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Lexus ES 300/ES 330 Prices Paid and Buying Experience

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Comments

  • rroyce10rroyce10 Member Posts: 9,332
    ....... Obviously your friend is wrong, Lexus is 2% of the Base MSRP, options are not included .. plus dealers can't hold their breath waiting for a quartely bonus that may or may not hit, that's kinda like waiting for that winning lottery ticket .. also holdback isn't a profit center, it's used to "offset" the cost of the floorplan .. check my profile, I'll bet I'm into $100 of the strike zone ...

     

                Import dealers can't survive selling the bulk of their inventory for $900/$1,200 over invoice, they only sell 80/100/120 vehicles a month and most of those dudes are high priced and sucking up the holdback faster than a camel can drink water after a 3 day run .... "move em out boys", I agree - that works for a big Ford/Chevy store thats pumping out 250/350+ units a month .. but most "high end" import dealers have to average $2,500 a unit just to keep the heat on ....

     

                    I hope this helps ...

     

                               Terry :)
  • carbekucarbeku Member Posts: 2
    this was part of the december to remember sales event. bought it 1 day before it expired. i first negotiated the price and then talked to them about payment terms etc. the lease term should not affect the price you negotiate.
  • gbjerkegbjerke Member Posts: 158
    Can't say whether my friend is right or wrong...2% or 3% holdback on sticker vs. base price. Quarterly bonus may/may not hit....I don't know.

    My POINT however is why would a dealer turn down a profit, no matter how slim, when supply obviously exceeds demand.

    I had two quotes at 500 over; five or more at 1,000 over. These dealers are not idiots; i.e. they sure as hell are not going to lose $$$ on a straight out deal. Seven dealers at 1k or less over invoice and the local would not meet even the 1k over. This is what amazes me.

    I am sure there are a lot of Lexus shoppers who pay sticker or get a "generous" $500 off. That's all well and good but I still wonder why a store would not get rid of an in stock floor planned vehicle when he can trun a nickel on it.
  • bikegalbikegal Member Posts: 50
    Because he wants more money than you want to give him?
  • rroyce10rroyce10 Member Posts: 9,332
    ...... What the dealer did 22 miles away or the one gave you a price from 122 miles away is almost meaningless discussion, but I will try to explain it ... dealers watch their inventory Very Closely, every dealer has to average "X" amount of dollars per unit, and a $2,500 rolling "average" across the board is usually the figure ~ that means he can take a $1,600 deal, but he has to have a $4,000 deal, an $2,400 deal, a $2,000 deal and lets not forget a $2,500 deal .. now, if the guy sold his next 5 vehicles at $500 over invoice, he would be in the bucket for $10,000 (American money) ...

     

                The guy 22 miles away, well, he might have sold 3 RX330's and and two LS430's and averaged $2,959.90 a copy .. the dealer 122 miles away, he might have sold 2 LX470's, 1 LS430 and 2 SC430's and averaged $2,791.23 a copy, so they are over their rolling average for the month, so at that particular time they can take a tiny deal and in 4.3 days that could all change ... now, you go to your guy and he needs $1,500 over invoice to make a deal and he decides to pass for one simple reason - he feels he's losing money .. plus you keep throwing holdback into the deal .. it's "Not" profit, the dealer is sitting on probably $15/$25 million++ in inventory and he's paying a quarter point over prime for it everyday ~ thats alot of enchilada's ...

     

                  You got a good deal, so enjoy it and quite taking it personally, it's just good business .. how long do you think Best Buys would stay in business if they sold everyone of their new super duper TV's for $300 ...... aaahh, not long ..l.o.l.....

     

           -- Or, **Because he wants more money than you want to give him?** ............... ;)

         

     

                                  Terry.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    I'm thinking of buying an ES330 or an I35, but I can't seem to justify the extra $$$ needed for the ES330. What's the difference between the two cars? I know that the I35 is a 2004 model, but I don't really care. I drive my vehicles for about 95,000 miles before buying a new car, so depreciation doesn't matter too much.
  • rroyce10rroyce10 Member Posts: 9,332
    ... ** What's the difference between the two cars?** ..

     

                   Personal taste .......

