baon

Hey guys,
I'm wondering what makes more fiscal sense, to buy a used 2016 with low mileage at $35k or to buy a new ES 350 for $45-49k.

It is a lexus plus dealer so there isn't much room for negotiation. I have checked with dealerships 3 hours away from me and the deals aren't much more enticing so I'm visiting this dealership on monday.

Used - http://tomwoodlexus.com/used/LEXUS/2...004c990a18.htm

New selections - http://tomwoodlexus.com/new-inventor...xteriorColor-4

Budget wise, I can afford 35k-50k; but I'm just wondering which makes more sense. I'm not good at car maintenance so in a sense, buying the 2016 used will be more relaxing.

Thank you.

Poppa

Well, some people, like me, have always purchased "new" cars... but now that I'm older and I hope a little bit wiser I think I might re-think that. Between the 2 vehicles you're looking at, there is about a 10K dollar difference in the price of the 2017 model and the 2016 model. In my eye's, that 2016 model, with only 16,000 miles on it is still pretty much a new car.. fairly low mileage, 10 grand cheaper, still has plenty of warranty on it AND you don't take the big depreciation hit that you would incur if you were to buy the 2017 model. As long as the paint and finish on the 16 model are still really good, I might be tempted to go that route. Also, remember they're "asking" 35K for the 2016... you should be able to talk them down some off that price. No matter which way you go, you're going to love the ES. Very nice car.. Good luck and let us know which one you go with.

Poppa

lesz

Some of the worst car buys available now are for 2016 and 2017 used/CPO vehicles. Because not many of those have come back to dealers as trade-ins or lease returns, the supply of 2016 and 2017 CPO cars is low, and, because many want an "almost new" car and don't realize how much discounting is available on new cars, demand for those 2016 and 2017 CPO vehicles is high.

The result is that the prices that people are paying for a 2016 CPO ES are not much less than the prices that people are now paying for brand new similarly equipped 2017 ESs. With low sales numbers for the ES and other sedans, dealers are currently discounting at high levels, and there is also currently a $2500 factory rebate (which likely will be even higher in a few days when the August rebates are announced). Several here have reported being able to buy new 2017 ESs for discounts from MSRP of 20% or close to 20%. I'd suggest checking out the last several pages of this thread to see what kinds of pricing people have gotten recently.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...w-2017-es.html

Also, being able to get the best prices available requires using the proper approach. Below, I'll paste a post that I made on another thread and that includes a buying method that can help to get good pricing.

" I would start by selecting all of the Lexus dealerships within, say, 200 miles of your location. Even if you would be reluctant to travel that far to buy the vehicle, starting with a larger number of dealerships allows you to begin with more negotiating leverage.. Then, send identical emails to the internet sales departments of all of those dealers.

In the email, make several things clear. First, tell them, in as much detail as you can, what vehicle you are looking for, what packages you want, and what major options you are interested in. Then, let them know that you are sending the same email to all of those dealers, that you are prepared to buy immediately, and that you will buy from the dealer that makes the best offer.

You will likely get proposals from most, but possibly not all, of those dealerships. Take the best offer, send that to the other dealers that responded to your initial email, and ask them if they are interested in trying to beat that offer. Then, take the best of those second round offers and repeat the process. After repeating the same process a couple of times, within a couple of days you should have a very good idea about where the floor of the market is.

When you get down to 2 or 3 dealers, that is when you need to start looking at the offer proposals that they sent you very carefully to make sure that doc fees are reasonable, that processing fees for the title and license are reasonable, and that there are no hidden fees, dealer add-ons or options, etc.

If you have a trade-in, you should even be able to get a firm offer for that trade-in. First, use the websites of Edmunds and KBB to determine a fair value for your trade-in. Then, send pictures of your car to the dealership. If that dealership is really interested in getting your business, they will make a fair and firm offer on the trade-in. It is important, though, that you do not bring the trade-in into the discussion until after you have locked in an offer on the new vehicle.

An important part of the process is to get a price locked in for the new vehicle (and trade-in) via email and phone discussions before you set foot in the dealership. Until you have set foot in the dealership, you are the one who is in control of the situation. Once you are at the dealership and have started to negotiate a price at the dealership, you have given up a good portion of that control to the dealership.

