dltv

First off i would like to say I've been reading articles here for about 1 month and gathering info about peoples POVs and such. First off this would be my first "new" car that i plan to buy. Probably will be purchasing sometime near December and by then I'll be 24 years old.

For the thread that ask what everyone does for a living, i can answer that with I am a
"Purchasing Analyst" and work for a very large international electrical distributor in the Dallas area.

My questions for IS 350 owners are:

What average rate of insurance can i expect to pay for 100/300k insurance policy given my age "24" and clean driving record/no accidents+ any recommendations on who offers the cheapest reliable insurance? Did someone say Geico hehe.

Second question would be what price should i anticipate on paying with the following options the only necessities im looking for? The more real life examples you can provide would be awsome.

Base IS350 with 18inch Rims and HED headlights.

Those are really the only things that i want. Everything else i can live without considering the car i have been driving from age 16 is a 1996 Jeep cherokee with manual door locks and manual windows. It's a barebone Jeep - which all jeeps should be. So anything and everything should feel better to drive and ride better then it does. Also a quick note i don't plan to do a trade-in i will sell my Jeep on my own or... at carmax etc. I was hoping to get the IS350 with those options for 31,500
am i dreaming?

3rd Questions Would be where in the Dallas Area or TX for that matter should i consider getting the best price? If i can buy the car for less in Houston/Austin then im all for taking a road trip.

combfilter

iTrader: (3)

your thread will probably get moved to the southwest region, which not many people read.

not sure about your insurance. I have USAA which no one can screw with.

Price will be a lot cheaper by dec. You will also have more options. like the new g37. You might end up liking it better. It did dyno pretty good.

Here is what I can say about where to buy. (these are my experiences only so others don't ***** about my opinions)

1. park place grapevine can suck my ****. they were un willing to work with me nor take me serious as a buyer.
2. sewell of ft.worth can also suck my ****. they were total jerks and just all around rude
3. SEWELL dallas - Were freaking GREAT! It was a very easy purchase, they are really nice to you there. their service department is cool as hell. they have super hot chics working in the service dept. and what i liked is they got me in and out without all the boochit or scams. I paid a fair price for my 350 at the time.

taylorjste

welcome to the club! im from the DFW area and i bought my is350 almost exactly a yr ago.. ill try to answer your questions..

as far as insurance goes.. i had state farm when i first bought my car, at that time i was 22 yrs old and paying about $1050 every 6 months for 100/300k, full coverage.. i changed to geico a month later and now im paying about $890 every 6 months for the same coverage.. the caveman was right!

im not quite up to speed on selling prices of is350's right now.. i do know that they are still in pretty high demand in this area.. from what ive seen, all of the 350s that end up on the lot have at least the premium package.. ive seen more w/ nav than without.. imo, youre not gonna find a base is350 unless it was a special order that someone bailed on

i bought my car from park place in grapevine.. i was totally satisfied w/ the overall experience.. they took care of me.. pm me if you want more info

taylorjste

comb..

didnt you buy from sewell?? it through me off when you mentioned the hot chics working.. bc i bought from park place grapevine and.. well..

combfilter

iTrader: (3)

haha taylor thanks for catching that. I went back and corrected it.

btw, i mail ordered my wheels

yeah next time your car needs service take it up to sewell dallas. Chingado! There are like 3 or 4 smoking hot chics up in there. That just in the service dept. You should see the finance lady . I hope they don't read this.

Evitzee

Go on Progressive.com, they have an interactive section where you put in your age, type of car, etc and it will give you a quote. Start there. Not sure if Geico.com has the same interactive system. But you can try. I had Geico for six years, but checked with Progressive and they were 25% cheaper. Other people swear by Geico, but they were expensive for me, and I have a super clean driving record.

I don't think dealers in TX (DFW, Houston, Austin, SA) are particularly keen on pricing, especially for the 350 which is always in short supply. But do a fax attack and see what you can come up with.

Don't settle for a bare bones 350. Sure, you can live without the other stuff, but unless you are on a super tight budget some of the usual options (like Nav) are nice to have and will enhance the used price down the road. I suspect non NAV IS's will be relatively tough to get top dollar for when you eventually sell. People driving a Lexus expect Navigation, imo.

dltv

Thank you for all the quick replies. As far as resale value I'm really not the type to lease. I would rather keep a car for 8-9 years before i sell it or it breaks down and by then i would need a new car. I take care of my car too much to consider leasing. And a navigation system is sorta foolish to me. Its just another toy in a car that really doesn't get used when I know where i'm going 99 percent of the time. So i would rather save that 2500 dollar piece of electronic and get myself a 50 inch plasma TV.



