BigHat

Anyone have a feel for "04 availability and price? Local "stealer" is claiming they are rare and thus "list" price is what they want. If I order, they think they could manage 1.5K off.

This still seems high as 60K was cited somewhere else as a reasonable market price for an '04.

Last question: Does anyone have a dealership in the VA/DC/MD area they'd recommend. I'm not too happy with the attittude at Lindsey.

BigHat

ekovalsky

Have you considered getting an '03 ? If you can find one in the colors you want you can probably negotiate a better deal, maybe under $60k. There are no significant changes between the '03 and '04 models.

BigHat

I am aware of the similarity of the 03 and 04. No point in taking the depreciation hit on an 03. I'm searching for a great deal on an 04.

FWCruiser

BigHat, I picked up my '04 Tuesday. I had contacted about 6 dealers within 200 miles of me, I'm in Fort Worth, and most would come off sticker about $1500. Told me if I wanted a better deal I would have to wait till January. One of the dealers in town would not come off sticker at all. Turns out my wife knows the sales manager at the dealer closest to me and he had to get the general managers OK to give me a better deal, which he did. I'm happy. Probably would have had to wait several months for the deal I got. Our friend asked me not to spread around what I paid so out of appreciation I won't mention it here, sorry.
David

golfkwesi

Big Hat,

I just purchased & I am supposed to pick up my '02 SC because I didn't want to pay the premium for the '03 & now for the '04's especially when I was finding the '02's with 3 - 4,000 miles.

I was offered a brand new '03 for $57,900 and a recent post from another CL member stated that he just bought his '03 for only $57K...at these prices why are you concerned about taking a "depreciation hit".

IMHO the moment your '04 tires hit the street in front of your dealership as you drive that beauty home you just took a big hit for the "dealer profit".

Seems like you can save $3 - 6,000 on the '03. Either way I wish you the best!

BigHat

Golf...
I can get a better selection of colors etc by going with an '04. Think I can get one for 60K. That for an '04 and 57K for an '03 are equal to me. I feel, based on used prices now, that three years from now I'll get it back on sale.

So, to get what I want I need to get '04 but no way am I paying over 60.5K for one. Hope it works out.

BigHat

golfkwesi

Bighat,

I should have considered the fact of color selection..sorry! Hopefully you can locate a dealer with several '03's still on their lot so that they will be agressive on the '04's that are on their way.

JCtx

Hi there. I don't think anybody has '03s left; checked many dealers in TX, and only found one brand-new '03 for $57K in San Antonio, but was damaged when a tech went to fill it up; they called me right before I left (wew!). They only came down $2K on '04s (same as lone local dealer), so I moved on. Found a great deal in Albuquerque on a brand new '04 (same color: silver/ecru) with both options (spoiler and runflats) plus cargo mat and wheel locks: $59K (sticker is $64,234). That's exactly what I thought was fair, so I didn't even haggle (yes guys, I was given that price right off the bat). They only have one more coming this year, in case a 'refrigerator lover' is interested: white/ecru. Car should arrive this week; we'll see.

Later.

JC

MarsB007

i don't get it... the '04s have an invoice of around 55-56K with around a $1000-1500 dealer holdback. So if I understand this right, the dealer is making around $1000 just for taking the car from the manufacturer... thus they have an incentive to sell it as quickly as possible. Additionally, the dealer pays 56-57 max. Why would anyone pay 60K+ for the SC? 57-58 would be an ideal price - still allowing the dealer to make a profit. I got my 2001 (back in 2001) GS300 Nav/ML for 500 over invoice, by just calling the dealership and telling them that I'll come by if they sell it to me at that price. An hour later I was signing the documents.
Can anyone shed some light on this? I'm perplexed...

Since i'm planning on leasing a 04 SC430 in the next month, any insight would be appreciated.

FWCruiser

Mars, the way it was explained to me, each dealer is allocated a certain number of SC's per month. If they have no problem selling these cars for MSRP or a little less there is no reason for them to cut the price down to invoice. David

MarsB007

what about if you know the general manager of the dealership? I hope that guy hooks me up. As it is i got a quote online for a 04 SC430 for 59,000 (First quote). I'm guessing i can at least bring it down another 1500. Who knows... i'll keep you guys posted.

JCtx

Hi Mars. You're right: invoice is right around 56K, for a profit of over $8K, PLUS holdback.
I paid no more than $2K over invoice for my other 3 new lexuses, but as FWcruiser said, it's supply and demand. I expected to pay the same $2K on this car, since it's very expensive, and it's on its 3rd year wtih no changes; I was wrong, unfortunately. The (only) local dealer I bought the other 3 cars from wanted $3K more than the Albuquerque one, where I was a total stanger, and I didn't even have to haggle. All other TX dealers were right at $62K too. I still can't understand why a dealer wants to maximize their profit when they car turn the car around and immediately order another one, increasing their volume, and keeping a customer. The car at the local dealer is still sitting there; go figure. And they didn't care I was paying cash.

I honestly thought $59K (out of $64,234 sticker) was very fair, and since that was $3K better than anybody else, I didn't even haggle with the manager. They even gave me the lexus bra, a windshield sunscreen, and touch-up paint as a gift for driving 3 hours. Very professional people.

Please let us know how you do; hopefully you'll beat my $59K. Hey, at least we're not paying OVER sticker, like Ferrari, and others.

JC

Doc C

Paid $59,250 for mine. That's with run craps,spoiler,Nav,Lexus Link, trunk mat, Lexus mugs, golf ***** and two pens!!!! Hey, I took what I could get!!!! I really wanted the Lexus Link when I bought the car. Never have used it and was wondering the value of it, until last Friday when a Toyota pickup was right in front of me. Slammed on the brakes and went into the median. I swerved (thanks Michelins,VSC,ABS) and missed them. Trans Am behind me hit truck at 70 and truck rolled 2 1/2 times. Pushed the emergency button and Lexus Link had an ambulance there using GPS to tell where we were. There were 5 kids in the bed of the pickup with a topper on it. The kids were thrown everywhere. Not a good sight. Anyway, at that point it was worth whatever I paid for it. Plus I had to try out the unlock from the satellite thing just for fun!!! Pretty cool!!!
Good luck!!!

Doc C

Leslie Cra

In response to your question about Lexus dealers in the Va/Md/DC area let me suggest Lexus of Silver Spring. I purchased my '02 SC430 from them last September. Previously, I purchased a '99 GS300 and a '94 SC400 from this dealership. Also, the Service Department staff at Lexus of Silver Spring are tops! All of the staff there have taken good care of me and my vehicles for the past 9 years. I highly recommend going to David Mohebi in the Sales Department and Bobby or Domingo in the Service Department.

Good luck!

KelvinT

I got one from Lexus of SS last April for $59K. As long as you have a good deal with them, you can tell them to get any colors you want. If they don't have it at their dealer, they will pull it from another dealer. I recommend to contact Moe Benkhadra, the Internet Sales Manager, to get the quote from him or send email to him at moeb@darcarslexus.dealerspace.com

g'luck