I bought my new 2017 RX on Friday. My dealer, with whom I've bought cars since 1989, has a new General Manager who was all latched onto this "Lexus Plus Upfront Pricing" schtick. Basically they show a small amount off the sticker...my $51000 car showed about $1500 off. And act all high and mighty about how they're giving you the best price upfront. Of course any person with a smart phone can easily come to ClubLexus or Edmunds Forums and see that people are getting at least double that off sticker without too much dickering. I wrote a check for what I saw online to be a fair price and told them to call me by noon the next day to deliver my car or to tear the check up and never call me again. Despite this new manager's snickering at my check, I got the call and took the car. But it was a bad experience and will probably be my last car from this dealership. I plan to give them bad reviews on the survey that will be coming. All of that being said, the new general manager insisted that more and more Lexus dealers would be going to this "no dicker" pricing. Again I laughed at him, pointing out that most people have a trade in so there's always a "dicker". He retorted that while that may be true, the price of the new cars would be "set". To me, "Upfront Pricing" is a gimmick to make newcomers and the naive think there is no negotiation. Particularly since they only "discount upfront" a very small amount. Buying out of town versus locally (we only have two Lexus dealers both owned by the same company) is a hassle. But to save $1000 or more, I would drive a few hours to appraise my trade and buy elsewhere. Anyway, my question is about Lexus Plus. Are most dealers REALLY going to this? And do different dealers choose different prices or is there some standard that they must accept if the agree to the Lexus Plus program? I will not have my intelligence insulted again, especially from a dealership where I've been responsible for 30 car sales in about 28 years, half of them my own. I'll drive a Ford (Explorer is not a bad vehicle) before I do this again.

 

Agree. This no dicker up front pricing is usually a ploy to move more $$$ from your wallet to the dealers bank account and lure gullible people into paying too much and letting down their guard.

 

It's a car dealer, what do you expect?
Id give them a chance and if they can't deliver or play games, move on.

I like your your approach with the check!

 

Maybe this is why Lexus sales dropped?
This pricing model will never work unless you are selling cars that in high demand like a Ferrari.

 

I also agree that long term this cannot work. Esp as long as there are dealers outside the program selling for whatever the market will bear. And if EVERYONE goes to it, SOMEONE will crack sooner or later. It's like when OPEC cheats. As long as the demand is stronger than the supply, they can call the shots and make everyone hold their price. But as good as Lexus cars are, there are plenty of decent other options and they can't have a cartel that they are trying to create. I'll never submit to those games again. I'll determine the best internet price, write the check and they can take it or leave it.

 

IMO, most consumers will believe or think they "want" this upfront program but then at the end of the day they also want to "think" they got a deal or the lowest price. The big issue is, at the end of the day, the majority of buyers of a new car do not like buying a car, they don't like spending big money and sure as hell have a hard time letting it go. My last few cars have been purchased this way, I have purchased them through a fair price association. In the past, I have found it difficult to get a Toyota dealer to move on a price for a new car, this was more prevalent in the 1980s and 1990a as Toyota was growing than it was today.

 

I do not understand why Lexus has this obsession for this program. Unless they know something like the buyers in the industry is going to change or something.

 

Plenty of discounts on Toyotas these days.
Subaru right now has the lowest incentives i think from mainstream brands, as i recently bought a Legacy.
The discounts on Camry and Accord were much higher but i really like the Legacy and it had AWD.

This pricing model only makes sense for exclusive limited production cars in high demand otherwise just go on edmunds.com and you can email 20 dealers in 5sec to get best price!
I never negotiate in person.

 

The Legacy also starts at $1000 less than a Camry. The Legacy is also a newer model with much more recent redesign than the Camry so I would expect the incentives to be less. Both Camry and Legacy are offering 0% financing right now as well.

If that works for you, good! Most people do not have 20 dealers of the same brand within driving distance.

 

Edmunds has forums dedicated to each make/model - amazing info there all about pricing and new programs updated monthly.
Local dealer is not necessary at all - both of my Subarus were purchased out of state in NJ.
2-3 hour drive is worth to save a few grand imo.

 

I have seen Edmunds since the late 90s. Right now they are saying that the Legacy is averaging about $2600 in savings, the Camry is about $4100 in savings. But the Camry starts at a $1000 more at MSRP. On average they are likely selling at the exact same competitive price. Both are offering 0% financing.

 

There are other threads on this here--there's one about a potential Lexus level no haggle price.

I encountered this when considering a Toyota Highlander. Like you found, the price was a joke in that instance, and I moved on. I 100% agree with Jill--the fact that this exists, to me, just means that there are enough people out there that buy into it, and the thought of having to stomach the car negotiation process is so overwhelming, that being told they are getting a good deal is all they need to hear. I'll gladly do the legwork, and leave a dealer like this behind.

 

Looking around the web. Interesting enough, the some Subaru dealers offer no haggle pricing. The Legacy is being offered in top line configurations with a $2793 discount. The is a little higher than what Edmunds says people can save. The discount goes down as the MSRP decreases obviously.
http://www.mikescarffsubaru.com/new-....htm?start=35&

 

Club Lexus continues to think and operate completely in their own car enthusiast bubble. Most people don't know how to negotiate and try to avoid the confrontational aspect of car buying as much as they can. For these kinds of buyers, knowing there is a no haggle lower price is much preferable than being unsure of what you're doing.

For people who like to haggle, don't complain just yet, there are PLENTY of other Lexus dealerships that have not adopted this program.

 

Eventually, like it or not, I think we are all going to have to get used to no-haggle prices. It may not not come all at once, but much of it is inevitable......more and more companies and dealerships will turn to it one way or another. Saturn's phenomenal success in the 1990s proved that it would work (Saturn later folded, not because of their pricing system, but because of horribly bad management and interference from parent GM after 2000). Scion also showed how no-dicker pricing could be successful....it folded, not because of the pricing, but because it was the wrong division, at the wrong time, making controversially-styled vehicles, and selling out of Toyota shops where their parent Toyota got most of the business.

I understand that there are some folks (and will always be some) who believe in old-fashioned dickering and negotiation, even in an atmosphere more conducive to a Middle-Eastern open-market bazaar than an auto dealership. Indeed, a friend of my brother once bought a new Civic by holding firm and negotiating at a dealership until midnight (most dealers, of course, close around 9 PM weekdays and 5 or 6 PM on weekends). Some of you right here on Car Chat still like to do it the old-fashioned way. But more and more people, nowadays, simply don't have the time for that, with today's busy lifestyles.

Added to that, more and more car-buyers want more and more perks at the dealership....coffee, computer-stations, day-care and play-rooms for kids, snack bars, car-washes, and, of course, loaner-cars...all these things take money to operate, and dealerships simply cannot afford them if they are going to pare the price of every car they sell to the bone......while customers, of course, should not be getting ripped off, dealerships also need to make a reasonable profit if they are to stay in business and offer all those perks that everybody likes so much.