As far as money and pricing goes my budget is really set at a MAX of 35,000 so i was thinking with TTYL 32000 could end up being that price.

I will check on progressive to see what the quote gives me so thanks for the tip. However, does it do a background check or is it like a quick quote?

i just got done with progressive and.. well it only compared 1 rate!
allstate $695 - $797 details
Progressive Direct $1,102.50*

So that sucked..!

Evitzee

You win some, you lose some. That's why it's imperative you contact as many companies as you can, rates will vary all over the place. Even people with similar ages and driving records will get different quotes from the same company. Go figure.

I felt the same way you did about NAV, 'who needs it when I know where I'm going'. But you get a) backup camera, which is a safety feature as the rear view isn't that good in the IS, and b) a much enhanced audio system where audio adjustment and selection of channels is far easier. Doesn't sound like you are getting satellite radio, but it is something you should consider. It is a huge plus and one of the most enjoyable aspects of the car. And when you have NAV and satellite radio you get song title/artist right on the screen. I think you get this with non NAV as well, but I don't think it is as convenient to access.

If you are keeping your car long term the cost of NAV amortized over the life of the car is peanuts.

But it's your car.

Tony59blue

iTrader: (3)

I bought my car in March of last year at Park Place in Grapevine. I couldn't get anyone in the Houston area at that time to give me any type of discounts they were all stuck at MSRP pricing. Park Place was the first one to give me $2000 off so i took it. I have my insurance with Encompass and so far i haven't had any problems with them been there 8 years now. I know my rate dropped after the age of 25. So you might want to check if your rates drop after you turn 25. If you already know what color and what options you want just give the dealerships a call. I didn't even see my car till the day i picked it up at the dealership. I told them what i wanted and when it got there i took my deposit and picked her up. I did everything online including financing. Most of the dealerships have toll free numbers make sure you get those if you're calling out of town.

MoLexus

Park Place has much hotter chicks than Sewell but they are a cauky hard headed dealership. Sewell of Dallas also has a much better service dept. Just start shopping around a month before you make your purchase so you have a higher chance getting what you want. Good luck and keep us posted.

dltv

Lots of great advice. I do appreciate everyones input and i'll continue to look when things get closer to pulling the trigger. Right now im just settling into my new place and saving some of that hard earned money.

pkvir

I pay around $800.00 every 6 months for 100/300 insurance with State Farm.

Expect to pay around 2-3K under MSRP for your car if you can find one. The 350's are few and far between in the DWF area. Park Place Grapevine had 0 on the lot a couple of weeks ago (had 15 250's) and a salesmen I was bs'ing with while my oil was being changed said they only have a few more coming in. I went buy Sewell in Fort Worth this Sunday because I was in the area and they had 2 350's, both with nav and the MSPR's were $42k and $44k.

I bought my 350 from Sewell Fort Worth last April and paid $36,300.00 (Premium, 18 inch wheels, no nav)

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

im 24 paying about $800/6months for insurance, farmers

CMF

As described for what you are looking for in your IS350, you're looking at a high $37K car. Even with the best discount, you'll never come close to 31.5K
You may want to consider a special order on an IS250, that could get you a bit closer to what you are looking to spend.

IS250 4 Me

I live in Houston, and shopped around for my IS by calling all dealers in Texas, and a few in California. Sewell and Park Place were willing to knock off $4K off of MSRP for an IS250 with nav. The price was still $1K over invoice for an IS250.

You can expect to pay $1500 to $2000 over invoice for an IS350 right now because they are in short supply. This is still a good deal. The best deal I heard about recently was from a friend of mine in Houston that bought his IS350 in California. He paid right at invoice and drove his car back 1700 miles (savoring every mile mind you...he barely made time for pit stops).

Me? I paid $32,800 + TTL, which was $500 below invoice for my IS250, but I had to haggle with all 4 dealers in Houston, and threaten to go to California if I didn't get a good deal. I still paid $700 more than what I would have gotten the car for in Cali, but they threw in some free stuff, like window tinting.

As far as insurance goes, I pay $600 for 6 months on an IS250 for 250/500 coverage, full comprehensive, and uninsured motorist coverage. I'm 33 years old and have a clean record. I only buy insurance from State Farm.

Good luck!