Plusthedogs

Can I ask what dealer you used? I've been on the waitlist at 2 dealerships in VA for 3 months and they've both said I could expect it to take awhile longer.

patnic517

I've got 4 dealers at $3,000 off...Looking how to get them to budge.

jaxn1010

Have to say I went somewhat old-school with my strategy, but used the internet for good starting info: I first found one dealer with the car I wanted for less than MSRP, used that price to negotiate with 3 other dealers for a better deal and also let that first dealer know that I was looking at other Lexus dealerships and not afraid to travel to get a deal. As I mentioned earlier, I'm lucky to live within an hour or so of at least 4-5 Lexus dealerships, including several Monogram ones. I made my final negotiated deal with the first dealer at the end of the month, too, which may or may not have helped push things along. Also, I paid zero dealer add-on fees, and saved ~$400 additional on the admin fees by purchasing in MD versus VA. I didn't have to use it, but I was also pre-approved for financing at my preferred lender for a great 36-month rate. All those little things added up to a significant savings. Best of luck!

NeilB25

Got a letter from Stoler Lexus that they would eat my last 5 months and keep payments around where I’m at ($640) a month. Sign and drive is what i told them i require. I spend an hour with sales person and said ok let’s look at premium base model with 14 inch screen which is equivalent to what I have now. Drum roll $971 a month. I said how is that near what I’m paying. Manager came over. We had some words and I left. I’m like we aren’t even close to where I was. He’s like you can put $10k down. Hopefully things change or I’m leaving Lexus.

lexusnyca

That's a lease? You are never going to see leasing numbers like they were again, anywhere in the US, ever again. Money factors are way up, the prices of the cars are way up, there is no incentive money, high prices for the cars. That era is over in the US as far as car leasing goes. The manufacturers have learned they can make fewer cars, yet more profit. The dealers too - they can sell two cars for over MSRP instead of selling 10 cars at $500 over invoice, and make the same or more money. What do you think they are going to choose? The car dealerships are empty, I don't even know why they keep their sales staff. Most of the day the staff spends ordering food, as no one browses the floor anymore to buy a car, they just work by phone/email to get on the list for incoming inventory. I don't know why the dealer networks maintain the overhead of these large showroom floors anymore, when they are not needed. If you really want to see this acutely, go to any Porsche or Land Rover dealer (I see you are on LI, like me) - no customers anywhere except in the service department.

daryll40

This, too, shall pass. There’s enough competition in all car segments that lots will fill up again at some point. In fact, there’s a reasonable chance that those of us who paid high full sticker prices will experience horrendous depreciation as inventories rise and new car price competition forces down used car prices. May not in 2023 but probably before the average new Lexus ownership period.

lexusnyca

I don't think it will pass for the higher end/cost brands. It's permanent there. The mid/lower end, maybe, because there is more competition there. But Porsche isn't suddenly going to have an inventory glut, and a bunch of unsold Range Rovers aren't suddenly going to appear on lots.

budwom

I agree, and even the mid to low end car makers are trying to make this continue...make fewer cars but at higher margins (via both price increases AND loading up cars with a ton of high margin options).
Will the market change? I don't know, but I'm still not seeing any Toyota or Honda or Hyundai dealers with 300 cars on the lot as they had pre pandemic.

mathjak107

my son owns a leasing brokering business …their dealers are starving for cars .

they are trying to pay the same bills with a lot less vehicles coming in .

i was going to get a porsche macan originally…our local dealer said he couldn’t sell me one unless i had a porsche trade in .

they needed both cars to make their nut

lexusnyca

I can't see how the dealers are starving - they used to need 10 sales at $500 over invoice to make $5000. Now they can sell two cars at/over MSRP and make $5000. Plus there is no showroom traffic, so they can fire half their sales staff.

mathjak107

no dealer could stay in business if all they made is 500 bucks …know what it cost to keep a car on a showroom floor for 4 weeks , pay a salesman , etc.

they make 2k right off the bat for every car being financed and they get deep discounts off sticker

they make approx 5-10k per car depending on price

lexusnyca

Cars were even selling below invoice before all this, with manufacturer incentives. That's all gone now too.

The dealers now also have near zero floorplan costs - in the "old days" they use to have to borrow money to pay manufacturers for the cars, and keep them in their dealer inventory before the sale, and pay the carrying charges on the floorplan loans. Now that's all gone too, cars are delivered pre-sold, so the floorplan duration is now days instead of weeks/months. The dealer carrying costs are next to nothing in this model, so again more profit for them. Auto dealers have been one of the most lucrative business enterprises over the last 2+ years, and there is no sign of that ending any time soon - at the expense of the car buying public.

budwom

Since much of a dealer's profit comes from service (roughly 50% pre pandemic) selling far fewer cars is not going to help the service end of the business should this continue for several more years....

mathjak107

average pre covid was 2600 profit per car plus a 2k financing bonus

now with a fraction of the new cars and way way less used cars profit on what they did move and have had to be increased by more than double according to jd powers to meet what they were doing previously in bottom line

budwom

What's also worth mentioning, and what car manufacturers have cited when talking to analysts, is that constrained supply saves them from the typical year end sales in which they either have to heavily discount some (emphasis) vehicles, or provide lots of heavily discounted financing, both of which are expenses they'd love to do without.