DigMyM35x

Hi all. Doing my shopping now and curious to see if I'm chasing a Lochness Monster or Bigfoot here.

I tend to see posts here and on other boards about folks getting at or below invoice price. Funny thing is that a number of them seem to have 1 or 2 total post counts when they report this. They rarely give info about the dealership where they were able to do this.

I am wondering if some helpful folks would be willing to share any experiences of getting the RX at or below invoice.

I don't want this to turn into a flame war about supply and demand if you all don't mind. I have a few options for what we can do with our vehicle purchase and the only one that interests me with the RX is if I can get to invoice. (I'll save the complaints about paying more if I could get all of the options listed in the brochure - I would see the value with the options I would want but I don't have the time to order).


So if anyone who ACTUALLY PURCHASED/LEASED the 2010 RX at/near/below invoice would be so kind as to post your experiences I would appreciate it. It would also be beneficial to know if you had a trade-in or not. If you did have a trade - did you negotiate the sale price of the RX before trade? My concern is that some of the people that actually got 'invoice' might have had a trade where they made up the profit on that side for the dealer. If that is the case then the likelihood of invoice diminishes.

Thanks in advance!

Jay

Cruiter

Jay
What one person gets at a particular dealer at a particular inventory point is not indicative of what you can buy one for anywhere else. As a general rule the 350's are negotiable depending on many variables but you'll do best with a buying club. Try COSTCO for instance. The 450h models are much tighter and probably will remain that way unless they suddenly become thick with inventory.

If you read the TOYOTA sales story as you logged in, you'll find the one vehicle from Lexus that had a significant increase in sales for July and the quarter was the RX series.

The G Man

The wife and I went shopping for a new RX this weekend, there isnt a whole lot of them on lot like the gen 2. The best we did was $1500 above invoice. As far as option packages, you need to go to Lexus.com and built your own Lexus. Enter a zip code and the option packages in your region will be listed on the site. Chances are, you will not get the exact option you want and dont want, unless you special order.

jskennedy

below is what i paid, i don't know the invoice price, guessing i'm slightly over invoice, had a cash-for-clunker trade-in so there was no negotiation on the trade, i've read of better deals

List - $46347
Discount - $4000
Sell Price - $42347
Trade - $4500 (clunker)
Net - $37847
3% sales tax - $1135.41
Transfer Lic - $105
Docs/Admin - $425
out the door - $39512.41

kitlz

Jay,

I know you want to prevent a flaming war here. But the reality is what I get is not what the next guy will get and it's gonna get ugly.

A little background info, I have an 11-year relationship with my dealer, Lexus of Bridgewater. They have given me great discounts on my 99 and 04 RXs, on both sales and service - I never really had to ask. On average, it has been between $3-5K. They were giving me a 5% discount on the 10 450h with the same nav package you describe. But I cancelled the order Monday because I felt it was not equipped the exact way I wanted, similar to your dilemna. I will be going back next month to start over. Don, my sales guy, will work with me to do a special order - no harm, no foul.

I had trades on all of my purchases. But I checked with my brother-in-law first who has worked in car sales for 25+ years and has his NJ dealers license to make sure I was getting a fair amount. Bridgewater matched the price every time. Could I have gotten more? Maybe, but I didn't have to deal with strangers calling me and driving my car. It's hard to find sellers who have the same level of appreciation for your vehicle and understand why it's priced the way it is, unless the price is absurd. Suggestion, check what dealers has on its lot similar to your trade and take a few bucks off for certification/repairs. Realize they can provide guarantees on the car too so that adds to the cost. Deduct a little more for that. But hopefully from there you can strike a happy medium with the dealer and decide if trading in is worth it.

Bottom line is yes, there are deals out there. It all depends on whether you want to take the RX as they are currently being packaged or do a special order. I am hoping things will die down by the end of the year and inventory will thicken like Jim said. But it's obvious Lexus has a winner here. This is unfortunately what happens.

Hope that helps.

Hal56

I worked with several dealers--all said it is a supply demand issue. thats the reality of it--find a dealer with a lot of what you want in stock.

iron clad law of economics.