     

                                    Terry.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    ah. ok. But does anybody feel that the ES330 is worth possibly the $5,000 premium over the I35?
  • atoewsatoews Member Posts: 637
    Presumably anyone who bought an ES330 thinks it is worth it.
  • jbtwojbtwo Member Posts: 14
    Just started to look for a new car and headed over to a local Lexus dealer. They quoted the following and was curious if it was a good deal.

    2005 Lexus ES330

    MSRP - $35,419

    Lease payment of $498.00 per month.

    Lease term - 36 months/36,000 miles.

    Lease payment includes sales tax for Illinois.

     

    Only first payment is required for start of lease.

     

    Sorry I don't have any other information.
  • jbtwojbtwo Member Posts: 14
    Had a pleasant surprise when I went to the auto show this past Sunday. Of the cars I was interested in purchasing, I asked if there was any auto show promotion. When I asked at the Lexus booth, I was told to fill out this small Lexus auto show interest card and they would email me a coupon for $500.00 toward the purchase of a new Lexus.

     

    Acura, Infiniti and Toyota were not offering any auto show promotion. Some times it pays to ask since they weren't advertising it.
  • ursamajorursamajor Member Posts: 127
    MSRP: $ 35469

     

    Cap Cost: $ 31656; residual value .56 or $ 20572, with 2% mileage adjustment

     

    Money Factor: .00145 (superb), which is approx 3.5% APR

     

    36 mos., 36000 miles

     

    minimal driveoff (no deposit, one month, CA license and bank fee = $ 1198)

     

    Monthly payment, including CA sales tax of 8.25%=

    $ 440.58//////$ 407 without sales tax.

     

    This quote was for a well-equipped model with standard wheels (I would change to chrome wheels, increasing the payment) and all standard accessories except for GPS.

     

    I have had four consecutive ES 300s leased for 13.5 years (including some extensions). I presently am trying to sell my 2002 ES 300 before the lease expiration March 20; I only have 22,700 miles on it and apparently could have as much as $ 4k in equity if I sell it to a private party. I noticed the throttle lag and have lived with it. I guess I am pretty mellow, as I think it's tolerable. However, for another $ 100 per month (which includes regularly scheduled maintance, perhaps worth $ 50/mo ave. for the lease term, or a net difference of $ 50/mo), I can lease a BMW 330i. It's hard to quantify what "driving pleasure" is vs. fine transporation and reliability. I just feel like a change to sportier driving is long overdue. But compare all of the data I gave you before determining why your initial offer was much higher. You can access free lease-calculation software at http://www.leaseguide.com/calc.htm to see if the dealer is basically deceiving you; without software (I memorized a manual algorithm years ago)you'll never know how easily you can get screwed.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    OK. And I35 owners must think its worth the extra $2,000 over the Maxima...
  • 1951tarheel1951tarheel Member Posts: 7
    I would like to read about dealers in Arizona. I live in Tucson and have not seen any information from anyone buying an 05 ES 330 from an AZ dealer.

    Of course, I did not go back to the beginning of this forum but have be monitoring for several months now.

    Anyone buying cars in AZ?
  • vgrinshpunvgrinshpun Member Posts: 36
    Shopping for new 2005 Lexus Es 300 and trying to check inventory using dealer sites without success.

    Does anybody know how to check dealer inventories?

    Thanks
  • ftl2kyleftl2kyle Member Posts: 2
    This board provides me a very useful price reference . The deal I made is for ES330 with HID and additional options. It pretty much has those standard stuff except for NAV/ML/rear sunshade. It is black with cashmere leather. MSRP is 35709, paid price 30750 with a trade-in that has blue book value of about $1500. It took about one hour to make the deal, which is an all cash deal. I probably could get $500 better, but didn't want to go through the hassle. It is a Boston area dealer and the salesperson was nice and not pushy.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    The only way that works is to either call the dealership or actually walk down to the lot and see what they've got.
  • lxldylxldy Member Posts: 2
    no one can do that...even other dealers don't know everything at one another's lots. They hide it!
  • lxldylxldy Member Posts: 2
  • arnold2arnold2 Member Posts: 3
    I have given up on buying a used Lexus because the resale price seems to be so high. I am now in the final stages of shopping for a new 2005 ES 330 with a MSRP of $35,709 (has everything but the navigation equipment.) The dealer has already come down to 32,500. Can anyone give me a sense for how much further I can push this? Thanks.

