Lexus GX460 GX470 Prices Paid and Buying Experience

trdid

I don't know if you want to try this..??.. But used a fake quote to get my deal. Like I said, I fudged some number from another dealer (Enron) and they believed it. Wrong of me, I know. Lets just hope the big JC will forgive me for it. Let me know. Good luck otherwise.

stever

You mean people are lying at car dealerships? Zut alors, I'm shocked, shocked to the core!

Another thing about my lousy math skills is that I've been known to transpose numbers and not notice the error.

:-)

Steve, Host

trdid

Yeah can you believe it? I found out the hard way after buying 4 cars. What shame!

bodble2

"Another thing about my lousy math skills is that I've been known to transpose numbers and not notice the error."

It appears you would make a great car salesman!

bankeizen

Is it possible to specify different tires than the ones that come from the factory? I would be willing to pay any differential, of course.

redhawk2

You should be able to "request" different tires and a good, reputable dealer will accomodate you ---without any extra cost! I did!! Of course, if necessary, paying the difference might be the only other thing that will work. If they won't accept any "difference", I would change dealers because they apparently don't want to sell a car very bad.

bankeizen

What tires would be improvements over standard issue. I live in Pacific northwest so snow is not normally a factor but rain is. I almost never drive off pavemement.

bankeizen

The salesperson I spoke with said that if I had to special order my GX (do not need 3rd row, want KDSS and nav) it would take three to five months and wanted MSRP or a few hundred less. In addition, they wanted a $5,000 non-refundable deposit to cover any loss they might incur if I changed my mind or died and they suffered a loss when selling the car to someone else. This strikes me as quite unreasonable. What has been your experience with special orders?

landspeed

Lets think about it this way, you are paying thousands more to take out an option of third row seat. Doesn't sound very reasonable. The third row seats are removable. I would rather store them somewhere in the house than paying thousands to take out that option. Don't forget that you also get the rear air conditioning with the third row seat. You would prabably pay even more since you want the KDSS which are very rare even with regular orders.

wbwynn

Take your business elsewhere; the dealer is not reasonable nor customer-friendly. Shop the order around....you'll do much better.

irishlou

My GX had as stock tires B-Stone highway tires. The dealer switched them, at purchase, to Michelin X-Terrain tires at my request..at no extra charge.
I live in Northeast Ohio and we get a lot of snow..in fact there's a ton out there now with more on the way and we're way below normal!
Anyhow..the Michelin X-Terrain's are great so far. I'd recommend them over comparable Dunlop and B-Stone's anytime and always over straight highway tires! But this is only my opinion. Perhaps others have recommendations as well.
 Your dealer should, at purchase, switch for free as long as your request is reasonable.

punkle

Can anyone help on the following? I am close to buying a GX470 and asking dealers "how much over invoice will you take?" They all start by saying I have very few available and they're going for sticker and then they quickly get down to between $1200 and $2000 over invoice in Northern CA - this does take some persistence though - I won't kid you. However, I have 2 questions. 1) Is the $563 Dealer Advertising Fee always on the invoice - this seems ridiculous to pay. 2) Edmunds shows $2191 as the invoice price for the Navigation option which includes the crappy Mark Levinson audio and rear camera whereas some dealers are telling me the invoice for that option is $2471 - anyone know why these are different?

That's about all I need to get an apples to apples comparison before making the purchase. Thanks in advance for any assistance here.

rkrzyston

I just talked to someone in SoCal that quoted me 3750 off MSRP. With Nav w/o RES. NOt a bad price,.. 4K down payments at 550.

Before you ask.. they have been mentioned in this thread

ljflx

Just put the msrp of your GX and 7750 as a capital cost down payment into that payment estimator to see if Lexus Financial has a better deal. I notice that Fleetrates isn't discounting as heavily as before. I wonder what happened.

punkle

Which I think is at least $5K off of MSRP. $3750 isn't bad but keep going. Jim Falk of Beverly Hills will do $1500 - $2000 over, especially if you go in there and they have one you like sitting on the lot. All Lexus dealers are supposed to get a new allocation this Thursday (today) or Friday so they may want to move the new deliveries soon. I'm looking at only $1200 over invoice in Northern CA and at least 2 other dealers will go $2K or less over invoice.

