DavidZ

I can relate to that. In fact I said something to that effect a few posts above. Everyone has to decide where they want to stop and just take delivery of a car.

Alternatively, you could say they need to beat the best offer by $1,000.

Also, you could narrow the group to just the most competitive dealers

lesz

Yes, if a dealer asks you to "give them proof of a lower offer" from another dealer, you should not oblige them. A dealer should not need such "proof". Each dealer knows where the bottom of the market truly is, and they don't need such "proof" to know whether you are lying or telling the truth about the other offers. The real reason why the dealer is asking for such proof is so that they can call the other dealer supposedly "to confirm" the offer, but what they are hoping is that, once the dealers start to communicate with each other, they will stop trying to beat each other's offers.

And, also, as I've said in another post, you should not want to set foot into a dealership until after you have the deal completely locked in, including doc fees, other dealer fees, taxes, your trade-in, etc. As said above, you are in control until you set foot into the dealership. Once you do set foot into the dealership, you are giving up a good portion of that control to the dealer. The only reason to visit a dealership before locking in a final deal would be if you need to check out the cars, go for test drives, etc., but once you have done that, you should leave the dealership without doing even preliminary negotiations there.

DavidZ

Right. Not only shouldn't you show them the offer, you shouldn't even say who made the offer. It's none of their business.

It's like your poker opponent asking to see your hand. They have way more cards than you do. Why should you show them yours? They're playing on your insecurity and the need to prove yourself. You've got nothing to prove.

DavidZ

How did you get such a good deal back then? What was your negotiating strategy and how did you implement it?

mikemu30

Just two conversations roughly one month apart with the same dealer. No nonsense back and forth. The first visit I made my offer and they rejected so I left. They called me back roughly a month later. I said - tell me the number I asked for and we have a deal over the phone. Picked up the car a few hours later. Literally.

coolsaber

10% dealer discount or was there any Lexus buyers cash etc?

DavidZ

Interesting. Most people would not have the discipline to execute that strategy. They want their new car NOW! And, of course the dealers know that and take full advantage accordingly. When you "walked" for a month, that told the dealer that you really meant it. That's a pretty loud message.

Also, I wonder how much the December to Remember incentives played in your situation. There are many hidden incentives that go on between car manufacturers and dealers, particularly during the summer and winter sales drives. Apparently, you made your original offer in November and bought in December. Who knows what changed in the dealer's financial ability to meet your offer between those 2 months?

mikemu30

Dealer discount.

mikemu30

All true. My first visit was easy to walk since I really was only there to "look". Sales guy convined me to test drive at which point of course I knew I wanted the car. But I truly didnt want to pull the trigger under those conditions so made an offer I figured theyd reject which they did.

energy88

[QUOTE=DavidZ;10597541
Also, I wonder how much the December to Remember incentives played in your situation. There are many hidden incentives that go on between car manufacturers and dealers, particularly during the summer and winter sales drives. Apparently, you made your original offer in November and bought in December. Who knows what changed in the dealer's financial ability to meet your offer between those 2 months?[/QUOTE]
Perhaps the car sitting on the lot 8 weeks changed the dealers mind. The old cut your loses thing.

As information, there is a web site called iseecars dot com whereby you can enter a VIN number and see the price history of a car over time. For example, the last new car I bought in November 2016 had been sitting on the lot since July 2016 and they accepted my aggressive offer. Another clue to lot life is state inspection stickers on cars since dealers do this first thing to have a car ready to go out the door immediately.

lesz

The December to Remember promotion actually starts in early to mid November. While the December to Remember incentives, both advertised and unadvertised, are larger than at any other time of the year, the biggest of those incentives apply only to the remaining inventory from the outgoing model year. While there are both advertised and unadvertised incentives for cars for the new incoming model year, they are generally much smaller than those for cars from the outgoing model year.

