I am thinking about getting a RX350 and found the CPOs attractive - I don't have much experience with cars so I am willing to pay for it to be "certified". I went for a test drive and checked with a salesperson, didn't try to make an offer but just asked the general question if the CPO price is firm and he said yes, plus RX350 is a popular model so there's absolutely no space for negotiation.

So my question here is, is the price actually firm and what would be the best way to negotiate price for CPOs (sending offer emails around/ phone/in person etc.)? I am pretty flexible with the package so I do have some choices given the current inventory. I have two cars that I want to trade in which adds to the complication since I would have to compare the trade in value from different dealer as well, and it is hard to be done without go in person and let them to check the cars.

 

Go to KBB.com and put in the information about the vehicle you want to buy and those that you want to trade in. It will provide you with several price ranges for CPO's and trade ins. Then put those numbers together and then figure out a price that you think is reasonable. Go to the dealer and let them assess your trades, ask for their number and then give them your number. If you are reasonably close they won't let you walk.

Many dealers today don't actually come up with trade in values. They take a dozen pictures or so of your vehicle (including a picture of your dash showing the odometer) and upload them to a web site then wholesalers bid on the vehicle. The dealer will give you 24 hours to consider the trade offer. I'm sure they add a little something for themselves. When I traded my NX for an RX they actually gave me more for my trade than I expected and that made my negotiations much easier. In my case they kept the NX and put it up for sale at their dealership.

 

When you said CPO do you mean in a generic term for extended warranty or the Lexus specific L-certification for used Lexus sold by dealerships. When I was negotiating for my 18 GSF, the salesman actually quoted me a price difference of about $1400 with vs without the L-certification. In your case if your purchase were to involve trade in, most car gurus would recommend starting negotiation without the trade in so to get a feel of the seller's bottom line then you can either bring up the trade in after doing research on website's like KBB to arm yourself with knowledge of how much your trade in car's market value (private sale vs dealer trade) is. As the old saying, it's always the supply & demand balance one has to strike before pulling the trigger not to mention there is also financing options that can further complicate things. Just to clarify things while I am at it, the L-certification does extend the used Lexus' existing warranty for 2 extra years and UNLIMITED miles. It's four 'complimentary service maintenance' is specifically listed as oil/filter change, tire rotations, test drive and visual inspections only. Good luck

 

CPO are hard to negotiate unless its been sitting in the lot for 2 months... I had to go out of state to buy mine, but it was worth it...
you have to be serious and willing to buy
have good relationship.with the car manager who can knock a couple of hundred dollars off, the sales man cant
i was only able to get $400 off

 

In my area 2 year old CPO RXs are listed within about 10% of the street price of new ones making it a no-brainer to buy new.

If buying CPO, get quotes from several dealers via email to determine price flexibility. Carefully compare optional equipment as it can make a substantial difference in pricing (join Lexus driver site and input VIN to determine precisely how a given unit was optioned). If a dealer is close to where you want to be, make a counter-offer.

Do not raise the trade issue until you have locked in the price of the RX you want to buy. First, get quotes from Carmax, Carvana, etc., to establish a base number. Also, trading can seriously impact the decision whether to buy new or used. Some states only provide a trade sales tax credit when buying new while in others it applies to new or used sales. Example: in Ohio the credit is solely applicable to new sales and we saved $2700 in taxes by trading when buying our RX last month.

 

I've bought a lot of cars and here are my top tips and how I got an amazing deal on our used RX.

The absolute best way to negotiate is to have comps on cars similarly equipped and are going for the price you would like to achieve. Step two is to do all of negotiating via the internet while you are in the comfort of your own home and you cannot be broken down by spending hours at the dealer - let them know you'll be there asap if the price is agreed upon. Step three, be ready to walk and keep looking. If you really like the car, keep in touch with the dealer. As the car sits on the frontline, the price will reduce. You'll notice that even none negotiable dealers will reduce prices over time as the vehicle is losing money as it sits and ultimately the market dictates the cost.

Lastly, keep in mind if that the dealer is a "true price" dealer or "the price listed is the price you pay" this means that they are absolutely none negotiable on the price.

If you want, post the links of cars in this discussion and we can help you. Cheers.

 

I am in the houston area so going out of state is kind of too much for me. But yeah I agree, spoke to several sales and they doesn't seem to have rights to offer discount and told me there's no special going on at all.

