Hey everyone. I am in need of a new car and my uncle, who works for a car transportation company, highly recommended lexus. I had never really considered a lexus, but did some research and love the ES sport. I test drove one this weekend and am in love. With the virus, we did not sit down after to discuss terms, I informed the salesman to send me more info via email. Any tips? Appreciate it!

 

A great model. Mechanically very reliable, so a three year old car coming off lease and sold as CPO (certified) has additional warranty and is in very good condition (not perfect) for much less than a new car. If you go to lexus.com and click on certified in the upper right corner, you can do a search of CPO cars anywhere in your state or in the country.

 

SWFLA: I think the poster is interested in the 7th generation ES (2019-2020). Only thing with a three-year old model is that it is not the most recent model. I traded my 2014 ES350 (2nd year of the 6th generation) for my current 2020 ES350 (2nd year of the 7th generation). Only had the 2020 for a few weeks but so far it is far better than the 2014 in every area. IMHO Lexus made a terrific car great.

 

While model did you get? How much off did you get MSRP?

 

Being a new generation, it does need to prove itself with time. Of course being made aware that previous versions are reliable might be helpful. Being that he said he never considered Lexus, maybe he would benefit from becoming aware of CPO program. Of course strictly speaking, you're right, he wants the newest model. In keeping with that , I can recommend that he do his negotiating online with internet sales dept amongst several dealers and if he's a Costco member, some Lexus dealers give a no haggle discount to those members. I've found over the years that sometimes the next town over has better pricing than my home town and vice-versa. Be open to driving a couple of hours if saving a thousand is appealing. I'd also recommend driving one with ML stereo and one with standard premium sound. That's a big deal to some members. Also, my last ES had Nuluxe upholstery and I found I liked it better than the leather. Happy shopping.

 

The ES350 UL. Only about 7% because I ordered the UL back in November. But I also got in trade an amount above the usual trade-in price that was very roughly equivalent to getting another 3% off MSRP. I'm fine with the price since I got exactly what I wanted in color and accessories. I know that car sales are down, but with the Kentucky plant closed (mine was built 2-3 days before they closed) I would think it's almost impossible now to get a model with nearly all of what ones wants.

 

https://www.lexusofdayton.com/new/LE...d6d3e3eebb.htm

That is the model I really would like. i test drove it on friday at a local dealership and loved it. The dealer sent me the figures today, which are essentially the price listed. How does one haggle pricing on a car, specifically over email? What is a good, realistic number to shoot for in negotiations? I appreciate the input

 

The way to internet shop is to contact 2-4 dealer reps. that have in stock the exact model and options you want. You're comparing apples to apples other than color being different. Ask each rep for their best out the door price with a breakdown of the total figure. Let them know you're shopping for the best price from several dealers and that you're ready to buy now. This won't work if you're tire kicking and not ready to buy. Many feel that the last 4-5 days of the month are best as dealers have monthly bonus goals and your sale may be the one they need to get that bonus number even if it means giving you a lower price than normal. Hope this works for you. UL is nice.

 

Thanks. Both salesmen from two different lexus dealers seem firm thus far. I guess I'll keep at them

 

Is one asking less than the other? Have you tried any dealers outside of Dayton? I don't know how to make them come down other than compete against each other. I don't imagine there are lot's of UL models around, that would mean they fetch a premium price. Supply and demand.

 

1) Set your expectations.
You need to know what you want down to a list, whens your purchase timeline, and how far you want to go geographically to get a ES.

2) Figure out whose got what you want and how many similar vehicles exist in your geographically area you set in #1.

3) Figure out your finances, and then figure out whats best for you lease (figure out the money factor and residual for your zip at edmunds), purchase, purchase with Lexus Financial or external finance.

4) Once you have that solid, Send out a simple email to the dealers who hold the vehicles you are interested in requesting the following pertinent information
a) Build Sheet for that vehicle
b) Current Odo for the vin
c) Out the door price to your registration zip code.

5) From there you can either go with the best deal, or ask them to match/beat.

Thats it.

 

I have contacted four different lexus dealers within 100 miles of where I live. Still waiting on a response from two

 

You're doing a good job with contacting dealers. I think the issue is that you want ES UL pkg F Sport. While I haven't shopped for this model, my guess that any given dealer might have 1-3 in inventory, a rare top of the line combination. They may even be hard to get as a custom order with the car economy dipping. I do believe that different parts of the country tend to get more than others. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I just went to lexus main site and tried to build a car. You can either have a Luxury model or an F sport but not together. You can add options and packages. In the link you posted, it was an F sport, and in an earlier post you said you wanted UL. Lexus doesn't even call it UL, just Luxury. For you to be successful with a dealer, you need to know what is available and decide exactly how you want it optioned. Is it possible the other two dealers who wrote back are thinking you haven't done your research and can't find what you want? If you go to their sites and look at their inventory, ask for a specific stock number, best price. Maybe I'm wrong and you've done all your research and know all this.

 

I appreciate your input. I dont recall stating that I wanted the luxury model, just the F sport. So far all four dealers have given me a basic dealer discount ~1-2k, which is then covered up by taxes/fees. The financing price is therefore 47-48K roughly.... what is a good number to shoot for?