Lexus LS 400/LS 430 Prices Paid and Buying Experience

ckelly14

Well, I'll try to answer this, since I'm also looking for a CPO LS430. I've been using Edmunds Dealer retail price instead of their CPO price as a good jumping- off point. There are so many used LS430's out there that I won't pay the premium that Edmunds claims you should for the CPO. However, the warranty is probably worth about $1500-2000 if you compare it to the Lexus "platinum" warranty that people are talking about on Edmunds.

For your car, Edmunds says the base dealer retail price is 34,855, very close to what you are being offered. If it has any options or if it is excellent condition, it may be a little more. Throw in the CPO and I think you have a pretty good deal. If is exactly the car you are looking for, then go for it! The biggest problem with the used car market is finding the right car. I want ventilated, perforated seats, and they were not offered in 2002 except in the custom or ultra-lux packages.

Good luck!

nvbanker

I agree with you, ckelly. I searched high and low, even at the auctions, and had trouble finding an 02 with the ventilated seats. Finally settled on one that was exactly what I wanted, sans the vents. CPO 02 with 30,000 miles on it in amazing condition inside, with Navigation - $36,500. I'm happy with it.

michael88

I have learned so much by reading this forum for the past year. Sharing of information is a great way to pass on your experience to others that need advice. So let me tell you my experience.

In July, I purchased a 2005 LS430 with a prem. package for $500 over invoice. I used CarBargins and paid them $160 for sending me 5 quotes. I live in Seattle and purchased from Marin Lexus in the Bay area. The transaction was seamless and they even picked up us at the airport.

The car is great and I am more than satisfied after spending $55K for my retirement car.

CarMan@Edmunds

Hey mlazar. The lease calculator that Kirstie just suggested is an excellent place to go to figure out what your vehicle's lease payment will be. If you want to understand just how the formula that is used to calculate lease payments works, you also may want to check out the following article: Calculate Your Own Lease Payment.

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fin

Excellent link in post #10. This is, by far, the most simple explanation of how a car lease is calculated that I have ever seen. Thanks.

ckelly14

and purchased a LS430. After being frustrated at the prices and availability of CPO'd LS 430's, I purchased a 2001 LS 430 from a reputable, local, pre-owned luxury car dealer. I paid $29,400- car has ML and NAV, as well as heated (but not ventilated) front and rear seats. I thought it was alot of car for the money. Came with a 3rd party 48 month/60k warranty, which I guess is better than nothing if you're not paying for it.

michael_mattox

I think the only LS with ventilated back then was the ULTRA and they are RARE.

Sounds like you got a GREAT price on the 02 LS with Nav.

nvbanker

I'm sure you're right about the seats - and I will miss that as well as parktronic, neither of which, this car has. However, I'm enjoying the car immensely, and it's a pretty amazing machine.

CarMan@Edmunds

You're very welcome, fin. I'm glad that you found the article so helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions.

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pjekoo

You are taking a big risk with these auction guys. They are call "Curbstoners" and is actually an illegal practice in some states. I recently went to see a used Lexus advertised as a private party sale. As it turned out, it was one of these auction guys. The 05' LS430 only had 4000 miles on it. But after looking at the car, I can tell it has been in a collision and repaired. One way to tell on a Lexus is that all doors, hood, front quarter panels, bumper, are tagged with the VIN #. If the VIN# sticker is missing or does not match the car's, then it's not the original fender. It's a sure sign of collision repair.

pjekoo

I too was debating 05' LS430 versus 06'. The dealer offered me an 06' with Mod Lux and 18" wheels for $56,700. I was able to find a remaining 05' with Cust Lux, upgraded leather/wood 18" chrome (X5) wheels for the same price.

nvbanker

I totally agree. Buy from a reputable dealer, or someone you know where you have history on the car. I attend the auction often - there is some real junk there. I buy for a dealer though - and I hate curbstoners! They're the worst of the breed....

joel232

Did not pick up this silver 02LS430 with 43K miles.
Instead, from the same Lexus dealer in California, purchased a white 02 LS430 with only 34,900 miles. No navigation. It still has 8 more months factory warranty and the standard Lexus Certified Pre-owned 3 years/100K miles warranty. Excellent condition. Paid $36,800. Edmunds' TMV priced at $41,452.

popeye7

Does anyone have info on the upcoming December to Remember promotion. Assuming that Lexus will have it again, how does it work? My lease on an 03 ES300 is up in a couple of months and I was thinking that I might get a good deal on a 24 month lease for an 06 LS430. I could force myself to live without the restyled 07 LS for 2 years.

