Snowbound

Just curious about other's experience in purchasing a 2001 RX300 - got a dealer quote of ~$40.5K for an RX300 4WD with the "Premium Plus Value Package". Does Lexus do firm price quotes, or do they expect the customer to haggle a bit? Any additional features that you might recommend? Much obliged for any insights, it's a beautiful vehicle!

LexRX

Haggle! I would always try to haggle when buying a car. 40.5K sounds about right for a 2001 AWD. I would certainly try to go down on that price - I went down about 4k when purchasing new in 2000 - I like haggling car prices anyway.

RealMarty

Yes they will negotiate. How much depends on how scarce what you are looking for is.

Start from the other direction. Go to kbb.com or edmunds.com and find out what the invoice is for the exact model you want. Then start working up from there. Some on this site say you can get a Lexus for as little as $1-1.5k over invoice. Others have paid sticker. Try to at least work one dealer against another until they stop moving down.

wegiz

I just purchased a 2001 RX300 AWD with the Premium Plus Value package plus HID and cargo net, cargo pad, and whatever else the dealer could manage to through in there. I got 2200 under MSRP without very much hassle. I think that the total (without tax, title, etc...) was about 38300 here in Michigan. I think it depends a lot on how many dealers you have near you. There are about 4 dealers within a 1-2 hour drive here, and they are owned by just two different owners. Not much room to work there... Good Luck.. By the way this site was quite helpful in deciding to purchase the RX300 and my wife loves it! Thanks for the help.

RX300TC

Having done extensive research on pricing (we purchased in January) I'll try to help out here.

As someone already pointed out, it all depends on where you are located and what the market saturation is like in your area. If you have at least 4 dealers within an hour drive you should be able to get a very competitive price.

I've advised a number of folks and $500 - 600 over invoice is not unheard of. But you have to be prepared by knowing the invoice pricing exactly and accurately, and being prepared to "walk" if the dealer doesn't come down in price.

We bought our fully loaded AWD with Navigation for $38.5K. That's about $4k off of MSRP.

Remember: Be smart, be prepared, and stand your ground. Good Luck.[

sleepybobcat

Bought my '01 RX300 back in October 2000. I took
delivery of one of the first '01 models to arrive at the
dealer. I made an offer of $40500 via priceline.com
and the dealer took it.

'01 RX300 AWD MSRP: $35655
Navigation System Package $6870
Rear Spoiler $280
Heated front seats $440
Cargo mat $76
Wheel locks $52
Accy crossbars $183

Fees: $545

Total MSRP on sticker was $44101
So I got about $3600 off, and this was when the
updated RX300 just came out. I imagine the savings
must be much more than that.

Bob

mlevinedc

I guess I did pretty well with mine as I am taking delivery of the following:

AWD 31375
NAV plus pkg 4649
Rear Spoiler 224
Heated fr seats 352
Wheel locks 31
Cargo Mat 47
Access Crossbar 113
Chrome Wheels 850
Cargo net 22.80
Tow Hitch 248

dest/prep 545
advertising 446
convey fee 225
dealer prof 750

Agreed price 39877.80 MSRP of 44340.00

Dealer Hoffman Lexus of East Hartford CT
Delivery 5/7/01

csxpert

I purchased my 2001 AWD RX300 with Navi pkg, heated seats, spoiler, wheel locks etc. etc. for 38,050 in Dec. 00

I just sold it about month and a half ago with about 3K miles for 36700 and leased an Acura TL Type S.

The RX300 was a very nice vehicle, however there are just too many flaws to live with...incredibly large turning cirlcle, horrible location of changer in glovebox and ridiculous storage compartments.

I love the Type S :-)

LexRX

:eek: Blasphemy!!! The Type S is a cool car anyway. I suppose you still saved some money with that deal - about 3k by selling the RX and buying the Type S. Sorry you did not like the RX.

sleepybobcat

Hmmm.... if you sold your RX because you didn't like it, why are you still in a Lexus forum? As an SUV,
the RX300 is the most well-made vehicle there is.
Don't believe me? Check out the vast number of
complaints on the BMW X5, MB ML-class, and
similar forums.

