dotbowels

I will NEVER EVER walk in to a Dealership without having agreed to what I will pay in email/writing before I go in. I have been shamed once to often by arrogant/condescending sales people & their management. Yes I send an email to a few dealerships and tell them which of their cars I want. Usually more than one does it my way. The ones that don’t,that’s their problem not mine.

i want to close by saying, I appreciate this forum, I’ve learned a lot here.

Dorothy

gmanusmc

+1

You go Dot! Like many of us, you have figured it out.

fishnlab

Finalized purchase today. Thanks for the assistance.

New 2017 ES 350
MSRP $43,049
Selling Price $34,540 + TTL and Dealer Doc Fee

Just shy of 20% off list

gmanusmc

Very nice deal - congrats and enjoy your new ES!

doubg

I'm not 100% sure if I qualify for the Grad Program ($1000 cashback). I'm currently employed and in grad school. Not clear if I can be currently employed for many years or I need to have been only newly employed the last 120 days.

In either case, I'll bring my proof of employment and grad school to the dealership. However, if I'm negotiating price with several dealerships on a 2017 ES350, should I take into account the $1000 cashback from this program in my negotiations? I know that I'll already include the $3500 cashback Lexus is offering in talking price, but not sure if I just go ahead and include the $1000 if I'm not 100% sure I qualify.

Any ideas?


************************************************************************
Congratulations, college grad! You've earned your degree and now are ready to take on the world. We want to help you get started in a new or L/Certified vehicle. If you've obtained a degree within the last two years or will graduate within the next six months, you may qualify for the Lexus College Graduate Programs [1].
I'm not 100% sure I qualify for the College Grad Program ($1000 cashback). I'm currently employed and in grad school.

Lexus College Graduate Reward Program

• $1,000 reward when you purchase or lease a new Lexus between January 8, 2017 and January 2, 2018

Lexus College Graduate Finance Program

• Competitive APRs and lease terms on new Lexus and L/Certified vehicles

How to Qualify

1. Have a Degree
   • Have graduated from an accredited four-year college, university, or registered nursing degree program during the last two years or will graduate from such a school/program within the next six months OR
   • Have graduated from an accredited two-year college, junior college, technical college, or university during the last two years or will graduate within the next six months OR
   • Be enrolled in or have graduated from an accredited graduate degree program during the last two years OR
   • Have graduated from an accredited two-year trade or vocational school during the last two years or will graduate within the next six months
   AND
   
2. Have a Job
   • When submitting credit application, show proof of present employment or future employment with a start date within 120 days of contract date. LFS must deem your income sufficient to cover living expenses and vehicle payments.

The applicant or co-applicant must meet all of the college graduate program qualifications. See your participating Lexus dealer for more information.

fishnlab

Looks like you qualify (in grad school and have job) for the college cash.

If I were in your shoes, I would expect $1000 under invoice -$3500 Lexus cash -$1000 college cash.

$43,000 MSRP should easily be available for < $34k, based on my recent research.

Good luck!

ZOE771

2017 es 350 ultimate luxury, MSRP $50770, OTD$44200, thank forum so that I get so much.

jollick

Congratulations! Great deal on a UL.

Tp577

Weighing out a new 2017 Lexus ES350 (not worried about navigation, understand many/most will have) - listed $43,600 (w/ nav) vs. 2016 ES350 (no nav) with 26,500 miles that's listed for $28,900. Would have about 4 years CPO warranty. I see with dealer markdown and lexus incentive people can likely get a new ES350 for about $34,000 (before TTL, doc fees).

Assuming they will come down some on 2016 used - what would you do? I'm coming for a 2010 Acura TSX and looking for something a little larger, more roomy. The used ES I drove rode well, a bit of old man car feel (but I'm getting there,so whatever). I'm looking for a smooth ride, OK radio technology (blue tooth, satellite), decent mileage and not break the bank. Was looking hard at RX 350 F-sport but we already have SUV in the household and was talked out of it.

lesz

If it was me, I'd go for the new 2017.

