car dealership turn down a $2170 profit?...

[Dancing Fire]

i made an offer of $41k on a Lexus IS 350. according to the Kelley blue book the dealer''s invoice is $38,830 .the MSRP is $44,784.the dealer said he can go 2k below MSRP. is my offer too low?

 

[NewShiny]

Is it at 2006 or 2007? I just bought an ''07 RX350 and ended up paying pretty close to sticker. Some models are in pretty high demand and Lexus can afford to wait for the customers that will pay asking (or very close to it) price.

We were offered a great deal on a 2006 model though, so maybe try looking at the ''06es if that isn''t what you''re considering already.

There is/was a Lexus thread in the shopping form, I think.

 

[appletini]

When I bought my lexus, I called every dealer in the state of Texas and a few in Louisiana, spoke to the sales manager and asked all of them the walk out the door price with TT&L. Then I later used that as my bargaining chip...other dealers offered to deliver the car to me, and tint the front windows at no cost. While my dealer didn''t want to go down another $500-$1000 to the price I wanted, I did get them to tint the windows and throw in a $300 value tire replacement program that was good for 3 years.

 

[codex57]

You're likely too low. This is still considered a brand new car. It took well over a year for the Infiniti G35 coupe to go ANY bit below MSRP. $2K below invoice sounds like a pretty good offer actually.

I use two methods to check the going rate on your car. Using an SF zip code, I checked carsdirect.com's price. It's about $1500 under MSRP so the $2000 under offer beats that. I'm also a member of ClubLexus.com It's a car forum for Lexus owners. I haven't been on there in a while, but you might wanna check it out and check the 2nd Generation IS subforum. There likely is a thread about the current market price for the car.

You have to remember that the IS350 is the more expensive model. It's not their volume model in that line. They know you've got more money, otherwise you'd just settle for the IS250. Accordingly, the deals won't be quite as good as for the IS250.

The 2007 RX350 should be much cheaper tho. It's going for over $3000 under MSRP in SF. Down in LA where there's more competition, you can easily get it for $4000 under. Yes, it's got the new engine, but it attracts a different market. The IS is attempting to steal BMW owners away. Owners who care about horsepower numbers and performance. RX owners are luxury SUV drivers. They're not going to care how well the car performs cuz it's not supposed to be a sports car.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/12/2006 1:41:25 PM
Author: NewShiny
Is it at 2006 or 2007? I just bought an ''07 RX350 and ended up paying pretty close to sticker. Some models are in pretty high demand and Lexus can afford to wait for the customers that will pay asking (or very close to it) price.

We were offered a great deal on a 2006 model though, so maybe try looking at the ''06es if that isn''t what you''re considering already.

There is/was a Lexus thread in the shopping form, I think.

this is a new model (2006) it just came out about 3 months ago.this car is not in the US yet,its due to arrive on the 23 rd of july. i wish there was a 2 yr old of this model that i can buy.

 

[Starset]

Kelley Blue Book is not typically the tool that car dealerships use anyway. Many use NADA and what the public sees on the internet is not necessarily the same hard numbers that the dealership uses.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/12/2006 2:36:59 PM
Author: Starset
Kelley Blue Book is not typically the tool that car dealerships use anyway. Many use NADA and what the public sees on the internet is not necessarily the same hard numbers that the dealership uses.

but... don''t forget they also get kick backs from the manufacture too.

 

[AChiOAlumna]

My suggestion is this: Go to http://www.edmunds.com and figure out the invoice on this car. Then add $500. (this won''t include tax, license, etc.)...this is what you should be paying for a car through the dealership.

Since finding edmunds.com, I''ve never paid more than $500 over invoice for a car....this could be thousands of dollars under the MSRP, which is a fallacy. Edmunds.com can give you not only the invoice, but also the true market value of what you can expect to pay for a car.

 

[Miranda]

Go to fightingchance.com. We used this method to purchase our Expedition 3 years ago ($8000 below invoice) and Infiniti G35 sedan last July ($4000 under invoice). This site will tell you how much you should pay for the car and what the real invoice is. I think it costs $40 - $50 for the package to be emailed to you, but, it''s well worth it. By the way, I love the new IS!!! It''s my first pick for a car when my bus driving days are over.

 

[codex57]

Edmunds isn''t very good. It''s not that realistic for your particular zip code. Carsdirect is much better cuz it''s a lot more specific for the exact car you want. Just know that the carsdirect price is a good price, but not the best price and if there are enough dealers in your area, you should be able to beat it.

You always want to work from the invoice price up or down. In Dancing Fire''s case, he''s looking for a brand new to the market car that''s VERY hot so he''s going to be stuck negotiating from the MSRP down. Every car is different depending on its popularity. If I stuck to unpopular cars, I can always get them under invoice. If I always stuck to super trendy cars like the IS, I''d never come close to the invoice.

Oh, and it''s called a dealer holdback. They get kinda pissy when you refer to the holdback as a "kickback".

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/12/2006 8:15:52 PM
Author: codex57
Edmunds isn''t very good. It''s not that realistic for your particular zip code. Carsdirect is much better cuz it''s a lot more specific for the exact car you want. Just know that the carsdirect price is a good price, but not the best price and if there are enough dealers in your area, you should be able to beat it.

You always want to work from the invoice price up or down. In Dancing Fire''s case, he''s looking for a brand new to the market car that''s VERY hot so he''s going to be stuck negotiating from the MSRP down. Every car is different depending on its popularity. If I stuck to unpopular cars, I can always get them under invoice. If I always stuck to super trendy cars like the IS, I''d never come close to the invoice.

