tucker21

i'm seriously embarrassed at how terrible i am at negotiating and buying cars.
first of all i have no patience so when i want something i want it right away.
second of all the dealers can see it on my face when i want the car and it really saps my leverage.

it also didn't help that there are so few GS430's for sale in california and this was the only one with the color combo i really liked (flint mica with ash interior).

dealer had it listed at 23,998 and it was 2hrs from my house so he knew when i drove all the way up there i most likely really wanted the car and wasn't just casually browsing (yes i know i'm stupid for telling him how long i drove but it was a small dealership and i had to make an appt and it came out during that convo).

anyways i obv tried to get him down but he flat out told me there was another buyer interested in the car and they had offered him 23K so he wasn't going to go any lower and wasn't really in a rush to sell.

obv i could've called his bluff, however i really got an honest vibe from him ( i had been to a bunch of other actual lexus dealers and gotten really scummy vibes from the sales managers i talked to. the one at lexus of serramonte flat out lied to my face. i think i'm a pretty good judge of character and i for some reason really trusted this guy).

so after it was all said and done i got the car for 23,500 + tax and fees.

i'm super happy with the car i absolutely love how it looks and its a dream to drive so i don't feel all that bad its just so embarrassing to buy a used car and pretty much pay the asking price within an hour of test driving it.

there are a few blemishes i need to address, small rock chip on front hood (barely noticable) some slight curb rash on one of the wheels, very minor tear in the upholstery (any one know a good upholster in the bay area that might be able to fix it?) but other then that its in great condition and fully loaded.

i'll post pics tomorrow.

i know there was no point to the post but it made me feel better to get it out.
if anyone else out there is as much of a fish when it comes to car buying please share it will make me feel better!

cheers.

tucker21

is it considered cheating to post pics the dealer had on his site?
i only have crappy cell phone camera so i know these are going to be better quality.

i have some small mods in mind which i'll obv take pics of when they're done.

TCKeyz

Congrats on the car, if it makes you feel better, I just bought a 2007 GS450H back in February this year and the askig price was $25,999, at the end, I got the car down to $25,499 (this is in Canada). I put the deposit down on the car before test driving it and I flew out to another province and drove 1000km home in winter condition, took me 3 days. After all, I was very happy with my purchase. I also had tear leather that I got fixed from a Lexus dealer for about $200 (3 holes). And the front bumper is full of rock chips from Canadian winter so it will be repainted. Your car looks great! Btw aren't these hybrid version wheels?

tucker21

nice glad there are others out there like me!
no idea what kind of wheels they are but i love em!

glad to hear the lexus dealer can fix the seats ty for the tip!

bigblack06

iTrader: (20)

Wow, if you decide as your first mod to change those rims, I'm calling dibs. Looks good, but yeah that sounds more like a tactic to get you to buy the car, honestly you could have walked out the door and they would have stopped you. Its all a game when purchasing a car in my mind cause you always have to try to swindle them before they swindle you. Congrats though!

M K S

Congrats, the car looks really good. All in all, that's not too bad of a price considering what some dealers are asking for them.

M K S

Oh, and those wheels look really good with the color of the car.

Roe

iTrader: (10)

I feel your pain. I'm the same way. This is why I have to take my wife with me when looking at cars.
She is an absolute Ice-Queen when it comes to negotiating cars.

Car looks great though, congrats.

L8Apex

First - That car looks AMAZING. Very unique, those wheels are only sold with the hybrid. and like others have commented, the painted spokes look hot.

2nd- 23,5 inst a bad price. You weren't taken to the cleaners

3rd. Was it within your budget and exactly what you wanted? If so, you would be upset with your self walking away from the deal. And if there really was a 2nd buyer, as your gut told you.That extra $500 spent would look like chump change.

430s are rare, the ash combo is also rare and one of the best looking IMO. I waited 2 months to find the color combo. Those rims are super rare. I think you got a fair deal.

tucker21

thanks guys!

you know i didn't have a single regret after making the purchase and driving it home.
then a buddy who is like mr. professional negotiator started telling me all the things i did wrong, but you know what who gives a ****.

maybe i could've saved $10-20 a month over the course of the loan big whup.

i literally had been looking at cars for 3months and this was the first one i fell in love with so i wasn't going to play games and risk it.

i think had i not gotten such a good vibe from the salesmen (who owned the dealership) i might've walked on principle but i felt like the price was fair and i was going to be miserable if someone else got it.

and the major reason for that was i thought the color combo + wheels was the best i had ever seen on a GS!

glad to finally be done being a lurker here and actually join the community!

i have learned a ton here the past few months and you all have been really awesome answering questions, sharing info, and being supportive so big ty to all of you.

cheers.

oh ps: the mods i'm planning on so far are mostly aesthetic, i want to lightly smoke the tail lights (leaving the reverse lights alone) paint the front grill the body color and the chrome window trim black to blend in with the windows (i really don't like chrome look heh).
also going to smoke the rear emblems to match the body color.

also going to replace the shifter with a matching one from the LS600, throw some nice lexus aluminum sport pedals on and prolly get a nice tasteful exhaust.
oh also thinking of doing a full HID conversion of front lights with full LED conversion of remaining lights and then throwing a very subtle roof spoiler on.

oh and of course going to put a vaistech unit in so i can play the ipod.

other then that i can't think of anything immediate i plan to do besides get a nice full detail.

i'll def throw some pics up once i get the mods done!

cheers.

NickL

That's a great looking car.
If you've been looking for car for over 3 months, then it's time to sign the dotted line and get it over with. Car shopping and negotiating is the most inconvenient process of car ownership. I hate it!
I shop for 2 weeks and call that's it, I'm getting one. The 2-3K is really not that worth is over the life time of the car. If you're keeping the car for 5+ years, it's a wash. Just go with your heart and use a bit of your head and be happy.

greyhndfan

not bad.. I think it's priced pretty well ..

Teddy350

Car looks great and yes that was a good price. How many miles on it?

tucker21

80K miles.

getting the tail lights smoked tomorrow a light gray to match the color of the car.

will throw some pics up once its done.

Teddy350

Great job! Congrats