I've found that dealerships are quite competitive with regard to internet sales. I've bought my last 2 vehicles using the method described above. I've found that that method is less stressful, and it has yielded prices that I could not have gotten by physically visiting multiple dealerships and negotiating pricing at the dealerships. I'll never buy another car any other way. "

Freds430

Normally, I would also say buy used. Let someone else pay $5-$10 000 more for that new car smell. However in your case the numbers do not reflect that. Go to the thread on what others are paying for a new one and 10%-15% of msrp is common. This would bring one of the new black ones down in the $38,200-$40,500 range. This can be your bargaining power for the 2016. Split the difference in the new price range of $39,000 and why would you buy a used soon to be two year model for $4,000 less money. The 2016 being certified will actually give you two more years unlimited mileage warranty. The Carfax on the 2016 looks good. All the required maintenance has been done. I would convey this all to the salesperson and be firm with $32,000. When buying a car the enemy (salesperson) knows it is an emotional decision for you. You have to be willing to walk away. If they do not agree on $32,000 tell them I will leave you my name and phone number and when you are willing to sell it for that price I will be in here with the money. If they come back with $33,000 which is a good price tell them yes but you will need to put on the 3m hood and bumper protection product. This might cost them $100 plus a couple hours labor. It is a great product. Research a thread about it on this site. You are the one in control not them. You do not have to buy a car on Monday. It is the last day of the month for them. Imagine a salesperson below their monthly sales goal and this sale would put them over.

baon

Hi, thanks for some of the very detailed responses here. This particular branch is a lexus plus dealership, so I'm not sure how much I can negotiate with the pricing. The best price that I have gotten within a 3 hours radius was 12% off MSRP. This dealership is about 9% off.

Mike728

How far are you from the Chicago area? I would avoid a Lexus Plus dealer if I were you.

baon

Four hours, unfortunately. My co-signer and I are both around 1 hour from this lexus plus dealer, so it is the most convenient one.

bc6152

If you can get a better deal in Chicago, buy the car there and have it serviced at the plus dealer one hour away...

lesz

I bought my 2017 ES last fall just a few weeks after the 2017s became available. That is when the prices should have been at their highest point for the year, and, at that time, the factory rebate was only $1000. Still, I did substantially better than 9% that you are being offered by the one Lexus dealer and also better than the 12% that that is in the best offer that you have gotten so far.

So, with an advertised rebate of $2500 now and with the dealers getting other unadvertised incentives to help them clean out their inventories of 2017 vehicles, you should be able to do much better than the offers you have gotten so far. We are entering what should be the best time of the year for getting the biggest discounts from MSRP. Dealers still have large inventories that they will be wanting to reduce. If the dealers have been successful in significantly reducing inventory in the next several weeks, as we move into fall, discount levels could actually decrease if the dealers no longer have large inventories, and the selection of remaining vehicles could get much smaller.

I would suggest trying to follow the steps that I explained in my previous post. The keys to success are to get as many dealers involved as you can and to get them into what is essentially a reverse auction and to get a price locked in before you set foot into the dealership. The dealer wants to get you into the dealership. Until then, you have control over the situation. If you are negotiating while you are in the dealership, you will have given up a good part of the control that you otherwise would have.

lesz

Even if you don't want to drive 4 hours, you should still get those more distant dealers involved in bidding for your business. The more dealers that you get involved in bidding for your business, that is what gives you more leverage in negotiating with the dealers closer to you.

Also, while I wouldn't be inclined to drive for hours to save, say, $50, if driving a greater distance save me thousands of dollars, I would find a way to get to one of those more distant dealers. Also note, though, that, if you use a process similar to what I described earlier, you should be able to lock in a price before you go to the dealership, and that means that you would only need to make one trip to a more distant dealership even if you did ultimately decide to purchase from one that is further away. .

modad

My experience: I bought a 2016 ES last summer when the $3,500 rebate was in effect. Traded it last month for a '17 GS and the dealer is advertising my '16 ES as CPO with 15K miles for almost $1,000 over what I paid new! If they find a buyer close to that price, they will have hit a big 'home run' on my trade and the re-sale.
Negotiate hard..... it's a good bet they have 'room' in that price.

baon

Yea, the price isn't good but I don't know how much I can negotiate at the Lexus Plus Dealer. I really want around 15% off MSRP.

Looking at this CLA 4Matic 2018 now for:
Msrp. $43,800
Invoice $41,544
Price prior to sales tax and fees $41,044

Will be visiting both dealers on monday.

Poppa

someone please educate me... I have never heard of a Lexus Plus dealership? Exactly what is this?

Poppa

lesz

Lexus Plus dealerships are the ones that have "negotiations-free" fixed pricing.

While the idea of no negotiations and fixed pricing has an appeal to many, my understanding is that the fixed pricing levels at the Lexus Plus dealerships tend to be somewhat higher than the prices that are available, even with very minimal negotiating, at other Lexus dealerships.

irishbrahm

I got my '17 at 20% off MSRP earlier this month so I suggest that you follow lesz's advice.

I've never been a fan of Tom Wood Lexus. You might consider having Lexus of Mishawaka, Lexus of Merrillville, and Lexus of Louisville compete for your business.