newone88

So I just pulled the trigger and got my new red ES 300h

Just wanted to say thank you to all for answering my questions and making it easier for me to decide.

So far so good and we love it.

I got one with the Luxury and Nav package. Around 46k MSRP. Out of door was 46k including tax and all fees. CA tax kills but this is the price we have to pay for living here.

I will post photos once I take more and post them online.

Cheers

unowned

grats! (apparently i have to write more since the minimum message is 10 characters)

newone88

Thanks a lot for your help earlier. I contacted the dealership you purchased from but they could not come close to the price I was looking for. I was really pleased with the price because it was 2k below what is on Truecar price.

Cheers

unowned

where did you end up buying from?

newone88

Putnam in redwood city

Fly4u

Congratulations newone88! I may be right behind you!

newone88

Good luck Fly4u, let me know if you have any questions.

By the way, I have the auto wipers with deicer option on my car but there is no button for the deicer like it shows on the manual.
Is this an option only available in other countries? Or is there something I'm missing?

Arty101

It's in the climate control of the nav.

newone88

Got it, thanks.

SW17LS

Congratulations!

ProfessorP

I'm getting a quote of around $3.3K off MSRP (around 7% discount) for the 300h model that is the most common, the Option Package B one that is MSRP listed for $44,995. Another Bay Area Lexus place, not Putnam. Does anyone think I can go to 4K below MSRP? The price includes destination charge but before sales tax. Unfortunately like the poster who bought from Putnam, after sales tax and everything it'll probably come out to $45.8.

newone88

SW10ES, thanks..(-: Your input was much appreciated.

ProfessorP, have you looked at all the dealerships in the area? I checked them all.
Many told me it is supply and demand and 7% is very good in this market. I was offered around 10% off the 350.
I think the dealerships in the south bay had more inventory and were able to lower the price a bit.
When I was looking to purchase few weeks ago, there were 50 in bay area dealerships. Now I see only 40 300h available.

Good luck

Fly4u

My deal was right about a 7% reduction from MSRP, though it's a bit hard to specify as there was a trade-in to complicate the deal. I actually began to tactfully declare an impasse and prepared to leave. During final negotiations an interesting twist lopped a few more $$ from the deal; both the selling price and trade allowance were proportionally reduced to minimize the 8% CA sales tax. This is a reputable dealership, so I'm assuming (!) this comports with the law. My guess is tax liability is computed on a tabulation of gross sales rather than each item rolling out the door?

ProfessorP

so, here's the deal I got for the 300h. I decided to go for the Option C package rather than the Option B package - mainly because the spouse really wanted the silver color one and the silver only came in C. C includes the Luxury Package (leather seats) plus things like the HID headlamps and rear window shade. MSRP is $46,200. Got it for $41K exactly. So about 12% below MSRP. With 9% sales tax it came out to a bit over $45K. Yes, it seemed weird that all the dealers in the south part of the "U" for the Bay Area were willing to negotiate more than the upper half of the "U". Wound up buying at the hometown location.

I didn't really like the upselling for the maintenance package. The finance guy really tried hard to upsell me on it, but I'm an MBA who knows a bit about numbers. That's the package where all your routine maintenance is done with a prepaid price. They tried to get me a 70,000 mile package for $2800, then reduced it down to $2,400, but I thought it was a ridiculuous price. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but for 70,000 miles, that's 6 oil changes (synthetic oil), and 2 major services, one at 30K, one at 60K. Tire rotations I either do myself or pay America's Tire $50 to do unlimited rotations. To go to a 3rd party I calculate would cost around $1200 - say $60 for each oil change, and $400 for each major service.

Fly4u

Great deal, ProfessorP!

Post-sale "finance checkout" upselling can be a royal pain. They didn't float the maintenance plan as I'd telegraphed the notion of keeping a vehicle roughly 3 yrars. However, they had various ding/dent removal, twice yearly detail, paint sealant/interior scotchguard, etc. packages to avoid like a minefield!

Overall, my first Lexus experience was quite civil and professionally dealt.