ccyockey

Sorry if this is discussed somewhere else (I'm a noob here).

Anybody had any recent experience in negotiating on CPO deals at Lexus. I know the basics (look at CARFAX, AutoCheck .. see how long it's been sitting on the lot, etc), but any normal ranges on how much they wiggle? If they're asking $27,995 would they even entertain $26,000?

Thanks in advance for any advice/experience.

Micaiah

You can ask that the car be sold non CPO and then buy your own warranty. That usually drops the price by a couple of thousand.

When buying a warranty, you can negotiate that price so sometimes it's worth it to go non CPO.

Icy350

iTrader: (18)

If you are one to not negotiate well, just go in to the dealer with a price in mind, For example you want it for 26k when the car is listed for 28k. Go in with the mindset that you willl not budge from 26k. Tell them that youa re only willing to pay 26k and if they dont wanna budge, walk away and see if they will budge then. onvce you provide them with your max, you can provide information such as carfax, or see what the true market value really is from Edmunds and KBB.

TheJustice

LOL my dealer listed the car as 27,995 also..... it was used with 43k miles on it.
i got it for 21,750 LOL took 5 hours :[

cupid0210

iTrader: (10)

Now that's negotiating!!!! Lol

baadhabit

iTrader: (2)

CPO is really BS. ask them what items they check to "certify" a car? its nothing more than a visual inspection any joe can do.

Micaiah

Should be a 161 point inspection that the car has to pass in order to get the extended warranty. If the car shows signs of a pretty decent accident, it does not pass either.

But If that's not what CPO is and it's really just BS then I guess it being in an accident getting frame damage, not passing 161 pt inspection and getting an extended warranty doesn't matter then. Huh.

I should have bought my car from the shady corner lot then. Would have saved me a lot of money.

baadhabit

iTrader: (2)

look at what specifically makes up the 161 points. its silly things like check for carpet stains, or damaged seats. check if the car has a spare tire. anybody can do that. what im saying is CPO is marketing hype so they can trick you into paying more

ddhleigh

You should also read up on that CPO fraud thread someone here posted about awhile back. I believe it was a happy ending, but it took awhile.

Micaiah

I agree that some of it is silly but sometimes that silly stuff gives signs of other possible damage. Carpet stains....mold? Was the car in a flood? Damaged seats? Do the air bags still work in the seats? That type of thing, maybe.

But in terms of it being a marketing hype, I disagree. It's possible to buy the car NON CPO. Mine was CPO and by me asking for it not to be, not only do I know it passed the inspection but they cut off the price of the car by a little over 3k for the three year extension. I ended up buying another warranty bumper to bumper for way less than that and got more 7 years.

Oh and inside the door jamb of the car, I still have the CPO sticker. Not good in terms of warranty claims but peace of mind should I decide to sell that the car was in good enough condition to be considered a CPO.

Sango

iTrader: (10)

Also for CPO, it cannot be a vehicle where someone was smoking in it either.

I would go CPO, just have to press hard on them.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

There's so much ignorance here, I had to speak up.

First off, I would encourage you to actually look at what makes up the 161-point CPO inspection. It's quite easy (here you go: http://www.lexus.com/cpo/pdf/CPO_161_Checklist.pdf), and had you done it before posting you'd probably have reconsidered. I'll throw out a few of the things that are checked that are a bit more important and not "silly" like carpet stains:

-Transmission mounts
-Differential assembly, drive shaft
-Steering rack, linkage, bushings, control arms
-Brake lines and couplings
-Cooling system
-Every single electronic function

That's just a few.

However, shockingly this isn't where you're most wrong. The value of "CPO" is not in the inspection, it's in the warranty - which absolutely is not BS. Ask anyone who's had a $1600 cam gear TSIB or $2000+ nav replacement performed out of factory warranty but under CPO.

The inspection is merely a pre-requisite to certifying the car so that it can be CPO warrantied. You're right - many of the items on the 161-point inspection list are visual or cursory checks. Here's a few of those:

-Navigation system operates properly
-Excessive fuel pump noise
-Transmission noise
-Seat and window functionality

While not "anyone" or "any joe" could determine whether a fuel pump or transmission is making excessive noise by Lexus standards, I generally agree with you that the items above (and many others on the checklist) could be checked or verified by many people, certainly most people familiar with cars.

That's not the point.

The point is that once this checklist has been performed, ALL THOSE THINGS are then covered for 3 years or up to 100k miles for 100% parts and labor, no deductible.

