austinDevi

Does anyone know if there are "December to Remember" discounts if one is not financing or leasing? People have posted buying experiences with as much as 6k$ off the MSRP, but I have also heard that 2k$ off the MSRP is a result of financing during this promotion. Does that mean that 4k$ off MSRP is the best I can likely expect if not financing? thanks.

Tom558

Finance the purchase and then pay off the loan as soon as you receive the lender information.

mshumack

The discount off MSRP depends on the price of the car and its popularity. If it is a "hot selling" car in your area the discount is not going to be different. For example the AWD version is not as popular in FL so it's hard to get one (or a good deal) because there are not many on the dealer lots.

As I mentioned in a different post, I got $4K off a loaded 2014 RX350. I think the discount would be around $1K higher than that on a RX450h since it starts out about $10K higher.

The actual deal you get is somewhat dependent on you negotiating skills, you sales person, and the info you come in with. If you can get some pricing from other Internet sales sites or dealerships in your area, you can work out a better deal. If you don't know what the cars are selling for its hard to negotiate a good price (or know when you're getting one).

When I bought mine a week ago, the December to Remember promotion was 0.9% financing or $2K off (after you negotiate your best deal). And don't talk about a trade-in car until you have a price determined for the new car.

Good luck

mshumack

It depends. I feel I can get a better return on my money by leaving it in the Stock Market and taking the 0.9% finance rate.
If I took the $2,000 instead of the lower finance rate (and paid cash or financed through my CU at 3%) it would take a lot longer to break even.

austinDevi

The MSRP for the standard RX350 package in our region is $46,775 (2014 with options but no nav) . The dealer offered 4k$ discount off of this without taking advantage of any financing deal. I see others talking about 6k$ discount, but I think includes 2k$ more for the "December to Remember" financing offer.

So at least around here (and matching what I hear about on this site) it looks like right now it is possible to get 4k$ off without the DTR financing deal and 6k$ off if you include the DTR financing deal.

(1) anyone hear about getting more than 4k$ discount on a 2014 RX350 without the financing deal?

(2) are there fees associated with the financing deal that make the actual savings less than 2k$?

dmccombs

Yes. In my area, to get the $2k discount you have to do the Lexus financing, which in my area is 3.9%. They didn't' tell me this until we were signing papers, and I asked why my bank was charging me such a high interest rate. Then they told the full deal. The problem is that if you factor in the whole loan, the extra interest would have cost me ~$1500.

Then they told me that I could pay the 3.9% for 3 months, then refinance it. Even this would have cost me about $125 in higher interest, and the time to refinance the loan.

So there are strings to the $2000. I wasn't happy finding about this at the end of the deal. At least you know now ahead of time, and can negotiate appropriately.

jer

We are currently thinking of adding another RX and just started looking at what the dealer has to offer. I see everyone discussing the 2k off when financing but I can't find this referenced on the Lexus website. Is this offer location specific or something the dealer will bring up should we decide on another RX? Just want to be prepared!

mshumack

Well you could get the $2K off and pay the remainder in cash - you don't have to finance. But most people are probably not in the financial position to be able to pay cash.
The rate you got quoted is based on your credit rating (I assume) because Lexus was offering me 3% (the same as my Credit Union) with the $2K off deal, or I could finance at the 0.9% rate with no cash back. I like the lower rate deal.

mshumack

I was going to provide you a link to the "December to Remember" promotion (i.e. the $2K off or 0.9% financing) but I can't find it now. As a matter of fact, it looks like the finance rate is now 1.9%.
I wonder if the promotion ended? Odd that it would end before December even starts (unless that's how it works). Maybe Lexus met their sales goals in November and bumped the finance rate up some.

austinDevi

I ended up paying $42,100 for an 2013 RX350 with MSRP of $46,775 (discount of $4,675). They offered a discount off MSRP of $4,000 and I countered with a discount of $4,675 (and said I was going to take that offer to the other dealers if they did not want it - which I was going to do). I picked this figure based on this site. Other people reported $4,000 discount not counting the financing deal being offered as part of December to Remember and I valued that financing deal at $700 ($2,000 discount if financing thru Lexus minus the $1,300 fees as part of the financing). Thanks to everyone for the help.

CBRDude

If you take the discounted financing are you stuck with the financing for a period of time? Just asking as this is the way other manufactures work with their financing arms.

mshumack

No. You can pay it off at any time without penalty. But you are paying the full finance fee (about $1,200 in my case) whether you go the full term or pay off early.