StaceyXW

I found a 2014 Lexus ES 350 Base Sedan, red exterior and Parchment premium leather interior, it has 32,269 miles on it and here is a list of feature then mentioned on the website:

A/C Seat(s),ABS Brakes,Air Conditioning,Alloy Wheels,AM/FM Stereo,Automatic Transmission,Auxiliary Audio Input,Blind Spot Monitor,Bluetooth,CD Audio,Cruise Control,Front Seat Heaters,Leather Seats,Memory Seat(s),Navigation System,Overhead Airbags,Parking Sensors,Power Locks,Power Mirrors,Power Seat(s),Power Windows,Premium Package,Rear Defroster,Rear Sunshade,Rear View Camera,Satellite Radio Ready,Side Airbags,SiriusXM Trial Avail,Smart Key,Sunroof(s),Traction Control Price excludes tax, title, tags and $299 CarMax processing fee (not required by law). Some fees are location specific and may change if you transfer this vehicle to a different CarMax store. Prior Use: Leased Vehicle, Fleet

They ask for $24599 for the car right now, what would be a reasonable out-the-door price for this car?

Freds430

Kelly Blue Book has the value at $27,600. Car Max is usually a little higher so great price. Almost to good to be true. Shows no accidents and below confirms all the maintenance was done on time. I would have it checked at your local Lexus dealer and it might be a great buy. Confirm this is the right VIN#.

SERVICE HISTORY FOR: OTHER
VIN: JTHBK1GG1E2118483
Filter History By Year
ALLAll 2016 2015 2014

28559 MILES

DATE: 08/16/2016


REPAIR# 0410929
REPORTED BY: Mungenast Lexus of St. Louis
SERVICE: 30000 MILE SERVICE NON WARRANTY
DESCRIPTION: 30000 MILE SERVICE NON WARRANTY ~ ~CUSTOMER REQUESTS 30000 MILE SERVICE & RESET MAINTENANCE LIGHT ~ ~SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE DUE TO TIME OR MILEAGE
SERVICE: NON WARRANTABLE OPERATION CODE
DESCRIPTION: NON WARRANTABLE OPERATION CODE ~ ~4 OF 9 ELITE $50.00 COUPONS ~ ~ ~ ~4 OF 9 ELITE ALL
SERVICE: SAFETY REMINDER
DESCRIPTION: SAFETY REMINDER ~ ~AS A SAFETY REMINDER: ONLY ONE FLOOR MAT AT A TIME SHOULD BE USED ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. THIS MAT SHOULD BE SECURED. IF YOU CAME IN TODAY WITH MORE THAN ONE MAT, FOR YOUR SAFETY IT WILL BE PLACED IN THE TRUNK. ~ ~

25286 MILES

DATE: 05/09/2016


REPAIR# 0403530
REPORTED BY: Mungenast Lexus of St. Louis
SERVICE: EMISSIONS TEST
DESCRIPTION: EMISSIONS TEST ~ ~CUSTOMER REQUESTS WE PERFORM EMISSIONS TEST ~ ~

23841 MILES

DATE: 03/19/2016


REPAIR# 0400017
REPORTED BY: Mungenast Lexus of St. Louis
SERVICE: 25000 MILE SERVICE NON WARRANTY-NON OEM
DESCRIPTION: 25000 MILE SERVICE NON WARRANTY-NON OEM ~ ~CUSTOMER REQUESTS 25000 MILE SERVICE & RESET MAINTENANCE LIGHT ~ ~SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE DUE TO TIME OR MILEAGE ~ ~25000 MILES
SERVICE: NON WARRANTABLE OPERATION CODE
DESCRIPTION: NON WARRANTABLE OPERATION CODE ~ ~3 OF 9 ELITE $50.00 COUPONS ~ ~ ~ ~3 OF 9 ELITE COUPONS 3 OF 9 ELITE COUPONS
SERVICE: SAFETY REMINDER
DESCRIPTION: SAFETY REMINDER ~ ~AS A SAFETY REMINDER: ONLY ONE FLOOR MAT AT A TIME SHOULD BE USED ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. THIS MAT SHOULD BE SECURED. IF YOU CAME IN TODAY WITH MORE THAN ONE MAT, FOR YOUR SAFETY IT WILL BE PLACED IN THE TRUNK. ~ ~

