I'm planning on purchasing a IS350 and I have been contacting numerous dealers and obtaining quotes. My ideal Lexus is Obsidian Black, Black Interior, Premium Package, HID headlamps, AFS, & 18 inch wheels. I am NOT interested in navi. Locating such a car has been fairly tough because most of the 08s all have navis but I'm not willing to pay an extra 2 grand for something that I won't even use.

Anyhow, a local Lexus dealer has an IS350 in stock, Obsidian Black, Cashmere interior, Premium Package, HID headlamps, AFS, and 18 inch wheels. This is very close to my ideal lexus with the exception of the cashmere interior and he knows this.

The MSRP on the car is 40,399. However, the salesman that I'm working with gave me a final price of 35,954 with the OTD price being 37,581. Basically I'm getting a discount of $4,445 off MSRP however I feel that I can do better. When I talked to him, he said the price that he quoted me $35,954 is around $250 over invoice.

Now guys, I need your help. How much more do you think I can negotiate and and what should I really be paying for such an IS350 considering the economy, declining Lexus sales, and it being end of the month (and close to end of the 2008 car year). Also, is the invoice price that he stated correct? How do I obtain the invoice price (without directly asking him)? Also, is it unreasonable to be expecting 6k off MSRP. I told him that if he could do it for $34,399 (6k off MSRP) I would come and purchase the car Monday.

So what do you think I should do now? How should I play my cards to get the best possible deal.

I really appreciate any advice and input as this will be my first Lexus that I purchase and I'm both very excited and nervous as well.

 

you can try to be an aggressive buyer. but before that, wait til the end of the month to make the deal. that way, you can talk it down more as they'll be pushing out cars to make numbers. with that in mind, the aggressive trick is to say "okay it's $37,600 OTD. i think that's too expensive. I'll give you $36,800 OTD as my final offer. If that doesn't sound good, I'll go to another dealer."

Basically this runs off of an aggressive buyer that my friend knows. He wanted a truck (Dunno what it was) and knew the invoice and mrsp prices with specific options and colors. He searched up the inventories and found dealers that had EXACTLY what he wanted. He went into the dealer saying "I've got a check of this amount for a truck that I KNOW you have in stock right now with these specific options and colors, this is my only offer, I will not go any higher. If you take the deal, I'll write out a check for this amount today for you. You have three minutes to decide before I leave and go to another dealer."

He sat down at a chair and didn't budge. Everytime a rep tried to talk to him, he just looked at his watched and told him how much time he had left. The dealer took the check and he got a new car that he wanted. Do realize he paid for the entire car at once. Still, you can try to make a spin-off tactic of this to get the price you want.

 

$250 above invoice sounds about right, the dealer markup on the IS is about $5,000, in the northeast at least. The dealer gets holdback and the salesman gets a flat fee for every sale plus commission, they also need to meet quota's, plus I hear they get bonuses for selling over a certain amount, so it also depends on your salesman. I think you'll only be able to get another $250 off realistically, and getting straight invoice price is pretty difficult. You can get the invoice price at edmunds.com or kbb.com.

 

i agree with kuuqi!

Just on thing about the cashmere interior. I have a black sapphire and cashmere. great color combo but very high maintence. Someone clothes bleed through to the leather. Color is very high maintence too! If you dont wipe the bird dook and tree sap of it shows very easily!

Anyways do what kuuqi recommends it is a very good idea I paid 1000 over invoice in 06 for 07 but i did a costco program.

Good Luck

 

If for example the salesman is unable to budge from the price, do you think I can ask him to throw in accessories like the IPOD interface kit and 35% tint? Also, the price that he quoted me for invoice, is that right?

When I'm negotiating, should I negotiate the selling price or the OTD price?

 

Make sure you can live with the cashmere interior and its high maintenance, especially if you have wanted black. I've got black and wouldn't go back. Don't compromise unless you are sure.

