dreyfus

Exactly! When my dad retired from teaching he spent two years as a Saturn salesman and made big money with their fixed-price approach.

The rest of the retail world proves you don't have to foster a rip-off mentality in your stores to provide a good service and make a good profit.

Car dealers & politicians... what's the joke... they're like diapers - they should be changed often and for the same reason.

MD350

I was all set to buy a PP+ package, but the dealer had my color in stock (on the showroom floor) on a UL package. I had to wait at least a month for the PP+. After looking at the UL, I bit the bullet and bought it. I am so glad I did. Yes, it is several grand more, but it will also be worth more than a PP+ at resale time. Figure you should get about 50% of the extra cost back in 3-4 years. Plus, since they are rare, you will be able to sell a UL easier. My favorites are the wheels, roof, and sound system.

theredkid

I concur with most of comments above. The leather, panorama glass roof and ML sound in UL package are the three most attractive features that move me from a PP to an UL ES350.

garsarno

Same with me regarding the upgraded leather etc. The panorama glass roof is the option that get's the most comments (although on a Black Sapphire color, full glass roof does not get noticed too much from the exterior), and the graphite wheels also add to the car's nice looks. My daughter raised the rear seat's headrests, so that they are visible from the rear of the car, which also adds to the luxury of the ES350.

toneman

If that's for a UL in CA (I assume it's California based on your profile)...I'm puzzled as to why they're not willing to give you more than $2K off MSRP; I was able to get $4300 off MSRP for my UL (bought at Coliseum Lexus in Oakland) back in August.

SDLS430

I'm getting $3000 off or so. I think $4300 is a awesome deal. That is probably list price. I want myself in the Lexus now! I'm driving a Volvo S80 rental. I think it cost more than the ES350. There is no way I'd take this car over the ES350. Thanks to you guys, I'm getting the UL.

Sam

psp

Good choice. What color did you ask for?

toneman

I should have clarified my previous post by saying that it seemed puzzling, given that from the various posts regarding CA deals, it should be possible to get great deals on the ES 350. In any case, that's great you decided to go w/ the UL--I thought about getting a PP w/ all of the other stuff that almost by default comes w/ the UL, but I just knew that a few months down the road I'd be kicking myself for not just getting the UL in the first place.

Bash4

Lexus premium sound system sucks. Get the UL with ML.

Kaius88

i havent really used the ML to its full potential since i mostly listen to talk radio. But i think the panoramic roof makes it stand out from the rest. It seriously worth the additional cost.

garsarno

The ML system makes the CDs sound terrific. Full sound, better than Bose systems. The Panorama roof, graphite wheels all make the UL stand out. I will be adding the Sirius radio and remote start (when available). Looking at the chrome versions of the graphite wheels on e-bay.

SDLS430

Getting a Granite with UL either tomorrow of Friday. I got if for $3000 off MSRP. According to the broker there are very few UL's down here in SoCal due to high demand. Dealers are actually hiding them from brokers on computer systems so they can sell them for list. That's the market, however I'm happy with the deal I'm getting.

Sam

Kaius88

dang you got one at a discount when the supply is so low. You lucked out brotha. i have seen about 15 ES350s on the road since i got mine, and NONE of them are ULs. This rarity makes the ride more special. I think the mentality is that most ES owners are people who want the most bang for their bucks and the UL somehow crosses the line a bit. The extra $6 - $7k somewhat brings the ES out of the entry luxury car price range, though I cant really find another car of the same caliber at the same price as the UL. I think at $40k+ the UL is still the best value for a luxuary sedan.

dreyfus

Gotta' agree with Kaius88 on this one. The ES350 is the best value for a luxury sedan.

PsychDoc

Agreed.

While far from a perfect car, for the money ($44k for a fully equipped UL) it's positively a steal. The way I see it, it's natural competition is the M-B E Class (not the horrid C Class), the BMW 5 Series (not the admittedly great but way too small 3 Series) and the Audi 6 (not the 4 which is a nice enough car but also suffers from the BMW 3 disorder....too small).

A M-B E 350 or BMW 530i with the kind of options the UL car has will each set you back about $58-60k. The Audi 6 is a little more friendly on the wallet at about $54-56k but is dreadfully underpowered with it's anemic 3.1 (though they lie and call it a 3.2 it's actually a 3.1 engine). Off the line acceleration is way beyond 'leisurely'....you can read an entire book until it gets up to 30mph.

So yes, for the money, the ES 350 is positively a steal.

That said, it still doesn't mean it doesn't have a number of quite significant weaknesses.