18855 MILES

DATE: 10/23/2015


REPAIR# 0389842
REPORTED BY: Mungenast Lexus of St. Louis
SERVICE: 20000 MILE SERVICE NON WARRANTY-NON OEM
DESCRIPTION: 20000 MILE SERVICE NON WARRANTY-NON OEM ~ ~CUSTOMER REQUESTS 20000 MILE SERVICE & RESET MAINTENANCE LIGHT ~ ~SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE DUE TO TIME OR MILEAGE ~ ~20000 MILES
SERVICE: NON WARRANTABLE OPERATION CODE
DESCRIPTION: NON WARRANTABLE OPERATION CODE ~ ~2 OF 9 ELITE $50.00 COUPONS ~ ~ ~ ~2 OF 9 ELITE COUPONS ALL
SERVICE: SAFETY REMINDER
DESCRIPTION: SAFETY REMINDER ~ ~AS A SAFETY REMINDER: ONLY ONE FLOOR MAT AT A TIME SHOULD BE USED ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. THIS MAT SHOULD BE SECURED. IF YOU CAME IN TODAY WITH MORE THAN ONE MAT, FOR YOUR SAFETY IT WILL BE PLACED IN THE TRUNK. ~ ~

13864 MILES

DATE: 06/09/2015


REPAIR# 0379158
REPORTED BY: Mungenast Lexus of St. Louis
SERVICE: 15000 MILE SERVICE NON WARRANTY
DESCRIPTION: 15000 MILE SERVICE NON WARRANTY ~ ~CUSTOMER REQUESTS 15000 MILE SERVICE & RESET MAINTENANCE LIGHT ~ ~SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE DUE TO TIME OR MILEAGE ~ ~15000 MILES
SERVICE: NON WARRANTABLE OPERATION CODE
DESCRIPTION: NON WARRANTABLE OPERATION CODE ~ ~1 OF 9 ELITE $50.00 COUPONS ~ ~ ~ ~1 OF 9 ELITE COUPONS ALL

9832 MILES

DATE: 01/30/2015


REPAIR# 0370029
REPORTED BY: Mungenast Lexus of St. Louis
SERVICE: 10,000 MILE FULL SERVICE
DESCRIPTION: 10,000 MILE FULL SERVICE ~ ~CUSTOMER REQUESTS 10,000 MILE SERVICE AND RESET MAINTENANCE REQUIRED LIGHT ~ ~SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE RECOMMENDED BY TIME OR MILEAGE ~ ~PERFORMED 10,000 MILE SERVICE FULL SYNTHETIC OIL CHANGE ROTATE TIRES INSPECT AND ADJUST ALL FLUIDS 32 POINT INSPECTION RESET MAINTENANCE REQUIRED LIGHT ROAD TEST CAR WASH AND VACUUM

4605 MILES

DATE: 10/06/2014


REPAIR# 0361869
REPORTED BY: Mungenast Lexus of St. Louis
SERVICE: 5,000 MILE LIGHT SERVICE
DESCRIPTION: 5,000 MILE LIGHT SERVICE ~ ~CUSTOMER REQUESTS 5000 MILE SERVICE AND RESET MAINTENACE REQUIRED LIGHT ~ ~SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE RECOMMENDED BY TIME OR MILEAGE ~ ~PERFORM 5000 MILE SERVICE ROTATE TIRES LEXUS PERSONALIZED SETTINGS BRAKE INSPECTION INSPECT AND ADJUST ALL FLUID LEVELS 32 POINT INSPECTION RESET MAINTENANCE REQUIRED LIGHT ROAD TEST CAR WASH AND VACUUM

14 MILES

DATE: 03/28/2014


REPAIR# 0347297
REPORTED BY: Mungenast Lexus of St. Louis
SERVICE: PRE-DELIVERY SERVICE FOR USA ALL ALTITUDES
DESCRIPTION: PRE-DELIVERY SERVICE FOR USA ALL ALTITUDES ~ ~CUSTOMER REQUESTS PRE DELIVERY INSPECTION

lesz

While I agree with most of what you have said, I would add a caution.

When I look at the vehicle description provided in the OP, I see that it says that the car has the Premium Package. I'm not sure whether that is accurate because the description also says that the car has leather seats and heated seats. For the 2014 ES, you would have been able to get leather seats and heated seats only if you had stepped up to the Luxury Package. So, I'm not certain whether this car has the Premium Package or the Luxury Package.

