How was your haggling experience?
07-26-06, 03:24 PM
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How was your haggling experience?
I wanted to know how you guys negotiated the price of you new ES....
cause for me it was a pretty crazy experience. (The staff was great and I like my dealership..its just the experience of haggling for the price)
My husband dealt with it mostly but for about the last 10 min of it, I walked in to see why the deal was not being made...and we ended up leaving the dealership with my husband saying that the price he got quoted wasnt a deal at all. He said, "Tell me something I dont know....I can get that kind of pricing anywhere...I have A+ credit, will put down as much as it takes and you give me this talk about your invoice price". Then the sales guy was like, " I really tried but cant do what you are asking me to do...sorry...hve a nice day" WHAT!!!!! My hubby then explained himself to me as we are driving back and reached my other dealership (where I was selling my other car)..that we should wait longer for the car..he was pretty worn out.
Then we get a call back..just as we were explaining ourselves to that dealer about why we are not selling our car.... the Lexus sales guy then says the magic numbers. My husband and I were so annoyed !!!! I mean why not take the time to convince us or throw some numbers at us prior to us leaving!
We drove back to get the car...all the while hissing about the sale and the whole day wasted. All in all, it took us about 4 hrs (including haggling about the interest rate and preparation of the paperwork and the car).
cause for me it was a pretty crazy experience. (The staff was great and I like my dealership..its just the experience of haggling for the price)
My husband dealt with it mostly but for about the last 10 min of it, I walked in to see why the deal was not being made...and we ended up leaving the dealership with my husband saying that the price he got quoted wasnt a deal at all. He said, "Tell me something I dont know....I can get that kind of pricing anywhere...I have A+ credit, will put down as much as it takes and you give me this talk about your invoice price". Then the sales guy was like, " I really tried but cant do what you are asking me to do...sorry...hve a nice day" WHAT!!!!! My hubby then explained himself to me as we are driving back and reached my other dealership (where I was selling my other car)..that we should wait longer for the car..he was pretty worn out.
Then we get a call back..just as we were explaining ourselves to that dealer about why we are not selling our car.... the Lexus sales guy then says the magic numbers. My husband and I were so annoyed !!!! I mean why not take the time to convince us or throw some numbers at us prior to us leaving!
We drove back to get the car...all the while hissing about the sale and the whole day wasted. All in all, it took us about 4 hrs (including haggling about the interest rate and preparation of the paperwork and the car).
07-26-06, 03:53 PM
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Internet
I did all of the haggling via email through the internet sales department. The first MSM i got about $2800 off MSRP and waited 3 days for delivery. I was in the dealership about 1 hour total, including 30 minutes of instructions. Less paperwork because i was paying all cash.
2nd time around was a bit more complicated, but since i did more homework, the negotiating went a bit faster. Yes they took a big chunk off of MSRP, but they also took a big chunk from my trade in MSM, so i wasnt the happiest of campers until after i left the dealership with the new ride that i was finally happy with... This took about 2 hrs.
I strongly suggest that all negotiations to be done via phone or email. This way they can't play salesmen games with you. Once you test drive the car and know what you want, its a matter of figuring out the numbers, which can be done anytime, anywhere.
my 2 cents....
2nd time around was a bit more complicated, but since i did more homework, the negotiating went a bit faster. Yes they took a big chunk off of MSRP, but they also took a big chunk from my trade in MSM, so i wasnt the happiest of campers until after i left the dealership with the new ride that i was finally happy with... This took about 2 hrs.
I strongly suggest that all negotiations to be done via phone or email. This way they can't play salesmen games with you. Once you test drive the car and know what you want, its a matter of figuring out the numbers, which can be done anytime, anywhere.
my 2 cents....
07-26-06, 09:29 PM
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i think the industry will eventually move towards Saturn's no-haggle model. At Saturn dealerships, the price you see is the price you get, kinda like things you buy at walmart. No one wants to go through the haggle process, and many car dealers are beginning to see that.
07-26-06, 10:21 PM
#5
Where I live you get the tax credit back for your trade-in value, so that formed a big part of the deal for me. Lexus dealers here generally won't give you any discount, other than Lexus incentives. Trying to buy a car on launch week for less than MSRP is almost considered crazy here.
I went in to my dealership with a firm figure in my mind on what I wanted for my trade, and what I wanted to pay for the ES350. I wanted $1500 off the MSRP of the car, and wanted a certain value for my trade. Their initial trade assesment goes by the Lexus\Toyota Bluebook pricing, so it seemed simple. I wanted $1K more for my trade than they were offering.
In the end, I got exactly what I wanted. They would not move on the MSRP of the car, but ended up giving me a trade deal equivalent to $2.5K more than the Toyota Bluebook value. It seemed important for them to maintain that MSRP and they did. I did have to walk most of the way out of the showroom though before they'd agree to the deal though. My wife was with me and she was freaking out that I wouldn't agree to their terms - she just wanted the car already!
It wasn't a pleasant experience doing the negotiation and arguing over the $$$$. Everything else was great though. No pressure before negotiations, relaxing atmosphere, no rush to get my money after we agreed, etc.
I went in to my dealership with a firm figure in my mind on what I wanted for my trade, and what I wanted to pay for the ES350. I wanted $1500 off the MSRP of the car, and wanted a certain value for my trade. Their initial trade assesment goes by the Lexus\Toyota Bluebook pricing, so it seemed simple. I wanted $1K more for my trade than they were offering.
