ecoastborn

I am graduating big boy school here in a few months and my wife wants to buy me a new car. At first I was considering the Evo X but have decided against it. SO I am considering the IS 350.

I went to a Lexus dealer the other day, my mother in law just bought one and referred us to this guy. Well being a younger guy I guess this threw this guy for a loop. So automatically I really did not get the time of day nor some of my questions asked. And this is fine, I understand how the game is played. Even though all he is, is just a salesman.

Anyway, I guess he did not want to bring out a IS 350 being I was not going to buy one that day, so I test drove the 250. I enjoyed it but was yearning for the 350.

I let him know that I want the car that I want. I always got suckered in getting the car on the lot but not this time. So I want to special order one that will take a few months which he did not seem to happy about. In anycase...

I am going to horn in a bit later if anyone responds, but I would like some answers from people who have bought the 350.

What was your sticker price, payment range, and packages you got?

ReLexin

Damn i hate when the sale guy discriminates on the age factor. Im 19 and set him staight right away "look im young but i have great credit and im trading im my GS400 with title in hand!"

ABC

I was 24 when i bought the car and i made sure i dressed well just to avoid this crap. I test drove the car then did all the negotiations through email with various dealers. Worked out real well that way Good luck!!

spoofy

I'm 25 and I had the same issue. I basically told the salesman stright up. I have cash and I don't have time to bull****. You will either make me the deal i want or not. I talked to 4 different dealers before I got what I wanted.


I got the is350 with navigation 2 weeks ago sticker was 42 and most dealerships would not budge (they are selling like crazy here). I paid 38k plus TTL

ecoastborn

well for starters i appreciate the little bit of feedback i am getting.

i am 25 as well. and i knew that these guys were going to act like thisbefore i came in, so it is not to much of a big thing.

he said they were limited and since i want a dark blue there are not many so i would have to wait for mine. i have no problem. plus i do not want all the extra bs in mine to jack up the price. i just want a standard is 350 with some HIDs and I am good.

And I figured these mother *****es dont negotiate all that well, especially with this car. but at least i can try. i am trading in my old rsx in to lease out this baby. cant wait.

ecoastborn

spoofy, what part of texas are you in. i am in houston, where did you purchase yours?

SpookJr

Dude F'em. You have the money, your the one buying the car, and they need you not the other way around. You don't have to dress nice, you dont have to act mature or anything to impress them. In the end they make some commission off your purchase thats all they aint high rolling or anything. It just like the people who work for LV, gucci, etc acting all high class but ummmmm your just the sales person making chump change. I got the same treatment but i dont care i even went in a football jersey, shorts, flip flops and a backwards hat. In the end they don't that although im young i just bought 06 F350 dually, 07 Lexus, 06 Contender offshore boat and pretty soon a condo on the beach. Its good being a dentist at 28. So in the end ask the questions you need to know about the car and if they ignore you then go somewhere else, someone somewhere will be willing to take your business.

Cornellian

I was 20 when I got my car and just walked in with a paper that had a "Toyota Employee" Logo on it. No hassle, just placed an order and got the hell outta there...

Batmobile

iTrader: (2)

i walked in wearing sweatpants... if some guy didn't want to serve me... i would get the info that i need make my decision... come back the next day dressed well and make sure i work with a different rep and give the new salesman the sale.

07 is350 40k before tax and tags. luxury package rear sunshade illuminating door sills....everything BUT ML..

there is a thread on this by the way... but it is a bit overwhelming...hope this helps

Buds

I faced a similar situation. I went to a dealer back in December. The salesguy talked to me for a few minutes, didn't offer me a test drive, when I told him I was still a few months away from my purchase he took down my phone number told me he'd call in February and gave me his card and asked for mine. I had been at my new job for about 5 months and didnt have business cards yet so I told him I didnt have any. At that point he said thanks and walked away. I never heard from him in February. By then I filled out the online quote request at the same dealer and a different saleslady worked with me. She offered for me to take their demo 350 for 2-3 hours so I jumped on that opportunity. When I got to the dealership the same moron salesman opened the door for me but didnt know who I was and I asked him to page the woman I had been working with. It was classic. I then saw him two weeks later working the ****** shift at the Dallas Auto Show.