If it, in fact, has the Luxury Package and if the car is in excellent condition, the $24,599 asking price would be an attractive price for the car, but, if it only has the Premium package, the pricing would be more in the average/typical range.

The easy way to confirm whether the car is actually a Luxury Package ES or a Premium Package ES would be to look at the seats. For the 2014 ES, the Luxury Package leather seats would be perforated seats. The Premium Package seats would be non-perforated NuLuxe seats.

StaceyXW

Thank you for your insights, I checked the seats in detail, its perforated seats. Do you think this price is still negotiable? What price shall I target for?

lesz

I've never shopped for a car with CarMax, and, thus, I'm not certain what their policy is on negotiating and discounting from advertised prices, but my impression has been that opportunities for negotiating are smaller than what you might expect from typical car dealerships.

If I was considering buying a car from CarMax, I would want to check the car out even more thoroughly than if I was buying it a CPO vehicle off of a Lexus lot. Besides checking for cosmetic issues, like door dings, scratches, etc., I'd want to check things like how much tread is left on the tires. With 32,000 miles on the car, its tires are likely the original tires, and they likely would only have less than 5/32 of an inch of tread left. That means that they would likely have to be replaced somewhere short of 10,000 miles after you bought the vehicle. Similarly, depending on how and where the car was driven, at that mileage, maintenance such as replacing the brake pads could be necessary soon. Thus, tires and brakes could add $1000+ to your cost shortly after buying the vehicle, and it might be worth taking the car to an independent shop to have it checked over before making the purchase.

bc6152

Negotiating 101 - Offer less than asked, I would offer 23k. Most they can say is NO. If you really like the car and want it. go up from there. $23.5k, $24k, etc. I would bet that they'd take
$24k with no problem. Then get them to throw in some additional incentive such as a free oil change or other maintenance item. Be prepared to say "OK thanks, I'll let you know...".

LexBob2

CarMax has fixed pricing so there wouldn't be any negotiating on sale price of the car. As far as fees and taxes, which vary by state, county etc. each location could provide you with a breakdown on these charges. So you know what the sale price of the car will be, which is the biggest piece of the puzzle. The other fees most likely aren't negotiable at CM so it would be easy to add these on to the total.

You may have factored this already, but sometimes there is a transfer fee if the car is coming from a location relatively far away.

lesz

I meant to add, in my previous post, that one of the things that would concern me about this vehicle is that it was previously leased as a "fleet" vehicle. That could mean lots of things, many of which would not be troubling, but it could also mean that the car was used in situations where it was not driven as gently as you would expect for most privately owned vehicles. That is one more reason why it might be worth having the car checked out by an independent shop before deciding to buy it. At a minimum, I think I'd want to find out more about the history of the car.

bc6152

And what is the $299.00 CarMax processing fee? Sounds like a rip to me...

bc6152

I didn't know that CM had fixed pricing.

LexBob2

Yes. they are fixed pricing. If you take a car in for an appraisal to see what they will pay you for it, that offer is fixed too. When shopping for a new car I will often take my potential trade in to CM to find out what they'd give me. Usually it's less than a dealer will give on a trade in but it gives you five you something to refer to if the dealer makes a real low ball offer.

lesz

I would think that it is CarMax's version of the doc fees that other car dealers add when they sell a new or used car, and I've seen those doc fees range anywhere from $100 to $400, and the doc fees have always seemed, too, like just a way for dealers to pad their profits.

LexBob2

We bought a new car last week and the Doc Fee was $172 (Chicago area). That might be the maximum that dealers can charge, but I'm not sure of it. I'm sure the bulk of it is a money maker.

lesz

When I was reviewing the paperwork before writing the check for my 2017 ES a couple of months ago, I noticed that the doc fee was $299. When I complained about it being so high, the dealer's business manager indirectly reduced it by deducting another $200 from the price of the car itself.

I just did a bit of research and found that some states, including Illinois, do have limits on the amount of the doc fee. Others, including the state where I bought mine, do not have limits.

Also, by law, all customers who buy a car at a particular dealership must be charged the same doc fee. That is why, in my case, the paperwork shows the doc fee to be the $299 that the dealer charges all customers, but they indirectly reduced the doc fee by giving me the additional discount on the price of the car.

bc6152

Good for you Les. I'll remember this when I get my new car. This fee is just money padding.