CarMan@Edmunds

I've had an opportunity to take a look at the new "December to Remember" lease program and would be happy to help you out, popeye7. Lexus is providing special lease money factors on just about all of its vehicles through this program. It's new lower buy rate lease money factor for the 2006 LS 430 is .00148. This is a lot lower than its standard money factor of .00245 that you would normally have to use to lease this car. If you are in the market for a new Lexus, now it a great time to get one. It's difficult to say whether Lexus will carry over its special lease program on this car through the month of January.

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popeye7

Thank you Car_man for your input. With the special leasing rate, how much of a discount can I expect off of the list price of an LS 430. I always try to negotiate a selling price before declaring that I want to lease.

Also, is there a typical option package that is found with most LS 430's on Dealer's lots?

Thank you.

CarMan@Edmunds

You're welcome popeye7. The fact that Lexus is providing a special lease money factor on this car should not have any impact upon your ability to negotiate an attractive selling price. This special money factor is completely paid for by Lexus and has nothing to do with dealers. Negotiate as attractive a price as possible on the LS that you are interested in, just as you normally would. You may be able to get an idea of how much you should pay for this car right now by visiting the following discussion: "Lexus LS: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

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4mar

Dec 2 2005
We are looking at leasing a LS430 with navigation this month - what is a good price to pay for "December to Remember"

harley5

I just leased a 2006 LS430. I had a 2003 GS430 that was coming off lease in April, so I stopped by the local Lexus dealership to see if now was the time to do something or wait until the lease was up. They offered me a 36 month, 12,000 mile year lease with a .00150 money factor and a 52% residual, I walked on this deal, they came back with a 57% residual so I accepted this deal. I didn't realize they could monkey w/ the residual, I always thought the residual was what it is, but apparently you can negotiate a residual. After reading Car Man's post I think I could have gotten a little better money factor but I'm trying to see if I could have gotten a better residual. The car I leased had the premium pak, smart key and preferred accessory package (listed for about $59,772) So is the 57% residual about what most people are getting on the LS for December to Remember?

4mar

re december to remember - so what was the bottom lease price you paid for 2006 LS430 with upgrades? did you LS430 incl the navigation pkg? this is my first time at leasing so appreciate info

xgboy

I'm new to Lexus vehicles and not familiar with the Ultra & Mod. I am coming off of a Jaguar lease (S type) in Feb. and after 2 Jags I have decided to lease a Lexus LS430 or a Mercedes S350. I am leaning toward the Lexus because I think it's better quality. The captioned promotion, however, is confusing but it appears to be better than the Mercedes Winter Lease. I have seen some enticing lease offers in the So. Cal classifieds, no details but great lease per month prices, and I have not followed up on them. Obviuosly, research re dealers is a must but is solely relying on Edmunds sufficient? I have not gone to a dealership but probably that should be my first step with regard to optional equip, et al. Any and all responses regarding the Promotion and Leases in general will be greatly appreciated.

CarMan@Edmunds

Hello 4mar. You never mentioned the selling price or MSRP of the car that you are interested in leasing. These are important numbers for you as a consumer to know for two reasons. First, the selling prices of leased vehicles can be negotiated, just as if you were paying cash for them. Without knowing this car's selling price in relation to its MSRP you don't know how much of a discount you are getting on it. The second reason is that one needs the selling price and MSRP, including the destination charge, of a vehicle to calculate its lease payment. I would be more than happy to work up a sample lease payment on the car that you are interested in for you if you let me know what these numbers are. You may be able to get an idea of how much you will have to pay for this car right now by visiting the following discussion: "Lexus LS: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi harley5. Dealers do not have the authority to alter banks' published residual values. In order for the dealer that you are working with to have changed this car's resid, they must have altered its mileage allowance, the length of the lease, or the bank that it is being leased through. Lexus financial Services' current 36 month, 12,000 miles per year residual value for a base 2006 LS 430 is currently 57%, so I don't know why the residual value that they quoted you earlier was so low.

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carguywannabe

I too want to say thanks for the link to "how to calculate a lease". I followed it thru just fine, and thought it was well laid out.

But can anyone explain the one bit of logic that seemed flawed to me. That is, the formula divides the depreciation of the auto (difference between MSRP and Residual) into the number of payments. That's fine. Then you calculate the interest on the car. The formula says add the residual to the MSRP!!?? In other words, you not only pay interest on the car, but on the residual value? Hunh? That's interest on 150-160% of the car. How can that be?

Am I missing something in this logic?

Thanks for all the excellent information.

kyfdx

The monthly finance charge is a formula... You add the Cap Cost and the residual, because the intent is to get an "average" of these two figures... The balance financed is the cap cost at the beginning of the lease, and the residual at the end of the lease.. You don't have to divide by 2, to get the average.... that is taken care of by the money factor... The money factor is already halved to take that step out of the calculation...

