patnic517

I'm not sure if you responding back to my reply or someone else. But right now, I'm at 11.6% before rebate. Looks like someone in CA is doing even better. I'm getting quotes for a premium, I think his/hers was a luxury. No college grad or military. And this is with cash - that's how I'm getting the $2250 rebate.

mrtrance

So I have been emailing all the dealers that were in 8%-12% range if they would be able to match or beat my best offer of 12.8% off MSRP before rebates. I'm waiting to hear back from them and will keep you updated. Most likely most won't be able to right away, but as we move closer to end of the month there might be change of heart coming from some of these dealers. Just depends on which dealer needs the deals to meet their quotas for the month.

Ltvscout

I'm in the same boat working dealers for best price. I'm looking at a 350 Luxury. They're all within a couple hundred of $52000 MSRP. My top three discounts so far from low to high are 10.495%, 10.82% and 11.274%. This is off MSRP, no rebate. Dealer doc which varies would be added to that. I'm hitting the dealers within 100 miles of Milwaukee. I'll be leasing after I get the best price, but I'm not telling them that up front. The current lease info for this region is a money factor of .00025, 51% residual on a Luxury (for 36/10, reduce by 1% for 36/12), $2750 rebate and Lexus covers the first months payment up to $700.

A tip for those of you looking to lease, you can go to the Edmunds forums and ask for the above lease info for your zip code. I just found out about this awesome service a few months ago.

Here's a direct link: https://forums.edmunds.com/discussio...d/lexus/es-350

patnic517

Hey - thanks A LOT for that info. I was thinking of doing the same thing (say I'm gonna buy, but change to a lease), but haven't leased in ages, and don't know all the lingo yet and what I can or cannot negotiate. Just gotta take the time and do some studying/reading online. Just don't want to get screwed. I'll check out Edmunds. Leasehackr.com is also good. And please come back and update your discounts through the week. I'm at 11.6% off - does not include rebate. That's talking to 5 dealers. And I've got my feelers out to two more out of state.

mikemu30

I'm surprised those discounts aren't higher. I bought mine last December and received roughly 10% off MSRP.

energy88

I believe that someone commented in either this thread or another thread that the best discounts occur in the December to Remember event and beat deals in the August Golden Opportunity event.

mrtrance

Here is an update after I emailed the dealers to see if they match or beat my best offer of 12.8% off MSRP:

Dealer 1: Wanted to know if I could come in today if he got approval from manager to match the same selling price (though his vehicle is about $400 less than by best offer guy)..so essentially it would a 12.1% discount.
Dealer 2: Told me it was great deal and I should move forward with it. Initial discount was 10%.
Dealer 3: Told me to send over the offer to check "how" they arrived at 12% before rebates..This one is funny..What does he mean "how"..There is no math here..Just they discounted that much..Initial discount was 8%
Dealer 4: Told me that I need to send over the offer in writing in order to show manager to see if they can match. About couple hours later he emailed me back and let me know they can match the 12.8% discount for "today" only, but I have to put in a "nonrefundable" $500 deposit to secure the vehicle and I need to it by end of weekend. I mean come on..a deposit to be able to offer me a deal that I should be able to get any day of the week. Dealers seem to try anything to make money these days.
Dealer 5: Told me I have a very aggressive offer and that he would check with manager if they could match and if they were able would I make the drive out there (1 hour drive vs 35 minutes to 12.8% off dealer).
Dealer 6: Another one that request seeing the quote in writing to show to manager. Also mentioned that if this dealer could do he thinks they should be able to match or better as well.
Dealer 7: Came back with better offer of 12% off MSRP. Initial offer was 8.7%.

And that is pretty much were I am. One thing that I'm hesitant on is sending an offer from dealer to another. I made this mistake one another time at MB dealer and then next day that best offer dealer emailed me back and wanted to know how it went with this dealer the other night. He also made a point of saying those are "my numbers" and offered for you and not others. So from that experience I don't want to give up the name of a dealer to others that they are trying to match. So for the ones that keep insisting on getting a copy of the quote in writing I don't know how to proceed with them? Any ideas?

ja350

2019 ES 350 UL purchased mid August. MSRP 54,268, dealer offered 48,268.

I found this forum where others had managed to get around a 15% discount so I held out for 45,500. The discount included a 2750 rebate.

DavidZ

Are you saying you paid $45,500? If not, what did you end up paying?

ja350

Yes 45.5 plus TTL.

patnic517

You got a brand new 2019 Lexus back in December for almost 10% off???

patnic517

Last Friday, was the first time a dealer, wanted me to show him proof. Luckily, I had the email. Maybe, you could confirm your numbers with the other dealer in a text? Or I guess just walk away and see if they come back to you?

Right now, I'm just frustrated that the discount is so low. One guy just posted he got almost 10% last December. I'm about to wait until December.

mikemu30

Correct. The brand new generation model.

DavidZ

The endgame is where you really test your negotiating skills. Here's how I see it.

As long as you hold the money, you hold the cards. That's your power. Car dealers will always ask to see your other offer. Also, they will always ask you to come in to there store. Both of these tactics are designed to take your power away from you. Don't fall for them.

When they ask to see the other offer, tell them it wouldn't be fair to the other dealer that has put their offer in writing. When they ask you to come in to their store, tell them you'll come in once you have a final deal and you're ready to buy the car and drive it home.

The best strategy, IMO, is the one where you tell all the dealers that you're going to buy a car in the next couple of days and it's just a matter of getting the best price. Since we're near the end of the month, that'll make them horny for you. When you get your bids, go back to the dealers who are not the lowest and tell them "right now you're not the lowest." You can even tell them how far they are from the lowest, but that's up to you. I usually say they need to beat the lowest by at least $500 because I don't want to be nickled and dimed.

In my experience, they will try every tactic in the book to get you off your game. Just keep saying to them "give me your very best price."

mikemu30

Is it really worth $500 to go through this back and forth with 15 dealers?? Not to me - no thanks.