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Hi Mozez,
Thanks for your advise. I think it makes sense going this route. Any idea how to find out what incentives I may be eligible to other than Costco pricing? How did you get the addl $1500 rebate? Do you think in Lexus/Dealers offers some discounts during December or its the same thru out the year?
I haven't seen this mentioned yet but if you have Costco membership, you might want to consider using their Costco Auto program to find a good deal for a Lexus during this time of car shortage. I wasn't aware of this option until my sister mentioned it to me. You would basically configure a built/model at costcoauto.com (the way you want it including any desired options) and Costco will send the info to a participating Lexus Dealership in your area. They will then provide you with a contact person at that Dealership that's certified in the Costco Auto program. Rather than wait for a custom built, you can also look-up the inventory at the dealership and ask for the Costco membership price for that particular car and the rep will present you with the pre-negotiated price with Costco, which is usually around 8% off MSRP. You do need to present the dealership with the unique authorization number that Costco sent to you via email to qualify. The one downside is that Costco only selects one dealership in your area when there might several available. You may have to travel a bit further if the local dealership doesn't have what you wanted.
Last week, I just picked up my new 2021 RX 350 AWD in Night Fall Mica using the Costco route. The total price was about 11% below MSRP (Costco members price plus the currently $1500 rebate). You aren't obligated to buy the car via the Costco program but the dealer was willing to hold the car I wanted when I placed a small deposit on it. I was told that the deposit would be refunded if I ended up not getting it. Overall it was a great deal for no haggling or stress. I'm in Baltimore MD, if that matters.
Thank you for this! I just received a quote from a Lexus dealer using the Costco program and I'd like to run it by you all as I'm not sure it's as good as it could be, but maybe it's the best I can get. So, it's a 2021 Lexus RX AWD w/a ton of options in Eminent-white Pearl. MSRP is $62,785 (base price of $46,620; packages and accessories $15,140; $1,025 delivery processing & handling). The Costco price is $58,138 (before TTT). The Costco price sheet is showing a line described as just "savings" at $2,647 which brings MSRP to $60,138 and then there's an additional $2,000 off described as "Manufacturer-to-Customer Rebate" for a grand total of $58,138. This works out to just 7% off MSRP. I see on the Costco pricing sheet that there's a Doc Fee of $598 and then, of course, the tax and license fee will have to be added for the OTD price.
I feel like I could do better, but I'm not exactly sure how the Costco program works as this is the first time I've used it. Is this considered the final price because it's a Costco negotiated price? Does the dealer have any flexibility here or should I not even bother asking if he can do better? There's little in the way of inventory where I live and I will have to drive about 3-1/2 hours from home for this vehicle which I'm good with, but just want to make sure I'm asking the right questions and getting the best savings. No, there is no trade-in and we haven't discussed the financing part of it. I told him I could pay cash or I would finance if there were rebates associated with financing and then pay the loan off soon thereafter.
Thank you so much for any feedback and guidance!
You always can ask for a little more sugar, but given the current shortage of vehicles, that’s looking like a good deal to me. A few years or even months ago, maybe not. Today…I’d grab that deal before someone else does, with or without the extra sugar.
Thanks for that! If he’s not able to sweeten the deal cash-wise, I was thinking of asking him to tint the windows for me before picking it up - we’ll see if it flies.
Hi Mozez,
Thanks for your advise. I think it makes sense going this route. Any idea how to find out what incentives I may be eligible to other than Costco pricing? How did you get the addl $1500 rebate? Do you think in Lexus/Dealers offers some discounts during December or its the same thru out the year?
Make sure you check lexus.com for their current cash incentives. Everyone qualifies for these. Make sure the dealership does not bundle this into their Costco price, which is fixed and can't be negotiated. These are cash rebates directly from Lexus so it doesn't affect the dealer's bottom line. For June 2021, the cash rebate is $1500 for the RX350 and only $500 for the RX450h. It was actually $2000 for May 2021 but I was too late to snag that deal. https://www.lexus.com/offers - filter by cash and the model. You can take the cash rebate or the 1.9% financing from Lexus but not both.
One possible option that you can try is to take the Costco price sheet to another Lexus dealership and see if they can do better than the Costco price. If they are desperate for business, they might beat it but given the shortage of inventory right now, YMMV.
Thank you for this! I just received a quote from a Lexus dealer using the Costco program and I'd like to run it by you all as I'm not sure it's as good as it could be, but maybe it's the best I can get. So, it's a 2021 Lexus RX AWD w/a ton of options in Eminent-white Pearl. MSRP is $62,785 (base price of $46,620; packages and accessories $15,140; $1,025 delivery processing & handling). The Costco price is $58,138 (before TTT). The Costco price sheet is showing a line described as just "savings" at $2,647 which brings MSRP to $60,138 and then there's an additional $2,000 off described as "Manufacturer-to-Customer Rebate" for a grand total of $58,138. This works out to just 7% off MSRP. I see on the Costco pricing sheet that there's a Doc Fee of $598 and then, of course, the tax and license fee will have to be added for the OTD price.
I feel like I could do better, but I'm not exactly sure how the Costco program works as this is the first time I've used it. Is this considered the final price because it's a Costco negotiated price? Does the dealer have any flexibility here or should I not even bother asking if he can do better? There's little in the way of inventory where I live and I will have to drive about 3-1/2 hours from home for this vehicle which I'm good with, but just want to make sure I'm asking the right questions and getting the best savings. No, there is no trade-in and we haven't discussed the financing part of it. I told him I could pay cash or I would finance if there were rebates associated with financing and then pay the loan off soon thereafter.
Thank you so much for any feedback and guidance!
HardKnox, I would definitely email another dealership and see if they can beat the Costco price that you have on hand. Costco's price are final. Sounds like you are looking at one with the Luxury Trim (only that would take you to the $62K MSRP range) which is extremely hard to find right now. You already have the baseline to compare with. Another resource I would suggest is the Edmund's Price check. You can find out if you are getting good deal or not for the price. I recommend using the VIN if you have that info for the most accurate price evaluation. Mine was rated Great, which was quite rare for the average RX350 buyer.
You can also use Edmund's or TrueCar's site to have several dealerships contact you with the price that they are willing to sell the car at. It normally works great when there's plenty of supplies, but more options certainly can't hurt. I did use Edmund's as well but in MD, none of their 'offers' were as good as Costco for me. Most was around $1500-$2000 off MSRP plus the cash rebate. Costco's price gave me $4.6K off the MSRP and then I got an additional $1.5K off due to the cash rebate. My vehicle's MSRP was 56K and the final price for me was $49.9K plus TTT and $500 dealer's processing fee.
Thanks for that! If he’s not able to sweeten the deal cash-wise, I was thinking of asking him to tint the windows for me before picking it up - we’ll see if it flies.
I’ve never yet failed to get a dealer to throw in tinting to close a deal. (And remember, on the RX, you’re really talking only about the two side front windows.)
As someone else said, luxury packages are quite rare. We waited three weeks for ours to be delivered just last week, and the best I could do was $500 off MSRP, the manufacturer’s rebate, a bumped up trade-in and - free tinting.
I haven't seen this mentioned yet but if you have Costco membership, you might want to consider using their Costco Auto program to find a good deal for a Lexus during this time of car shortage. I wasn't aware of this option until my sister mentioned it to me. You would basically configure a built/model at costcoauto.com (the way you want it including any desired options) and Costco will send the info to a participating Lexus Dealership in your area. They will then provide you with a contact person at that Dealership that's certified in the Costco Auto program. Rather than wait for a custom built, you can also look-up the inventory at the dealership and ask for the Costco membership price for that particular car and the rep will present you with the pre-negotiated price with Costco, which is usually around 8% off MSRP. You do need to present the dealership with the unique authorization number that Costco sent to you via email to qualify. The one downside is that Costco only selects one dealership in your area when there might several available. You may have to travel a bit further if the local dealership doesn't have what you wanted.
Last week, I just picked up my new 2021 RX 350 AWD in Night Fall Mica using the Costco route. The total price was about 11% below MSRP (Costco members price plus the currently $1500 rebate). You aren't obligated to buy the car via the Costco program but the dealer was willing to hold the car I wanted when I placed a small deposit on it. I was told that the deposit would be refunded if I ended up not getting it. Overall it was a great deal for no haggling or stress. I'm in Baltimore MD, if that matters.
Can you please provide me the Dealership information that offers Costco Discount in Baltimore MD ? I tried searching for dealers and Costco website mentioned they that could not locate any dealers in that area.
Can you please provide me the Dealership information that offers Costco Discount in Baltimore MD ? I tried searching for dealers and Costco website mentioned they that could not locate any dealers in that area.
Hi Ndndr, the Lexus Dealer in Baltimore was Lexus of Towson. I only got their information via email after I selected New from Costcoauto.com, and configured a RX with all my desired options and submitted it. After that I got the following email below.
Pay attention to the 3rd part. I requested the Costco Members only price sheet for one of the cars (by the VIN) that they had listed on their website with all the features I wanted and they sent that costco sheet to me. The sheet looks like the one in the pictures below. Costco Auto Program email
One other note. For Lexus - the delivery charge/fee of $1025 is ALWAYS part of the quoted MSRP. You will find this info on the detailed breakdown of all the price options. When you review your final contract, make sure that the dealer didn't slip in the delivery fee as an additional charge. My Lexus sales/finance rep was awesome and didn't do anything like that but you should at least be aware of that.
One other note. For Lexus - the delivery charge/fee of $1025 is ALWAYS part of the quoted MSRP. You will find this info on the detailed breakdown of all the price options. When you review your final contract, make sure that the dealer didn't slip in the delivery fee as an additional charge. My Lexus sales/finance rep was awesome and didn't do anything like that but you should at least be aware of that.
To piggy-back onto Mozez's post, here's a snippet of what I received from a dealer yesterday showing the Costco Member-only price. I'm still a little confused about the rebate line because I thought the pre negotiated "member only" price through Costco would have been before any rebates since those can change from month-to-month. Also, I thought the June cash back rebate was only $1,500. Don't get me wrong - I'm grateful for any discount in this crazy car market where people are paying over MSRP, but it is a little confusing. Happy to answer (or try to) any other questions you may have. CostcoPrice.pdf
To piggy-back onto Mozez's post, here's a snippet of what I received from a dealer yesterday showing the Costco Member-only price. I'm still a little confused about the rebate line because I thought the pre negotiated "member only" price through Costco would have been before any rebates since those can change from month-to-month. Also, I thought the June cash back rebate was only $1,500. Don't get me wrong - I'm grateful for any discount in this crazy car market where people are paying over MSRP, but it is a little confusing. Happy to answer (or try to) any other questions you may have. Attachment 482161
Not sure where the confusion might be. It doesn’t really matter if the rebate comes near the top line or the bottom line, just that it’s there. It looks to me like you’re getting the Costco discount and the rebate (including an extra $500 due to an apparent mistake), which adds up to a good deal.
One other note. For Lexus - the delivery charge/fee of $1025 is ALWAYS part of the quoted MSRP. You will find this info on the detailed breakdown of all the price options. When you review your final contract, make sure that the dealer didn't slip in the delivery fee as an additional charge. My Lexus sales/finance rep was awesome and didn't do anything like that but you should at least be aware of that.
Delivery fee is part of MSRP
I shopped with 3 dealers and didn't see any double dipping the delivery processing and handling fee. Good note for the future though! The main thing I saw dealers charging extra for was tint, nitrogen, wheel locks. Acura was even charging for door cup/edge guards. All of them refused to take it off.
I shopped with 3 dealers and didn't see any double dipping the delivery processing and handling fee. Good note for the future though! The main thing I saw dealers charging extra for was tint, nitrogen, wheel locks. Acura was even charging for door cup/edge guards. All of them reffused to take it off.
The nitrogen charge.... In a normal market that's my cue to go to a different dealership.
06-21-21, 10:42 AM
Costco pricing opinion on loaded RX 350 AWD
I just received a quote from a Lexus dealer using the Costco program and I'd like to run it by you all as I'm not sure it's as good as it could be, but maybe it's the best I can get. 
So, it's a 2021 Lexus RX AWD w/a ton of options in Eminent-white Pearl. MSRP is $62,785 (base price of $46,620; packages and accessories $15,140; $1,025 delivery processing & handling). The Costco price is $58,138 (before TTT). The Costco price sheet is showing a line described as just "savings" at $2,647 which brings MSRP to $60,138 and then there's an additional $2,000 off described as "Manufacturer-to-Customer Rebate" for a grand total of $58,138. This works out to just 7% off MSRP. I see on the Costco pricing sheet that there's a Doc Fee of $598 and then, of course, the tax and license fee will have to be added for the OTD price.
