ditto..my 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 bought new 10/04 has been rock solid as I maintain it and it still looks new,,brakes at 100K and an alternator has been only issues.

 

Nick you make a great point. The old school built quality and “The relentless pursuit of excellence “ Lexus applied to the LS 400 (Also my LS 430) I believe is relevant to the LC 500.It is their determined effort to build a truly worthy flagship for the brand.

I suspect they learned a few things (Such as high strength adhesives) that weren’t available with my older LS sedans. The fact that it’s built in the Motomachi factory is a significant positive factor to me. They didn’t go overboard with electronic tech and glitz like the European manufacturers (Which some view as a negative, not me!). Generous use of high tensile steel in the frame and structure. Yes, more weight but more strength and solidity as a result.

Time will tell but 9 years into production it’s holding up extremely well from what I can gather. Lexus really put this car together superbly well.

 

Final purchase agreement arrived from their finance guy today and SHOCKER an extra $1k appeared as if by magic!

Just over 1k in registration fees... um, registration in TX on a new car costs like $120-200 depending on county. Not to mention they over estimated sales tax by about $500.

Car dealers are scum, and south FL car dealers are the **** that comes out of said scum's anus.

Requesting a call from their GM or sales manager to discuss their shady BS, though I fully expect to be told "pay or pound sand". Fking scumbags.

 

how do you really feel.:}

 

@Korbek
”Car dealers are scum, and south FL car dealers are the **** that comes out of said scum's anus.

Requesting a call from their GM or sales manager to discuss their shady BS, though I fully expect to be told "pay or pound sand". Fking scumbags.”

Many will understand your annoyance and frustration.
Your desired spec is quite uncommon. There certainly won’t be much more of them in the pipeline. Short term aggravation might be worth it for years of contentment and happiness in getting what you genuinely wanted.

 

.

400Man's comment is undeniable I believe. Swallowing the bile you have been asked to take from the dealer sickens. Your last mile to complete or not certainly rocky.

 

Really, This is why certain dealers are the way they are.
Don't forget to bend over before you swallow!

 

Kirk,
This is certainly true to a point. It really depends on the individual circumstances. Yes, sometimes it’s best to walk away and sometimes it’s better to deal with very transient unpleasantness to get what you want. When unscrupulous dealers behaved this way sometimes it works out for them and other times they pay a price in loss sales and customer respect and loyalty.

it is obviously Korbek’s call and not ours. I’m just saying that a few days of crap may be a very reasonable trade off for multiple years of “dream spec” LC 500 ownership and driving bliss. That dealer will be a long forgotten episode lost in the memory bank.

 

Trust me this is my thought process. We clearly think a lot alike 400. When buying my C8 Vette, I in fact DID tell ADM dealers to beat it. This was in the days of 10k-20k ADMs on stingrays let alone upper trims. But that was a mass produced car early in its life cycle and I knew vettes would be a dime a dozen.

A low production car at the end of its life cycle? Different beast. Obviously if I were open to a convertible, or brown or white interior, more flexible on my spec, I'd have told these guys where they could shove it. The bend over comment above certainly wasnt productive.

As it is I got the sales manager to take the extra 1k off and send an "out the door" PDF with his name on it to ensure no more surprises (or so he says, we'll see if it arrives today/tomorrow). A pyrrhic victory as it were, but perhaps a "win" all things considered given the usual clientele of a Miami dealer

Too bad this car didnt show up in the bread basket where more folks have integrity, lol.

 

@Korbek
“A low production car at the end of its life cycle? Different beast. Obviously if I were open to a convertible, or brown or white interior, more flexible on my spec, I'd have told these guys where they could shove it. The bend over comment above certainly wasnt productive.”

Your pragmatism and wisdom bodes well with regard to major decision making.
Best wishes for this transaction.

 

When I was looking for used model SC430 all FL dealers had their fee tacked on. $800-$1,000+ with no state cap. Looking to buy a $15k car only to pay another $1k is ridiculous. Fortunately some states have a cap on these fees.

 

Sometimes the best deal is the one you don't make. Don't let your want blind you from being patient and making the right/good choice for your self. I've been down this same road in the past and regretted it. It will come around.

 

A forgotten forum member once said something like, "There is no such thing as overpaying if you got what you wanted." I'd strike "pyrrhic victory" except pain and suffering still apply and keep the "win" part.


This has happened to me many times. Felt so vindicated every time for my astute handling in felling "Goliath" or whomever. But much of the time in the future, regretting the irreversible loss of the opportunity.

Edit: the opportunity to have complied.

 

Here’s why I walked away from Lexus of Miami when I tried to get a 2020 Black Line GS350 shipped to me in MA.
First the $800 pre-delivery fee. I asked what is this service. They said they clean the car and wash the car. In my head I was like wtf, don’t you do that anyway when selling something? I asked okay, I don’t want the cleaning and washing can you take it off. They said it’s already done. Red Flag. and don’t forget the sales tax on top of this service.
Second biggest item is the FL registration fee $529. Remember, I’m in MA. Why am I paying registration fees in FL? They said, for the vehicle to leave FL, this has to be paid. wtf?
Then for the extra lick, how about a $20 3rd party tag fees when they’re already charging $500 for E-Tag. And also, they got some cheap Chinese economy tires on it just to say they changed the tires. I forgot the brand but it was $85 a piece.
Again, my GS need is probably way lower than your LC needs. I told them I’ll never do any business with them again. The GM did knock off most of the stuff but at the time, I was so disgusted and basically ignored all their calls and emails.
And I forgot the Value shield added for $200. I don’t even remember wtf this product is for.

I showed the contract agreement sheet on my LC from my local dealer to them. It was 599$ tag and fees plus the mandatory sales tax. That was it.

 

Yeah again as I said above normally I would just walk away. But I have called on 15-20 coupes the past two weeks and ALL were spoken for, or had a markup far exceeding this dealer's $5k ADM and $1500 in fees.

With production likely to end april/may of 2026 and absolutely no guarantee my bespoke order will be built, and the fact that it will only get harder to get one as production nears its end, I've decided it is worth it to me to have a new-new one. The CPO one in illinois will very likely be solid for its buyer, and if it had turned out to have 6 years warranty as I expected I prob woulda got it.

BUT having a 'virgin' LC, almost certainly final model year, in nearly my exact spec that has only ever seen my hands is an intangible that is worth less than 1 month's disposable income extra over sticker to me. ESPECIALLY since this will likely be my last new new car purchase ever considering the shift to smaller turbo engines & hybrids across the industry.

Dealer sent the final paperwork yesterday with 126k out the door incluing TT&L and their scummy fees. I'm just deciding if I'll ship it to TX or fly out and drive her back to get some 1 on 1 bonding time in. ETA to the dealership is 12/20 - 1/4 as its in transit from Motomachi.

Speaking of, is there a tracker to locate the car via VIN if I havent completed the purchase? @400Mman poke you seem to be knowledgeable.