Lexus no longer building special orders for 2018 ES
05-03-18, 05:32 PM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Lexus no longer building special orders for 2018 ES
Just a heads up for those waiting on special factory orders for an ES 350. I put in a special order (with $1,000 deposit) on a 2018 ES 350 with ML and without pano. It went through and was confirmed several days before the 4/20 deadline.
Today my salesman called to report that Lexus Corporate told them that they were no longer building special orders for the 2018 model year -- my order was canceled.
Sometimes you're the windshield, and other times you're the bug.
Today my salesman called to report that Lexus Corporate told them that they were no longer building special orders for the 2018 model year -- my order was canceled.
Sometimes you're the windshield, and other times you're the bug.
05-03-18, 07:41 PM
#2
Pole Position
Damn. Sorry to hear that. 
05-03-18, 08:25 PM
#4
^Well I think it's because they are switching to a new generation, not that they are no longer taking special orders completely. Regardless, thats unfortunately,, especially because you did it before the supposed deadline. Maybe you'll have luck finding one witht he same/similar options on the dealers lot.
05-04-18, 03:04 PM
#6
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Thanks for the suggestion about changing a car in the pipeline. The dealer tried that -- both before I special ordered it and after Lexus Corporate nixed the deal. Alas, there is no way to obtain a 2018 ES 350 with the ML and without the pano roof. (See my earlier thread on desert test drive to see why I'm leery of the pano). That is why I placed a special order.
I have spent more time than I want to admit (to my wife) reading this forum and ClubLexus -- all of you have been extremely helpful. In hindsight, I just waited too long to pull the trigger. I still have my faithful 1996 Avalon (247K mi.), so I can wait to come up with a Plan B. If I'm willing to bend on either the ML or the pano, the end of year close-out of the 2018s to make way for the 7th generation should result in dramatically lower prices than I was willing to pay for the special order.
I have spent more time than I want to admit (to my wife) reading this forum and ClubLexus -- all of you have been extremely helpful. In hindsight, I just waited too long to pull the trigger. I still have my faithful 1996 Avalon (247K mi.), so I can wait to come up with a Plan B. If I'm willing to bend on either the ML or the pano, the end of year close-out of the 2018s to make way for the 7th generation should result in dramatically lower prices than I was willing to pay for the special order.
05-04-18, 03:27 PM
#7
If you can afford it, and seems you can if you were trying to Buy a Brand New one Why not just hold out for the New 2019 ES which seems to be even better I never want to Buy the last year old body style of a car, the same year within months of the new changed one coming out. IMO.
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05-04-18, 05:07 PM
#8
Lexus Champion
Lexus, and their dealers, have always done a good job of selling down outgoing models before the new gen arrives. It seems there is very little inventory on hand when the new gens arrive so it might be worthwhile to start looking for a substitute sooner than later for the best selection. The only thing that might change this time around is the huge swing to CUV's and SUV's has slowed down sedan sales so the current gen might not sell down as fast as in the past.
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05-04-18, 06:48 PM
#9
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Join Date: Apr 2018
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Pricing
Planning on purchasing an ES soon. Any thoughts on when the best deals can be had in the near future asI need to buy preferably this month as I see Lexus has 2500 cash incentive.
05-08-18, 01:41 AM
#11
05-08-18, 01:15 PM
#14
05-08-18, 02:52 PM
#15
Lead Lap
I find it difficult to be upset with Lexus (or any other manufacturer) for cutting off special orders at some point in the model year.
Lexus has already announced the new 2019 Generation 7 ES. They can't build the 2019 cars if they are still building 2018 cars. Once they have set a cutoff date for stopping production on the 2018 cars, if they continued to accept special orders, that would mean delaying re-tooling the production lines and the start of 2019 production. Especially with a new generation coming, potential buyers start to become anxious for the arrival of the new model at dealerships, and it is, to me, reasonable that Lexus would have a firm cutoff date for the end of 2018 model year production.
Further, you should be able to find a 2018 that is very close to what you want and that is already on the dealer's lot or already scheduled for production. And, since various incentives generally don't apply to special order vehicles, you can typically buy a car off of a dealer's lot with more equipment and a significantly lower price than what you would pay for a special order vehicle that is less well equipped. This is especially true when we get well into the model year and when Lexus starts to offer larger unadvertised incentives to dealers to help them to reduce their current model year inventories in anticipation of the arrival of the new models. To me, getting a better equipped car for a lower price sounds like a pretty good alternative to getting a less well equipped special order vehicle for a higher price.
Lexus has already announced the new 2019 Generation 7 ES. They can't build the 2019 cars if they are still building 2018 cars. Once they have set a cutoff date for stopping production on the 2018 cars, if they continued to accept special orders, that would mean delaying re-tooling the production lines and the start of 2019 production. Especially with a new generation coming, potential buyers start to become anxious for the arrival of the new model at dealerships, and it is, to me, reasonable that Lexus would have a firm cutoff date for the end of 2018 model year production.
Further, you should be able to find a 2018 that is very close to what you want and that is already on the dealer's lot or already scheduled for production. And, since various incentives generally don't apply to special order vehicles, you can typically buy a car off of a dealer's lot with more equipment and a significantly lower price than what you would pay for a special order vehicle that is less well equipped. This is especially true when we get well into the model year and when Lexus starts to offer larger unadvertised incentives to dealers to help them to reduce their current model year inventories in anticipation of the arrival of the new models. To me, getting a better equipped car for a lower price sounds like a pretty good alternative to getting a less well equipped special order vehicle for a higher price.