I special ordered my IS on 10/17/06 and took delivery on 2/23/07. When I made the deal, a paper was printed with all options and costs listed, almost like a contract.

The VIN is not given until the final month, probably when the vehicle ships from Japan.

 

Exactly. The VIN will be given when the vehicle is about to ship.

 

Jeez no paperwork.... a verbal agreement? Forget it. You really dont have much. Even if the dealer gets the car, you could be screwed.

Go to the dealership. Get something in writing saying you WILL get it for the verbally agreed upon price, by a certain time. Otherwise go elsewhere.

 

CC :]
thats what i would pick ;]

 

stan: get the $ back and find another dealer. PM me if you need help. I know a guy @serramonte and one guy @concord

 

Try the manager.

 

I bought my IS at Stevens Creek. I actually dealt with two persons there and they were both great. I don't know if it matters but PM me if you think dealing with another sales guy helps. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure other members here can give you contacts at other dealerships.

 

I would be a little more patient. My car took 4 1/5 months and I received zero paperwork. I ordered an 06 and they ended up sending me an 07. I had one of the first 07's in Florida. It arrived exactly as I ordered it.

 

I called Lexus Satisfaction Line, and told them that if the car can not be here in the next month (and it is not going to, b/c even if they have just finished building it, there is 1 month shipping time + 2 weeks port to dealership delivery) So I told them that I'd like to get a written statement guaranteing me the same deal for 2008 model when it comes out in August.

Thanks for your help, everyone!

 

In all likelihood they never ordered your car. Stevens Creek Lexus is adverse to ordering. I had to go elsewhere. They sat on my deposit for 4 months before I pulled the plug on them.

 

Let us know what Lexus replies as there are many of us waiting for our own "special orders".

Mike V

 

Mike,

They offered me a deal on 2007 350. But it still came out to more than I wanted to pay (plus insurance, plus gas) so I cancelled my order and got my 500 back. I'll wait to see what 2008 will look like.

 

I'll throw my two cents in having been on the cusp of a special order myself. I wanted a red IS350 with grey interior, ML, PCS w/dynamic cruise, the whole nine yards. Unfortunately in the Northeast, the 350 itself is hard to find due to the popularity of AWD which is only available on the 250. Also ML is not offered on the 350s in the Northeast, and red is only available with a black interior, and not many reds were made in the first place. As you can see I was pretty much screwed from the outset, let alone throw in the fact that I was looking this month (a.k.a. the last month of the 2007 model year). Extremely low probability of getting a red IS350. 2008s are not expected on the dealers' lots until September. No matter when you special order, you will now probably get a 2008, but the dealer would probably get theirs first. I was quoted 4-6 months for a special order, and most dealers quoted the same time frame.

After learning of this unfortunate circumstance, I made a list of things that were deal breakers for me. Could I live with the black interior instead of gray? Could I do without ML audio? I said that my dealbreakers were that the car had to be red, be a 2007 IS350, and at the very least have the luxury package features (nav,park assist,18in wheels,etc). My choices were:

1. Wait four months from now for the 2008s and fight for a red IS350 again,
2. Special order one right away and wait about four months plus two more months on top of that to have one with everything I want on it, or
3. Try to find a 2007 that's sitting on some non-local dealer's lot.

I went for #3 praying an acceptable car would be somewhere. After annoying, borderline harrassing, my local dealer and getting them to search every day for ten days, they found one with a sport package which is essentially the same as the luxury package. So my story has a good ending. I'm sure my persistence is what did the trick and they really tried to find one just to be rid of me. I'm usually patient enough to wait several months, but I do not like getting a new car in the fall. By November we have snow here, so the car would be trashed from all the road salt, sand, rocks, ice melt, etc. hence the reason I wanted to buy in April or May right at the end of the dirty driving season.

 

Stan,
Sorry to hear your deal fell thru. I am just finishing my third month so I figure I have at least another month to wait. If I were you I would get on the list of another dealer for the first '08 that fits your needs.

Good Luck
Mike V

 

Jdanon - so what exactly did you get ? 2007 IS350, red w/black interior, Sport, ML & Nav ????