In the end, I got exactly what I wanted. They would not move on the MSRP of the car, but ended up giving me a trade deal equivalent to $2.5K more than the Toyota Bluebook value. It seemed important for them to maintain that MSRP and they did. I did have to walk most of the way out of the showroom though before they'd agree to the deal though. My wife was with me and she was freaking out that I wouldn't agree to their terms - she just wanted the car already!
It wasn't a pleasant experience doing the negotiation and arguing over the $$$$. Everything else was great though. No pressure before negotiations, relaxing atmosphere, no rush to get my money after we agreed, etc.
07-27-06, 05:22 AM
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That was exactly my experience (Lexus of Orlando) --- no budge on MSRP but they went up quite a bit on my trade-in. I really felt they low-balled my on the initial trade offer. I told them what I could sell it for privately (had local offers) and they came within $500 of that, which really was a better deal for me due to the reduction of sales tax on the Lexus.
07-27-06, 07:08 AM
#7
Originally Posted by Kaius88
i think the industry will eventually move towards Saturn's no-haggle model. At Saturn dealerships, the price you see is the price you get, kinda like things you buy at walmart. No one wants to go through the haggle process, and many car dealers are beginning to see that.
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07-27-06, 10:13 AM
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Lexus Test Driver
My experience was a little bit different. I used to be buying all of my previous cars by going to half of dozen of dealerships knocking the price down, making them compete for my business. With Lexus, we only have 1 dealership with 2 locations, and they know really well that unless you gonna drive hours and hours to get to another nearest dealership, they got your business anyway when you are desperate to get a new car!!! So, after I found out those 2 location do not compete in price and all the info entered in a shared database, I pulled out my next weapon of paying in full cash for it. Guess what? They prefer lease over cash, because as soon as deal is done, with a click on a mouse money goes right into dealership account. It takes longer with cash and makes no difference. Anyway, since I was shopping for my car back in the middle of June and after reading all the post on his forum, I went it with a goal of $2k off MSRP, and I got it. So, I was happy. I'm pretty sure that I could of got an even better deal, but I wasn't working around a specific monthly loan/lease payment, and I was honestly overwhelmed by test driving the car and a very upscale service of my dealership.
Overall, it was a really good experience and I build a good relationship with a dealership.
Overall, it was a really good experience and I build a good relationship with a dealership.
07-27-06, 10:17 AM
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in california, since you dont get tax credit on trade-in, and have to pay full tax on new car, it really makes no difference if you get low ball trade-in with MSRP reduction vs. high trade-in vs. No MSRP reduction. I think i kinda got raped on my Trade-in because i really couldnt put a value on a new trade in that was 11-days old with 400 miles. I couldnt find any resource online to estimate the depreciation of such short period of time. So when they deducted 9.6% i thought, at the time, it was reasonable.... I think I could have gotten $500 - $1000 higher since it was a freakin brand new car.... but i was inexperienced at trade-ins (never done it before).
Ya know, I learned so much from this whole buying process I am confident i can do better next time. What an experience!
Ya know, I learned so much from this whole buying process I am confident i can do better next time. What an experience!
07-27-06, 02:53 PM
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" I think i kinda got raped on my Trade-in because i really couldnt put a value on a new trade in that was 11-days old with 400 miles."
I think they bailed you out and you should be grateful. Do you think anyone is going to want to buy your slightly used pink one, when they have brand new ones in colors that most ppl. find more attractive, for the same price? No, they'll have to discount it or use it as a loaner. In my viewpoint they totally hooked you up.
I think they bailed you out and you should be grateful. Do you think anyone is going to want to buy your slightly used pink one, when they have brand new ones in colors that most ppl. find more attractive, for the same price? No, they'll have to discount it or use it as a loaner. In my viewpoint they totally hooked you up.
07-27-06, 03:08 PM
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Originally Posted by CyclopStan
" I think i kinda got raped on my Trade-in because i really couldnt put a value on a new trade in that was 11-days old with 400 miles."
I think they bailed you out and you should be grateful. Do you think anyone is going to want to buy your slightly used pink one, when they have brand new ones in colors that most ppl. find more attractive, for the same price? No, they'll have to discount it or use it as a loaner. In my viewpoint they totally hooked you up.
I think they bailed you out and you should be grateful. Do you think anyone is going to want to buy your slightly used pink one, when they have brand new ones in colors that most ppl. find more attractive, for the same price? No, they'll have to discount it or use it as a loaner. In my viewpoint they totally hooked you up.
07-28-06, 11:44 AM
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Go Internet...
Like others on CL, I used the Internet to get my deal. I followed the thread regarding what others had paid for their ESs, then used those numbers when I contacted local dealers.
It helps to be in CA where there are many dealerships, though, because my e-mail went something like this: “I know there are people in southern CA that are getting the car with [these options] for [this price]. I have a dozen dealerships within 150 miles, and I’m sure one of them would be happy to sell me the car for [this price]. Do you want to make an easy sale?” The first dealer declined. The second dealer agreed.
In the end I got just about $4k off of MSRP about six weeks after the dealer first got the cars on the lot. Not bad for a first time Lexus buyer (i.e., no loyalty discounts).
Internet is definitely the way to go.
It helps to be in CA where there are many dealerships, though, because my e-mail went something like this: “I know there are people in southern CA that are getting the car with [these options] for [this price]. I have a dozen dealerships within 150 miles, and I’m sure one of them would be happy to sell me the car for [this price]. Do you want to make an easy sale?” The first dealer declined. The second dealer agreed.
In the end I got just about $4k off of MSRP about six weeks after the dealer first got the cars on the lot. Not bad for a first time Lexus buyer (i.e., no loyalty discounts).
Internet is definitely the way to go.
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