Hollings

I finally pulled the trigger and ordered an IS 350. To make a long story short, I drove a friend's IS 350 very briefly about a year ago. I knew right then I wanted one but I was going to try to hold off until next summer. I went to the dealership in mid-September to look at one again... big mistake. I ended up ordering one yesterday. Here's the deal I got.

From Parker Lexus in Little Rock, AR.

2008 IS 350
Starfire Pearl w/ Sterling leather
- Premium Package
- Navigation System/Mark Levinson® Premium Audio System
- HID headlamps w/ AFS
- 18 x 8.0-in alloy wheels with 225/40YR18 tires front, 18 x 8.5-in alloy wheels with 255/40YR18 tires rear
- Rear spoiler

Sticker price is $44,000 and my price is $41,000 plus sales tax, title, and license. I got $3k off of a factory order. I'm pretty happy. They wanted a $500 deposit but there are no extra fees. 90 days of agony before it arrives.

They told me 7.5% APR for financing through LFS. From what I understand I can probably lock in a better APR during their December to Remember Sales Event, right?

What APRs have you guys been given through LFS?

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

I'm sure it depends a lot on your credit score.... I'd check with other banks/credit unions though, that seems like a really high rate given current interest rates... A very good credit score shouldn't be paying over 6% (and likely less) on a new car loan with any decent downpayment.

llamaboiz

Sweet another SP owner, one thing about the paint, on bright sunny days when you walk up to your car in a parking lot, wear shades, SP is so bright it hurts the eyes AND you must wipe your car down if you drive it thru the rain, dirt really really shows

i3urton

i have 5.95 apr....lol they wanted to give me 6.5 but i just told them i would just go trough my bank and they made it 5.95...then i still went to my bank and they couldn't beat it.=(

tex2670

Go to bankrate.com, or a similar site, and they will give you the prevailing rates. The way to get the best rate from the dealer, though, is to walk in there with financing already arranged. Some lenders pre-approve you for a predetermined limit, and send you a site draft (which is kind of like a bank check) to present to the dealer. BUT--you haven't committed to the loan until the site draft is given to the dealer, so if you don't take the loan from the other lender, you just return or shred the site draft.

If you are ready to go with another loan, the dealer can't play games with you on the rate. They'll tell you they will "match" any other rate, but they'll be evasive if you tell them you "saw" such and such a rate ("Oh--I don't think they could really give you that rate"). If you walk in there with the paper work ready to go, they can't question what rate you got elsewhere. You could even go a few rounds--dealer betters your rate, you call the other lender from the dealership, tell them to lower the rate or you are going with LFS.

Good luck.

Hollings

At first I assumed I would get black, even though I've never owned a black vehicle in my life. Not sure why I assumed that, but the color was the least of my worries until about a week before I ordered it. Despite looking at the book dozens of times, it took a long time for me to realize that the Black Sapphire Pearl was a nice dark blue. I thought to myself, BINGO, I've found what I wanted. I went to the dealership to look at it (which is an hour away) and it just didn't jump out and grab me. One day I was bored at work so I was looking at IS 350 pictures on Google. That was the first time I had ever seen a real-life picture of a SP IS 350. Right then and there I knew which color I was going to get. It just looks so damn slick with a nice tint job.

I'll definitely keep her clean though. In the garage, ever night

Thanks a bunch! Looks like Bank of America can do 5.65 in Arkansas if I have good enough credit. I should, but everyone says that right? I'll go see them tomorrow and check a few more places. I'll let ya know how it works out.

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

welcome to CL!

try to find a credit union for car loan....should be ~5%

iialcii

iTrader: (3)

I have 5.99% thru LFS with a fairly good credit score at age 22

ben_r_

Personally I would suggest going through a credit union for financing... But if LFS gives you a better rate you cant really beat that.

Also if you are thinking about getting a black car and have never owned one before you need to read my thread here and then spend many hours at www.autopia.org!

Evitzee

Rates vary constantly, and will depend on your FICO score and length of loan. Shop around and see what kind of rate you can get for the amount you want to finance. Then it is easy to compare.

Bankrate isn't always definitive, so don't be surprised if BoA's current rates are different than what is posted on the site. Also try eLoan, their rates are usually competitive. Of course by the time your car arrives the rates will be different since you can't lock in a car loan rate. But you can get a good idea where the best place to eventually get your loan will be.

The attraction of LFS is you get it right there at the dealer, no hassle, and their web site for managing the loan is pretty nice. Easy to see amount remaining, payoff amount, managing funding sources if you are auto debiting from your bank account, changing payment date, etc. Plus if you have a problem with anything you deal with people who are trained in the Lexus manner. They were about 1/4 point higher than my CU, but it only amounted to about a $3/mo difference in payment. It was worth it just to get it through LFS on the spot.

Post some pics when you get the car.

DropTopGal

Congrats on your order! It will be a tough 3 months. As for APR, it mainly depends on your credit history, then factor in the length of the loan. Interest rates just came down another 1/4th of a point, thus a decent car loan with good credit should be in the 5% range. Now, if you have access to a credit union, you may even get as low as 4.9%.

Don't get me wrong 7.5% is not a "bad" rate, but with good credit, one should not have to pay that much in today's market.

You may want to check out bankrate.com to give you an idea of what is what.

Evitzee

Just checked eLoan; a 3 year loan on a new car is 6.09% for those with "excellent and substantial credit". CapitalOne shows 5.99%. Both of these use the 'Blank Check' method. You apply for the loan online and they send you a blank check valid up to a maximum amount. You fill in the Payer and Amount when you buy your car, and then the loan starts. If you go this route be sure to check with the dealer first. Some dealers balk at accepting these checks although they are completely legit.

Hint: don't overshop for your car loan. A half point either way doesn't have that great an effect on the total paid due to the relatively low amounts and short terms compared with a mortgage. Convenience is worth something, which is why LFS works for many people. There are calculators at Bankrate.com so you can run the numbers.

Good luck, and congrats on the eventual arrival.

tracerit

what are the tiers for credit scores for LFS? At Honda, anything above 720 is Tier 1 and you qualify for their lowest APR.

DropTopGal

If I didn't have my credit union (5.0% BTW), I'd probably go with Capital One. They have decent rates and it doesn't take a 720 to get a good rate from them. My score is above 720 and if LFS offered me 7.5%, I would be insulted to the point of angry. LOL My hubby's "other self" would come out...7.5%, are you ****ing crazy! LOL

OK, I just checked the avg rates for today, Nov 1st. With decent credit, 6.25% to 7%, all simple interest of course, is the going rate at most financial institutions. Capital One was 6.35% for a 60 month loan as an example.

350PsDMeuP

iTrader: (1)

if you go to lexus.com and then the financial services it actually gives you the apr for lexusfinancial which for good credit is 7 and for excellent is like 6! but it depends on an individula basis of course!