Hal56

Is cash for clunkers based on base price, negotiated price or sticker price--it appears that if you received the credit at the very least sticker price does not come into play. TIA

jskennedy

only thing cash-for-clunkers has to do with the price of the vehicle is the base price (price before options/delivery/dealer charges) can not exceed $45k

Hal56

thanks--my trade was just short of the clunker level.

RXSF

I dont know anyone who has gotten the car for invoice or less than invoice. I would settle for anything like 1500-2000 above invoice.

rxets

You guys are genius. How you can "remember" the invoice price of all the combo!!

The invoice may be varied when your RX has different features and setup.

Ppl will get the different discounts by areas. For example, you may be able to easily get $4K off from MSRP in NY/NJ areas, but you "probably" will "never" get this price in Seattle areas.


The information below is one of the most common model of RX in my areas. (AWD, Premium, Navi, Comfort, Towing Prep, Wood Shift ****, and 12-speakers)


I saw ppl in NY/NJ got 4+K discount in April, May, and July. It's about 1.5K above Invoice, pretty close to what RXSF said above...


.

DigMyM35x

Hi all. Thanks for the info. Great advice and points!

I am a huge believer in the supply/demand equation and the importance of timing when shopping. You all hit the nail on the head. However, I still run up against the 'margin' dealers who just don't care about the volume. I guess if they ever have trouble paying the bills (hopefully that never happens but I think you all know what I mean) they might discount closer to some of the other dealerships.

I had an offer on a demo model of an 09 when Lexus was giving the $9,000 off back in the winter and they offered me a few grand off of MSRP. Let me clarify:
Demo (basically used w/thousands of miles and beaten upon by the likes of myself putting a car through it's paces ) discounted a few thousand dollars (basically the same offer I was getting at other dealerships without any negotiations - on a BRAND NEW RX! and then not even offering the $$ that Lexus was giving them for the end of model cash since the 2010's were coming out in a month.

Absolutely - supply and demand, but these guys were a bit greedy in my opinion. Hey, if they can make that money and someone is willing to pay it then it's not my issue. However, I wouldn't do that. If I can call a dealer and their STARTING price is the best I can negotiate down at one of these dealerships then I know they probably thinking more about volume than margin.

Exampe: new RX (added 'Enform/Lexus Connect' now brings the MSRP up according to him - I'll be checking on that . . . ) MSRP over $47,400. Without any conversation, discussion, negotiation or anything - he just starts the price in my lease calculations at $43,500. Hmmm, that sounded like a great starting point to me. Not too far above invoice and before any negotiations or trade. That sounds promising to me. Of course, they never start with their best offer so I'll try to get them lower.

My main issue is my wife's concern about keeping her payment the same as it is right now on her 07RX. Not easy to do due to price differences, money factors, residuals, etc. but I think we would be close enough if we could drop that extra $1k-$2k. Just need to find that right dealer at the right time.

And RXETS - great point on the 'invoice price' and options, etc. I know that in our area there are really only 3 options and I only want 1 of them: Comfort, Premium, Nav, Wood, 12 spkrs, Tow prep. I made a spreadsheet with lease payments calculations, copied and pasted the Edmund's invoicing pricing (like you did above but as text into Excel) - also Edmund's always gets the argument from Lexus dealers that it is $700+ too low due to some bogus stuff . . . and then I cut and pasted the options list and prices from Lexus' website in case I see an anomoly car and need to get a quick gauge on option prices.

I copied that spreadsheet to my Blackberry and when I'm at a dealership I have all of my numbers right in front of me. I get their MF, Resid, Cap Cost, etc., plug it into my spreadsheet and compare their numbers to the invoice numbers from Edmunds on one of the worksheets in that spreadsheet. Works great and let's the dealers know: a)I'm a serious buyer and b) I have a good grasp of the #'s so they might be more inclined to work with me to hit our goal.

Thanks again for the responses and stating the obvious without flaming! I appreciate all of the advice and feedback. I really enjoy hearing other's experiences and sharing mine to help others.

If anyone hits invoice please post right away!!!

Thanks!
Jay

vermont

iTrader: (1)

Just help my friend purchase one Monday. NV, PM, CP, FT, WU, EK, wheel locks, cargo mat and net MSRP: $45,847 $40,800.