Originally Posted by clerkp

Lexus plus is a joke and an insult to customers. My dealer wouldn't budge even though I had an offer for 4k more off. I walked and bought my gx out of market. I don't make enough money to leave 4k on the table. My wife tried to talk the local dealer into matching and they were nothing but obnoxious and patronizing. "We have a right to make money too .". So for that we were supposed to pay near sticker for a new gx. No thanks.

Originally Posted by LexsCTJill

Good for you. $4k is a big diff. I would go elsewhere too for a $4k difference

Originally Posted by G Star

Club Lexus continues to think and operate completely in their own car enthusiast bubble. Most people don't know how to negotiate and try to avoid the confrontational aspect of car buying as much as they can. For these kinds of buyers, knowing there is a no haggle lower price is much preferable than being unsure of what you're doing.

For people who like to haggle, don't complain just yet, there are PLENTY of other Lexus dealerships that have not adopted this program.

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Eventually, like it or not, I think we are all going to have to get used to no-haggle prices. It may not not come all at once, but much of it is inevitable......more and more companies and dealerships will turn to it one way or another. Saturn's phenomenal success in the 1990s proved that it would work (Saturn later folded, not because of their pricing system, but because of horribly bad management and interference from parent GM after 2000). Scion also showed how no-dicker pricing could be successful....it folded, not because of the pricing, but because it was the wrong division, at the wrong time, making controversially-styled vehicles, and selling out of Toyota shops where their parent Toyota got most of the business.

I understand that there are some folks (and will always be some) who believe in old-fashioned dickering and negotiation, even in an atmosphere more conducive to a Middle-Eastern open-market bazaar than an auto dealership. Indeed, a friend of my brother once bought a new Civic by holding firm and negotiating at a dealership until midnight (most dealers, of course, close around 9 PM weekdays and 5 or 6 PM on weekends). Some of you right here on Car Chat still like to do it the old-fashioned way. But more and more people, nowadays, simply don't have the time for that, with today's busy lifestyles.

Added to that, more and more car-buyers want more and more perks at the dealership....coffee, computer-stations, day-care and play-rooms for kids, snack bars, car-washes, and, of course, loaner-cars...all these things take money to operate, and dealerships simply cannot afford them if they are going to pare the price of every car they sell to the bone......while customers, of course, should not be getting ripped off, dealerships also need to make a reasonable profit if they are to stay in business and offer all those perks that everybody likes so much.

Originally Posted by RNM GS3

Complete disagree - if anything the discounts are going to get bigger as the competition increases.

Originally Posted by RNM GS3

I think you are not giving the average consumer enough credit.
Most people shop online for EVERYTHING including CARS and HOUSES.
Maybe senior citizens still negotiate at a dealer but anybody 50years old or younger is very proficient at finding deals online.
The people posting on Edmunds forums ARE NOT car enthusiasts by any means, they are just looking for the best price.

Used cars are a different story though......

Originally Posted by Fizzboy7

Overall, set prices are to benefit the dealer, not the consumer. But there are plenty of suckers out there, or people who do not want to haggle. I say let them pay more for not doing their homework. This will ensure the dealer can line their pockets so us bargainers get nicer loaners- or something to that effect. =)

Originally Posted by mmarshall

You seem to be assuming, however (correct me if I'm wrong) that people who don't care to haggle are suckers, and all get lousy deals. That's not the case. Many of the posted discounts at dealerships are not bad prices at all. Some are, of course, if demand for that particular car is high and supply low. But, then again, under those circumstances (high demand, low supply), it would be more difficult to get a lower price even if you did haggle like in a bazaar.,

Originally Posted by daryll40

What this creates is two markets. In places like Pittsburgh where I am, there are two Lexus dealers owned by the same person/company. So they have a monopoly. But I can see that it's now going to be worth my hassle to buy probably from one of the three Akron/Cleveland dealers who have competition. It's a hassle for the customer. But the delta is probably about $3000 per car. Or I'll give up on Lexus and get something where I don't pay a premium because one dealer has a monopoly locally.