Does anyone know when the current allocations that dealers are getting will be changing? My dealer told me 5 months or more, but that seems very long.

I'm interested in a 250 AWD with Nav + Luxury (with or without PA) and they only have it with Nav + Premium + PA here. I have checked other areas on lexus.com and see Chicago and the mWest Coast have the one I'm looking for. If the wait is really going to be that long, has anyone bought a car from 1000+ miles away and had it shipped to them? If so, how much does shipping usually cost?

 

Kind of going off from that.... do you think a dealer could get a car from a different regions allocations for you if that is the car you want? I know- well according to what my dealer told me- they can get me the car I want when it shows up within their regions allocation (Southeast).....

 

They told me that if I'm buying from them, then I'm stuck with what's in our region. They don't transfer/trade cars from other areas.

 

that sucks....luckly...and I dont mean to brag....my region offers the exact car that I am aiming at getting...is it the car I really want?.. no....but it is the car I can afford...haha

 

That's wrong. That means that when your dealer sells all of the IS he has, he has to wait five months to get a new one on the lot!

Allocations change pretty much everyday. The thing is that when a new car rolls off the factory line, the car is added to the allocation list. But sometimes, certain regions are allowed only a certain number of cars. Also, if a region sells more than another region, they can grab more of the new cars coming out of the factory.

Check if your dealer has access to the allocation list, or if they get their cars from a "middle man." If they don't have an allocation list, then they have no control on what cars arrive at their lot.

 

Allocations are by region, and done monthly. An order goes out at the beginning of the month. I'm not sure if those orders are for the next month or current month, but I'm betting it is for the next month. It is my understanding that the order for November has already been placed. It is just about impossible to get a trade from another region.

 

What they told me is that they will only get what Lexus makes for them. They told me I would have to put in a special order (5+ month wait) or wait the 5 months anyway for them to come in the regular allocation. The actual word "allocation" was never used, but I think that's what they meant.

To me, it just seems like they were trying to sell me the car on the lot, rather than let me wait for the one I want.

 

Sure sounds that way to me. I would try some other dealers. Special order time is 3-4 months. That is the official time. It is almost never <3 months and can be 'as much as' 4.

The dealers do not get what Lexus sends them. The sales managers for each region get together and specify their allocation. The corporate sales manager for that region puts the order in. These orders are currently based on focus groups and event feedback since there hasnt been an opportunity for shopper and dealer feedback yet.

As customers on the lot provide more feedback, and sales figures come in, the allocations will change. That can't happen until the December allocation arrives, since the November allocation was written before the first cars hit the lots.