I am looking for a certified RX350 (2016-17) . Would it be better to wait till the December to Remember event to by a pre owned certified Lexus?

 

 

I doubt there is any need to wait....sometimes annual sales are real and can be timed. Like when there are "friends and family" discounts on products where the mfg. controls the price across all vendors selling their products (apple, whatever). But not a Lexus....

 

If you can wait, I'd wait... not necessarily for December to Remember, but because being patient typically results in getting the right car at the right price. I would research when the RX production year starts. On the LS it starts in September - so in about 6 weeks that will mean that the 2019 LS500 versions will be produced. If it's the same on an RX, when the 2019's come out you may see another slight decrease in the price of a 16 or 17 as they will be another year older.

 

The interesting thing is since cars are a market (maybe not as efficient as eBay or Wall St., but there is a lot to it).....a 2019 produced in August, down the road, is worth less than a 2019 produced in April of 2019....if it were me and the vehicles did not get a redesign, I'd rather have a 6/18 2018 car, than a 7/18 2019 car, which I think is what you are saying...

 

I think that's what I'm saying... but to be clear.... In essence, whenever the 2019 RX's are produced it will make a 2016 model 3 years old instead of 2 years old and will therefore slightly lower the value of the 2016 because of it's "age". I have no idea what this value drop is, but it will start falling in line with the depreciation schedule of that model so it's likely a couple/few thousand dollars.

And I agree with you - with no redesign or feature changes pending, I'd buy the latest production month in the current year as I could find. So in the LS world, I'd try to buy an August production month. They're the exact same car as the next model year made in September, but one will be a year older even though they're separated by 1 month on the production line.

 

 

any comments on this depreciation chart https://usedfirst.com/cars/lexus/rx-350/

 

i'm definitely waiting for December to Remember..
the discounts on outgoing models are great.
Maybe not for the popular models, but refreshed/redesign models are discounted pretty well.
The discount is usually available until Jan/Feb.. but the pickins are slim.

We are talking 20% off MSRP!

Hopefully the GS get discontinued and there's crazy discounts on them

 

The OP is asking about this for a CPO car - does December to Remember apply to pre-owned or only new?

 

It all comes down to timing and selection. The longer you wait, the more used RX's will become available. The faster you act, the less there will be to choose from. Leases are just starting to come to an end for those who picked up the first RX's. But slim pickings right now. So if you want a better selection, wait. If you want a better price, I think prices will drop once more used RX's become available (after lease end & supply and demand). December is good only because most people are not buying cars in December, so rates improve. During that time, people are shopping for Christmas gifts, entertaining and cooking for the holiday, traveling, and avoiding cold and lousy weather.

 

Welcome to CL, toddharshm

I agree with Fizzboy. Dealerships are often more willing to discount during the Christmas season, when most people are out in the malls or shopping on-line.

 

Maybe it would be a golden goose egg, and that would be nice too?

 

This depreciation rate assumes one buys the car at MSRP. Most posted here on the RX forum are getting at least 10% off. I just bought a certified 2017 RX450h with 12,000 miles looking brand new for 18% off MSRP. If I am reading the chart correctly if a three year old RX loses 25% of its value that is tremendous. How would you like to lose 52% in three years.

http://www.thedrive.com/news/21515/t...-on-the-market

 

If I am doing my math correctly the MSRP is the baseline. If you got 10% off MSRP then the dealer took the hit on the 10%. Your car is still worth what it's worth in the market no matter what you paid for it.