ex_sc400

I just came back from a test drive at Steven Creek Lexus in San Jose, CA (Northern Cal). I was quoted with $49,300 for a 2004 GX470 with RSES, NAV and 3rd row without KDSS. I just checked Kelly Blue Book and the invoice with these options is only $45,501 (MSRP $52,784). It doesn't look like it's $1200 over invoice at all ... May I ask which dealer you went to in Northern Cal?

punkle

I'll let you know the dealers if and when the transaction is completed but there are multiple in the running. Here's a tip: you say "you were quoted $49,300." Nobody will ever quote you $1200 or $2K over invoice. Next time you call or go into a dealer say you are looking for $1000, $1500, or $2000 over invoice - whatever you feel comfortable with. Go to the Lexus website and get the list of all 35 dealers in CA. Print the list out. Call as many of these dealers as you have the time and patience for and ask directly for the Sales Manager or the General Manager (who runs both Sales and Services and may even be more inclined to move a car than the Sales Manager because he makes the real money on your services business). Tell the SM or GM that you are interested in a GX470 for $1500 over invoice and you're ready to buy now. They may ask you what options and colors you want and if they don't have it would you wait for an allocation, etc.

I called 13 dealers on that list so far and 6 of them were willing to go $2000 or less over invoice. 2 of them I left messages for and 5 were not interested in a deal $2000 or less over invoice. EVERY ONE WILL TELL YOU THEY ARE ALL SELLING FOR MSRP OR A LITTLE LESS AT FIRST BEFORE THEY DECIDE THEY WANT TO MAKE A DEAL. It also depends on what day you catch them. If they have the one you want sitting on the lot they may be more apt to move it. I fully believe MOST SALES ARE FOR A FEW GRAND UNDER MSRP LIKE THE DEALERS ARE TELLING YOU BUT THEY HAVE TO MOVE A LOT OF CARS SO SOME WILL BE WILLING TO CUT YOU A BETTER DEAL.

ex_sc400

Good feedback. Will try this tomorrow. Update will be posted ...

jesst

Punkle.... In my research I have been given the same $563 figure for the GX advertising fee. I believe that this is accurate since I heard that some amount of advertising fee applies for other vehicles as well (Volvo in particular). This is always incorporated in the invoice price.

As for the Nav system the invoice price I was quoted is the same as what you got, $2471. The $2191 Edmunds price is the "old" price for the 9700B which did not include the Back-up camera. I just checked Edmunds again and they have updated their figures to include the back-up camera 9700C to reflect $2471.

Edmunds has not updated their site to include the invoice price for KDSS, but I don't know if you are interested in this or not. Sounds like this may be a more difficult option to get though.

I am in Northern Cal too. Keep us posted on your deals. Would like to know with who and what price you land on.

wbwynn

Thanks for your comments on buying a GX; I agree with you and have always put my business out to bid with many dealerships within my area (maybe within 100 miles). You will always do better with this approach and working off invoice is critical. The only thing I would add is try to make your contact around the end of the month when salesmen quotas and dealer allocations are heavily in the business mix.

punkle

...or $5,178 below MSRP. MSRP was $51,062 and Invoice was $44,675. The car had 20 miles on the odometer in case you are wondering if it had excessive miles or anything.

I originally posted this last night but Edmunds removed it because I mentioned the names of the specific sales people which I didn't realize was a no, no as clearly pointed out at the top of the thread. So here is the edited post.

Got it from Magnussen Lexus in Fremont CA - worked with the sales manager, a great sales rep, and a super General Manager. Before everyone gets excited to call Magnussen Lexus looking for the same deal, it probably won't happen - we bought the last GX470 they had on the lot yesterday and it just happened to be the one we wanted - Blizzard Pearl exterior, Ivory Interior, NAV, 3rd row seat, Hitch Bracket, Cargo Mat, Cargo Net, Wheel Locks. The point of this post is not to say Magnussen has better prices than any other Lexus dealer but to point out the method that happened to get this deal done for us.

Before I get into the story, I do want to say that our Sales Rep was one of the kindest, most gentle men we have ever dealt with. He was an ex. Nordstrom shoe salesman and I found out that the SM was an ex. Nordstrom buyer and he brought 3 or 4 people with him from Nordstrom to sell Lexus cars - never would have thought of it but what a brilliant fit! Nordstrom trained people completely break the mold of the typical classless, in your face, buy it now car salesman. These guys had integrity and class. We were there for almost 3 hours between signing all the papers (I paid cash so there weren't too many), test driving the vehicle, being shown all the awesome features of the car (the NAV alone could have taken an hour), my 4 year old playing "Polly Pockets Dolls" with the sales rep who was a father of 5 himself, and my wife breast feeding our 3 month old in between. It's a good thing they had plenty of water, soda, coffee, etc. - a nice environment to buy a car. The receptionist even spent a good 45 minutes with our 4 year old drawing pictures and spelling names, etc.