I hope this makes sense..

regards,
kyfdx
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carguywannabe

Thanks kyfdx,

That does make sense. I guess should look at how the interest rate factors out to the money factor. Anyone have a formula for that. I mean, I read the "2400" figure, but I'd like to see the whole math, not just the "cheat" factor. Although it makes it simple.

Much appreciated for the reply.

carguywannabe

Hi again, kyfdx,

Sorry to seem anal, but one more thing strikes me here. I get your average concept, being half of the sum of the residual plus the cap cost, but this also means you pay interest on the vehicle at msrp, even though you negotiated a better price. Doesn't it?

This seems to diminish the value of negotiating a lower price somewhat, not totally.

I haven't leased a car to date, but was considering it on a Lexus, so this conversation is much appreciated.

Thanks.

kyfdx

Nope... the formula isn't (MSRP + Residual), it is (Cap cost + Residual).. with the cap cost being your selling price plus any fees or taxes that are added into the price, minus any cap cost reductions..

So, you are only paying the finance charge on the actual price you pay..

I explain the 2400 this way...

The money factor is a fraction, while APR is expressed as a whole number.. multiply by 100

The money factor is for a monthly finance charge, while APR is annual.. multiply by 12

The money factor is half what it would normally be to account for the whole (Capcost + Residual) thing.. multiply by 2

100 X 12 X 2 = 2400

Or.. to make it possibly clearer (or not...lol) work your way backwards from an APR..

6% APR..
Divide by 100 to convert to a fraction = .06

Divide by 12 to convert annual to monthly = .005

Divide by 2, to convert (Capcost + Residual) to an average of the two numbers = .0025

6% divided by 2400 = .0025

Hope this helps...
kyfdx

abc321

Educated here with everyone's experience and information.

Started with ES330, end up a 2006 LS430 (ML, SmartKey, ...). 87.9% MSRP in LA Area.

Thanks!

garyh1

Congratulations! Just curious, was there any favorable financing or leasing rates available on the LS for the December to Remember promotion?

abc321

Sorry, don't known. My car was bought last month.

carguywannabe

Thanks. That is quite understandable to me. You're good at explaining things. :-)

So this help me a lot. As I say, I've never leased, but having a better understanding of it now, I'd say it costs the same as buying. Only it involves paying more interests as you're deferring paying for a bunch of the capital. Thus the balance isn't declining as fast.

And the trade off to paying more interest is an additional option (flexibility) at some point in the future where you have the choice to return the car.

To another poster's point, if you have something better to use your money for now, leasing can certainly make sense.

georgev1

NY area dealer offered me a 05 Silver/Ecru LS430 w/ Custom Option Pkg for $55,100...any and all feedback appreciated.
Do these deale REALLY go away in January?
George

nvbanker

They seem to go away in January. What's the sticker on that one you're considering?

georgev1

The sticker is around $63,000 for the 05 Lexus LS430 custom pkg.

pjekoo

I bought the 05' LS430 with Custom Lux. The sticker was $68,000, which also includes the 5 (not 4) 18" chrome rims, the upgraded leather, smart key. I got the car for $56,700. I was under the impression that all Custom Lux includes these options. I don't know how you got a sticker of $63K. Are you sure that is not the Modern Lux? The most obvious difference is the power door closers. They are only on the Custom and Ultra Lux. If you add chrome rim to the Modern Lux, it is a dealer chormed rim and not the Lexus Factory chromed rims. Also, they only give you 4 chorme rims, your spare tire will NOT be chormed. This can make tire rotation very difficult. I was told another difference between Modern Lux and Custom/Ultra Lux is that the roof liner are made of suede, whereas the modern lux/base is cloth. Most people are not aware of this.

georgev1

Thank you!
Yes, you are correct. The actual sticker is $65,149.
I was just back to the dealer yesterday.
He offered the 6yr/100k mile extended warranty - new total is $56,100 - 05 LS430 Custom Pkg , Silver/Ecru.
I'm thisclose!
Seems like a solid buy.
But, tell me more about those wheels...when I voice my interest in an upgraded wheel, he, um, demurs.
With hot wheels on it, I'd be in total puppy love!
Geo
Any comments on my deal?

pjekoo

I just looked at my sticker price and it was $68,039. I also had the Semi Aniline Leather which added $2,100. The 18" chrome rim was a $1,920 option. I think the LS430 looks much better with the 18" chrome rims. However, the car does ride slightly harsher. I drove one with 17" rims and there is just a slight difference. If you go for the chrome rims, make sure they give you 5 chrome rims and NOT 4. Otherwise, tire rotation would be a pain.

