grumpyer

I may be getting mine next week. What dealer was it?

15951

I just bought the EXACT car he's looking for, and paid substantially less than MSRP (for a special order, no less). Part of the "car buying experience" is not getting royally screwed by the dealer. If "many people have that problem", that just means the average consumer is getting smarter.

wreedz71

What dealership was it? Hopefully it was not Westside, i have been talking to them.

e-man

That's really too bad, Gonbad. Hey, like the other posters have said, if I were a salesman, I'd want to get top dollar for the car also. However, that being said, there's no need to be a pig about it. If a dealer can get MSRP for a car, that's fine -- the salesman should just politely say so and let the buyer decide whether he/she wants to pay it. That way, there's no hard feelings. And, what kind of salesperson hangs up on or otherwise mistreats a potential buyer? Does he/she really think that they'll be able to sell cars at MSRP forever? It's so stupid and short-sighted on his part. I bet the GM of the dealership would love to hear about it.

kensteele

Not sure why you feel I came to that conclusion. Specifically I was looking at the car he wanted. Yes, clearly not everything you want only comes at msrp.

So apparently someone else has purchased the same car he wanted and they didn't pay msrp....so maybe they share info and he gets his car.

My only ire about the conversation is everyone's insistance that prices are not driven by the market but instead by [smart] consumer behavior or [bad] dealership conduct. I disagree.

And the first thing that came out of my post is the dealership shouldn't have treated him that way. Not sure why anyone would think I supported rude behavior. Regardless how the dealership acted, you can't blame them for market conditions.

Edit: take a look at the poll in this forum. fully 18% of us paid msrp or above or just $500 below.

kensteele

Nobody feels that paying msrp is the normal/accepted part of the car buying experience and you improperly conclude that paying msrp = getting royally screwed by the dealer. didn't mean it that way at all. lot of assumptions made about my first post. This is what made me think the OP had a hard time with the car buying experience when he said "I just can't believe there are that many idiots in Houston not willing to shop around, or the average Lexus owner/buyer here in Houston has too much money to just take $3K's and throw it away. "

IS3FIDDY

Maybe you got a bad deal and are projecting your own anger, because I'm not sure who I am offending by saying I paid well below MSRP...

Um...I guess you're correct in that I'm "projecting my experience" but it's to say that a good deal lies out there somewhere. I think halfway smart shoppers use the lowest price you can get as the baseline for shopping (based on locale), don't you? Just look at all the posts out there saying "how much you paid for your 2IS...etc." Who in their right mind says "how close can I get to MSRP" if people have already had the question answered "how close can I get to Invoice?", especially if they're willing to fly anywhere in the country to get it? If I have gotten close to invoice, and I don't know anyone else's experience, then shouldn't gonbad want to find out if he can get a similar price to mine, or should he be happy with paying MSRP or even higher? If my experience in southern cal allows someone out of state who's willing to fly out here get a better deal, then that's to his/her benefit, don't you think?

You are correct in that I got Black on Cashmere instead of Black on Black, but I'm actually happier, since my wife's MDX is already Black on Black and I wanted a little change from the norm. I went into the purchase with these two color options, and If for any reason I couldn't get either, I would have waited until the right one came out, regardless of the availability.

IS3FIDDY

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that IS prices will continue to drop over time. Even when the '07 comes out, it will be relatively less than when the '06 came out. Over the course of the next 4 years--as great as this car is--the asking price (relative to any price increases, of course) will drop even more. The longer one waits, the better the deal, because no car is as hot 4 years later as when it first came out. It happens to every car, and this one will be no different. Now, I'm not saying that the IS sales are cooling off, per se, but moreso that the "maniacal" buyers have mostly gotten their IS's and the hype is sloooowly wearing off. It happens faster for some cars, and slower for others.

FYI, this buyer's poll contains results of people who purchased their IS 8 months ago when the car just came out and you even had to pay *above* MSRP.

Take it from someone who searched every--and I mean EVERY--dealer in Southern Cal (from Ventura to San Diego) for the best price. Yes, the car is hot, but since it came out, it's not as hard to get more competitive pricing than 6 months ago (relatively speaking). It's a simple case of supply and demand.

I think gonbad did a little research on this site and saw that many people nowadays are getting at least $500-1000 below MSRP and probably expected a similar deal (speculating). For me to hear that he's getting quoted MSRP when I bought my IS 1 month ago for much less does in fact seem to me like a crazy bad deal. Obviously, I have to take into account that he's in a different market than me, but if he's willing to fly anywhere in the US, I think that makes it all the more reason to shop around and leave that loco dealer behind. In my own search, I ran across some arrogant dealers as well, but in the end, I had the last laugh on this one...patience is a virtue...

al503

What is this world coming to? A business selling their products for what customers are willing to pay?

