Evitzee

You got that right. I wanted NAV/ML and Sport package but Houston dealers said 'We don't get IS' with those options'. But one dealer had my eventual car sitting on the showroom floor. It had XM, ground effects, G-Spiders and other stuff. They had done a swap with a Colorado dealer and had it trailered down to Houston. Full MSRP was $49 large which must put it at the tippy top of the IS pyramid from a cost standpoint. Anyway, it's exactly what I was looking for and ended up driving it home that afternoon. At first I was disappointed with the black interior and metallic trim (thought I wanted cashmere and wood) but now I wouldn't have it any other way. The black and metallic fits the performance aspect perfectly, imo.

Technique

OMG, thank god you didn't do cashmere + wood... That's the total opposite of sport... Black + metallic is the ultimate sport look...

Irishfan

Right, luxury package, park assist, etc. Anyway, to the point of this thread, a 350 optioned as the OP wants seems to be easy to come by in the Chicago area. It may be worth the time to work out a deal via phone with someone outside of Texas, I know the IS doesn't move as quickly here as it does in other parts of the country, and you could drive it yourself or ship it for ~1.5K.

Buds

Riva, I would be curious to see how this turns out. I am also shopping at Park Place and considering a special order since I want ML, but I don't plan on making my purchase for another two months or so.

I haven't had a chance to go to Sewell Lexus down on Lemmon and Mockingbird, but I am going to try and get over there.

Keep us posted.

Technique

You are going to special order, which is 4 months of waiting. Are you going to place your order in two months or so? Or are you planning to buy and take delivery of the car in two months?

Buds

I am planning on placing the order in two months. Just when my CD reaches maturity.

Technique

Why not place the order now? You don't pay for the car until it arrives in 4 months...

Buds

Mostly because I don't want to finance my car and most of my "new car" savings are tied up in several CD's. One matures in December and the other "big" one matures the first week of March. So ideally I'd like to have my car in March so I can pay for it all at once.

Technique

Order now, get it in January, pay whatever you can in cash, get a car loan for the rest, pay off the loan in 2 months (March). 2 months of interest won't kill you

OK, I'm through pressuring you now

Buds

Lol. I can't tell you how hard it's been to be patient! Ever since I took my first test drive and especially since I found this forum, I've had that itch to buy it right away.

knolex2001

Depending on the dealer, it's usually easier to get a bigger discount on an ordered car than a lot car because they will sometimes view them as "bonus cars", and the profit is so many months away, they'll take a smaller deal. But a 3-4 month wait sucks!

Your best bet is to find a dealer with at least 3-10 of the 350's or 250's you want, and work with them, paitently, until you get $2000 - $2500 off. Another dealer may beat that by a couple hundred bucks, but nothing signifigant.

wushuboy

what do you guys think of this price on a special order? I can get a 2k discount off msrp. Do you guys think this is a good deal?
44800 - 2000 = 42800
+tax and lic = 46900 total

Let me know if i shoudl act on this

This is for an smg IS350 sports ML with Parking assist

jman-is350

How long do you have to wait on your special order car?

wushuboy

i am guessing 3-4 months like everyone else.

Riva

Hey Buds...It seems like Park Place Lexus in Plano won't get the Sport Package anytime soon but they do get the Luxury Package. I've opted to go for Luxury since that's common over in Dallas.

I also got in contact with Sewell Lexus near Love Field and was told that they have Luxury Packages available, too. I'll have to check out both dealers, but it seems to me that the Sewell Lexus dealer will have what I want sooner.