mmzig

After months of research, finally took delivery of an '06 LS430 yesterday from Lexus of Sacramento. They delivered it to our door, saving the hassle of the time at the dealer (my wife appreciated that!). It has the Premium Package, Smart Access, 18" alloy wheels, and the Preferred Accessory package; MSRP $60,619. Paid $53,720 (88.6% of MSRP). The salesman said that was $500 over invoice, though I couldn't verify that. They were professional from start to finish. I know that's not the lowest available price, since Magnussen Lexus of Fremont agreed to a price $320 lower till they determined that the only way to get us the car we wanted was to transport one in, and the only one available in the area was the one I was negotiating on in Sac; the prople at Sac understandably wouldn't give it up as long as they had a chance to sell it to us directly. Also, in the course of negotiations, I talked to a salesman from Roseville Lexus. He said that particular configuration (premium package with smart access) didn't exist (Wrong!) He also told me the one at Lexus of Sac (which we eventually bought) had chrome wheels which we didn't want (Wrong again!) Thanks to all who have posted here; the info has been invaluable.

molex

That lex 460 is something else. I cant stop looking at it.Does anybody know how much they are going 2 go for? I got my 430 not 2 long ago and lexus already got me looking AGAIN! ISNT that something else......

gteach26

I suggest you wait at least six months to a year for the initial demand to wear off. Despite the ongoing assumption that Lexus doesn't discount much, the fact is that in larger markets with decent competition THEY DO. I'll be in the market in late 2007 -- that should be just the right time to make my 07 December one to remember. The 07 LS does look sweet!!

I don't think they've unveiled the official pricing yet - have they?

brookswa

I've heard that the 2007 will have an extended length car available. Is this true? Any suggestions on what major cities will be competitive when I'm in the market?

rgsw

Yes on the extended length LS460, see Lexus.com
http://www.lexus.com/models/ls/index.html

molex

I was so impressed with the new LS460L at the autoshow.I am more and more impressed with lexus.I love the new body shape. Acceleration is great now at 290 horses, imagine at 380.The new backseat rear counsil is very sharp looking! Now with the recliners I could live in it with no problems.

popeye7

In four months I will be coming off lease of my second Lexus and i am considering the option of a third Lexus. I have had the RX and the ES and thought that I would treat myself and jump up to the LS. I continue to be impressed with Lexus' superior quality and outstanding experience with the dealer service department for almost seven years. The problem I have is with the sales department of this particular dealership. Despite some long term stability within the sales department, neither of my previous sales reps are with the dealership. Whenever I walk through the showroom, I immediately sense a nauseating elitist attitude that really turns me off. A few years ago I recommended the dealership to a relative and a close friend. Both were so turned off with the attitude that one bought an Audi and the other bought from another Lexus dealership 40 miles away.

That said, I now have to decide where I want to lease my next Lexus. I can't understand how the owner of the dealership can have such a diverse attitude climate under the same roof. I am not a hard person to please. I just want a fair deal minus the attitude.

What would happen if I leased thru another dealer or broker? I suspect that I would no longer receive the warm and fuzzy feeling from the same service department that is only 12 miles away. Can someone help me sort thru this.

Thank you.

nvbanker

It's very possible you could be right, and the service dept. may diss you if you buy elsewhere. However, I did the same thing - bought from a dealer I know, but take it to the dealer who is close for service. So far, I've been treated just fine, like it didn't matter. YMMV....
I suspect though, that no matter where I bought the car, if I come into your dealership for service, that means money in their pocket either way, doesn't it? Why would it benefit them to treat you badly then?

hpowders

from NYC to Sarasota, the BMW service dept. treated me the same as the one in NYC.
The only difference is they have a policy that if you didn't buy or lease the car with them, you have to pay for a loaner through a rental car agency they work with.
The hot chocolate and cookies in unlimited supply were never denied me in Sarasota and the service reps. were courteous and business-like just like in NYC.
Business is business-they wil fix your car regardless of where you purchased it.

nvbanker

Well, fortunately, my Lexus dealer didn't charge me for my rental, not even the gas.

luckylou

After several months of reading this website and others I finally took the plunge and indulge into a new LS430.
Boy Oh boy , do I enjoy reading all you guys messages !!
The color is Mercury Metallic with Black interior exactly what I wanted , it comes equip with the option : Custom Luxury Selection with Additional Options , MSRP $10,044.00 .
The MSRP with options : $ 67,264.00.
The OUT THE DOOR price $ 61976.84 got $ 9000.00 OFF.
I much believe I got a great deal , I told them to saddle up.
Thank you to all the members.
Lou

songsu

Hi, #443: you said OUT THE DOOR $61,976.84 what's the price WITHOUT the title, license and tax? Can you let me know what 'additional options' are? thanks.