You can get the invoice prices in several places on line, so that is no problem. You should negotiate the selling price; the OTD add on items like tax/title/license can't be adjusted. Just make sure they don't start tacking on dealer prep and other silly fees to the bottom line.

There is a limit to how low the dealer will go. The end of month or end of model year possibilities may help some, but won't affect it dramatically. I think you are pretty close to the best price. How hard you want to work for the last few dollars is up to you. To some it is a sport, to others it gets to be a hassle to dig for the last dollar. Count me in the latter group.

You might be able to get a few freebies thrown in, not sure on things like the interface kit or tint. Try it and see.

 

remember once you go black you never go back

 

HAHA!

beautiful color when clean.

 

That's BLACK for the interior, black for the exterior is too much effort for me to keep clean. I've got better things to do.

 

Im not sure negotiating the bottom line OTD is as helpful. Negotiate the components that are negotiable. OTD includes tax--you cant negotiate that. But they may or may not be flexible in licensing and title fees, etc. Clearly, dealer accessories and services are fully negotiable. I think you are better off nit-picking them to death.

 

I have this exact color combo (Black Sapphire and Cashmere) and have had no issues keeping the interior clean... I've certainly never had someones clothing "bleed" onto the leather!

I do try to insure I don't have junk on my shoes before I get in, and nobody eats in the car, but that's about it.

Had it 6 months and other than one slight stain on the passenger side front floor mat the interior looks brand new after a vacuum last weekend.

My tip for the paint is Zaino... go the whole polish system once every 6 months, then just keep a spray bottle of Z6 in the trunk for the occasional stray bird poop.


as for the original posters pricing, I agree with the previous guy who mentions OTD is a silly way to bargain.

Discussing $ off MSRP is pointless too as different options have different markups from invoice cost. A car optioned one way and selling for $4k off MSRP might be a better deal than a car optioned differently and selling for $6k off MSRP.

Invoice price is how to negotiate a car. He can't help tax, he CAN help what he's marking the car up.

 

While I think you can probably knock a few hundred off the price, it's up to you to decide if you are willing to risk not getting the car, considering how you've had a hard time finding your ideal options and that this one comes pretty close. I'd make one more offer maybe $500 to $1K off, then be ready to settle somewhere in the middle.

Honestly, the joy of getting a few extra bucks off the purchase price of the car goes away pretty quickly. Once that cost is paid, your focus moves to enjoying the car and the usage costs such as insurance and gas.

 

when you buy that car, make sure you are EXTREMELY COMFORTABLE with the color combination. you may end up seeing another IS and say "man i shoulda bought that color"

when i bought my car, i originally wanted starfire pearl however they didn't have any in stock anywhere in any dealer with the specific options i wanted and with black interior. however, they did have obsidian in stock so when i bought my car, i complained.

i said "you don't have the color i want, and you threw in that net in the back and those random accessories that are costing me an extra $250-300."

they told me "okay what can we do to make you buy this car today?"

me: "give me this price"

so i pointed at an edmunds print out at the invoice price. my sales rep laughed and said "heh..okay im gonna go talk to my manager and see what he says. i dunno if i can give u that price that. that's really low."

10 minutes later they came back and the manager sat down with me, he said "...um can u give us an extra $500?" no. "...uhh....kay...we needa get ridda these, you can have it."

the sales rep i had was in shock "wow..heh. congratulations."

just remember to play aggressive and know every advantage you have. i went and found out that the dealer i wanted to buy it from was moving to a new building down the road and it'd cost them a lot of money to move ALL the cars in the lot down there since they'd have to pay for drivers to move the huge lot. even if it didn't cost them much, they advertised a sale. SO i took advantage of that, the color combination and the accessory package i didnt want (which i ended up liking) and talked my way into a price i wanted.

to this day sometimes i say "man i wish i had a white one" but after every single waxing job i finish and look at my car, i say "man black looks so amazing."

that's just me.