The story gets a little complicated. I called the SM Wednesday evening just going through my list of CA Lexus dealers asking him if he could beat the $1500 over invoice which is what I could get at Coliseum Lexus of Oakland (I could probably have gotten even less in LA or San Diego but really wanted to buy from a local dealer as I live in Oakland, CA). The SM had 3 GX470's on the lot Wednesday eve. and I guess I caught him at the right time because he wanted to move the Blizzard Pearl one which just happened to be what we wanted (and maybe nobody else wanted???). I told the SM I would discuss with my wife to see if we really wanted the NAV system as we weren't sure and get back to him Thursday morning. Coliseum Lexus of Oakland called to basically match the deal ($1400 over invoice but they were going to throw in a few free oil changes and some other things that could easily equate to the $200 difference). The only problem with Coliseum Lexus is they didn't have my colors and options and would have to be in the allocation pool which pretty much guaranteed me a car by end of February worst case. Renting a car at $150 a week for 6 weeks made this about a $1000 difference so I had to take the bird in the hand although feel real bad about the Oakland guys as they were also 100% professional and bent over backwards to try to accomodate our needs. I would highly recommend doing business with either Coliseum Lexus or Magnussen Lexus. It's funny but they are a bit competitive with each other so the best scenario I can recommend is trying to get your most local dealers to vie for your business but sometimes that takes calling 10, 20, or 30 dealers before you find the right price to negotiate from. Remember on my previous post I said I called 13, and 6 were able to do $2K over invoice or less, 5 said no to the $2K, and 2 I left messages with that never got returned - seems car sales people don't do the voice mail thing well on a first call.

So Thursday morning, I called the SM and found out he was playing golf with th GM - I finally got in touch with the SM on Friday morning but things changed - they happened to sell 2 of the 3 GX470s on Thursday and only had the one left going into the weekend so the SM didn't really want to do the deal anymore which I can't blame him. However I was somewhat persistent and completely understood and respected the SM's predicament but appealed to his sense of integrity (and the fact we both came from New York where "your word" is quite important) and he was a man of his word and honored the deal even though I fully believe the other 2 he sold the day before went for a lot more money. They also got a new allocation today so hopefully they will have a few more to sell some time soon.

By the way, we love this truck. So many very cool features that I can't even mention.

Would be happy to talk to anyone personally if you want to give me your contact info. as I'm not sure if we can send emails through Edmunds.

punkle

By the way, wanted to let you all know I called a couple dealers to check their COSTCO discount and it was $4K over invoice which was a lot higher than the $1200 I paid over invoice. CARSDIRECT.COM is also about $4K above invoice making me believe that ANY and ALL of these "pre-negotiated" discounts are for the real rookies that are used to paying MSRP. I wouldn't be surprised if they both do a lot of business because many probably view these discounts as good.

ex_sc400

I've been calling a few dealers in Northern and Southern California, but they don't have my color choice (Meridian Blue and Gray interior). The best deal I got so far is $3500 above invoice.

Wonder if I should try the autospies' platinum buying service ...

And congrats to punkle on getting this good deal!

punkle

ex_sc400. I never mentioned the colors or options I wanted until getting the invoice question out of the way. And you can always order it with a wait of 30-60 days once they agree on invoice price. I believe if you lead with your colors and options you come across as anxious. We also didn't decide on the GX470 until a week ago and every dealer knew we were also very interested in the MDX and XC90 and were in NO RUSH TO BUY.

punkle

One more thing that affects the negotiation. You cannot get your $1200 over invoice and then say you have a trade-in because they will just offer you $2,000 less on your trade-in to make up for the deal they gave you over invoice. I also think if you are leasing you also give the dealer more leeway to make back their deal.

Since everyone is buying new cars like crazy with all the deals offered by US carmakers, there is a glut of used cars and dealers are offering a good 20-30% less than you can sell the car on your own so I would highly recommend selling the car on your own but then again it adds quite a bit to the time necessary to make this happen. And forget about the trade-in values listed on KBB.com or Edmunds - they are not realistic - take the lowest number you find and take about 30-35% off of it to determine what a dealer will offer you. Try it out - it would be great to see others experiences in the trade-in area.

teaguy

I disagree with punkle. I always get at or above the trade in values listed in kbb.com. Walk away if your salesperson try that move. There are plenty of decent sales people out there in Lexus dealers.

punkle

I was looking for other experiences here on the trade-in. When was the last time you traded something in and could you give an example of what you traded in and what you got for it?

