Henry82

Thanks to everyone for the input... so far, I've found some candidates and have started shopping a few dealers. One dealer in Beverly Hills, CA was wiling to reduce the price by $600 for "de-cpo-ing" the car... based on AndyT1 and MXZ's expereinces above, I believe I can push for more. I still have the same plan as AndyT1: "to get extended warranty towards the end of my 4/50."

On a side note: what do you guys think of the extra options like Mark Levinson audio, Heads up display (HUD), parking assist sensors, and the luxury package? I've noticed a few vehicles out there with some or all of these add-ons and, all else being equal, usually $1-2k more in price. Do you guys think it's worth the extra money? Would we be able to recover this additional cost when we sell the car in the future?

kitlz

Henry82, I'd say spend the extra money. ML, HUD, and the luxury package are not commonly found on '10 RXs. It'll be to your benefit when you sell. How much, who knows, but you will see some of that money back. When new, ML alone was $1,700 and had the six CD changer. Now in the '13, ML is half the price but down to one CD. I forget the cost of HUD, probably close to $1K. Those are the two options I'd go for. I don't have the park assist sensors or the luxury package. I'm sure they're both nice especially the luxury package with the folding power mirrors, I'll leave others to comment on them.

MXZ

Went to JF Lexus month back they said they have no room for negotiation on a 33K Mile 32K price cpo(nav+HID+rainSens+35K mile service).
If you are getting a loan, go to some Credit Union and get your rate so you can negotiate with dealer-finance guy. He was trying to put me on a 3.4apr. I forgot my CU apr, so I told him they are giving me at 2.2 and he matched it. I am changing loan to CU at 1.74 next month.

If you are not familiar with process here it goes
1.Negotiate price with sales man (Make sure you ask for break pads/tires/35K service...)
2. Once the deal is done, he will hand you over to the finance-guy
3. He is going to pitch 7 or 8 packages(I declined all of them)
4. Make sure he gives you good APR(tell him you are going to change it to your credit union)
5.when signing the last paper("dealership owes nothing") tell him to add all the goodies promised to you(if they offer you to change break pads, they are not going to change same day ).
good luck.

AndyT1

Good summary MXZ. Unfortunately I didn't push #1 - and as a result my tires are not new and I don't know the status of break pads - I forgot to request CPO certification check list.
I was also pre-approved with a CU, but their rate came a little lower, so I went with Lexus to make things easier on me.

Henry82

JF Lexus is very reluctant to negotiate... they move a lot of cars, so I guess they can be. One interesting note about their inventory is that the Beverly Hills clientele don't drive much and change their cars often, so they end up with quite a few lease returns with surprisingly low miles.

As for deal negotiations, I do not plan to finance... will be paying cash (cashier's check). I was planning to use that for last stage discounting.

Cruiter

Henry, having retired from the retail end of the business several years ago, I'll toss you a little 'back end' knowledge. Hold off on telling them you're paying cash until it's time to pay or sign the finance contract. They gamble on making quite a bit of back end money even by financing for you at a lower rate than your credit union or bank. Get the deal, even give them a credit app if you have to. Then when you come in, bring your cashiers check . There's no law you have to finance with them.

Good luck.

Henry82

Thank you for the input! I had not thought of this angle... in most other business dealings, cash has been king and being able to pay this way has often yielded better prices.

I shall revise my tactics to leverage this new strategy.

New Owner

Cruiter, you are spot-on here & thanks for the post.

It seems as a general rule that all of the high-end automobile dealerships (particularly during times of economic recovery) try to drive awfully hard bargains making it almost impossible to score a "deal". However, by keeping one's lip buttoned about doing a cash deal, that dealership is also likely to remember you when you come back for your next one, because you blindsided him. Ergo if you have more than one dealership in your area it may behoove you to toggle back & forth between successive purchases. Even though you may have established a relationship somewhere doesn't mean you necessarily have to buy it from them.

I do my extended warranties a little bit unorthodox too, getting bids for them (the real McCoy VSA) online and then going into my local dealer to offer him the opportunity to match. They grumble, but if you go in with a written quote they will usually buckle. It's not only about profit, it's also about sales volume..

On new car purchases I go in just 1 or 2 days before the end of the month, or else in early January, just a day or two before they get hit with inventory tax (Texas). They will make deals then.

As to my trade-ins, I will dicker on the new car with the initial understanding that I'm keeping my current car (giving it to the wife, daughter, etc). This pulls the mask off the overallowance so you have a better idea where you stand when you ultimately relent and decide to trade after all. As for my trade-in value I go into CarMax a day or so in advance to get a Buy Bid from them. Using these steps in combination I nearly always come out around $1000 better at the end of the day.

cricketfan

According to Lexus, my CPO '11 Rx comes with a 3-year Certified Limited Warranty FROM MY DATE OF PURCHASE or for 100,000 total vehicle miles whichever comes first.. Is this the norm for Dealer CPOs.

RX330inFL

Yes, this is normal as pointed out on the Lexus web site:

http://www.lexus.com/cpo/overview/warranty.html