What dealer?

 

ok for those who started their negotiation on line, how do i start this email to the internet dealer? Do i just boldly ask for 12 % off MSRP. Do i ask them the price of the vehicle i want, which seems weird since i can see the MSRP on line

Looking to buy a 2017 RX 350 sport, sliver with the red interior.

message me, reply to this, anything, thanks

 

Also, what trim / options... thanks!

 

I would start off by having them give you their best price and go from there. You never know, you might get more than you think! Good luck!

 

Forget the internet. Go into the showroom. The online sales folks will tell you anything you what to hear to see you in person.

 

Bought a 2017 RX 350 today...

MSRP ....$54,499
Discount - $6586
Cash Back -$1500
Price = $46413
Final price = $50,913 OTD including Ca. 8.25% tax and fees.

 

Where in CA?

 

Colma..

 

I would start by selecting all of the Lexus dealerships within, say, 200 miles of your location. Even if you would be reluctant to travel that far to buy the vehicle, starting with a larger number of dealerships allows you to begin with more negotiating leverage.. Then, send identical emails to the internet sales departments of all of those dealers.

In the email, make several things clear. First, tell them, in as much detail as you can, what vehicle you are looking for, what packages you want, and what major options you are interested in. Then, let them know that you are sending the same email to all of those dealers, that you are prepared to buy immediately, and that you will buy from the dealer that makes the best offer.

You will likely get proposals from most, but possibly not all, of those dealerships. Take the best offer, send that to the other dealers that responded to your initial email, and ask them if they are interested in trying to beat that offer. Then, take the best of those second round offers and repeat the process. After repeating the same process a couple of times, within a couple of days you should have a very good idea about where the floor of the market is.

When you get down to 2 or 3 dealers, that is when you need to start looking at the offer proposals that they sent you very carefully to make sure that doc fees are reasonable, that processing fees for the title and license are reasonable, and that there are no hidden fees, dealer add-ons or options, etc.

If you have a trade-in, you should even be able to get a firm offer for that trade-in. First, use the websites of Edmunds and KBB to determine a fair value for your trade-in. Then, send pictures of your car to the dealership. If that dealership is really interested in getting your business, they will make a fair and firm offer on the trade-in. It is important, though, that you do not bring the trade-in into the discussion until after you have locked in an offer on the new vehicle.

An important part of the process is to get a price locked in for the new vehicle (and trade-in) via email and phone discussions before you set foot in the dealership. Until you have set foot in the dealership, you are the one who is in control of the situation. Once you are at the dealership and have started to negotiate a price at the dealership, you have given up a good portion of that control to the dealership.

I've found that dealerships are quite competitive with regard to internet sales. I've bought my last 2 vehicles using the method described above. I've found that that method is less stressful, and it has yielded prices that I could not have gotten by physically visiting multiple dealerships and negotiating pricing at the dealerships. I'll never buy another car any other way.

 

I think lesz is correct. I tried doing it traditional way. Was treated like a lepper by Lexus of Highland Park. When I was not very interested, they would call me and say "We are the aggressive ones" "We will take care of you!".

Once I stepped inside the store to discuss pricing, they were all _THIS IS THE FIXED PRICE_ TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

Needless to say, I left. And their quotes were not aggressive either.

 

Do people tend to get better deals (like 15% off MSRP) when they lease, vs when they Finance or Pay cash? I know this is not exactly in line with the Topic, but its still the same Zip code.

 

No difference to the dealer. Either you are buying it or the bank is buying it.

 

Actually, whether it is a cash deal, a lease, or financed through the dealership can make a difference in the discount from MSRP.

Dealers can make a profit from a deal in a variety of ways. They can make a profit on the selling price of the car, from a trade-in, from lease terms, from finance terms, by selling the customer a high mark-up extended warranty, by selling the customer high mark-up dealer installed options, etc.

Ideally, the dealer would like to make a profit from selling the car for a minimal discount, from undervaluing the trade-in, from finance or lease terms favorable to the dealership, from selling the customer an extended warranty that is marked up several hundred per cent, and from selling the customer similarly high mark-up dealer installed options. But, if the dealer really wants to make a sale, that dealer will often be happy to make any profit it can from any one of those items. So, if a dealer can reach its minimum profit target from the money it makes from the lease terms or from financing, that dealer will often be willing to take a smaller profit or even no profit at all on the sale of the vehicle itself and might, thus, be willing to give a bigger discount on the car from MSRP if it has to do so to make the deal.

 

Here's what we got in Socal

2017 RX 450H
Caviar with Noble Brown interior
Cold Weather Package
20inch Gray Metallic Alloy Wheels
Touch Free Rear Door
12.3 Navi Screen
Towing Package
Heated Steering Wheel
All Weather Mats
Body Side Molding
Cargo Net
Carpeted Cargo Mat

$51,300 before rebates/deals

Kicker was also our trade in which they offered more then CarMax offered.

 

What's the sticker price ? MSRP