MythBuster

Hi

I want to buy Lexus IS 350 2014

I am working on the option list right now.

It is for my son he is located in Indianapolis

My question how do I know that I am getting the right price since there are so many options.

My thoughts that I will fix the option list first then get quotations from three dealers.

My son is located three hours from the nearest dealer. I am just thinking if that may present a challenge from maintenance point of view because he has to drive that long just to change the oil. There is Audi dealer in the same town but he like the IS 350

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

moose66

Distance to a dealership is always an issue. Worse case scenario is that you take it a Toyota dealership. I have heard they will service a Lexus. Routine things such as oil changes, should not be an issue. And since it is a new car, everything for a while should be routine. You may want to call and check with the local Toyota shop to see what they say. Or even call the Lexus dealer to see what they recommend. Good luck!

moose66

And now that I look at the title of your entry, you won't have to worry . . . . . . a 20014 Lexus may be hard to come by!

KeyserS

You can get the pricing for the options and the accessories off the web site. You have to add the standard delivery fee, and there is sales tax, plus fee for license/registration. All of these extra fees are standard, i.e., the dealer does not decide how much they are. Only the sales tax adds appreciably to the cost, although in some areas there is also an "ownership" tax, which is a sort of property tax applied to vehicles, in addition to sales tax. If there is an ownership tax, it is applied in conjunction with the registration, and whereas sales tax is paid only once, you pay the ownership tax each time you renew the registration. And of course you have to buy insurance, and that as well requires some amount of comparison shopping. If you pay for the vehicle outright, in "cash" as we say, by writing a check, then you will might not be required to show proof of insurance before being allowed to drive it off the lot. But if you finance it, the finance company will require that you have proof of insurance, and if you finance it at the dealership, the finance guy at the dealership will probably want to see proof of insurance before allowing it to be driven off the lot. And even if you do not encounter this right away, in many states, probably most, you will not be allowed to register the vehicle and get the regular plates without showing proof of insurance. (The dealer will put a "temporary" plate on the car.)

As for not getting ripped off on the sale, at this stage for this new car you will almost certainly not find a dealer that will sell for less than the MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price), which is also known as the "sticker price", referring to what is printed on the window sticker. You will almost certainly not find a dealer willing to discount below that, at this point for this car, so as long as you are not paying more than MSRP, you can be confident that you are not getting ripped off. And probably you would have to wait at least until the end of the year, or possibly even until this time next year, to find any discounts on this car.

Don't be concerned with the distance to the dealership for maintenance. In all liklihood all this car is going to need for the first 50,000 miles or more is regular oil changes, and you can have that done anywhere. Well, the tires will also need replacing before then, and possibly the front brake pads will need replacing, but those as well are things that you do not need for the dealer to do. There is some chance that there will be a recall and that you will at some point need for the car to be taken to ANY Lexus dealer for that to be done, but the chance of this is not particularly strong, certainly less than 50%, and probably less than 5%.

jdot85

Some members were able to get their 2014 IS's below MSRP. I would recommend reading this thread https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...250-350-a.html to see how much discount that other members were able to get.

John510

I wish my dad would buy me an IS.

Keppie

KeyserS, I think your post has lots of false info. Dealers do set sell prices. Their costs are almost the same.

Mytbuster, is your son in school or does he live in Indiana? If he is leaving in a few years he will have to deal with the inconvenience. Since you are buying the car even if he has to occasionally rent a loaner he is way ahead of the game. The car will have in to go in for problems and since money isn't an issue I would always dealer service the car. I would get prices from 6 dealers. Look at the thread titled what people are paying for their 2014's. No need to hash out the same music.

Good luck.

corradoMR2

Think about this and what is better for him: paying the closeby Audi dealer a visit often for unscheduled issues or to the far Lexus dealer twice a year for regular maintenance.

Personally, no brainer - go for the IS all the way and if dealer distance is an issue, any nearby Toyota dealer will service the IS as moose66 mentioned. I have been servicing all my Lexus vehicles over the years there due to proximity and cost savings (half $) without issue.

