What dealer did you use in CA? I have found it difficult to get a dealer to submit an order. They basically try to steer me to stock.

 

I see you're in North Carolina. I'd visit Johnson Lexus [Raleigh or Durham location]. It's been a maybe 2 years so not sure if things changed, but from what I remember, they will put your name on the list [no paperwork and no deposit], once they have an allocation and you're up next on the list, then you give a deposit (which is 100% refundable) to reserve that allocation for you, assuming it's the color combo you want.

Unfortunately, you cannot choose any options (this includes color and factory options\accessories); so if it's not the color you want, then you still remain on the list until the color you want gets allocated to the dealer.
Wait-time is always unknown, can be a few weeks or a few months until they get another one.

All of Johnson's IS500 will be the Premium and have some added Factory accessories which you cannot remove, example they'll all have the BBS Forged Wheels ($2,450) and possibly wheel locks, trunk mat, etc. But these are Factory Add-ons, NOT to be confused with Dealer add-ons (such as Window Tint, PPF, etc). Thankfully Johnson Lexus doesn't do any Dealer add-ons and you just get charged MSRP and nothing else.

 

Thank you -- I have been lazy and not had an in-person meeting -- I'll do that this week. Will let you guys know how it goes.

 

I went to the one in Beverly Hills. Test drive a car but they didn't have any Cloudburst gray to my spec so they just keep my updated every two weeks. Waited 2 months and they had one to spec they found from another location. No deposits. Paid under MSRP. No added dealer extras. This was back in October 2023. Good luck on your search

 

Check out Flow Lexus in Greensboro too. Ask for Matt Moorehead, he was exceptional to work with. Great communication and kept me in the loop while waiting for my 2024 IS500 to arrive. I had no prior interaction with him and was my first Lexus purchase; day 1 I stopped by to look at a 2023 they had on-site and he took it out of the showroom for test drive. He was very informative and didn't make us feel pressured at all but was definitely there for any questions or anything else he could help us with.