Frank789

After years of purchasing Ford, GM, and Chrysler cars for myself and family members, I would like to purchase my first luxury car - a 2007 ES350. The posts from clublexus members in California indicate more willingness by dealers to negotiate with prospective buyers than is the case in Northern Virginia. I would like to buy the Lexus, but need to receive a good deal on a $42,000+ car - and not pay the MSRP minus $2,000 that dealers want to offer. Any suggestions or am I to continue with the GMs, Fords, and Chryslers, which offer more negotiation and discount off the MSRP. Thanks in advance.

twister

Its tough to do any negotiation when you have not too many dealerships in your area. I'm speaking from NJ experience, but I have a feeling the same is true for VA? Probably close to half of all US Lexus dealerships are in CA, and that competition drives the price down. $2k off MSRP 2 month after the car was just released is not too bad!!! So, maybe in CA you can get another $1k off. So, for just 1 grand you will deprive yourself of the ultimate luxury of ES350 to go back to GM/Ford?!?!? You will regret this for the rest of your life!!!! Maybe you can wait a couple more month to see if prices going to drop?

Hitsme

Yep - CA is crawling with Lexus dealers. I live in the San Fernando Valley (L.A.) and can count 5 within a half hour drive and another 4 if you're willing to drive 45 minutes. It makes for a lot of bargaining power as a buyer.

I bought early and got several thousand off a UL, but they're holding a little tighter on those now. I'm quite sure either of the other 2 standard configurations can be found for about $1.5K to $2K over invoice.

Frank789, I agree with twister. Don't let a few bucks stop you from finding out what you've been missing all these years!

TonyES350

Frank...

I too live in Northern Virginia and purchased my new ES350 at Pohanka Lexus in Chantilly.

They did not budge one bit when I tried to negotiate the price. I actually pre-ordered my car and took delivery of it on the same day it arrived on the truck.

Until this ES350, I had driven two Ford Explorers, a Ford F150 Super Crew, and a Jeep over the past 10 years. I grew tired of big trucks and of the terrible gas mileage.

You must also consider the rapid rate of depreciation that you will experience in a Ford, GM, or Chrysler product and the indisputable inferior quality and reliability of those products.

My car is incredible...as are all ES350's. The car completely coddles the driver and makes any driving experience, even traffic-jams, enjoyable.

Buy the car! If you can afford a luxury vehicle and you want it, don't let a couple thousand dollars deprive you of the enjoyment and reliability that the ES350 will bring you for years to come.

Tony

Faraaz23

Perhaps you can negotiate on the phone with other east coast dealers within a 7-8 hour drive. If you can save another 1,000 or so, it may be worth the drive to get the car.

I was also under the impression that the very strong selling american cars do not budge as much off of MSRP... say as something like a Stratus, which mostly finds its home in commercial fleets. If the ES continues to sell very well, I would think dealers would deal less. However, if sales slow down, you may be able to get one for 3-500 over invoice.

Faraaz23

This is an EXCELLENT point. Spending a thousand or two on the front end may end up saving you money years down the road when you want to sell.

twister

I just want to add that over-the-phone with internet adviser sales could be very tricky (if you decide to go that way). Make sure to get a fax with every single detail spelled out, every single option listed, and other info such as destination charges/tax/fees included. A friend of my friend was supposed to save $1k on one of those deals over the phone, but when he drove 4 hours to pick up the car and pay for it, it ended up with a saving of under $200 because of destination charges and a few other fees not included in original quote. So, when you take into consideration money spent on a gas for this trip, paid road tolls, and wasted time - the saving completely diminished and it wasn't worse the trip...

Bash4

Frank call around other states and even the west coast for prices and have it delivered if need be. I live in Illinois and am driving to Indiana to save money.

Frank789

Does anyone know how I can identify the 10 largest Lexus dealerships east of the Mississippi?
I would like to contact their internet sales managers and see whether we can negotiate a sale via the internet.
Has anyone tried this and been successful? Thanks

cocopops

iTrader: (1)

I don't know if this would be off much help to you. But this site has a listing of top Lexus dealers (not sure on how they rank/include the dealers in this list). Nevertheless, might be a good start on ur research.

http://www.topsinamerica.com/category.php/lexus_dealers