bunka

LeslieRC - Thanks for the info but your example is one of the ones that appears to be at least a little mis-leading. You said you paid $1,000 over invoice but invoice on yours "should" have been around $44K even. $44K + $1K would equal $45K before the extended, tag, etc. Seems more like you paid $2,833 over invoice rather than the $1,000 over you stated earlier. Still a good deal at the time but no where near the $1,000 over invoice. Did I miss something here?

westwood

Bunka and Leslie:

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased a 9700G Build GX470 with all options, including Nav/MLS,
RSES, KDSS, roof rack, stainless steel exhaust tip, preferred package, rear spoiler, towing receiver,
towing kits with ballmount, and so on. All factory installed, no dealer option.
The MSRP is $53,688, and I paid $47,254; that is $6,434 off MSRP, or $600 over the dealer invoice.
Of course, the deal was made in greater LA area, where dealer competition is higher.
However, it was not easy to get a GX470 fully optioned with KDSS and with the color that
I wanted at the time, since the inventory was very low
(only 3 KDSS at the time of my purchase in LA, and only one GX with KDSS &
the exact color of my choice). The dealer service was superb.
There is also a considerable amount of tax saving, thanks to the
SUV tax break.

I concur with Bunka.
It appears that Leslie paid $3,000 off MSRP (or nearly $4,000 over dealer invoice)??
Still a good price for a great SUV!!
Or perhaps I am missing something here as well??

In any event, enjoy the new 2004 or 2005 GX! It is a great SUV; I love it.

Westwood

LeslieRC

Re: Did you miss something here.
My research indicated that "invoice" for the GX was $45K and some change; thus, my saying that I paid $1K over invoice. Whether others' research indicates otherwise, I can't say and won't comment further. As with all negotiations, whether one feels that they got a good deal is a purely subjective thing. My GX has everything except the rear entertainment system and I am satisfied with the deak that I got.

bunka

Westwood - Sounds like you got a good deal on a nice truck. I built yours on Kelly and came up with an MSRP of $53,575 (close enough for government work) but with a dealer Invoice of $46,009. So your over dealer invoice figures appear to have the same "built in" $629 (or so) figure that most Lexus dealerships are claiming as part of their "Invoice". In fact, it's more likely an additional profit the dealers have been instructed to add and then "refer to" it as part of the dealer cost. This is also what makes tracking TRUE dealer cost difficult. In the end comparisons off MSRP seem to be the only way to equalize the playing feild so that we are all talking apples to apples. In any case, it sounds like you got a good deal. I did have a quote on one like yours (fully loaded) for $47,900 (and even getting them to do that was quiet difficult).

westwood

Hi Bunka:

Thanks for your comments. Your analysis appears to be correct.
The MSRP was exactly $53,688.
It is a common practice for Lexus dealers to charge around $600 to cover ad costs and so on.
They often add that $600 to the so-called "dealer invoice" price.
I knew their practice before I bought my GX, but it was not possible to take off the $600 add-on to the dealer invoice.
I am very happy with the deal, at $6,434 off MSRP for a fully loaded GX with every option, including KDSS.
It was hard to get one as the inventory was quite low. I have been very pleased with the SUV so far.
The considerable tax saving makes it even better!!

Regards,

Westwood

lexguynj

I'd have to agree to get that kind of discount off an 04 is a great deal! Congrats again!

water

A word of caution to the value shoppers on '04 GX470's.......................

I had been looking at the GX470 for the last 9 months. I waited to see what the '05's looked like before moving forward. The 35hp and blue tooth weren't enough relative to 3rd row and year end deals.

I started shopping in earnest in late November. Visited 4 dealers in the DC/VA/MD area and got a sense of current '04 inventory and those coming during December. I had all of my research, my financing in from my credit union in hand, no trade...simple straight forward and looking to get a great deal. I first started talking price at $500 over invoice as several posts referred to deals happening at that level. 2 sales people dropped to $2,000 under MSRP, tried to get me to value the third row that they weren't being charged for and after an hour of back and forth, essentially refused to continue negotiations. I left. The other 2, aware that I was serious with check book in hand, cut fairly quickly to a price of $4,500 under MSRP (about $2,200 over invoice) and effectively said take it or leave it. I left both dealers after trying to work them down. Neither called me back over a 10-day period.

In the mean time, I got more serious about my other options. I test drove the VW (small and cheap feeling...also dealership was dank) and the LR3 (tall and sloppy - interior was outstanding and the third row is best in class but hway drive was crazy). Discouraged....

