revoappare

iTrader: (1)

WHY are CALI dealerships RELUNCTANT to give a price quote over the internet. Almost 80% of the ones I have emailed say that they do not give under invoice price quotes over email. I assume they are afraid I am going to shop around with that price and can use that email to my advantage.

By the way, I am from VA and will be buying my car from CA. I usually tell that to them after they give me the price quote so that they aren't reluctant to sell me the car due to my geographical location.

Anybody else experience this reluctance? If so, how did you get around it. PS, for you cali owners, where have most of you all have been getting the best deals? I've read the MSRP thread to get a general idea

ISF_GG

iTrader: (2)

I experienced the same thing when I was looking to buy my IS. I believe the dealers want to see a live human being with good credit before they start offering anything around invoice, let alone under. Just my 0.02

gsrthomas

iTrader: (1)

I bought my car through the internet with Longo Lexus. We exchanged a few emails about the deal. Once I agreed with the deal I called her up or she called me. I faxed her my drivers license, etc. Then I went to pick up the car. Very easy purchase.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

and those are the exact sales who lose my as a customer on our two cars. i hate their practice. the whole idea of fleet and internet sales is to reduce the hassle of going to dealership. have everything done and just go pick up the car. i questioned them that and they didn't have anything to say

you can try to call peter of lexus of glendale, he's the fleet manager there. his number is 818-535-0094, and tell him henry refers you (we got both cars from him). see if he can give you a good price. all the people i refer to him, they got prices right off the phone (and subsequent negotiations). the only two times i saw him? i picked up my cars

tmag

I got my initial price quote via internet sales, northern CA (stevens creek, San Jose). Then I went to visit my internet sales guy to test drove the car, talk about options etc. Was best deal I could get was the initial internet qoute. Best car buying experience I've had.

ExTrEmE99

iTrader: (6)

I had the same problem they didnt want someone else to beat their price so they only want you to call them and talk in person. I talked to a few and once i talked to one and said it was referral and the price, they agreed to give me the same pricing.

CRB

Well they want to extract as much of your money from you as they possibly can AND get the sale. Contact them through a Costco or CarsDirect service first to get an opening bid and then play that number around to other dealerships via the Internet sales managers. The higher ups want the sale more than maximum profit per unit, unlike the rank and file dealership salesperson whose lifeblood is the KA-BooM MSRP (or close to it sale) so if they know you are determined to get a good price before buying they, or the next guy or gal, will eventually give you one. The shear number of Lexus dealers keeps the competition pretty fierce in this state, as opposed to some other parts of the country. If you can't get a good price for a Lexus in CA, then you aren't trying very hard, IMO.

revoappare

iTrader: (1)

Can anyone refere me to someone they've dealt in the past with a great price?

AsianGirl007

iTrader: (1)

Bingo! You just answered your own question.
Interent and Fleet "Managers" are still sales people so they're scared they'll lose your business to the next dealer who quotes $50 less and who wants to lose a sale for only 50 bucks? It's all about the commission...

May I ask why you are buying from CA when you are in VA? By the time you pay trucking fees for a closed carrier across the US, it will probably work out to be almost the same price without all the hassle?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

hard to say though. my friend in WA, there is only like 1 or 2 dealership close to them, and they are not selling for any discount at all. so getting the car for 4-5k under msrp here in cali (for example)< even with trucking they are still on top

revoappare, i already gave you my contact, you can try. there is a reason why we didn't hesitate to get 2 new cars from him in 3 months

AsianGirl007

iTrader: (1)

What about Florida - there's good deals there too, only a few states away as opposed to California which is clear across the country.

DRivera250

iTrader: (6)

i have recently helped my dad purchase a car for my brother-in-law. I told him i would find try to find him a good deal.

What i did was i contacted all the dealerships in a 400 Mile radius thru the internet sales managers. I usually got a call back within a few hours. I made I told them from the beginning that i am willing to cross state borders to find a good deal. How competitive are you? so and and so on.

You just have to pin the other dealerships against each other.

revoappare

iTrader: (1)

hey guys,

I think I'm just about near finalizing a deal. I negotiated with dealers in FL, NC, SC, TN, GA, and CA. It seems that all states above VA only sell AWD or they will have one or two and thus, hard to get great pricing on. The florida dealerships weren't planning on going invoice. In Cali, all were quoting me about invoice or a few hundred less than invoice for:

black/black RWD; HID, 18", premium package, preferred accessories package MSRP: 35,595.

My best deal thus far is 1250 under invoice and I think I'm going to finalize the deal. Carrier costs should be about 875.

ABC

When i shopped for my IS, I emailed all the lexus dealers in socal. The ones that replied with a price, i emailed back with the lowest price i received and worked them that way. It ended up being between 2 dealers and one beat the other by $500 OTD. Needless to say, i got a great price on the car I will NEVER, EVER go to a dealer to buy a car ever again. Once i'm happy with the emailed OTD price, set up the appointment to sign the paperwork and boom, all done.

AsianGirl007

iTrader: (1)

Good job and congrats on the good deal.....fyi please look into using a closed carrier vs open carrier to truck. It's more expensive, but I wouldn't recommend using open carrier that long distance otheriwse your car will show up scratched and with rock chips.