That has been my experience so far. Good luck and don't let them sell you what they have on the lot!!! Get what you want (even if you have to wait)

smartbot

Yeah, I have been having a similar experience (as I am 22 and just out of college). I tried to work out a special order with a dealer in CO, but he keeps telling me that they don't do special orders (and that Lexus doesn't offer HIDs as a separate option). I am thinking about going to another dealer nearby or maybe try to find a different salesman.

Technique

Why do you guys even bother going to the dealership? You should email a bunch of different dealerships with EXACTLY what you want and pick the dealership with the best price... Even if there is only one dealership in your area, still, do everything over email... The only time you should step foot in the dealership is to pick up your car... Everything else should be done AHEAD of time!!!

Please, you will save money, time, hassle, everything if you just do everything over email/fax... NEVER walk into the dealership except to get the keys...

Heck, I bought one car and had it brought to my house on a flat-bed, so I never even went to the dealership...

If you want a test drive, arrange it in advance over the phone... Call the dealership, tell them you want an IS350 (sport or luxury) waiting for you. Make an appointment. Do things right... And then, when you get in there, don't discuss ANYTHING with them... Just give them your license, test drive the car, and get the sales guy's business card on your way OUT after the test drive and tell him you will be in touch... Don't answer a single damn question he asks... You are there for the test drive, NOTHING ELSE...

Even if you are a professional negotiator for a living, there's no real benefit to walking into a dealership and talking to a low-level sales dude... When you email, you'll almost always be dealing with an internet sales manager or similar...

Take my advice, I got my IS350 for like $1200 over invoice or something... And it was easy as cake... And I live in a wealthy area where people don't care about paying MSRP...

Good luck!

spoofy

If you're in houston purchase from Westside or Northside lexus. They give free maintenance for the first 2 years. I got mine from Westside.

spoofy

also if you're in houston. Dealers seem to only get the 350 in 3 different packages.

1- base model
2- Navigation model (HIDS, Navigation)
3- bling bling version (HIDS, Navigation, upgraded audio system)

I haven't seen any dealers in houston with the x-package.. but Austin has quite a few. I would suggest at least getting the navigation system package. It is well worth the cost in my opinion.

Evitzee

Sterling McCall on Southwest Freeway gives the first 4 oil changes free of charge, thats 20,000 miles of maintenance as I don't expect to have any other maintenance issues outside of oil changes. Anything else is covered under the warranty.

Right now 350's are in very short supply in the Houston area. As of last Sunday they had 25 IS250's, and only 2 IS350's in stock. NONE had the ML system, and only about 1/2 had Navigation. The rest were pretty much stock. No X-package's, no Sport Package's, no nothin'. Quite a change from six months or so ago when well equipped 350's could be found in dealer stock.

Problem with buying from Westside Lexus is it's on the Katy Freeway which has been under reconstruction since '03 and will still be under reconstruction until the end of '08. I travel that road everyday and there is too much friggin' crap on the road and flying through the air.

For those 'younger' guys who seem to feel they don't get any respect at the dealers, a lot of it comes down to attitude. If you go in there and expect to be treated like some sort of royalty, forget it. It's a business transaction, each side has to get something out of it. If you go in there with the attitude that they should kiss your ***, forget it. Approach it professionally, as you should when $35k + is on the line, and don't be so belligerent.

Agree this is one way to go. The problem today is very few have any well optioned 350's in stock around here. But you can find that out over the phone. I'd NEVER give my license to a dealer before a test drive because the first thing they will do while you are out driving around is run a credit check on you. And your credit score gets dinged. If they insist on your license bring a copy of it with you and write on the copy in bold black letters NO CREDIT CHECKS AUTHORIZED. And be sure to tell them there is a fine if they run an unauthorized credit check. That way you protect yourself against overzealous salesmen.