I just think recently with the used car glut it has gotten much worse.

ljerry

Followed punkle's advice (thanks), but used the e-mail route. Got decent quotes (mostly 3k over invoice ) but i needed a vehicle today. I couldn't get a Black Onyx, Ivory interior, fully loaded. I was told (lied to ) that one isn't available in north america(!) and would have to procure in next order...

found one at my local dealer, (apparently came in yesterday night) steven's creek. Went costco route (got 2.5k over invoice), didn't leave me much room for negotiation. Considering that atleast 5 dealers quoted MSRP, i don't think this is a bad deal. When i say 5 dealers quoted, i mean they wouldn't budge.

Was very keen on color (and options ) ( hated gray interior.), hence could not walk away during negotiation.
But all the tiredness vanished in the ride back home.

Cheers,
-Jerry

ex_sc400

I've been calling a few dealers in Northern and Southern California, but they don't have my color choice (Meridian Blue and Gray interior). The best deal I got so far is $3500 above invoice.

Wonder if I should try the autospies' platinum buying service ...

And congrats to punkle on getting this good deal!

stever

Edmunds revises used car prices here every month, and they really do reflect real world values. Some people insist on clicking the Outstanding button instead of the Average one when they appraise their used car though :-)

For a cross-check on our numbers, ask Terry or one of the other dealers over in Real-World Trade-In Values. Those guys hit the auctions every week.

punkle

I would actually recommend using the ROUGH description (AVERAGE even seems high) for your car in the Edmunds appraiser even if you have a CLEAN car because that is what I believe dealers will be offering these days, especially if you have negotiated a good price on the new car. If you're willing to pay MSRP than yes they will give you a great price for your trade-in and make you feel it's worth more than they would otherwise pay.

Let's see some actual deals at Lexus dealers for example where you get $2K or less over invoice and had a trade-in. That would be the proof in the pudding as they say.

punkle

One more thing that affects the negotiation. You cannot get your $1200 over invoice and then say you have a trade-in because they will just offer you $2,000 less on your trade-in to make up for the deal they gave you over invoice. I also think if you are leasing you also give the dealer more leeway to make back their deal.

Since everyone is buying new cars like crazy with all the deals offered by US carmakers, there is a glut of used cars and dealers are offering a good 20-30% less than you can sell the car on your own so I would highly recommend selling the car on your own but then again it adds quite a bit to the time necessary to make this happen. And forget about the trade-in values listed on KBB.com or Edmunds - they are not realistic - take the lowest number you find and take about 30-35% off of it to determine what a dealer will offer you. Try it out - it would be great to see others experiences in the trade-in area.

stever

I agree it's better to sell it yourself, if you don't mind the hassle of dealing with the public. And I agree that there's a glut of cars out there. I don't think pricing is just made up out of whole cloth though:

Learn More About TMV®

Steve, Host

ewaynet

Signed up a deal for 48500 plus free tint on list price of 53793.
Invoice price is around 46700 showed by dealer A. But checked on the web it is around 46200. Anyway,
I think the deal is very decent since 4 dealers in DFW area has almost no GX now. Will get the GX this Friday. The main trick to get a good price is to let dealers compete each other. I love American competition!

same

I am from the bay area and planning to buy the GX soon. I checked with the two dealers you mentioned from your earlier post and the price is not even close to your price. Please advise. Also, I have called So Cali dealers and their price is alot better. However I prefer to buy it the bay area. THANKS!!

mouseonline

After following Edmunds forums for almost 2 year, I put a $500 deposit for a 2004 GX470 with NAV/3rd r. seats/RES.
MSRP $52763, my price $48500.
About $4263 off MSRP, plus $100 document fee and tax.
How is this deal?
Looked at MDX, ML350, X5. Decided on GX470.

teaguy

That's about 3K above invoice. That's a decent deal, assuming that you don't have a trade-in, or if you have one, that you actually got the trade-in value.

Most dealers are discounting at least 3,500 off MSRP.

