IRCRomeo

Am I getting the runaround?

I'm looking for a new ('06 or '07) IS 250 RWD black on black with the Navi/ML audio option, with a possibility of more options. One dealer told me it's impossible and Lexus doesn't make it, and another said since I live in PA they can only sell 250 AWD models.

Where can I find what I'm looking for?

Cali_Girl

Southern California!! I saw a black/black in Longo Lexus lot a few weeks back....I believe it was IS250 RWD. I've never seen a IS250 AWD.

supaIS350

you can get just about anything you want by special ordering.

IRCRomeo

By doing that, would I be stuck paying MSRP? Would there be any lee-way to haggle anything like 2% above invoice?

philly 250

May I ask where in PA you're looking? I just bought mine in the Philadelphia area, but I also looked in Lehigh Valley and Wilkes Barre, and they pretty much just asked me what I wanted, in detail, and told me if they didn't have it, they'll get it. After that, it was just a price war.

And if they can get it, you can haggle. There's certainly no written rule that you have to pay a certain price to get what you want.

jacattack

Hey Romeo,

I definitely recommend calling around to all the local area Lexus dealerships (and maybe even in neighboring states) to see if they have what you're looking for. I had the same issue (I was looking for a Blue/Black 350 with Lux/NAV/ML) where I was told by the first dealer I went to that Lexus did not ship that color combination with the packages that I wanted to anywhere on the West Coast. I checked with 5 other dealers in the area and they all came back with the same response. Then, I checked with a few more dealerships, and lo and behold, one of them had the exact car I wanted right on the lot! And this dealership was only 30 mins away! Needless to say, I drove up the same day to check it out for myself because I couldn't believe it after all the responses from the other dealerships. I lucked out because I guess my car was a special order and the guy backed out at the last minute so they had it on the lot for me!

Salespeople will say you can't get a certain car for a variety of reasons:

1) They don't have it in stock, and they want to make the sale today and get rid of the cars on their lot first, so they will try to dissuade you from what you really want because they can't get it for you today.
2) Sometimes they get allocated certain color combos that are most popular for that area and it is hard to get any other combo. However, that does not mean it cannot be special ordered or even traded with another dealership from a different area. They just have to be willing to do the legwork and maybe have to wait a few months for their commission, which is very hard for a salesman to do.

One note though is that with the 07s coming out soon, you will have less of a chance to special order an 06 (if any chance at all), but that doesn't mean that you can't shop around the other dealerships to see if they have the exact car you want. If you want to special order an 07, that would definitely be possible, but good luck getting a good price on it

The morale of the story is: Shop around! If you're paying 30k+ for something, it'd better be exactly the way you want it!

-jac

cmusic

The first Lexus dealer I went to said that IS250 RWDs did not exist. The sales manager said all 250s were AWD. The next day I went to another Lexus dealer and bought my 250 RWD.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

cant haggle on a special order as good as a car on the lot, id rather pay MSRP than settle for a car whos configuration is not to my liking

IRCRomeo

I agree. Do you know where I can special order an '07?

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

have to ask the dealer, proabably have you put down a 500 dollar deposit, and a 2+ month wait

Bichon

I don't know about the '07s, but for the '06 IS's, Mark Levinson was not available in any of the allocations for the Northeast region. Which means that your dealer won't have one on the lot, nor be able to trade for one with a local dealer. In our region, an '06 with ML was special order only.

Gtidan

Hello.........Newbie here.
I picked up our IS250, RWD from Newport Lexus this past Saturday. Out of perhaps 100 IS models on the lot, only THREE were IS250s.

Mine is a Tungsten Pearl version with the 18 inch wheels shod with Bridgestone RE050 tires, NAV, Spoiler, etc and a whole lot of other stuff you guys all know about. Have to say if ride is inportant to you your not going to like these tires. They thump a lot and ride 'hard'. However, I did find out tonight that they were pumped up to 41 PSI. The book calls for 35 in front and 37 in the rear. The ride improved some but not a lot. This is hard for this Mercedes guy to admit but this IS really sticks during my 'on ramp' tests. Now I'm hoping Lexus reliability is really what you guys all claim it to be. I'm glad to be on board...

I traded in a 2002 Mercedes C-230 Coupe with 41 thousand miles and nineteen service orders for every type of repair known to man. While my S/A was great I have to say service at my 'benz' dealer went from great to average Chevorlet in the four years.

I looking forward to learning more about my car by reading here and adding my 2 cents from time to time.

BTW: Noticing the little sticker on the window stating that this car is shod with 'high performance' tires and they may not last more then 15,000 miles lead me to sign up for their 'tires for life' program. One charge for 1,600 bucks and I'll never buy a set again or pay for balancing, etc. Sounds like a lot but when you price out 18 inch tires (the good ones) over the five to six years I plan on keeping the car I think I'll come out ahead.