ok--but if the dealer 100 miles away is telling him "we'll throw in nav for free", that's another $2500 off the price. This indicates that his area is not one where there is little price flexibility.

 

Excellent point!
I have about 12 Lexus dealers in a 80 mile radius to me.You can get a good deal if you have the time and energy.I love haggling with salesmen.
If you have two in a 100 miles radius then the Lexus dealer has more control on pricing.
Loaners are nice but how did we get along without a loaner all the years before deales offered one?

 

All this has been enlightening.

So, I'm in the midwest and there are several dealers within a 120 mile radius. The nearest (other than my local dealer) to me is ~100miles. The car available to me prices as follows on kbb.com:

MSRP: $45,717.00
Invoice: $39,662.00

I'm not into overt lo-balling. I'm sure I could insist on a price that will quickly scare them away. I have no problem with them making some money as long as my transaction is "beyond fair". I certainly don't want to get fleeced, but it's not my highest priority to do the same to them.

So, given the above, what would you guys/gals consider a good/fair deal?

 

On an '08,$1200 over invoice offer is fair on a instock vehicle.Dealers want to sell stock vehicle rather than special order but give it a shot with the $1200 for both scenarios.
Dealers also get 2% or 3% on the list price holdback incentive from Toyota if they sell a certain amount of vehicles in a certain time period.

 

I don't know at what point a dealer can no longer acquire a car, but in June when I was loking for my IS the dealer said he had non coming in w/ the equip ment I wanted but would search. He found one on its' way into port and "acquired" it for me.


As to the loaner issue, I don't think that the dealer has the option. I would call Lexus national customer service and inquire. After a dispute with my local dealer last spring, I picked up an SC and an IS from a dealer 65 miles away. The owner of the dealership and I settled the problem and I'm getting loaners.

That was one pissed owner when he found a customer of 20yrs bought 2 cars elsewhere.

 

That's a reasonable place to start. If you can get a 350 for $1,200 over invoice you are doing well. Forget the 2 or 3% holdback, for all intents and purposes that is 'off the table', a dealer usually won't give that up unless they need to sell one more car to make a quota.

 

I'm no pro at this, but wouldn't "just" $1200 over invoice be a non-starter in most cases? The spread (from online pricing calculators) between invoice and MSRP on this particular 350 is around $6000. So yes, there's room for a decent discount, I find it surprising that there might be that much wiggle room from the dealer's perspective (but what do I know?). If people who have done this before find such an offer fair and not offensive, then more power to me when I step up to the bargaining table .

 

There is nothing offensive about a knowledgeable consumer knowing what profit margin is in an item, and negotiating a fair price. Always better to start low and negotiate up. There may not be much wiggle room, but you will know that if they won't play ball. Once you have opened up with an offer they will counter offer which sets the high and low points. Then negotiate the spread. But if you start down this road make sure you are ready to complete the deal right there and then. Make sure they know you are a 'motivated buyer' at the start and not just a tire kicker who came in for sport, and free coke and cake.

Personally, I don't think you will get an IS350 for $1,200 over invoice, but give it a shot. All they can say is No!.

 

I paid <$700 over invoice for my '07 AWD. SoCal buyers are paying under invoice for 250s. It depends..

 

So, Evitzee, if this were your negotiation, where would you start the bidding? $1200, $1500, $1700 or more over invoice?

Thanks

 

Well, when I bought my IS in Aug 2006 it was sitting on the showroom floor outfitted as shown on the attached sticker, plus the dealer added G-Spider wheels and tint. We went back and forth and finally settled on a price. In the end I couldn't overcome their natural resistance to not lower the price below a certain level as they had acquired the car in a trade with a Colorado dealer, and they had only had it for about a week. Because it was a swap with another dealer the economics for them were a bit different (they didn't get the holdback percentage), and I don't think they knew what the exact market price was for the relatively loaded IS350, and they were holding out for more money. Anyway, I came, I saw, I bought as it was just exactly what I was looking for (Know when to 'hold em' and when to 'fold em' ). And I haven't seen another Sports Package, GFX, ML equipped IS since, so in hindsight it was probably the only opportunity to get that particular vehicle outside of a special order. 16 months later I'm still happy with the car and satisfied with the price I paid.

I'd still start at, say, $1,500 over invoice as an opening offer. And sit back and see what they counter with. Good luck.

2006 IS350 + G-Spiders and tint: