Scott1258

Hey Steve, great info for all of us. thank you!

Do you negotiate in person at the dealer, or do you do it via phone or email? Please post back up and let us know. also, how do you get the info as to how much the hold back is? and how do you determine what your bottom line price they must meet is? Your formula for this would be very helpful. And any other tips would be very much appreciated too. Thanks again for your help and experience on negotiating a great deal!

saz25

I did the negotiating all over the phone. To buy the car, I only went in to the dealership that I decided "won" my business. I had previously test drove the RX (as well as other manufacturers cars such as BMW and Acura before I decided on the RX). I kept the test driving separate from price negotiation process. I would not negotiate price when I test drove. When I switched to the mode where I was looking for the best price on the RX, I called 6 dealers in NH (where I live) and MA.
The hold-back numbers are here:
http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/dealer-holdback/

I calculated invoice in Edmunds and then reduced that number by the holdback. I then reduced that number by all the dealer incentives in effect at the time regardless of whether I qualify. Works all the time. Incentives are another "game".

I also either refuse documentation fees or insist on having them reduced, otherwise its a dealbreaker. Many times I have them reduce my agreed-upon price by the amount of the doc fee if they insist the doc fee.

I also never tell them how I arrived at the price I offer. Once you do, you're doomed. They will say that they no longer have hold-backs or that you have the wrong invoice, etc. Both lies.

Good luck.
Steve

100degrees

iTrader: (1)

Does anyone local to the NYC area have any preferred dealers/sales rep that you can point me in direction to? I am looking at a 13 RX350 AWD loaded w options available for my region. My build came out to be a few hairs under $49k w destination. I see that many are getting roughly $5k off MSRP, is that something that is reasonable for me to aim for?

I tried researching current incentives but was unable to find $1k incentive toward financing nor did I found loyalty incentives. If they are still in effect, I would greatly appreciate the information! Thanks.

idahorx

Hi All,

I am interested in the RX 450h and learning quite a bit from this forum about how to negotiate and what to pay. We are leaning toward purchasing a new 2013 in Claret Red with gray interior and haven't been seeing that combination in dealer listings and wondering if we may need to custom-order to get it.

Question: how does in-stock vs. custom-order affect negotiation? Is it irrelevant? Are dealers more likely to discount one or the other?

kitlz

Hi idahorx. My sales guy told me they don't give discounts on special orders. But I still managed about 5% off of my 450h, mostly because I was a repeat customer. Doesn't hurt to ask. Taking an RX off the lot will probably get you the bigger discount since it's from their stock. Try sending an e-mail to a few dealers asking them to find the color combo you want. They may have one coming in or be able to reroute one. Good luck.

VVRX

I too was in your shoes looking for a RX450h that could not be found in dealer stock. Prior to placing a special order my dealer informed me of a vehicle available with my color and desired options on the boat and a week from port. Prior to purchase I managed to negotiate 2500.00 off plus zero doc fee/destination charge. The dealer also threw in leather fob covers and keychains.

Vert

I just bought a 2013 RX 450h Claret Mica with parchment interior. Not in stock but arriving off boat. Initially dealership offered $2500 off MSRP but after several emails ended up with $4500 off MSRP plus free window tint (which made up for outrageous doc fee). I quoted this forum and I really think it helped get the price down. I did email 6 other dealerships, but local dealership gave best deal.

tromly

Sounds like you got a real good deal, the one thing I hate about dealers is that crappy processing fee, totally ridiculous!

saz25

Sounds like you got an ok deal except that I personally wouldn't have bought (from the dealer) the window tint add-on. My personal policy is to never buy dealer add-ons as you can always bring your car to a window tint shop and get a cheaper deal.

I would have pushed back and insisted on at least reducing the documentation fee.

In any event, enjoy the ride.
Steve

100degrees

iTrader: (1)

$49k build for 13 RX350 AWD, got the car for $43.5 before taxes&fees (roughly $2500 below invoice). NO trade-in. $1k Loyalty incentive included in price.

Never spoke to dealer beforehand; walked in and was able to drive away same day.

Thanks for all the info, couldn't have done it without this thread!!

Anyone in NYC area, feel free to PM me and I will relay my dealer/rep info to you!

JRey350hou

great deal congrats! Very silmilar to what i got . FWIW, I know Edmunds, etc gives you these invoice #'s , but I can assure you Invoice is not in the 46k range for 49k vehicle. But you did a great job and obtained a price at what the Market will bear and that is what should not be lost when negotiating. congrats again and enjoy your new RX.

ca92129

Truecar.com quoted ~9.2% off MSRP for FWD 2013 RX350 in SoCal, which was the starting point for my negotiations. Highly recommended.

FWD 2013 RX350 configured exactly the way I wanted, MSRP 47.9K, got 10.9% off + TTL. My first Lexus.

Was able to get the best quote of 11.5% off but it missed Blind Spot Monitor.

Actually back in August I ordered a '13 Mercedes ML350 (61K MSRP), however there were long delays due to leather seating shortage, had to cancel it late November as it never went into production.

weaponrx

That seems like a great deal. I am looking to get my mom this car and I am also located in SoCal. Can you shoot me a PM as to who you dealt with and with. I would really like to surprise her for Christmas. Thanks in advance.

Scott1258

Hey CA92129,

I would also like to know the name of your dealer and rep as I'm in the market for one too. But hey - no need to keep it all a sceret - post up here on the thread so all the other members can benefit too. That's the beauty of CL members helping members. Thanks!

Scott

ca92129

People were able to get much better deals recently (12.4% off MSRP, and 14.4% off with loyalty rebate) as described on edmunds forums:

============================
'#5405 of 5413 Re: Price inquiry Help [cutco760] by dinoman [cutco760] by winter06
Dec 15, 2012 (12:23 am)
Replying to: cutco760 (Dec 14, 2012 9:42 am)
Ok. i just bought a new RX350 2013 for 44k fully loaded AWD, + premium package with blind sport monitorsystem, and all the goodies. 19" wheel, 12-speakers, dvd, navigation etc... the package came out to MSRP $ 50,200.

44k - 1k loyalty program deal so i got the car for 43k. Don't know if this good deal or not but i think it good for me. '

=================================

My experience is not to start negotiation based on invoice (~2K below MSRP), which is most dealer's initial offerings and you can't get much more discount from there. Go ahead and configure a RX350 on carsdirect.com (just plug in your zip code and add options), you should be able to get an offer price of ~9.5% off MSRP. Copy the link, attach it to your e-mail to local and distant dealers and ask for more discount.

Once you have a good offer at hand, other dealers will be willing to beat it by a few hundred dollars. If you are flexible on configurations you will be able to get the best price.

Now is a good time to negotiate and buy. Good luck to all.