 

Thanks! Didn't realize there's the tax issue so I double checked, and luckily tax reduction applies to used cars in Texas. I do find the optional equipment confusing and the lexus driver site did a great help. I wanted to ask you why you choose AWD rather than FWD but realized that you are in Ohio and I am in Texas, don't think the experience would be comparable in any sense.

 

I like the idea of negotiating via the internet. So the offer email would be something like: "I am interested in this specific car and would be willing to pay XXX at most for it"? And just curious, how can one tell if a dealer is "true price" dealer or not? I might be able to find that after several rounds of email but if there's a better approach that would be great.

I was thinking about AWD models so my choice is limited here - I guess not too many people need the AWD version in Texas so I only found 2 or 3 certified ones in stock. I would probably accept a FWD one if cannot get a reasonable price on them though. Anyway, here's link to the one I am looking at right now:

https://www.westsidelexus.com/invent...zmca8hc130941/

 

Last five Lexus's have been certified and everyone negotiated around 10% off for each. of course if you ask them if the price is negotiable they will say no. The bet time to buy a vehicle is when you really don't need one and you leave your emotions at home. Always be willing to walk. I have left the dealership many of times saying "when you are ready to sell the car at my price give me a call and I will be back within an hour to buy". I have got okay lets deal, at the door okay come on back in, a call five minutes down the road to the next day. Make sure they know you are serious and are able to financially to afford it.

 

For some reason, the link didn't work.

If you know you like the car and want to buy it, yes. Email the dealer and tell them your interested but this is your budget. Offer a fair amount and don't expect thousands off. Don't go in person, unless they agree to a price or your willing to pay ask. Based on the current market, realistically, at best you'll knock off a thousand dollars - it's the best selling Lexus and one of the best selling SUVs. Plug the car into KBB and see what the range is and include that in your email. I would show comps that support your price. Also, tell the dealer you'll finance through them as they get a kickback from the bank that takes on your loan. This saves them time and money, which saves you time and money.

May ask why you're so locked on CPO? IMO, it's not needed on a Lexus, especially if you buy from a reputable dealer. If you really want to save, I would avoid CPO as it doesn't really guarantee anything that you cant check for yourself. This is where you can get the best bang for the buck. Most 17' models are still under the full bumper to bumper warranty in addition to the 6yr 70k mile powertrain warranty. CPO's usually run around a $2-5k premium. I would rather save the money and make any repairs if needed - which are usually none and save the money.

Hope this helps

 

Weird, the link worked for me. Just want to try another time.
https://www.westsidelexus.com/invent...zmca8hc130941/

Not sure if it is against the rules or not but I got the vin number here (VIN: 2T2BZMCA8HC130941), has ~34000 miles on it and the dealer is asking for 40,000. The car has been sitting in the lot for slightly more than a month so I was thinking I could knock off at least hundreds dollars? Also the fair market range on KBB is actually about 35000 even for a CPO so I thought it might be overpriced, but I am not sure.

I took the recommendation that CPO would be best for those have zero experience with cars ( my first&last car is a gift from my father - he selected it for me and did all the test drives). I don't think I am capable of finding hidden problems in a used car and the only thing I could do would be take the car to a third party for inspection so I figured I should probably just look for those are "pre-checked" for me. But I agree 17' models might be fine if I can get it from a trust worthy dealers and I should look around. Thanks!

 

Got it to work. Yeah man, that car is overpriced by $3 to $4k for a CPO and $5 to $6 compared to none CPO models. Here are a few good ones. Rember, you can also take the vehicle to Lexus for a pre-purchase inspection as some off-brand dealers have return policies. Also, off brand dealers will be more likely to negotiate since they don't want these vehicles sitting on their lot.

2016 37k, AWD, $32,998

2017 29k, AWD, $35,998

2017 37k, AWD, Fsport, $36.5k

Use autolist to search.
2016 - Current RX350, AWD, Search

 

lol that's an accurate estimate. I emailed the dealer asking if 36000 drive out price would work, he said the best he could do is 36000 without tax and other fees . I will look around for sure, and at the meantime try to knock several more hundreds on this one at the mean time. Thanks for your help, much appreciated.

 

Anytime.

If you have time, that's a plus. There will always be a car out there that is perfect for you, and having time on your side helps you find it.