For all y'all saying selling the IS at MSRP is wrong, I just got 1 question:
If you owned a widget store and could sell all your widgets at your full asking price, would you sell it for any less?

I'll admit that I'm probably not the quickest on the uptake but what am I missing here? Screw it. I'm going to 7Eleven and I'm not leaving there without a 64 oz slurpee at 20% off. Whos' with me? Heck the cup and lid probably cost .15 to .20 and the slurpee itself probably cost .20. Can you believe they have the nerve to charge $1.59. Greedy B@stards.

evotolexus

People will pay up unti the amount they "personally" feel the price is greater than the value. We all paid the least amount possible, but were willing to pay up until a certain amount we "personally" felt that price outweighed the value of the car.

Basically, what people feel is reasonable is a personal opinion. To argue what someone is willing to pay for their car is senseless.

I'm sure we've all been told by someone that they would never spend the amount of money we spent on our cars, our rims, our suspension, our audio, car care products, etc....
Just the same as people don't believe on spending a lot of money on clothes, jewelry, computers, fancy restaurant, vacations, etc...
What people spend on whatever is a personal opinion on whether or not it's worth it.

Yes, there are dealers selling for less than MSRP if you shop around. Just like any business transaction, you have to shop around. Once again, it comes back to personal opinion and value. Is it "personally" worth your time & effort to shop around and contact dealers throughout the nation, worth waiting for the exact vehicle you want, worth dealing with shipping the vehicle from out of city/state, worth flying out to inspect the vehicle and drive it back, worth putting on X miles to drive it back, worth getting rock chips driving it back, worth dealing with out of state dealer, etc....

We've all made personal decisions that others would agree or disagree with. Like most things in life, it's all a matter of personal opinion.

Is it worth the amount of money you save off MSRP to shop around? To some it is and they shopped around and got a price off MSRP. To others it's not and they paid MSRP. Some probably even paid a mark-up fee over MSRP.

As far as the dealer, if you don't like their price then vote with your feet and take your business elsewhere. If they lose enough business because their prices are too high, then they'll definitely lower their prices. However, the demand dictates the price. As long as people are willing to pay MSRP, then that's what the dealer is going to sell if for.

Good luck in finding the vehicle that is at the right price for you!

kensteele

I can agree with that. I don't believe the next Lexus I buy will be at msrp because next time I won't have to try to be the first one with this car. I had heard that the 350s were in short supply so to me that means there may still be some msrp'er out there. The customer should pay whatever they are comfortable with and really shouldn't feel good or bad about their deal based on how well or how badly the next guy did. Anytime you base your happiness about your purchase on how well off (or not) the dealership made out on the deal, that's what I call having a problem with the buying experience, can't see the car but for the deal itself.

IS3FIDDY

Agreed...unfortunately, for a "frugal" shopper like me (how frugal can I be to buy an IS?), I can't stand it when I realize I could have gotten something for less elsewhere. I guess one could blame this forum for being such a great resource for Lexus-buying

But this country is the capital of capitalism, after all, and it's all about having choices as a consumer--there are 10 different sellers trying to sell you the same thing...so, why not buy from the one that gives you a great price and a great experience? It seems customer service goes the way of the dodo when sellers have the upper hand...but that's economics 101 for you...

Anyway, each to his own, and I hope everyone gets what they want at the cost that's acceptable to you!

dkaplan435

I got 2k off MSRP, in the Chicago area. If you want my salesmans info, send me an email.

Da e

Chi-town

The IS350 is a very hot car, esp during summer; its probably best to shop around a bit more, or wait until the colder/snowy months. +300hp rear-wheel drive and snow is a tough sell, no matter how you try to spin it!

gonbad

You just pinned the tail on the donkey or *** as the case may be.

My point behind this was I was expecting a different kind of purchasing experience from what I had heard to be very nice for this brand.

Now Kensteel I had done my homework and I am not inexperienced in the art of negotiating.

I have dealt with this kind of games before when I bought my Corvette and I was not surprised to be treated that way by a Chevy dealership. The ones here in Houston are notorious. One is called Landmark and is effectionately refered to as "Landshark" Chevrolet. Back in 1998 the C5 vette was in its first full year of production and hard to come by. Dealers here were charging $10K over sticker. It was sad.

I just figured with the internet and the ability to shop nationaly that Westside would be more reasonable. They aren't and that is fine I just don't appreciate the strong arm tactics. It is not needed and I am in no hurry.

So now I am back at looking for nice low milage 2003 M5. So now I am going to look outside of Houston. No big deal.