LexusK

iTrader: (14)

Ok, the parents are still on the fence about the car. They just called me and asked me to take a look at an email that was sent to them from the salesman and see what price they should pay with all these options before TTL. They keep mentioning "sticker price" and "MSRP price," which is confusing the hell out of me. If anyone could help me out here, please PM me your email so I can forward it to you. IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

jclem

LexusK, I agree with an earlier poster who said to use a % off the bottom line. People have given a range of $3-4K off, but that's not quite as helpful because depending on the features and options the car can range from $40k to $60k. The highest markups are on the dealer added options like protection packages, fancy wheels, pin striping,etc. The more thnigs listed in the right hand column of the sticker and on the separate dealer add-ons sticker, the more room there is to play. I think the % off range to shoot for is 8-10%.
Places like edmunds.com and consumer reports suggest working UP from the invoice rather than DOWN from msrp which is good advice. However, with the confusing and varied way car companies package the options, I find that has become more difficult. So, to not get too bogged down with number crunching, if you can get 8-10% off the price on the sticker(s), then you're doing OK.
To me, 'sticker' and 'msrp' are the same.
I'll PM you my email and take a look, but I can't guarantee results.

jclem

Reefguy, I'd go for the color you (your wife) want(s) first. While I generally agree with 'stormforge' that a factory unit may be cleaner looking, that's not always the case, plus sometimes 'aftermarket' units have some better features. If it's still warranteed by Lexus and it looks good (ask to see one that's installed), then go for the ext. color. That's what you'll be seeing sitting in your driveway for 'x' years. Plus you can have a car sooner.

reefguy

Thank you for the reply. It seems that the dealer is installing some factory version of the headrest which has the screens already installed. This is opposed to sending the car out to have the entertainment system installed. I say this because after the car arrived at the dealer, the salesman told me that they had gotten the wrong headrest color and would need to re-order it. Thus a delay in delivery by a couple of days. The neat thing about this is that the same movie can be watched on both screens or they can play separate movies on each. I think this is because each unit can play its own DVD. Plus we also have the option of hooking something up via the external video input on the back of the center console. Let's see how things look when we go to pick up the car tonight. Keeping my fingers crossed that everything will be as expected. Otherwise, I might just give up -- either the car or the fight

LeoDLion

I recently bought almost the same options. Take off 3K from the price and tell them to pay no more than $47,500 to $48,000. If you are near Houston, email me and I will tell you the dealer and salesman I went to.