patnic517

So I am completely new to Lexus, but I want a 7th Gen ES350. Love the grille. Love the look. But I also love a good deal. I am up in the air regarding lease vs own...

So is it worth waiting until the December to Remember event?

lesz

The Lexus December to Remember event typically starts in early to mid November. There is no question that incentives, including both advertised rebates and unadvertised incentives to dealers, are significantly better in that November-December time period than what they are during the summer Golden Opportunity sales event. However, you need to consider that, if you wait until the end of the calendar year to buy a new car, any car that you might be trading in at that time will be worth less than what it is worth now. So, that reduced trade-in value is likely to reduce the net savings that you might otherwise realize by waiting until the end of the year to buy a new car. Also, if you buy a 2019 ES in November or December, you will be buying a "last year's" model whose value will already have realized a year's worth of depreciation. Or, if you buy a 2020 ES in November or December, even with any incentives that are associated with the December to Remember event, don't expect to get the same discounts from MSRP that you would be getting on a 2019 now.

The bottom line is that there are trade-offs involved with buying a new car at various times during the year. My thinking has been that it makes sense to buy a car when I need/want to buy a new car, and what is more important than the time of the year is to do your research and do whatever you can to get dealers competing with each other for your business. In today's auto market, the best way to get dealers to compete with each other is, instead of actually going to dealers, using the internet to get the internet sales departments of dealers to compete with each other. Not only does that method motivate dealers to make their best offers, but it also allows you easily to figure out where the pricing floor is in the current market.

jaygee1

I acted now to maximize my trade value and take advantage of the .9% financing which ends at the end of July. I believe the financing deals will be offered again at the end of the year.

i agree that getting as many dealers bidding for my business was the best way to find the best deal on top of the financing.

patnic517

Thank you very much!

TechNut

I might also add that there is better selection of colors/options in the 2019s right now. That is partially why I decided to pull the trigger right now - since the dealer found the combo I was looking for at another dealership. Wait until December and you may be forced to shop the 2020 models if you are particular about colors. Obviously, this could impact incentives as well as MSRP. As Les already said, there are various trade offs to Golden Opportunity versus December to Remember purchases.

patnic517

I think you are right. Bonus - I get my vehicle sooner than later.

Drluv16

Just purchased so while it is fresh...my lexus dealer had a rebate option. 2500 I believe. So taking the rebate and using a credit union to finance was far more beneficial than lexus golden opportunity financing.

jaygee1

You must’ve gotten a great rate from your credit union. It was a better deal to go 0.9 % and forgo the rebate for me. Guess that’s why they offer both. Enjoy your new ES, I’m loving mine!

mikemu30

That's generally the way the math works.

jaygee1

Mike, to go with the rebate or financing?

mikemu30

Usually a low manufacturer APR will work better than the rebate and your own financing.

RichardNJ

I want to trade my 2010 ES in for a 2020. Unfortunately, I wasn't real impressed with the offers right now. I thought the next big sale event was the Golden Opportunity, but hear Lexus has another "big" sale in March. That correct?

Ken7

For NY buyers the 2019 ES300h gets you a clean pass, but the 2020 doesn’t. A drop of 1mpg on the 2020s was all it took to drop the ES300h out of the clean pass eligibility.

wasjr

Right now should be the best time to buy as dealers are trying to hit their year end incentive targets. Unless your dealer happens to be no where near his target.

STLLEXUS

Your best deal for a 2020 will be Dec event in Nov-Dec 2020. The deals 0n 2020 ES are actually not to bad right now but the 2019's which is basically the same exact cars is very good.