Arty101

I recall reading somewhere here that you can even buy the Lexus ext. warranty out of state, such as Seawell for a better deal that will be honor at any Lexus. I'm not positive though. It's worth a call or e-mail.

mikeys350

Closing on the deal tonight. Ended up with a price of $39,400 for the ES350 we wanted and all the options before ttl (which I know varies by location, 7.5% tax here compared to the 9% down south and their offers)

2014 ES350
Starfire Pearl
black interior

Blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert
18" wheels with liquid graphite finish
Cargo net
HID headlamps with LED daytime running lamps
Power rear sunshade
Luxury Package
Navigation package
Trunk mat
Intuitive parking assist
Rain sensing wipers with deicer
Wheel locks
Wood and leather trimmed shift **** and steering wheel

Vehicle base - 36,470
Total optional equipment - $7,377
Destination charge - $910
Total MSRP - $44,757

It was missing the rear spoiler which my wife really wanted. We were going to walk away and buy down south for the one with the spoiler option. Right before we walked out, the manager said if we get it then, he would throw in the spoiler for free. That would have taken the Total MSRP to the $45,076 if it was included in the Total MSRP. In the end, talked them down to $5,676 off sticker before TTL with no trade in. Hoping to sell my wifes 2012 equinox in an hour when the guy who test drove it earlier has his wife drive it and see if she wants it. if he does, and agrees to the price I want, it will give us 3500 bucks over what she owes on it to put towards the es350 along with the $3k she wanted to put down on top of that. Hoping to finance about 36k in the end. Lets see how we end up after tonight. Thanks for all the info on here, and I'll post up some pictures once the deal is completed.

Arty101

Sounds like you got a steal, at or below invoice, based on the general 10% rule. BTW, I guess your tax rate is 7.5% which is how the state will tax your purchase - where you register your car not where you've purchased it.

Also, remember the old adage, a bird in hand.... If the buyer doesn't come through by the time you pick up the lexus, I'd consider the trade in.

mikeys350

So I would have gotten the 7.5% tax rate even if I purchased somewhere where it's at 9%? Didn't know that.


Yeah, if he doesn't meet me by 530pm today, i'm just going to go ahead and trade it in. Don't have time to deal with 50/50 chance purchases. Guy actually seemed like a real buyer though. We'll see. Either way, I'm very happy with the deal I was able to secure thanks to info here. Looks like I found a second forum to be on besides the Mustang forum I've been on for years. Look forward to being a future lexus owner. I'm sure my wife can't wait to drive it off either

azn103

Yup I believe it applies to ALL states.

Two Examples:
If you were to go to OC for the lower tax rate and register your car in LA, you'll pay the LA TTL.
If you were to go to New Hamsphire for "tax-free" and register your car in Massachusetts, you'll pay the MA TTL.

mikeys350

Good to know. Didnt know that.

Arty101

Deal closed? Trade in or private sales of the Equinox?

mikeys350

Just got home with the new 2014 Lexus es350! Signed the deal I posted above of 39400 before ttl with no trade in. I think my wife is going to love it and I think I got a great car for the money.

Sevn86

Congrats on the purchase! What happen with the equinox? Trade or private party?

mikeys350

Still have the equinox at home. Going to sell it private party. Already have a deal locked with carmax for 1100 more than what we owe, just want to hurry up and try and get more privately before settling on that

Sevn86

I'm kinda in the same boat as you. I have a 2013 Kia Optima SX that Im trying to sell private party so I can get another Lexus. It's gonna either be the GS350 or ES350. Not sure yet.

gmanusmc

Congrats on the great deal Mikey - enjoy!

Bill G

TomMartin

Congratulations on the new ES. That seems like a really good deal on a 2014? In fact, wouldn't that be a very good deal even on a 2013?

Do most dealers begin better price dealing on 2014s as soon as they are out of 2013s?

What other offers are being seen on 2014s...or are there any other even better deals being seen on leftover 2013s now that 2014s are beginning to show up?

Thanks...Tom

lesz

I find myself wondering about the answers to the same questions that you ask. It is really hard for me to imagine dealers offering prices well below invoice on a 2014 when those 2014s have just been showing up in dealer invoices in the last couple of weeks, and it is even harder to understand that when dealers still have inventories of 2013s.

I know that there can be vast differences in inventories and pricing from one geographic region to another, but, when I checked the inventories at dealerships within about 200 miles of my area, they seem to be loaded with lots of 2013s, and I'm not seeing many, if any, 2014s in those inventories. I would expect that, at this time in the model year, one should be able to buy a 2013 for several thousand dollars less than a similarly equipped 2014. And I'm not seeing people paying, say, $35,000 for a 2013 with a sticker price of over $45,000.

mikeys350

Thanks Bill. Drove it around a little last night to get used to it and the ride is very smooth. I know it's a brand new car compared to my 06 mustang gt or my wifes equinox, but I can still tell the build quality is there on a Lexus.


Im pretty sure they had a handful of 2013's left on the lot, just not sure if there were any in starfire pearl. Spending the time on emailing dealers by internet and telling them to beat other dealerships current quotrle before ttl helps a lot. I spent all morning one day emailing lexus dealers from up north and down south. a few of them said no way they can match or beat that price of 39400. Most were giving me their "bottom# of avout 41500 or so. Most local dealers want to keep your business locally. I'm pretty sure they get charged fees for h
having a local person go out of county to buy a Lexus. Not sure exactly if that's 100% true or not, but it helped in my negotiations when the sales manager here tried to bully me around. Doing research here saved me a lot of money based on the one previous response to a post of mine stating true dealer invoice is not what they showed me to beging with at the first dealership down south.

When they tried to show me that same number here locally, I responded with research I've done stating true dealer invoice is about 90-91% msrp. He later came back and said he spoke with his boss and that percentage is in the actual range. he still didnt want to beat the 40k offer I first came in with from longo lexus so I left the first time. Ended up getting that offer beat online by a couople hundred bucks here and there until my local dealer agreed to match that quote.

Me and my wife went to go see their actual car and options in person since it had just came off the truck a day before. They were offering me the 39400 on it (but was missing a spoiler), so I was going to walk away until a different manager came out and agreed to add the spoiler for free since it was the only thing missing from a car down south I told him I would go buy with a spoiler the next day.



I was surprised at what I was able to get before ttl by not giving in to the 41-42k numbers they didn't want to budge on first. Maybe it's due to the southern california amount of lexus dealerships. I know we only have one here in bakersfield and I'm amazed I was able to get them dowm to that here. They have my business if I ever buy anothet Lexus down the line.