Hi,

New to the forum and haven't had to "haggle" on my past few cars so I'm looking for some advice. Looking at a 2016 IS 300 (not F-sport) with 9K miles. It's been listed for 90 days and is listed at $32,400. My top price I don't want to go over is 29k and I'm wondering from anyone's experience if that is anywhere near possible? I don't "need" a car right now and am more than willing to walk away and the fact that it's been listed for 90 days (original listing price was $37,995) makes me think I may have at least some leverage. I also have a trade in, but I won't be mentioning that until I negotiate the price. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!

 

Good luck. I always think car buying is a test of one's will power. Try to include CPO if they don't budge too much on price.
Every thing in writing.

 

Thank you. I definitely have been looking on here, but most of what I have found is only 500-1000 off the asking price. So, I'm just trying to gauge how realistic an approximate 4K off the asking price is, since the last few cars I bought were at "no haggle" dealerships.

 

When I put the IS 300 into the Edmunds appraisal it comes out to $32,982. Going by that number their price ($32,400) is a bit lower. I'm banking on the fact that they have three of them with roughly the same mileage, they all have been listed for 90 days and I plan on getting pre-approved before I even contact them. Even if they scoff at my 28K offer, this will be good practice!

 

I'm not sure the going price for the model/year you are looking at, but I will say conduct all negotiations over the phone/email. Once you walk into a dealership they have their hooks in you.

 

Just a thought, have you considered a new 2016? Not many dealerships have them left but if you can find one that still has 2016's on their lot expect an aggressive deal from them as they are looking to get them off the lot asap. You may get a better deal off a New 2016 vs. a CPO 2016. I just bought a IS200T F Sport more than 11k off MSRP last week. Just a suggestion.

 

I would def. consider that if the price was right. That's a big discount!

 

Not to mention a person might get a lower interest rate due to manufacturer incentives.

 

I agree. I hardly ever see IS models where I live, so that may also play in my favor and be one reason they've been listed for 90 days. Although, I've been scouring Lexus threads and it seems the majority of people's experience are that Lexus does not negotiate very much if at all.

 

Lexus has been trying to implement a non-negotiable flat pricing for their cars, just like Tesla.
They may be pushing the dealers to follow suit.
But unlike Tesla, Lexus does not have high demand and eventually cars will be sitting on the lot that they need to sell.

 

Just got a reply from the dealer. I asked if there was room for negotiation and they flat out said they do not negotiate. I said thanks for your time. Guess i will move on! Thanks for your input!

 

What I do is research the usual sites (Edmunds and Trucar) to get an idea of market retail. I look at what similar cars are listed at too. To be honest, that should set your expectation about the ballpark you'll be in. Sure everyone should try for the best price, but no one should expect discounts to go much farther than 10% of a retail price on a clean car. There isn't that much mark up. Also make sure you view the Carfax (or equivalent) to know what's happened to it. Honestly if they bite on a $4K discount off a $33K car I'd want to make sure it was clean.

What a dealer can really do on a used car is a function of a) how long they've had it and b) what they took it in on trade/bought it for. 90+ days is a good place for you to be, because that's when a lot of cars get close to a break even for the dealer and they will be very motivated.

On the car you are looking at, I wouldn't ask if there was room to negotiate. Few dealers are going to admit there is. I'd just offer them a price and see what they say. But if everything else in the area is around $31-32K, getting $29K may be a long shot. But I wouldn't be thrown off by their reply - if you want the car, give them an offer and see how they react. If you get the same answer, then you know.