    Arnold
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    Resale does seem to be outrageously high. The local Lexus dealer when I went to test drive the ES330 offered me a CPO ES330 for $28,000. Thats a lotta money to spend on a used car, in my opinion.
  • gbjerkegbjerke Member Posts: 158
    Arnold--
    I went thru the same thing last November. The '05's had hit the ground and quite a few Chicago suburban dealers had '04 demos for sale. 3,500-5,000 miles on them. Thought I could save some big $$$ getting a demo. The BEST price I got was for the 5k mileage one and that was 32,000! I told the salesman that I had a figure of 32,176 for a NEW '05. He went to the sales manager and they both came back....32,000! So, for $176 I got an '05 with 9 miles on the odo.
    Mine had a sticker of 35,419 so the price quote you have looks pretty fine to me.
  • bikegalbikegal Member Posts: 50
    I, too, was in the same boat. I even looked at a 2004 ES with 3,500 miles at Carmax. They wanted $31,000! For another $1,000, I got my 2005 ES from the Lexus dealership.

    It sounds like you got a better deal than I since you have everything except the navi. I assume you have the upgraded sound system?

    My price went from $35,200 to $32,000 in December.
  • arnold2arnold2 Member Posts: 3
    thank you
  • arnold2arnold2 Member Posts: 3
    thank you for this information- not sure what you mean about the upgraded sound system- what exactly is this- thanks
  • lexusctlexusct Member Posts: 6
    That monthly lease payment seems a bit high to me, although I am not sure about taxes in Illinois. However, I can't imagine them to be much higher that in Connecticut where we get taxed to death... Please see my post from 2/1/05. My monthly payment is $490 per month with all taxes, fees and I have a fully loaded with Mark Levinson and Navigation 2005 ES 330. Keep pushing them, if not on the cap cost, then the money factor or residual percentage. Finally, wait until the end of the month so tomorrow 2/28 would be a good day.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    The upgraded sound system would be the Mark Levinson system. (The ES330 comes standard with a Lexus Stereo system, which sounded fine to me, but if you really want the Mark Levinson, then go for it. I've heard that its very good.)
  • vubsvubs Member Posts: 14
    at lexus in dallas this morning and the consultant told me the ES price went up $200. is this normal? sticker on the "Package C" (heated seats, HID, in-dash 6-CD, 17" alloys w/locks, rear shade, wood steering, power pedals, trunk mat & net) is now $35,609. they wanted $32,990+ttl. i told them they can do better (esp. when this will be the 3rd car we've purchased from this company). also, has anyone wondered if all the leather perforations in the heated seats will make them rip more easily down the road (e.g. w/age or from a big dog)?
  • bikegalbikegal Member Posts: 50
    Got the same car for $32,000 in December. I am in Virginia.
  • jackfactorjackfactor Member Posts: 25
    I almost did not when those guys alarmed me with the tranny forum posts, but I tested it fro 15 minutes and then drove it two hours yesterday and it runs like a dream. Black/Black with Nav, Mark Levinson, Xenon HID, rear shade...Blah Blah.. it is loaded.
    37,000 miles, clean carfax report. negotiated to $26,000 and got six for my "good" condition 97 ES with 113,000 on it so a total transaction of $20K - I feel great and felt like a king driving it. I only received on key with it and wanted to know what you think is the vest way to get a new key made - just have dealer order/code it or buy one somewhere and then have the dealer code it. What is the cost for the key. I love having the stuff right on the key as opposed to the FOB on my 97. Thanks.
  • jackfactorjackfactor Member Posts: 25
    Anybody have suggestions for the best child seat for stowing in the trunk and moving in and out often. I plan on getting a mat to cover the leather, but wanted to see if you guys had any suggestions.
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,146
    Since this is a pricing discussion, you'll have better luck in one of these topics:
    Advice - Child Car Seats That Fit
    Lexus ES 300/ES 330

