethanol and they drained the gas tank. Guess what, dealer delivered it with a full tank of "premium" or hi octane gas. No noticeable difference in milage according to the on board computer and no noticeable gain in performance. No problems of any kind with low octane!

BTW, they gave us a ES350 overnight and after driving in exactly the same roads we liked the ride, sound isolation and extra room in the back so much that we are really thinking of going for an ES 350 or a Hyundai Genesis next year!

JimsGX

I agree with Kalvano on this one. I have a new ES350, GX470, and a "1991" LS400. I like my 91' LS as much as my wifes new ES. It's a class above and very reliable even at 18 years old now. As long as you have access to the service records of the LS430, I wouldn't think twice about it being a used vehicle. They're one of the best cars on the road. Just a note that the LS430 is rear wheel drive as opposed to the front wheel drive ES.

SteadyEddy

iTrader: (1)

Here on the east coast most stations have three grades 87,89 & 93. We took a trip this winter out west and back with our 07 ES and noticed that the grades were 87,89 & 91.
Around here I alternate between 89 & 93 (use about 1/2 a tank then fill), my thinking is that the car is getting 91 (on average) and that's what it calls for. I don't notice any big difference in mileage but according to the on board computer I can aveage about 31 mpg if I'm not to much above the speed limit.

soul

I'm planning on trading in my IS250 for an ES350. I want to make an offer online to some dealers close by to see who gives me the better price. This is the way I bought my Honda Odyssey years ago. My IS was bought Feb 08 so it's a little over a year old, has 16k miles and is in excellent cond. about $23-25k trade-in value. Does anyone have any ideas on how to haggle or much I should expect to pay? I'm guessing it'll cost me $13k to trade up.