Lem144

Well I've decided to wait to get a 2007 model. I figure an extra 2 months beyond July will not kill me and it will be better in the long run. Hopefully they will still make the color DSM in 07. If not, I would probably get SGM.

:-/

vwong

Lem144,
I had a similar situation. I wanted a Tungsten Pearl IS250 6MT with luxury package (w/o 18" wheels), navi, and ML. I went into the dealer the week the IS was released and put in my request. Since I know that this isn't something that Lexus would commonly build, I told them to special order it. I put down $500 deposit. They finally placed the special order mid November. I called them at least once a month to check on status. In March (that was 4 months after the order was placed), I called every week. They told me that the car didn't show up on the allocation. I waited until couple weeks ago (now that was almost 5 months), I complained to Lexus Corp. They contacted the dealer. The GM from the dealer contacted me right away. He was very nice and polite. He told me that a car actually showed up in their system about 2 months ago, and it was supposingly for me. But I guess they placed the wrong order. The car didn't have navi, so they canceled it and re-ordered another car for me. I then asked him when I could expect my car. He told me that Lexus Corp. told him that the production of the IS is so overwhelmed that my car would probably not going to be made until after May. He was gonna search the entire nation to see if there is one. I gave it some thoughts, and decided to go to my #2 choice (Audi A4) and see if they can get me a car to my specifications. They did, so I pulled the plug on Lexus and went with the Audi.

Turkoman

This is another Lexus sponsored horror story that some here would blame the dealer only. I blame Lexus for not providing you with a tracking mechanism for the order you had placed. Most dealers are very capable of messing up an order. If you had a means to track your order, you would have noticed this in February. Lexus should implement a BMW-like tracking mechanism for special orders.

I would ask them to specifically tell you what went wrong in the process and get them to admit that they failed to place the order. Don't let them tell you that orders were pushed back, or that there was a glitch etc. because I am willing to bet they would be lying.

Once you get them to admit that they totally messed up, you then have three options:

1. Ask for additional (and substantive) discount and wait till July.
2. Cancel your order and reorder from another dealer.
3. Get a different car like a Bimmer.

For 2, consider the '07, not because a lot of changes are anticipated but only because '06 will already lose several thousand in value by October.