Sure, I could have my local mechanic check the fuel pump and transmission noise, as well as seat and navigation functionality. He'd probably shrug his shoulders, say sure, and not even charge me.

But what he WOULDN'T do after that check is say "OK great everything's working fine, and now that I've checked it, for the next 3 years anything that goes wrong with those items are covered 100% by me".

THAT'S where the value of CPO is. THAT'S why they do the checklist. Not to give you peace of mind or exhibit any extraordinary automotive intelligence. It's a means to an end - that end being a very valuable CPO warranty.

Check any thread on here about navigation issues. You'll find some people saying their nav failed and bemoaning the cost of a $2500 replacement. Then you'll find in the same thread people posting "Yep, mine failed too. Replaced for free under CPO warranty".

I'm not saying one side is right and the other's wrong for purchasing or not purchasing a CPO warranty. That's for you to decide based on your financial situation and tolerance for risk. But don't post such an ignorant and incredibly ill-informed statement on a thread of someone asking about CPO. Your comments added no value whatsoever and instead detracted from the issue at hand.

You're also right that most times a dealer CPOs a car because he's had trouble selling it and certifying a car adds an extra selling point that they can market the car by, potentially attracting more buyers. However while this IS a method of marketing, it is NOT purely marketing hype. As stated above, it comes with real value to the buyer in the form of the warranty, which can save you thousands of dollars down the line.

threevoIS

Good post^ Certification is great for the consumer which a lot of anti car dealer people fail to see. I know many of you are blinded by the fact you get bent over all through the 80s and 90s when buying vehicles, but its a different time in the car business.

CPO is very strict with limits on Tread Depth and Pads/Rotors as well so over 75% of CPO lexus get new pads, rotors, and tires before being shown for sale. Dont you think thats the reason why they are asking more for the car? In addition to that, just to advertise the car as certified the dealers cost of the car goes up $995, thats before a technitian even replaces a lightbulb on the vehicle. Our average recon + certification on a typical 30k-40k mile IS/ES/RX is somewhere between $2000-$3000. People dont realize how much work goes into making sure the value is there for the consumer. If you want to save money on a lexus and regret it, go buy one at a non lexus dealer that performs and SSS (Start Stop Steer) inspection only, and see how much you really saved after replacing brakes, tires, and the small stuff they dont care to fix...

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

And as far as the OP's question: it depends very much on the dealer and the particular situation. I bought my 2007 IS350 CPO with 56k miles for $24k about 5 months ago. The dealer I bought it from absolutely would not negotiate on price; he claimed it was simply policy, as the prices are set by corporate (his was one of multiple dealerships owned by a parent company). So instead I focused on negotiating the value of my trade-in car, which I did successfully enough to bring the cost differential down to where I wanted.

Micaiah is right above - many dealers (including mine) will take the CPO warranty off the table in return for a price reduction. The CPO program works like this: the dealer certifies the car, then upon selling it, the dealership writes a check to Lexus corporate for the warranty and Lexus corporate assumes responsibility for the warranty. The benefit to the dealer from CPO is that they can mark the car up and make more money off of it or attract new buyers to a car that might have been sitting on the lot for too long. Often if you ask to buy the car non-CPO, they'll take $1000-2000 off the price. However I personally highly recommend the CPO warranty, but it's of course up to you.

All the rules for haggling/negotiating apply here. One tip would be to ask for the Lexus Service History up front. This is the Lexus dealer-specific service history and is very detailed (moreso than CarFax and AutoCheck), though it only reports dealer work. This will tell you how much (or how little) the car was serviced at a dealership. It will also highlight what recalls and TSIBs have been performed.

I encourage you to read the 2IS Buyer's Guide (first link listed in the FAQ sticky under the IS-Second Generation forum), as it gives a lot of information for potential buyers.

The used car market is very hot right now, and some are claiming that the Japan situation is constraining supply - regardless of your perception of the truth in those statements, they're driving used car prices up and making negotiation more difficult. That said, I don't think the price reduction you're looking for is unreasonable, you'll just have to press hard and stand firm.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

That's a very good point most people don't realize. The CPO inspection may uncover that the tread depth or brake pad thickness doesn't meet Lexus' strict standards, which means that things like tires, pads, rotors, etc all must meet standards or are replaced. So if you buy CPO, you're buying a car that meets all those standards, OR with brand new tires and/or brakes. That can often be enough to make CPO worth it.