Midi

I have met with all dealers within 100 miles. We checked current and future inventories for the next few months and nothing meeting my base requirements will be available.

I just located a vehicle that I would put an offer on that is 230 miles away and across state lines (NY/PA).

I am looking for advice. Is this just a bad idea? Any less than obvious things to consider if I drive down there with intentions to buy? My current vehicle would be a trade.

What about working with my local dealer? Would they bring the car here and sell it to me as if theirs? The PA dealer is offering a fair discount. Will my local dealer want full MSRP? I don't mind paying a little extra particularly if there are additional benefits I have not thought of, however, it is only a five hour drive and likely an over night to get it myself.

I know I am asking alot of questions, but finally, is it bad for the vehicle to drive 5 hours on expressways when it is brand new? I thought I read it needs 600 miles of causal driving for a break in period. Thanks.

Moisture

600 miles is only enough to break in your brakes and tires, that's about it.

The engine takes somewhere in the tune of 3000 miles to break in, and the transmission takes even longer.

You can drive a brand new car on the highway, but if possible, I would avoid doing so. The best way to break in a new engine is by driving in the city (varying your RPM's, making sure you do not rev past 3000 RPM unless absolutely necessary.

I think I would rather pay extra if anything and buy a car locally. Save yourself the trip.

carsareus

I was also looking into doing this and was watching inventory using cars.com. The biggest downside for me was the out of state cars not having California emissions. Even though they have the normal 50 state emissions I'm reading about peoples problems getting them to pass.

Midi

I found this article from Edmund's to be interesting regarding California emissions. Seems other states try to align with them including NY & PA where I am looking. I am hoping for me this is a non issue.

https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/s...state-car.html

TechNut

I believe the manual states the break-in period is 1000 miles, during which time you should avoid steady speeds and hard braking. I’m doubtful that expressway driving would be a problem so long as you follow those rules - and probably not an issue even if you ignored the break-in guidance. Many members here would advise you to deal with their internet sales person/team to ensure a negotiated price before you arrive. They feel that once you enter the dealership you have given up control. I am not sure I totally agree with that but I understand their point and it certainly makes sense. Just some food for thought.

Moisture

It's not a problem, but its not optimal break in conditions either.

1000 miles is not enough for a new drivetrain.

Doing sustained high speed driving or revving your engine to high RPM repeatedly in a short period of time, or doing so often while forcefully break in engine components resulting in increased oil consumption, decreased performance and fuel economy, as well as compromise long term engine health.

dklanecky1

Probably obvious, but IMO, unless you can work up a final deal price, and get all the completed paperwork e-mailed / Fedexed to you ahead of your travel time, and a deposit made to lock up the car/ contract, you risk being at a serious disadvantage in the purchase process simply because you've already traveled to the dealer to pick up the car.

Let's say the dealer has a "package" of miscellaneous "extras" (paint protection, nitrogen, VIN etching, etc) and they refuse to sell you the car unless you pay for those items that are "already" on the car. Now what? Do you go home empty handed, or do you cave and simply pay them the extra fees.

A long distance purchase can certainly be done, but you need to be a bit more vigilant in the process.

Good Luck!

lesz

Absolutely. In fact, before you go to any dealer, whether local or more distant, it can be a good practice to have done your negotiations via email and phone and to have everything locked in before you set foot in any dealership. Doing so allows you to motivate the dealers to be more competitive with regard to pricing. Until you set foot into the dealership, you maintain maximum control over the negotiations process. Once you set foot into the dealership with the intention of negotiating there, you have turned over much of the control over the process to the dealership.

lancecov

Hi. One other thing to consider is sales tax (if you buy out of state). Some states (e.g. Maryland) have no reciprocity agreements with other states and will make you pay the entire sales tax. For example, if you are a Maryland resident and buy a car in Florida, you will pay the full sales tax twice!

Midi

Thank you for all the good insights. Unfortunately it seems like I fell prey to a dealer dupe. The car I had found was a dealer transfer that was presold before it even arrived. However, the dealer still chose to advertise it online. They even provided a quote and contacted me to start the negotiation. Possibly there is an innocent explanation but they did not seem apologetic for the misinformation, wasting my time, and raising my hopes.

Anyway, I have scoured the country looking for a Black on Black ES 350 with a Mark Levison which seems rarer than a unicorn.

As an FYI for those doing special orders (and take it with a grain of salt), I contacted Lexus directly trying to gain insight into the production schedule. When I stated I did not want to wait four months to "special" order (My "special" seems like a fairly standard UL or Lux in Black). I was told that the ES 350 is in greater demand than anticipated and that a recent special order just shipped after eight months. The agent went on to say buyers should anticipate 6-8 months for delivery on a factory order for the ES 350.

I am curious if you were unable to buy your version of a ES 350 then what would you look at next in this price range?

mikemu30

Avalon?? Or I would find one somewhere in stock that was to my liking.

bc6152

I totally agree with this. First off, I would not place a S.O. for any car, and dealing long distance, as previously stated, can be a can of worms. I can't help but think that somewhere out there a car is waiting for you. May not be EXACTLY what you want but hey, sometimes one has to make a compromise to come out ahead of the game... I'd keep looking and checking around and I think you'll find something satisfactory... An example that I can cite would be my purchase of a 2019 UL 350 with triple LED headlights. I was dead set against buying (and paying for) the triple headlights but took a vehicle that had them because it had everything else I wanted. Well I'm here to tell you that they are superior illumination for these old eyes and I'm happy that I got them...

Whatever you decide to do I wish you GOOD LUCK and hope you find the car for you...

dklanecky1

No idea exactly what your looking for, or where your located, but there are some really strong deals on the top of the line Avalon Limited right now. Just an example:

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ckType=listing

This one is ~11.7% off MSRP, without any discussions.

Good luck!

mikemu30

+1 on the triple beams. I didn't want them either and now wouldn't be without them.

carsareus

My last car (2016 Corvette Z06) was ordered out of state and I had no problems. In fact in the Corvette forums this is a VERY common practice and done all the time with very few problems. These people are some of the pickiest people you will ever meet when it comes to cars so if there were any issues I would have read about it. Honestly some of the people here are blowing this out of proportion. Obviously things could go wrong, but if you buy from a reputable dealer and decent transport company its likely you will be fine. Even talking to the Lexus dealers in the last few days, they are telling me they ship cars out of state all of the time. If I'm spending over $50K on a car I want to get it exactly the way I want without compromise.