Oh, and it''s called a dealer holdback. They get kinda pissy when you refer to the holdback as a ''kickback''.

agree, i just check Edmunds site and it''s too high. the dealer already offer me 1k below the Edmunds true market price.

i already offer the dealer in Fremont,Ca a $2170 profit for this car,all he have to do is write up the paper works.as of today...this car is on a cargo ship flowing somewhere in the middle of the Pacific ocean,won''t arrive until the 23 rd. who knows

he might change his mind within the next 10 days. i ain''t gonna chase a hot car b/c i know it will cool off in a couple of months as the dealer''s inventory starts to built up.

 

[codex57]

Yeah, I''d hold off and wait for the hype to die down as much as possible. The only bad thing is the car you''re replacing is becoming such a moneypit so fast.

 

[moremoremore]

I was all psyched to negotiate on my RX350 after researching on edmunds. The dealer laughed at me. Another dealer I called couldn''t beat the price. I think it''s much easier to get a good deal in particular areas of the country....

And as said above, with the most popular models, they have no reason to give you a discount....My FIL wants an ES350...there are NO deals on it right now...

 

[codex57]

Yeah, prices are really dependent on the area you''re in. If you''re willing to travel, that''s better. I actually buy cars based on my parents'' address. They live in SoCal where there are a ton of dealerships. Prices for the types of cars I''m interested in tend to be about $1000 cheaper than the Bay Area and $2000 where I actually live, Sacramento region. If you live in an area with very few dealers, you''re likely going to be stuck with not so great deals unless you''re willing to travel to get your car.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/13/2006 1:03:05 PM
Author: codex57
Yeah, prices are really dependent on the area you''re in. If you''re willing to travel, that''s better. I actually buy cars based on my parents'' address. They live in SoCal where there are a ton of dealerships. Prices for the types of cars I''m interested in tend to be about $1000 cheaper than the Bay Area and $2000 where I actually live, Sacramento region. If you live in an area with very few dealers, you''re likely going to be stuck with not so great deals unless you''re willing to travel to get your car.

and very few IS 350 on the lot. Roseville had 3,Sacto had 2. both dealership had plenty of 06 GS 300 and RX 330.

 

[Gypsy]

I second Carsdirect. We just traded in our Volvo for two toyotas and I used carsdirect to get a fix on what I should expect to pay for the cars we were looking at and then I just used the phone book and started talking to salespeople. I hate wasting my time going from dealership to dealership. We were looking for either two hondas or two toyotas... we found one dealership for each brand that beat the carsdirect price without blinking and then we went out to them and took it from there. We didn''t tell them we wanted two cars until we got there (just verified that they had more than one of what we wanted before we went in)... then when we hit them with that... we got an even better deal. I used Carsdirect for the Volvo three years before too. Gave me a great starting point.

 

[codex57]

Date: 7/13/2006 2:25:51 PM
Author: Dancing Fire
and very few IS 350 on the lot. Roseville had 3,Sacto had 2. both dealership had plenty of 06 GS 300 and RX 330.

Yeah, they typically are presold. The rare ones that make it onto the lot are usually gone within a week. So, very little incentive for the dealers to deal. My friend recently bought a smoky granite mica IS350. That car is RARE! Especially with the options she was looking for. She ended up special ordering it.

Why are you checking Roseville and Sacto? Aren''t you all the way out in Fremont? Are you trying to get them shipped to your dealership? Cuz there''s not much competition out here so the prices are usually worse than out in the Bay Area. My 325ci is currently at Roseville BMW getting its Inspection I done. I poked around the showroom for fun and eavesdropped on some sales convos. I would NEVER buy a BMW out here. They know there''s almost no competition and they take advantage of that fact. Niello in Sacramento ignored me (prolly cuz I look young) so I''m not quite fond of them either. That''s why I just e-mail or otherwise negotiate with dealers down in SoCal. Might even be worth it to call around down there and see if the prices are low enough that even a shipping charge would be made up. My friend did that when he bought his 330ci. Split the shipping charge with the dealer in order to get the exact car he wanted.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/13/2006 4:59:59 PM
Author: codex57

Date: 7/13/2006 2:25:51 PM
Author: Dancing Fire
and very few IS 350 on the lot. Roseville had 3,Sacto had 2. both dealership had plenty of 06 GS 300 and RX 330.

Yeah, they typically are presold. The rare ones that make it onto the lot are usually gone within a week. So, very little incentive for the dealers to deal. My friend recently bought a smoky granite mica IS350. That car is RARE! Especially with the options she was looking for. She ended up special ordering it.

there''s one in Roseville and one in Sacto. MSRP $44,784

Why are you checking Roseville and Sacto? Aren''t you all the way out in Fremont? Are you trying to get them shipped to your dealership? Cuz there''s not much competition out here so the prices are usually worse than out in the Bay Area.

no, i''m in Sacto. i put in a request online and the dealer from Fremont quoted me a price.

Niello in Sacramento ignored me (prolly cuz I look young) so I''m not quite fond of them either.

yep, those salesmen are A$$holes

 

[codex57]

You''re in Sacto? Hmm, we should meet up for lunch sometime. I''m out in Roseville.

Since you''re out here and if you''re stuck with that moneypit of a BMW for much longer, I''d recommend you give Walter Ford at Valley Motorwerks in Rancho Cordova a call. Ask if he''ll check the car out and warn you what else is about to crap out and what''s the cheapest way to deal with it. Very legit guy. You can tell him Richard the lawyer sent you. Or, just mention my screen name.

 

[qtiekiki]

Are you getting packages with the IS 350? It says only 36K MSRP on base model on Lexus.com.

I second Carsdirect.com also. We used it to check out prices when we got our Pilot few months ago, and went to the dealers and they all are at least willing to match the price on Carsdirect.com, which was below invoice price. We ended up getting it from a dealer that actually beat Carsdirect.com price by ~2K. I think it can be a great bargaining tool even if you don't buy from them.