Longo Lexus - El Monte, CA

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Dec 30, 2006 | 12:14 PM

exBMWowner

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Longo Lexus - El Monte, CA

Longo Lexus advertised that they had 58 LS460's in inventory according to today's newspaper. Has anyone had any experience with them? Is it possible that they could have this many 460's in stock when other dealers are reporting having one or two available for sale at most? Why would they have so many? Do you think they are just saying this to get people into the showroom?

Dec 30, 2006 | 03:14 PM

Patric

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That does sound like a lot but the three dealers up here in the Seattle area all have several sitting around that I looked at yesterday.

Perhaps all the backlog orders have been filled.

Pat

Dec 30, 2006 | 05:43 PM

exBMWowner

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I spoke to a sales rep today. Although they advertised 58, they only have three on the showroom floor, all SWB. The rest represent units already sold, commited, or on the way from Japan. So, pretty much the same as all the other dealers. I guess saying they have 58 makes them feel like a much bigger dealer.

Dec 30, 2006 | 06:44 PM

massshelti

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People get on my case for badmouthing car salesmen and dealers, but think about the meaning of this situation. If a car dealer will lie about something as inconsequential and trivial as how many LSes they have on the lot, what's going to happen when they're motivated to do something dishonest or devious to close a sale or increase the profit on a deal? What does that say about the honesty of this particular dealer, and how does this reflect on the entire industry?

People associated with car dealerships have to understand something. Consumers see this kind of evidence that car dealers have no compunction against telling an out and out lie almost every day. Why then should these same consumers treat anyone associated with the business as anything other than thieves, liars, and con artists? When consumers arrive in the store, how can anyone get upset when they walk in with a bad attitude? Are they supposed to ignore this kind of behavior and act as if salesmen and managers are all angels?

When car sales professionals clean up their act and start acting like responsible, respectable citizens, consumers will treat them likewise. Until then, so as ye sow, so shall ye reap.

Dec 30, 2006 | 06:49 PM

Pearlpower

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I worked at a dealership years back for a while. Very untrustworthy sums it up. Of course various dealerships are different, just mine trained its associates on how to lie to gain a customers trust and avoid sticky situations.

Dec 31, 2006 | 08:43 AM

massshelti

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You should post some of your experiences. It would probably be helpful to know what you're up against when you're heading into the devil's house. :=)

Chris

Dec 31, 2006 | 11:08 AM

nblexus15

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I purchased my LS 460 from them. Great experience...see my prior post for all the details.

Jan 1, 2007 | 06:49 PM

exBMWowner

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I've been so accustomed to having such low expectations from car dealers that I must say that nothing about this really bothered me when I spoke to the sales rep. I figure it was not his decision to place the advertisement, and he's just doing his job, and ultimately he will either put together a deal that works for me or he won't. The rest is just clutter that doesn't have much meaning to me.

He did mention that they are getting a very small allocation of the LWB models, so there is not much chance of getting a discount on them due to the continued high demand. So, I will probably continue to sit by on the sidelines and wait it out.

Oh well. I've started seeing a few of the cars around the neighborhood lately, and I must say, the LWB model looks like an amazing car. I would choose it over the MB or BMW any time, just based on looks alone.

Feb 17, 2007 | 02:47 PM

#10

melodic

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Quote:

Originally Posted by rominl

i went to longo PHYSICALLY this past weekend. 58 LS "for sale"? i would be very surprised, they must hid them well

you know they have an underground parking structure where they store the cars?

Feb 17, 2007 | 05:23 PM

#11

jjbodean

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From: WV

Quote:

Originally Posted by massshelti

If a car dealer will lie about something as inconsequential and trivial as how many LSes they have on the lot, what's going to happen when they're motivated to do something dishonest or devious to close a sale or increase the profit on a deal?

it didnt sound to me like they said they were on the lot, but "in inventory", which is quite different. there are 3 categories of lexus inventory:

G - ground stock, units that are on the lot of will be there within typically the next 48 hours

F - freight stock, units that are on the way to the dealership from the port

A - sea stock, units that have been allocated to the dealers inventory but are still on the way to the port from japan, or in some cases, canada

Feb 17, 2007 | 05:30 PM

#12

exBMWowner

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Lexus of Cerritos is one of the few dealers that posts their inventory on line. If you do a search you will find 11 LS460's for sale there.

Most dealers do not want to do this because they would rather force you into the showroom where they will try and sell you whatever they have, or locate one from another dealer. However, I specifically bought mine from Cerritos because I was able to check inventory on line to see that they had what I wanted. I hope more dealers consider doing this in the future.

Feb 17, 2007 | 05:45 PM

#13

jjbodean

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From: WV

Quote:

Originally Posted by exBMWowner

Most dealers do not want to do this because they would rather force you into the showroom where they will try and sell you whatever they have, or locate one from another dealer.

actually, its more of a pain in the rear than anything. lexus forces all their dealers to use the same internet vendor, which is Cobalt. if cobalt would come up with a quick and painless way to add new car inventory as well as make it easy to purge sold units so as not to show units to the public which have been sold, thereby misleading customers into believing there is more inventory than there actually is, i believe more dealers would do this.

great idea in theory, but its a lot more difficult in practice.

Feb 18, 2007 | 10:14 AM

#14

acecert

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From: CA

I also purchased from Longo. As previously mentioned, they weren't dealing much on the 460's. I was fortunate enough to be looking for a silver short based model and one was turned in by a guy who decided he wanted the long wheel based. It had 3000 miles on it and they knocked over $3,000 off the price. Guess I was at the right place at the right time. What is good about Longo is that they have the mobile service for your car.

Feb 20, 2007 | 12:53 AM

#15

rominl

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Quote:

Originally Posted by melodic

you know they have an underground parking structure where they store the cars?

i go down that underground parking more than a lot of people

but then again, it was 1/1 when i posted and it's 2/17 when you replied, so i don't know if they have more