scubadvr1

I haven't read many of these posts so I apologize if I bring up issues others already have. I just bought my 6th Lexus (an LS500) this month and have shopped for almost all of them the same way. I never go into the dealership until I know EXACTLY what the deal is, in writing, from the dealership I eventually choose to purchase from. I contact all the dealers in my area, in this case, ten of them, (150 mile radius from my home in Florida) and tell them exactly the car I want (color options, package options) along with the price I am willing to pay. I tell them I will buy the car TODAY if they give me the price I'm looking for. Of course, none of them will give me that price, but it is the start of the negotiating process. It takes 2 or 3 days to go back and forth with the handful that reply to my email, but eventually a deal is made. My advice: First, MAKE SURE THE PRICE YOU NEGOTIATE INCLUDES EVERY FREAKING FEE THEY INTEND TO CHARGE BEYOND THE SELLING PRICE, RIGHT DOWN TO THE LAST PENNY. If you don't they will lure you in with a low price, then add hundreds, or even thousands in various "fees" which are nothing but pure profit for the dealer. There is no such thing as an "electronic filing fee", etc. etc. It is ALL dealer profit. Second, DO NOT DISCUSS THE VALUE OF YOUR TRADE UNTIL AFTER YOU AGREE TO A PRICE FOR THE NEW CAR. Otherwise they'll give you a "great" deal on the trade, but make it up by raising the price of the new car. Third, make sure you are aware of all the rebates the factory is throwing in, as you get those rebates regardless of where you buy the car. They are easily obtainable online. Fourth, press the dealer to find out if there are additional discounts available....for example, if you are in/retired from the military there was an additional $1,000 allowance from the factory. An additional discount if you are a current college student. If you bank with Morgan Stanley there was an additional $2000 available from the factory. A lot of dealerships won't tell you about these unless you specifically ask them about them. Fifth, NEVER EVER GO INTO THE DEALERSHIP UNTIL YOU HAVE AN AGREEMENT IN WRITING IN YOUR HANDS. THEN GO IN, WITH YOUR CHECKBOOK.

For my LS500 I was able to negotiate a 13.5% discount off MSRP including all fees (other than sales tax), plus the ADDITIONAL $2,000 because I do bank with Morgan Stanley. The negotiations were a nightmare. I was lied to by almost everyone, including one crook who tried to add AN ADDITIONAL $1700 IN FEES AT THE LAST MINUTE RIGHT BEFORE I DROVE OVER TO HIS DEALERSHIP! I really hate the entire process.

I could have saved more if I waited until December, but I was afraid the color/option combination I wanted might not be available if I waited until the end of the year. Back in 2013 when I bought my last LS, in December, I was able to get a 19% discount, including all fees, but that's because it was the end of the year and the factory rebates were better and the dealer was also more willing to take a lower profit at the end of the year. I don't know what a good discount is on an ES, probably a little lower than an LS since the car is less expensive and a little less profitable for the dealer to begin with. It's a miserable experience, but one you don't go through very often, and if you do it via phone or email you'll get a better deal than allowing them to wear you down at the dealership if you're foolish enough to put yourself in that position.

Good luck!

mikemu30

Oh yeah on the fees - I specifically told the sales over the phone that if there is $1 of additional fees tacked on when I get there, I'm walking. They tried that nonsense when we bought my wife's RX two years ago - $500 in paint protection. No thank you.

mrtrance

Any new updates from your dealers since it's getting close to end of the month? Have you been able to get better pricing?

Ltvscout

I went in and signed for my 2019 ES 350 Luxury in Atomic Silver w/Chateau interior yesterday. In the end I got an 11.4% discount of off of the $52286.00 MSRP before rebate. I pick it up tomorrow. I was very happy with the dealer in how they treated me throughout the whole process. Being a first time Lexus buyer I can say that I, "Experienced Amazing!" Heh The same can't be said for the local dealer I wanted to try to buy from to keep it local. I had to drive almost 100 miles to this dealer, but it was well worth it. The only option missing on it is the Triple Beam headlights, which even though they're outrageously priced I wanted for the coolness factor. Within 150 miles of here I haven't found one ES 350 Luxury with the Triple Beams. Most Luxury Hybrids have them along with the 3 or 4 Ultra Luxury ES 350's that are out there. That's the other thing I couldn't believe, almost no UL's around here. I'd have gone with that had there been one out there in the color combo I wanted. True, they do option up the Luxuries in our area to have all the same options as a UL, but I like the Semi-Aniline leather and wouldn't have minded the Lateral Performance Dampers.

I'm turning in my 2016 Avalon Limited which I'll miss because it really was (and still is) a great car. Someone is going to get a great vehicle since I take immaculate care of my vehicles. It still smells new inside!

I can't wait to pick up "Lexi" tomorrow though. If there are any lurkers reading this thread in the SE WI area looking to get a 2019, PM me and I'll tell you where I got mine and what dealers to avoid.

Scott