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I go to grad school in Washington DC where there are 4 Lexus dealerships in the area. Which led to competitive pricing. I dealt with Lexus of Alexandria in VA and Lexus of Silver Spring in MD. The dealers went back and forth and ultimately ended up with Lexus of Silver Spring. My parents are coming up from Virginia Beach (~220 miles) to pick up the car on Sunday.
2004 ES330
Ext: Millennium Silver
Int: Black
Premium Package
2-Stage Heated Front Seats
HID Headlamps/Rain Sensing Wipers
VSC & Traction Control
Wood Steering Wheel/Shift Knob
Cargo Net
Trunk Mat
Wheel Locks
MSRP: $35,174
INVOICE: $30975
Price includes $625 Destination
PRICE PAID: $31600
Out the door VA Tax 3% + VA Tags + Processing $100: $32751.50
ML Navigation,
Chrome Wheels,
VSC,
AVS,
Heated Seats,
Power SunScreen,
Wood Steering wheel and grips,
Leather,
Rain Sensor,
mats, nets, blah blah blah
...and 2 hats (1 Black and 1 Brown) for $36854.
That was basically $3300 off of MSRP. Thanks to carsdirect.com I was able to walk in knowing what I wanted to pay. My purchase price was $300 more than the listed price on carsdirect but I liked my salesman, the dealership is very reputable, they provide loaner cars and unlimited free car washes. I couldn't get any of this from them if I bought anywhere else. I am very pleased with my deal. What do you all think of it?
Oh, and by the way, I went in to the dealership 4 or 5 times looking at the car. Everytime I went in I told my salesman that I was shopping on line and through a auto broker, so if he was willing to match the price I found I would give him the business. When I finally went back in it took us all of 15 minutes to negotiate the price.
Also extremely important was the cost of the processing fee:
DarCars/Silver Spring: $100
Lindsay/Alexandria: $199
Charles Barker/Virginia Beach:$399
Start there. It seems that there are several on this board who have gotten a price in that range. I like MSRP because that comes from the manufacturer and is less subject to cludge from the dealers or variablity of regions.
If you live in an area like So Cal with lots of dealers, try a couple and see if you can get one to give you your asking price.
Note that the $3000 - $3500, perhaps 8-10% off sticker, is a function of supply and demand and that number could easily change over time. It seems that for this month, the 3K number is good and it seems like a really good price to me.
I noticed in andytle's post a concern over the processing fee. Mine was $50.
The alabaster 330 is an early Christmas present for my wife, and she could not be more pleased.
Asking folks to email you for the information that isn't okay to be shared here isn't the right thing to do, either.
I had to remove a message, sorry.
I know someone along the way asked me if the car was on the lot, so I wanted to give you guys an update!
1. what part of the country are you in?
2. what was the dealers FIRST offer?
3. Did you have a trade and did they give you a fair price for the trade?
THANKS and CONGRATS!
The car I got includes VSC, heated front seats, HID lights, power sun shade, Nav/ML, wood and leather steering wheel, trunk mat, cargo net and wheel locks.
I did NOT get AVS, chrome wheels, gold emblem, or any other add on.
Hope this answers all questions and good luck to all future buyers!
A friend of mine recently got a 330 quote for yours + AVS in upper $34K (there's no one with nav/ml w/o vsc/avs here), which is in line with yours I think, but he got the quote directly. If he is half as good as you are, he may get it down to $34K! Amazing how an ES price can drop! These are much better deals than ES300 in its first year, or even any 300.
BTW, is the adjustable brake/gas pedal pretty much out in any option now in 330?
adytie Virginia 31,600/35,174 = 89.8% of MSRP
*kaptiv8hr CA (??) 36,854/40,154 = 91.7% of MSRP
anteater203 Dallas 31,200/34,724 = 89.8% of MSRP
babs43 New York 34,400/38000 = 90.5% of MSRP
lexie6 Dallas 30,200/33,444 = 90.3% of MSRP
*spookomon CA (??) 36,900/40,154 = 91.8% of MSRP
*kaptiv8hr did not post his dealer's location, but the MSRP of his vehicle and his AVS option suggests a Southern California loaded package.
*spookomon did not post his location or his MSRP, but he also stated that his package has AVS, so I assumed his dealer is in So Cal. Since there is only one So Cal package with AVS, I assumed his vehicle has the same MSRP as does kaptiv8hr's.
These figures suggest that a reasonable deal might fall between 90 - 92% of MSRP in most regions of the country.
