YumpinYiminy

I bought my new 2024 ES 350 on 11/30/2023. I did not get the colors or trim I wanted because of low inventory. I did get a great deal on a in stock car that had been sitting for a few months. Since I bought my car I have been keeping up on the in stock vehicles and pricing for the 3 closest dealerships. This only applies to ES350s.
As of 1/21/2023. My local dealer is advertising below sticker on every car in stock. 1st time I've seen them drop the price on their F Sport models. I'm talking $2000 to almost $3000 off. This is before you negotiate.
My trade value has dropped enough that I am OK with what I paid and didn't wait to buy.
Just FYI and let me know what your seeing locally.

Shaboom

Read, just today, in Consumer Reports 5-7% off MSRP on 2024 350 ES. But watch out for hidden charges like Dealer’s Fee, etc.

mikemu30

Inventory overflowing. Great time to buy. Name your price and don't settle for anything under 10% off msrp.

Shaboom

Gotta’ be really careful after that 10% or more discount if offered, as some dealers will just lower the allowance on your trade-in and make it up on that end. Also $1,000 dealer processing fee is a frequent pitfall. The devil’s in the details.

mikemu30

Value your trade with Carvana before you give it to the Stealer. The Stealers only steal from those that don't know any better.

Shaboom

I found Carvana to be straight wholesale. No magic with them. Gotta’ get the dealer to do better than that, even with 10% off MSRP. Also, with Carvana you lose the sales tax break offered in many states when you trade.

lgb0250

I personally have found Carmax and sometimes even Vroom give better prices to buy than Carvana. All 3 give online offers. Keep in mind that in many states you only pay taxes on the trade difference, not on the full retail. So for example the dealer offers you 30000 and Carvana offers you 30500, the dealers offer puts more money in your pocket in N.C. at least. Our tax is 3% on the trade difference or purchase price. If you go with Carvana you would pay 3% on a 40000 purchase = $1200 tax due. If you trade it to the dealer for 30000 you would pay $300 in taxes on the difference. So even though you are getting a $500 bump by going with Carvana, you are losing $400 because the way taxes are calculated here.

mikemu30

Yes indeed you always have to account for the sales tax break if it applies in your state. Those of us that have played this game many times are well aware.

FastDawg

I went in December and got my 2024 ES 350 F Sport for $2500 below MSRP. They had to go from Atlanta to New Orleans to get the car I wanted and I didn't pay for that so I felt pretty good about it. It was "December to Remember" so when I went to pick it up it was in a garage bay with a big red bow on top!

pab12

I'm thinking about trading my '13 ES Luxury for a '24 Luxury and have a question. Can I play CDs in the '24?. I see notes that the '24s come with a DVD, or some sort of disk player. Can I listen to my CDs while on long trips in a 2024 ES 350 Luxury w the Technology package?
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My karma just ran over your dogma
Current Hers: '13 Lexus ES350
Current Mine: '15 Jaguar XF

jimbosr1

No CD player in any trim.

LexFinally

Right. CDs in the ES died with the new console and infotainment system introduced for '23.

Your best option in any new car is an external portable CD player that connects to your car's audio system by either USB or Bluetooth. (Bluetooth, of course, would allow you to conceal the player in the console, while presumably USB might possibly power the unit during use, depending on the car and the unit.)

YumpinYiminy

Nope! 2022 was last year for CD player. Find a CD ripper to convert them to MP3, MP4 or whatever.

mikemu30

MP3s sound like crap with the ML system.

Myshkyn

Following the advice in this forum, I ripped my CDs to high quality lossless FLAC files. I had over a hundred CDs and got them all on one USB drive. They sound very good. Maybe not the absolute best available source, but nicely compatible with the ML system.