Does anybody know when the new IS will hit the lots?

 

Up here it's early October.

 

Production dates for the IS250/350 auto tranny begins 8/29/05, and the manual tranny on 9/22/05. The cars are being made in Japan and should take approx two to three months to arrive into the US. Any car that will be available earlier than that will be very limited and very expensive.

In other words, all models will make it completely into the US by Christmas. Better make sure the car is on your Christmas list...

 

Haven't all the dealers been saying "late September" for some time now?

 

The earliest estimate is Oct 31st. The first ones may not even last a day on the showroom floor. There will be a bigger influx by December.

I guess the best way to get your hands on one (if you really want it by October) is to contact a dealer who knows will be getting one, put down your deposit, and have him contact you when it gets delivered to the dealership. Expect to pay above sticker price.

For Example, at Longo Toyota in El Monte (the largest Toyota dealership in the country), when the new Avalon came out, two cars arrived in the morning and were sold in two hours. I was with a friend who was looking for a 4Runner at the time the new Avalon was released. We saw two Avalons brought to the lot, sold, and driven away by the time we finished test driving a couple of SUVs. I can only imagine what would happen if the IS350 suddenly shows up at the Lexus lot...

 

Which reminds me, the first LS 400s were gone off dealer lots on the first day in many dealerships.

 

There are only two pre-orders in on the 350 at my dealership right now. If they dare try to make me pay over sticker, I'm going straight down the road to the BMW dealership, where I can get at least 2K off a 330i. The IS needs to be at least 3K cheaper than the IS to get me to sign the deal, especially now that we are hearing the back seat in the new IS is still just about useless (plus no fold down rear seat).

 

Speaking of the avalon...over here when it appeared at a dealership - in late february - a lady paid 4k over MSRP for a limited. It was supposedly one of the first 100 to be at a dealership at the time. So im guessing it would be similar for the new IS....although the GS is still very scarce in some locations of the US... In the beginning when it came out - they did not ask over sticker...at least i dont think they asked over sticker for the car when its launch was late february....

 

The Canadian target release date is October 12th.

 

If production starts late August, then expect arrival here within 6-8 weeks, which will place the release and availaiblity here by mid-October. Lexus already announced it will be here by October, and it will be....

 

I bought the 2nd IS300 sold in the USA (June 16 2000 - a week before it went on sale) - the first unit went to a showgirl in Las Vegas. I posted pics on is300.net (now my.is) that same afternoon. Great car that brings back many fond memories...

My dealership made a big deal about how Lexus dealerships are not allowed to charge over MSRP for any vehicle (this may not be true in CA - normal rules don't seem to apply there...). I paid sticker and the car which was on the lot for less than 2 hours - just enough time for PDI and a wipedown.

The next day I drove to a BMW dealership to drop a friend off and parked in front of the main door between a Viper and an M5. I was mobbed...

 

My dealer in Orange County, California said to expect them mid-October, and that he thinks the starting selling price will be at MSRP. Not above, not below.

 

no lexus dealerships are allowed to charged more than msrp (ie markup), you can report them to lexus corp and they are in big trouble.

however, they can put on say some chrome rims, tint, etc... and say the upgrades are worth 3000 bucks. that's up to them. so there you go the tricks

 

Of course you can always ask for these stuff to be removed from the car; that you want the car in its unaltered form. In buying car a few years back, I did the same telling the dealer I do not want the shiny chrome wheels on the car, and that I want the factory alloy wheels instead. It was done and I didn't have to pay the extra...

 

well you were lucky i have seen cases that they told people either they get them all or not get the car. sometimes when they know someone will get the car for sure, they dont' care