Good luck!

cannon1

Great to read about good deals being executed in CA area for GX470. Was wondering if any of you had luck in getting similar deals around chicagoland area? Willing to explore, if given a lead, neighboring states as well (WI, IN) The best i got so far is, w/ just the 3rd row seats, close to 46k. thanks..

lvlarry3

I just wanted to alert all in So. California about the horrible experience we had with Lexus of Cerritos. Typical "bait and switch" Dealer just like the old days (suede shoes) and NOT typical for a Lexus dealer. We dealt with an Internet Manager. Everybody is a "manager". The lady was very nice, not the best price, but we we were willing to pay a little more to do business with her. This was our 7th Lexus. Always been a Tier 1 Buyer. She supposedly had us preapproved prior to driving all the way from Las Vegas to pick up the car. After 2 hours of puttsing around (a delay tactic), we became Tier 3 Buyers. Blamed it on the Finance Manager who blamed the Sales Manager and neither had the courtesy to talk with us face to face. The lady kept running back and forth (Just like the old days). She even let me transfer personal items from our 2000 ES300 lease return to the new GX470. They thought they had us by the "short hairs". Obviously we didn't buy the car. Turned around and drove back home. Beware and good luck.

mouseonline

Dealer want to add Tow Hitch and Spoiler.
He said he will add them for his cost, which he says it is $551 for the spoiler and $435 for the tow hitch.
Is this the actual cost?

Thanks for your help.

same

I just put a deposit down for a GX in one of the dealers in So. Cal. I hope I don't run into the same problem. Didn't you ask Lexus of Cerritos for a final price and the exact car that you want before you drove there? I was planning to have them send me the total bill and the car with the exact options before I fly down there. I bought a RX from Glendale a few years ago and I had a great dealer experience.

clark79865

This edmunds.com site does not give the cost for these options you mention (host take note) but the Kelley Blue Book site does. Your dealer is quoting you MSRP prices.

http://www.kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/kw.kc.cp?kbb.MD;790272;MD013&210- - 48;suv&1644;Lexus;2004%20GX%20470;M20M14A2;M20M14&configu- - re_frames2&2004;;;;;04LXGX_B4;040302&Sport_Utility&%2- - 0GX%20470;GX%20470%209700%204WD%20Sport%20Utility%204D&nc

lvlarry3

I had everything, I thought, until I got there. I finally bought my GX470 from Crown Lexus, Ontario, CA. Go to their website, go to meet our staff and scroll down to "INTERNET SALES MANAGER". This guy is the "greatest". $2,500 over invoice. NO BS. Fly into Ontario International and they'll pick you up in a limo and take you to the dealership. OR, Depending on where you live, they'll deliver the car. They drove mine all the way to Las Vegas and delivered it with a full tank of gas. I dropped the delivery person off at the airport and she flew back home. What service. Whatever the Internet Sales Manager says, he will stick to it. I hope he never leaves Crown Lexus. As I said, this is my 7th Lexus and I'll be back. Check him out. It's worth the effort. You'll be glad you did.

lvlarry3

Go to carsdirect.com. They have the invoice for options there.

teaguy

The cost for spoiler is $345. The hitch receiver with ball mount is $300. Perhaps you misunderstood when the dealer said he would sell it at cost. Either that or he is trying to pull a fast one.

You might want to call the parts department and ask them how much is the above.

mouseonline

Talked with dealer again today, he will add the spoiler for $345 and Tow Hitch for $330. This is close to the cost. Thanks for all your help.

Now the better news is that I can pick it up on Monday in stead of at the end of March.

The best news is that today I sold my trade in to a private party for $1000 more than what the dealer will give me.

I can't stop smiling

teaguy

Congrats! Could you tell us which dealer and where? Thanks!

stever

I think that if you make a deal with the internet manager, you should have a contract with the vehicle's VIN and the price/financing on it before flying or driving to the dealer. I wouldn't count on any deal until I saw it in writing.

Steve, Host

mouseonline

I picked up my GX470 today.
Before I wrote the check, I test drove the car and experienced the vibration/Humming noise around 60-65mph. A little dissapointed, but bought it anyway. Dealer wrote down the problem and say Lexus has a fix for it.
By the way, my GX470 is version 9700E.
Other than that, I love it.
I got fully loaded exept KDSS, MSRP was $53793, I paid $49158+$100(document fee)+sales tax+$30 title fee. I am in Ohio.

same

I should pick up my GX 9700E next month. How bad is the vibration and do ALL GXs have this problem? Does Lexus really have a fix for this? THANKS!