....I stopped back into the 2 Lexus dealers that had me at $4,500 under MSRP and spoke with the salespeople. Not only had they both sold existing inventory (4 trucks each) during the 10-days, one only had 2 incoming trucks left and the other had 4. They both tried aggressively to start talking an '05 to me at $1,000 - $2,000 under MSRP so I was looking at over $5,000 price differential between '04 and '05 (3rd row seat, price increase and lower discount).

In talking with them (they were both good guys), they explained that they didn't need to mark the '04's down, they were selling themselves and the last year of tax breaks was a factor. They both independently told me that Lexus heavily discourages price undercutting amongst dealers in a region (it kills resale value). They stopped short of saying that the price fix was on but it was clear that the two had not independently reached the $4,500 under MSRP and stopped.

I tried getting each of them to even move down $500 more and they again let me walk out of the show room check book in hand. After a gut check of facing a spend of $5k more for the xtra HP and blue tooth, I sucked it up and visited the more accomodating of the two. He also had the truck closest to my choice (Ash Blue, Nav/ML, Spoiler, Preferred Package and Hitch). MSRP = $50,650 including destination/freight. I paid $46,150 all in (w/o taxes, license). I figured his cost was around $44k. So I ended up $4,500 under MSRP and about $2,200 over invoice.

Other Regions of the country may be different in terms of dealer motivation and inventory, but you run a risk trying to get the deals that are mentioned in this post. When 4 dealers let a qualifed buyer with check book in hand leave the show room (not once but several times), they are either crazy or don't need to sell at the price you are asking. In either case, time is ticking, there are buyers out there and stock is declining. These $500 over invoice deals may be out there in different parts of the country or may possibly be there on December 30th - but the risk is they might not be or you get stuck with an option package/color that doesn't excite you and who needs to spend $50k on a compromise?

Good luck. Oh, by the way - the GX470 - sweet ride. Tighter drive than I thought (especially in sport suspension mode) and extremely quiet. Better build overall than my X5 and much nicer cabin. Not quite as limber as the X5 but I also don't expect it to be in the shop as much.

davidc1

Great post! I consider your deal still very good. In my area, there weren't many '04s that wasn't already spoken for. I think you'll have to go to places like Arizona where 4wd vehicles are not selling as well to get a crazy deal. I chose to go with the '05 since it didn't appear to me that I could get an '04 with KDSS. I too considered the LR3 and a few others but Lexus track record ultimately brought me back.

jeremysm

Arizona usually only has terrible deals here. I had to goto California to get mine and ship it. From my experience and reading the posts it seems that Florida and California have the most competition and best deals.

Congrats to all--the GX is so nice whether its the '04 or '05!

whazzup

Water

Good job on getting the best deal possible. It sounds as if you cut out all the fat from the deal.

For everyone else who has yet to buy, I had the fortune of getting a dealer to commit to an insane price on a base model. They did it by email, but they were 2 hours away. So I printed out the email and brought it to my "local" dealer. I know a parts guy there and a service guy, so I offered them the option of winning over my business. They balked, but ultimately bit, and I picked up my GX a few hours later. The secret was to go to all the online buying services (autobytel, invoice cars, etc) and letting them bid for your business. Some of what I used is here:

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/

The other key is to remember that Lexus vehicles are in demand. They are great cars, well made and generally a good long-term value (if a bit pricey upfront). The average Lexus deal apparently has a minimum of $3-4K dealer profit, including finance charges, holdback and trades. If they can't get at least that from you, then they may not sell you the car. That may be what happened to you. In my case, I also financed a good part of the deal and traded a car in. On the trade, I lost a little (not much). [Truthfully, my purchase was independent of the trade, and I was ready to walk on the trade part of the deal]. I figure that, with the trade, they made their minimum profit. And that's OK because as much as I want to get a great deal, they need to make a profit to stay in business.

davidc1

So what was the deal? How insane was it? Inquiring minds wanna know.

GX4Life

I have been following the clublexus forums for 2 months now, and I am officially a new member. I just purchased an '04 GX, Ash Blue,ML, Nav, Back-up cam, RSpoiler, 3rd row. Final figure: 44,466. Supposed to be 1,500 over cost. so I jumped on it. Dont know the exact MSRP but its roughly 50K according to my agent. What you guys think? Can't wait to put xenons and tints!

gs400jon

The window sticker has the MSRP figures on the base, options and total.

nyc11370

2005 GX with NAV, 3rd Row, Spoiler, Preferred Package (Mandatory Setup)

MSRP w/ Destination $52,338
Invoice $45,091
Holdback $916

Dealer Actual Cost $44,175
+ $3000 Dealer Margin = $47,175

We should be able to get this setup at about $47k which already accounted the $3000 dealer margin. Don't expect able to get it right now, go buy it in JAN/FEB month end the slowest two months.

Thanks

worldcat

WATER, Where did you buy your GX 470?