Don't hesitate, pick your options, shop a little, and buy the IS! Congrats in advance!

KeyserS

Keppie, I do not write stuff that has lots of false info. Never have, never will. If you want to make a statement as rude and insulting as that, you need to be specific. All you wrote is that "Dealers do set sell prices." Well of course they individually decide how much they will sell the car for. It may be that in some areas dealers are selling at a discount, but is this true in all areas? Even if I was wrong about that, and it turns out that you can buy an IS350 at a discount in the Indianapolis area, the fact is that this is one error in a post that provided an out-of-country buyer a ton of information on what you have to pay for when you buy a car in the USA. He presumably has never bought a car in this country, and has no idea what is involved. I took the time and effort to explain a lot of it to him, and overall it is correct, even if it contains the error you say that it contains. No one else was willing to take the time to do that, and NEITHER DID YOU. No, what you did was come along and insult the one person who was willing to try and help out someone who was looking for some help. I find people like you EXCEEDINGLY annoying.

Furthermore, the tidbit of advice you are offering is risible. He was concerned about the possible need for his son to drive three hours to the dealership for regular oil changes. He stated that concern expressly, and whereas other have advised that he should not be concerned about this, you wrote this: "Mytbuster, is your son in school or does he live in Indiana? If he is leaving in a few years he will have to deal with the inconvenience. Since you are buying the car even if he has to occasionally rent a loaner he is way ahead of the game. The car will have in to go in for problems and since money isn't an issue I would always dealer service the car." It is not even possible to figure out exactly what you are saying. What inconvenience do you mean exactly? How would his son leaving school affect that? How do you know his son will keep the car when he leaves school? What is the reason for him need to rent a loaner? Why do you think the car will have to go in for repairs? Why would you recommend that his son drive three hours to the dealership to have the oil changed? That is quite honestly some of the stupidest advice I have ever witnessed anyone give another person. Drive three hours just to have the dealer change the oil? No one in their right mind would do that.

Furthermore, the discounts that people say that they are getting are next to meaningless if a trade-in is involved. The oldest car salesman trick in the book is to work the deal with the trade-in and the new car purchase bundled, so that it is possible to make it seem to the buyer that they are getting a good deal on the new car, when in reality the dealer is ripping off the buyer with the amount given for the trade-in. The great majority of people do in fact trade in a car when they buy a new one, and for that reason, the great majority of the reports of what people are "paying" mean essentially nothing. The only ones that have any applicability for comparative purpose are the ones where it is stated expressly that no trade-in was involved, and even then you have to separate the ones where financing was provided by the dealer from the ones where the buyer paid cash or obtained own financing, and for the ones where the dealer provided financing, you have to apply a compensation to the purchase price to account for the amount by which it was reduced to entice the buyer to take the financing. This as well is an old, old dealer trick. Make it look to the buyer as though he/she is getting a good deal on the car and then make the profit on the financing contract. Surely it is common knowledge that the dealer takes a cut of the interest paid on the financing, and that this makes up a significant portion of any dealership's earnings.

MythBuster

Wow

Great people great forum

I will come back later

Many thanks

MythBuster

Great advice indeed

I have used Toyota dealers in the past for Lexus. It was good idea.

Thanks

MythBuster

Sorry for late reply

Great info . I really thank you. It is useful to know that the MSRP is fair price to start with.

My best regards

MythBuster

Thanks Keppie

Money is always an issue



I bought a Lexus in 2007 and I had to take it to the dealer for rattling noise in the first 1000 km.


my Son is studying in Indiana and he will ship the car home when he is done as he will have to buy his next car from his income so he better plan to keep this one for at least 7 years

thanks

MythBuster

Many thanks for the advice

I think this is what will happen.

MythBuster

I really cant thank you enough.

like if you are reading my mind and answering questions I did not even know how to ask

God bless you