While you might be able to negotiate the price for the 2016 CPO ES down a bit, any reduction in the price being offered is likely to be fairly small. With new cars, dealers know that every dealer can sell the same cars as all other dealers. With CPO vehicles, the dealers know that the competition from other dealers with identically-equipped CPO vehicles is much lower, and they know that, if they hold to their asking prices, someone is likely to come along and pay that asking price or something very close to it.

I don't know how long you would plan to keep the car, but, for the next 3-5 years, a 2017 ES will, as a trade-in, be worth $3000-4000 more than a similarly equipped 2016 ES. Further, in the case of the two cars that you are considering, the navigation system on the 2017 will add between $1500 and $2000 or more to its re-sale or trade value, depending on what other options the 2017 might have that the 2016 doesn't have, compared to that of the 2016. Another factor is that 2016's trade or re-sale value will be depressed somewhat by the fact that, when you do sell it or trade it in, it will be a 2-owner used car, and a multi-owner used car will always be worth a little less than a one-owner car.

While I'm sure that most CPO cars turn out to be reliable cars, if you read on the various CL forums, you will find a number of posts from people who bought CPO cars and who later discovered that the cars had problems, including some where people discovered that the car had an accident history that led to problems.

I'm a firm believer that some of the worst car buys available are for one and two year old CPO vehicles. When you consider the high level of discounting available on a new ES (or other Lexus model), the difference in price between what you would pay for a new ES and what you would pay for a similarly equipped CPO ES is quite small. It should also be noted that, if you buy the 2016 CPO, you will be paying a premium of around $2500 for the CPO certification. Since CPO certification can not be transferred when you sell or trade the car, the re-sale or trade value of a CPO vehicle is no higher than that of a non-CPO vehicle. So, essentially, when you buy that CPO vehicle, the $2500 premium for CPO certification is completely lost at re-sale or trade-in time.

Good luck with your choice.

doubg

Actually sales reps are telling me that if you want the Grad Program, you must finance through Lexus, so I guess that prevents me from getting both Grad Program cashback and current Lexus cashback incentives.

Tp577

Thanks lesz - everything you mentioned (impact of buying 2016 w/ CPO, relatively small cost difference) makes sense. I'm sure there are other make/models (think BMW, Mercedes) where buying a year old auto would make sense and save enough $$.

Another quick question - would a 2017/2018 ES 350 be much better option than 2018 Acura TLX? I'm coming from a 2010 Acura TSX and looking for the following in a new car as I've continued to think through things:
Smooth, quiet ride.
Decent sound system.
A little more elbow room for the driver (I'm 6'1", a little under 200 lbs)
Decent mileage.
Not break the bank (wouldn't want to spend $60,000 for a vehicle).
Would keep for probably 4-6 years.
Don't need mapping tech in the car.
Would prefer not to have that 'old man/woman' car look but understand that smooth/quiet ride and soft steering don't go hand in hand with a sportier model.

DanZ

Tp577: CPO bashing is a fashion on this forum. I am in the opposite camp and find that the best deals are in the 2 to 3 year old CPO cars. I found that to be the case with my car that I purchased recently. This conclusion applies to someone like me, who will keep the car until the doors fall off. I also don't like any of the overpriced factory options, like Navigation or BSM or park assist, and I am the beneficiary of that in terms of lower pricing on a CPO without those options. In your situation of keeping the car for 4 to 6 years, the calculation may be different and you will have to predict trade-in prices 4 to 6 years from now to do a financial calculation of total cents per mile spent by you on a CPO vs new (exclude fuel costs since they are common to both). I suggest doing such a calculation and assuming the historical and current prices in your spreadsheet.

Tp577

Agree on options. This particular car is a 2016, and my math figures the cost difference is roughly $6,000 (including tax - might also be on the high end) for a 2016 with 25,000 miles and a new model. Starting to feel like that's a fairly small difference in cost for 25,000 miles.

lesz

For a used ES, including a CPO vehicle, you can figure that every 9000 miles or so on the odometer will reduce the value of the vehicle by about $1000.