rfx45

The IS250 has been the car I've been watching for a year now. Please bare with the story.

This past weekend, I visited Keyes Van Nuys and it started out great until we got into the pricing. I was looking for an IS250 with Premium Package and I offered them $32,000 OTD and the salesperson would not budge. He offered me $34,700 and saying it was invoice price with ttl. I then pulled out a copy from KBB and told them what they are giving me isn't invoice, it was actually $1500 above incoice. Once I showed them the KBB print out, he was "shocked" to see how low the price was and pretty much called BS on every online website disagreeing with their price. To make a long story short, these ended up telling me to forget all my research and the printout's because their BS and misleading. So before I leave, I told them, "if I get the car for anything lower than their offer, would you beat it or match it?" and he pretty much said "no way, we don't do that here, Lexus is not the car your looking for if that's the price your looking for." I was so mad that this guy thinks he has the right to tell me which car I am looking for and implying I can't afford it. I pretty much said goodbye and just smiled trying not to let the frustartions take over me.

So I get home and started calling dealerships. I started with Santa Monica which offered me $33,200 right away. I called Beverly Hills and said they couldn't beat it and that the price was real good. It's weird though because the guy said IS250's are rare and each dealerships only gets 1-2 a month while Keyes had at least 30 on their lot at the time and Longo had supposedly 200 on their lot. Last dealership i called was Longo Lexus and asked them to beat the price and that I would not drive 30 miles unless I get a price. After a couple of phone tags I got the exact car I am looking for with a good price, except with cashmere interior instead of the black I originally I wanted. It gave a more luxurious feel and look so I took it. I even got the car delivered to my house and it arrived earlier today. Everything was done over the phone and was very convenient. After 10 minutes of signing the car was all mine, finally! In my excitement I drove the car for 20 minutes having absolutely no clue where to go when I was suppose to be going back to work. I just wanted to drive and I was not disappointed, it was an absolute pleasure to drive this car.

Sorry for the long story, I just had to vent a bit and got a bit excited as well. I would also just like to thank everyone here as well. I've been trolling this site for about 6 months now and you guys were part of the reason I got this car. All the great things you guys had to say about the car really helped my decision and the dealership strategies/suggestions on how to get a great price closed the deal. Now on to some pics, nothing new to you guys but it's been a great day for me.

Tint is definitely the first mod on my list.




UPDATE: Finished getting it tinted.

jman-is350

She's beautiful... Enjoy it.

jackblack7

Congrats! I think the cashmere is classy looking. Though I think they should have made the floor black like with Sterling.

As far as the salesman...you just have to play their game even though you know they're lying to your face. You have to be able to walk out the door and go to another dealer. Good job!

rfx45

^^^ Thanks for the welcome. I agree with the slaeperson but it's was just frustrating when even though I kept proving him wrong, even comparing the MSRP printed on the sticker on the car matched the KBB print-out he still flat out ignored it and called it bogus. I wanted to rub it in his face that I actually got the car for the price I'm looking for but decided to not waste my time on him anymore.

socalJD

Congrats - another satisfied Longo IS customer.
When you get the tint, remember that it will look lighter due to the Cashmere vs a black interior. I got 40/30 because I saw a silver IS that had 30/20 and thought it was too dark (had the black interior). In hindsight I would've liked 30/20 better with my interior. Also, get some black floor mats as soon as possible, the cashmere mats get dirty very easily. . .

gsrthomas

iTrader: (1)

Congrats! I was a lurker for 4 years before I got my IS250.

I got my car at Longo also. Welcome to the club.

Now put on a rear oem spoiler and a x package front air dam asap.

rfx45

socalJD, it's like you read my mind, I just won the auction on some black Lexus OEM all-weather mats from Sewell's auction. I just hate the wait of shipping, hehe. I hope it doesn't get too dirty this weekend.

Thanks for the tint tip too, I'll try to get it as dark as legally possible.

mrtrance

rfx45,

So what was your final price on the car? did you get your 32K OTD price from Longo or not?

rfx45

I got $32,500 OTD. About $1100-$1300 below invoice I believe. I think it's a pretty good price.

ExTrEmE99

iTrader: (6)

Congrats on the new whip! Glad you go your asking price to!

mrtrance

So you got it for $2200 below the Van Nuys price. Good deal. What was the selling price of the car w/o TTL. I"m trying to get the one with NAV for $34,400 OTD. I'll see what happens this weekend.

Pineapple

Welcome to Club Lexus!

I can just see it now....

First you'll get the:

All Weather Floor Mats
Rvinyl Redouts
Tint
GFX Front Spoiler
OEM Trunk Spoiler

Once you get those you'll be contemplating whether to get the:

Illuminated Scuff Plates
Aluminum Sport Pedal Set
Interior LED Swap
Exterior Light Swap

Then you'll be wanting to do something more drastic:

Lowering Springs
19" Rims
Intake
Exhaust

Then you'll start to:

Think about trading up to a IS350.
Wish you got navi.
Wish you got Mark Levinson system.
Want the luxury package.

At the same time:

Get pissed at the dealership for ruining your paint after the wash it.
Invest in a complete car care system.
Check this forum everyday.

ExTrEmE99

iTrader: (6)

Oh yeah did you get nav with that price?

cancellino

The first place I would have drove to would have been Keyes Van Nuys and told them to **** off. Congrats and welcome, the car looks great!

rfx45

I think I'm a bit ahead of you Pineapple, I already check this site everyday and already considering springs and wheels. lol.

mrtrance, on the top of my head it's approximately $29,800 before ttl. I'm not sure though since I purely dealt with out the door price. No nav either, it was anothe $2500 with nav which would have brought it to $35,000 OTD. So $34,400 OTD with nav shouldn't be hard to get to. If that's the price you're looking to pay though, start your offer a bit lower maybe $33,000 or $33,500 and start dealing from there. Good luck!

cancellino, I was going to do that but I didn't want to waste my time. Maybe if I do my first maintenance or brake TSIB, I'll make sure his there and see what happens. hehe.