I have driven the Acura CL Type-S and I do agree
that it is a nice CAR. Fast and smooth, but it's
not going to get your through snow or carry cargo.
(the sport seat was uncomfortable for tall drivers
like me)

Sorry you decided to sell your RX... you're missing
out on a lot of fun!


Bob

csxpert

I sold my RX because I fell in love with the Type S after I test drove it. If you must know, among the other reasons that prompted me to sell it :

- I was offered a good price (its an RX300 after all

- the Type S lease is about 60 bucks/mo. cheaper, insurance is 20 bucks/mo cheaper. Multiply that by 32 months and that is quite a chunk of money. However I lost a few bucks selling it in the first place but I still pay less.

- the Type S has a 6-disc **slot-loading** indash changer vs the RX300's horrible glovebox changer. This is the MAJOR reason that made my decision to sell this otherwise fantastic vehicle... I listen to a LOT of music on the road and it was just plain aweful to do a simple thing like load a CD. The magazines and trays was too annoying. In my Type S I just press "EJECT" and load another one - upto 6 using a single slot right upfront in the dash :-)

- Type S has a much better (4 channel w/altitude vs RX300's 3-channel), Acura navi system (the POI database in this thing is amazing - it even lists my cousins small little mortgage company!!). The guidance is superior and the graphics are more intuitive with POI icons depicted as actual branded logos (incredible)

- The Type S is a BLAST to drive. I know its not really fair to compare a sport sedan with a SUV.

- I was wasting most of the utility value of the RX... I do not need a 4WD that bad since I go to the mountains only during snow season - I figured I will just rent a 4x4.
Since I am single the space is also not really needed.

- The Type S has steering wheel audio controls. None in the RX. Talk about more for less!!

I do not want to sound like I am bashing Lexus, heck no...I love Lexus, however...the RX needs to be redesigned and the flaws worked out.

In the RX's favor, it has a incredibly gorgeous and upscale interior...and is supremely comfortable!! The wood steering wheel is among the best looking I have seen.

The service I recieved with my RX300 lease was nothing short of spectacular! I am a very big fan of Lexus and my next vehicle WILL BE the redesigned RX300, or if I can afford it the LX470 - hopefully with that killer Mark Levinson sound system :-)

BTW, I discovered this forum from a link from www.acura-tl.com

sleepybobcat

I love the Acura CL Type-S as well... In fact, if its seat
are a little wider, I would have bought one!


I had plenty of headaches when I had the ML430
and Navigator... when I bought the RX300, I was
so happy... I still am..


IMHO, if the Acura MDX didn't suffer from so many
first-model-year -problems, I would have bought
it...!!!

Happy motoring!


Bob

LexRX

The glovebox mounted CD changer seems to be something that you either love or hate. I love it myself. I like the idea of being able to take out the whole cartridge and see what I have loaded and exchange what I want. I can just eject the cartridge and take it with me it I want to carry them inside. I simply load the 6 (or less) that I want to listen to per trip.

The absolute most convenient aspect of the changer is if you have multiple Lexus vehicles. Whenever I drive the LS 400 I just take out whatever is in the changer and pop in my cartridge! Works perfect!! One could order multiple cartridges and pre-load them and put whichever in you want at the time. While I have always wanted a single feed, in dash, 6-disc cd player, I see the advantages to the glove box style to fit my needs better. Depends what you like.

sleepybobcat

Yup, I love the locatiion of the CD changer as well.
It's much more convenient than going back to the
trunk.

The funny thing is, I haven't used any CDs lately.
I'm currently addicted to unabrideged Books On Tape.
Wish they had a "cassette changer" for each 14-cassette book...

Bob