    kirstie_h
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  • colleen4colleen4 Member Posts: 3
    ...I was shopping for a new ES330 for a while. Did not know what a good price was, and as expected I was geting the runaround from many dealers who rather negotiate with men than women.
    Someone told me to contact Woodfield Lexus in Schaumburg Illinois. Pretty far from where I live, but let me tell you, it was worth it. They treated me actually like I was important to them.
    The showed me the invoice and I paid a few hundred dollars over that. They took all the time to show me the bells and whistles on my new car
    including the Navigation system. I have visited some 5 Lexus dealerships, but this one stood out.
  • pfalcorpfalcor Member Posts: 3
    had a similar experience with a RX330 I purchased there as well. although not female, the experience was straight forward
  • 1951tarheel1951tarheel Member Posts: 7
    Colleen4, would you mind telling those of us who are still shopping, the actual price that you paid before TTL.
  • gelightgelight Member Posts: 10
    Need your help on what bottom line pricing(before state sales tax) you paid for a '05 ES330 w/o nav. MSRP is $35,419 plus $299 for other fees. I calculate invoice to be in the 31,254(before $299 fee). Initial meeting was offered somewhere in the middle ($33,800). I reading in this chat pricing in the $32,000-32,500 range. I am in a city with only one Lexus dealer which maybe why I may have to visit other dealers to leverage a better deal. Please share your experience and pricing in your market on this vehicle. Thank you
  • hawk1eyehawk1eye Member Posts: 61
    I am planning to buy my ES330 with an XM radio. I can't find either a MSRP or dealer add on cost for this anywhere. Would appreciate very much if someone could post if they had one installed at their dealer. Thanks in advance. Hawkeye
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,146
    You'll likely find that adding a satellite radio will be cheaper (and possibly installed better) at a store that specializes in car audio. You might have a look at our discussion about XM & Sirius Satellite Radio for more info.

    kirstie_h
    Roving Host
    Host, Future Vehicles & Smart Shopper discussions

    MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
    Need help navigating? kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
    Share your vehicle reviews

  • gelightgelight Member Posts: 10
    My dealer said MSRP is $895 and would install for $745. On accessories, there is approximately 20% margin between cost and retail. The car is set for this radio and I if a Best Buy can do, I have to believe it would be cheaper than $895.
  • about2buyabout2buy Member Posts: 12
    The dealer wanted $800 to furnish and install the XM radio in a new ES330. I have seen the XM unit itself for the Lexus being sold on a major auction site on the net by a Lexus dealer for $395. Of course, you would then need to find someone to do the installation which the dealer claims is quite time consuming.
  • kmg68kmg68 Member Posts: 108
    "Can anyone help me to at least obtain a real quote from a recognized dealer that will be the same or lower than the prices obtained through the various web sites."

    I received a quote in Atlanta for a fully loaded "tier 4" with M/L, Navigation, VSC, adjustable pedals, ventilated/heated seats, etc. for $35,162. I hope that helps!
  • kmg68kmg68 Member Posts: 108
    "Can anyone give me a sense for how much further I can push this? Thanks."

    I wouldn't pay anything more than $1000 over invoice. You may even be able to get it for less than that......
  • smith83smith83 Member Posts: 60
    dna2511. Did you lease or purchase your new ES? It looks like you got a great deal from Johnson Lexus. I am dealing with the same dealership but am not having as much success. If you leased, what was your downpaymet and what is your monthly payment? What should I push for?

    Thanks/
  • colleen4colleen4 Member Posts: 3
    I paid $31,951.00 for the car, which I thought was very fair. I also financed with the dealer, which offered a better rate than my credit union.
  • fredvhfredvh Member Posts: 857
    Congratulations on the new ES330! What was the MSRP for the car? Is this price exclusive of taxes, title, and registration fees? Were there any other fees on top of the $31,951? Where in the USA are you? What interest rate were you able to get?
    How did you get to $31,951 and not $31,900 or $32,000?
  • saywhatsaywhat Member Posts: 63
    DITTO!
  • colleen4colleen4 Member Posts: 3
    I worked with the internet department of Woodfield Lexus, in Schaumburg IL.
    The list price of the car was $35,419.00 (that is what is says on the sticker in my glove box)
    my interest rate was 4.9% for 60 months
  • nospamnospam Member Posts: 54
    I knew I wanted an ES330. Did all of my price negotiation and financing comparison by the internet and email? Went to the dealer armed with preapproved financing. Got the right price and went to dealer to pick the color. Really easy. It took only a few days. I paid $31,032 for my 2005 ES330 with Premium Package in Dallas, Texas.
  • bikegalbikegal Member Posts: 50
    What is the premium package?
  • fredvhfredvh Member Posts: 857
    What was the MSRP of your ES including transportation?
This discussion has been closed.