I thought post 7 was referring to post 6. But I see now you were referring to the link to F Sport. So, I'll continue trying to help based on my 40 years of car buying experience. There's no answer to your specific question of what is a good number to shoot for. The best way to answer that is "the best offer you get from a dealer". If you've tried several dealers and are unhappy with the quoted prices, either check further away from home or look for a different brand or model. Do be sure to respond to the best price quoted from the dealer. It shows that you are respectful, professional and serious. Offer $1000 less and tell him you'll close the deal today/tomorrow if he can meet your price. Post 6 gave you an idea of percentages off a different high demand model but that should give you some idea of numbers, just plug in the percentages on your car's MSRP. Keep in mind that Nov. prices can be quite different from today's numbers. Lexus has two big sales every year, Dec and July. You can also wait as another strategy. Hope this helps.

 

I've seen numbers up to 15% of MSRP on other posts on this site, even before the pandemic. None of the offers I've seen thus far are even close to those type of discounts

 

I am interested in a 2020 ES300 hybrid.

Definitely enjoying any feedback from 2020 owners.

 

Sounds like those posters have the secret to great deals. Maybe if you message them, they'll enlighten you. Please share what you find back here for others to learn from. I'd sure like to know as well.

 

As noted in previous posts/threads, Dealers are not negotiating as much as we would like/would have thought. Since no cars are being produced, none are being delivered to Dealers...no pressure for Dealers to move cars and make way for the new arrivals. Suspect that as we continue to re-open the economy and new cars are being produced again Dealers will start to feel more pressure to move cars and will be willing to negotiate more...and hopefully better incentives are released that will help kick-start new car sales.

 

That's a reasonable guess. OP seems to think there must be some way to force dealers to lower prices dramatically because he read of several instances in the past. He's just not accepting that every day, every car and every deal is different. It's great to not give up but there comes a time to accept reality of current situation. I hope he can get a great deal and he tells us how he did it.

 

As long as we are looking at this logically, the opposite could also be true. Since the dealers aren't selling many cars right now and still need to pay their overhead and sales force, every single sale counts to their bottom line. It is really hard to tell what kind of logic the dealer is applying, but unless they hold a large inventory, they may not be willing to allow a deep cut in their prices?

 

I imagine this may be the case. I am willing and able to wait it out. I don't necessarily need a new vehicle, but the 0% apr is appealing enough that I had to take a look around

 

The dealers and Toyota have to be careful. The inventory is financed with floor plan loans. If the inventory value drops, it could create a problem. There is an assumed value for those vehicles. Toyota finance is pretty big so they may be behind most the loans but dealers also finance through other lenders. On the flip side, dealers need cash flow to pay interest on the debt and keep the lights on.

 

My understanding is that a dealer is typically paying somewhere around $10, on average, in interest per day per car that it has in its inventory. So, if they are not selling any cars, just paying the interest on the loans for their floor pan, is going to cost them tens of thousands of dollars per month.

So, even if they are not, at present, getting any new inventory from the factory, holding onto their current inventory serves no purpose, and they should still be seriously motivated to move that inventory. My guess is the potential buyers who are not being offered good discounts from MSRP at this point are not properly using the leverage that they should have via internet and phone negotiations to get dealers to compete with each others.

 

Appreciated the guidance you posted.

Is 4c referencing shipping costs?

 

4c is typically about sales tax. It can be different in city zip code vs rural zip code. Just like gasoline sales tax, property tax, insurance rates. Possibly more fees, but not shipping.

 

Thank you very much.

A friend who resides in TN, but grew up AL bought a Prius in AL and was able to tag it in AL possibly because of his family's residence there and thereby save money on tax. Apparently, quite a difference between Al and TN if I understood him correctly.

I live in TN, but grew up in SE FL, have a house there, and hope to move back. So, that might give an option with FL dealership if the taxes are cheaper in SE FL.

 

Fl also only charges sales tax on the amount you pay after a trade in. An example $50k new car, trade in $15 old car. Sales tax calculated on $35k. In CA, where I am now, sales tax on $50k even with a trade in. Hope you can shuffle things around and save some money on sales tax, registration, insurance, etc.

 

Thank you swfla.

Very good information.

I actually won't be trading in because I have a 2005 4-Runner with 359,000 miles and the original V-8 engine, still running strong.

I guess that will give you a laugh.