diablo1

I've been reading this forum ever since I test drove the IS 350 at the Taste of Lexus event at Belmont Park a month ago, but this is my first post. I've been calling around, and so far I have found NO dealers in the vicinity of New York City that have IS 350's available. Most have one you can test drive and demo, but no inventory available to purchase. I was just wondering - is it like this in the rest of the country? It sounds like some people have walked into the dealership and driven out in a new IS, but maybe all of these people already had deposits. Every dealer I have talked to has said it will be about 6 weeks before any cars are available - ie late November! If that is true, it's pretty irritating

Thanks for any feedback...

ShowcarA4

I know how you feel...I've called every dealer in NY and NJ and thy all tell me that they only got one or two IS 350's but already been sold or bieng used for test drives. I ordered my IS 350 yesterday and they said it will be about a month before it even comes in....Ill keep you updated..

GonzoBuggs

That sounds about right. I would be shocked if they didnt have a good stock in the next allocation or two. Ask about putting a $500-$1000 deposit down to get dibs on the next allocation.

picus

Well it isn't like NY/NJ is a very big market or anything.

Gonzo is right, go put in a deposit. I had one in here and was given first shot at all the cars that were allocated to the area.

diablo1

It's very annoying because I didn't really want to put down a deposit before prices were announced, but then prices were only announced about three days before the official release date for the car... It's so frustrating for a company to say "ok, our product is available now!" only for their salesmen to tell you "come back in a month and a half" when you actually go and try to purchase it!

Ratman009

My dealer told me something about the first batch of 350 destined for the east coast got delivered in OREGON and had to truck shipped across the country. They were originally slated to be delivered directly to the Newark, NJ area via boat. this may be part of the problem. Again, not sure if it is true or not, but that's what they told me.

diablo1

Wow, that is the first I've heard of that, but if it's true, that's really bad! It can't be *all* the cars though, because most dealers do have one or two cars. Sounds like Lexus needs to find out what brown can do for them.. lol

GonzoBuggs

I'm right there with you friend. I put $1,000 down months ago with the clear expectation that I would get a car reasonably close to what I want. The best they could do for me was a base model with the worst color combination imaginable and no options.

I threw my hands in the air and ordered exactly what I wanted. Now I know for sure when it's coming.

This has been a very big lesson for me about just-released vehicles, availability, expectations and patience.

diablo1

Gonzo, you say you know for sure when it's coming? How long did they tell you the wait would be? One dealership told me they might have one in 3 weeks or so, but I don't really believe them since every other dealership in my area said 6-8 weeks.

diablo1

That way I might be more likely to get the first unclaimed IS 350 that gets to this area... Or will it not matter, since any dealer that has my deposit will be lined up for the next car that becomes available?

GonzoBuggs

What I was saying is that you will achieve certainty only by ordering. Sure, you have to wait, but at least you know what car you are getting and when it will come.

The official word on special orders is 3-4 months. It is highly unlikely that it will take < 3 months, and I'm not sure what the chance is that it will be > 4 months.

There is no way a special order can be accomodated in 3 weeks. It might be possible that you can get a car in 3 weeks if what you want is in the next allocation, or you are flexible enough to take whatever comes.

ivanpetrov

i was told 120 days for factory orders.

dealer also said that this past saturday, 14 (premium package only) 250s were sold to non-waitlist people. and they sold their demo cars. say the list is all about color and options. all the 350s here are loaded. all the 250s pretty bare. huge waitlist for AWD.

GonzoBuggs

The way a deposit works is that you are essentially getting in line for vehicles in your dealer's allocation. That might be 1 vehicle or it might be 15 or more. Dealers can trade with other dealers in the region, though a popular trim with options is going to be difficult to get by trade.

my impression on the reason for a despit is that it forces you to let the dealer know when you change your commitment. To get your $1,000 back, you have to call the dealer and tell them you are no longer intersted. This works better for them than a huge list of not-so-serious buyers who end up blowing them off.

I'm very new to this whole process and knew nothing about it until recently. I feel I got screwed, so I immersed myself in researching the process so I could be equipped with the right answers, not the inconsistent answers I was getting from every dealer I spoke with.

When I was told I couldnt get the vehicle I was promised, I hit the roof. I quickly learned that a special order would put the ball back in my court and give me a bit of control.

If you don't want to wait 3-4 months, I suggest you call every dealer within range of you and ask if they have the vehicle you want. If they don't let them know what you want and ask them to call you if they get it. If you want to pay $1,000 to $2,000 for coast to coast shipping, call every large dealer in the country. You will likely find something close to what you want and can have them put it on a truck.

I was going to do this, but I couldnt find ML, Performance and an acceptable color put together.

picus

Hmmm, I wonder why it's 3-4 months? Is the factory the IS's are being produced in still not totally re-tooled for the new model, or is it just a lower yeild factory, or....?

I've ordered three cars in the past, one recently, and the longest wait I had was 6 weeks, although the one I just ordered may top that - I haven't received a production number yet.

GonzoBuggs

That sure is a good question. You would think they could just throw an option into a system already on the line and give it to you in a few weeks.

I do know for sure that it takes 2 weeks for the boat to get to the west coast from Japan. I also think they do 1-month production runs. I was told they do the special orders first, then start mass producing cars of the same type, though I'm guessing they ship them all together, maybe once per month?. I also know that the November run is currently closed, so the earliest you could get in is December. Now, let's assume that you ordered a week ago, and your car is built in December. Let's assume they load it onto the boat December 15 and it arrives in port January 3. Now you have to wait for it to be shipped from the port to your dealer. There is three months right there. This is all conjecture, as I have no idea what they are really up to, but can only guess based on what I've heard.

I think it would be great if they would call the factory, drop your options into a car on the line and get it out within 4 weeks. It would be even better if you could track your order like you can at Dell.