I like this method because it removes the complication of the various features that a buyer may have purchased from the equation.
MSRP is fixed by the manufacturer and cannot be fudged by dealers.
Either I made an incorrect assumption about the MSRPs for kaptiv and spookomon above or the MSRP on the top line So Cal package has changed since they bought their cars.
In either case, were I looking for an ES300 today, I'd be gunning for no more than about 89.8% of MSRP.
I remember in Sep/Oct when 330 just came out the price was still at least $1K-2K above invoice, but that evidentally did not last very long. I am wondering how the supply/demand landscape changed to cause the price drop. ES close competitor, Acura TL, is still commanding only few hundreds below MSRP, but that price point happens to be in the $34K+ range for the fully loaded one that's the same as the street price of ES now. I am suspecting TL is making ES run for its money. For people who like ES better, it's perfect. That said, $4000 below MSRP only few months after a new model came out do make one wonder what's that MSRP based at?
Also, and I am not sure if this is the appropriate forum or not, but I have also had trouble getting the Edmunds TMV for my '98 ES300 trade-in...they will only go as high as Kelly Blue Book value, which is significantly lower. Anyone had experience with this? Thanks.
We were getting around 2000-2500 off MSRP at the time. In some regions, they weren't discounting at all. Someone got 3000 off MSRP, but that was about the best I'd heard of. My dealer rep told me that Lexus had reduced production in response to Sept 11 and cars were in short supply then.
Based upon the 1.5 years I have been reading messages and posting to this board, were I buying a vehicle in the future, I'd try and purchase in December. The deals seemed to have been better both in December of 2002 and 2003 than at other times.
I know Dec/2002 they had below invoice deals but this year I was told that the deal was only for lower rates. That's why I wonder how'd price dropped this much this quick. Maybe Lexus rebates dealers some, or as I suspected, competition heats up (mainly from new TL).
In any case, 330 seems like a easier deal as it's lower invoice to work with. I guess it pays to wait!
regards
Praveen
I'm new to the car shopping business. Can anyone tell me how do I find out where to get the Invoice price of a car?
I was off about $60 from richatpa's price, but that's probably cargo mats or wheel locks, or something minor. But the Kelly Blue Book.com price was right at what rich quoted.
Again, if a dealer (nearby) called me tomorrow with Rich's price, I'd be there by noon to pick it up.
MSRP = 36384
PAID = 32645 = 89.72% of MSRP
WHERE = NORTHERN CA
This web site and the discussion wa really helpful. I had smoothest car buying experience in my life this time. Thanks everybody for sharing his or her experience.
praveenkunal, did you test-listen to ML and not want that?
My wife has an ES and I am looking for a sedan myself. TL is more powerful and sporty with a few more new gadgets than ES, but the interior is not on par with ES. I guess I may not be able to leave Lexus if I always use Lexus as a benchmark for interior luxury. If there's an ES with ML w/o NAV I may be crazy enough to buy another ES! But there isn't.
IS is too much like a toy and GS a bit pricey. When is a new ES (with a new body) due? 2006?
First yr of current body style was 2002, therefore, the answer to your question is 2007 model yr. (Usually come out in fall b4)
"Thank you for your bid for the 2004 Lexus ES330 however it is way under market value due to the extremely high popularity of this model.
I can offer a $2000 discount of the MSRP."
WAY UNDER MARKET VALUE?!
DUE TO THE EXTREMELY HIGH POPULARITY OF THIS MODEL?!
Yeah, RIGHT! And it's a sports car, too!
That's about $3000 over invoice, not even counting any other dollars they get back from Lexus.
No wonder people are buying the TL if this is the way Lexus dealers are pricing the car.
I guess I need to keep looking for those dealers who are more willing to negotiate. I can only assume that this dealership gets a small allocation of ES 330s and they don't want to give up any they have. Good for them.
I made a counter offer to the woman, but she never even replied to my e-mail. They just changed from their last internet sales guy, and I doubt if this new one will last long either. Especially, when she won't even respond to an Internet e-mail. Isn't that her job? Oh well, there are things that I like about the TL, so maybe I need to look harder at that car. And there are other Lexus dealerships.
Model/Days on the Lot before Sale/Averge Price
1.Toyota Prius/8/$23,333
2.Mercedes SL Class/12/$104,084
3.Mini Cooper/12/$22,827
4.Toyota Sienna/12/$29,596
5.Honda Pilot/13/$30,790
6.Lexus GX470/13/$48,366
7.Lexus LS430/13/$57,569
8.Lexus ES330/14/$32,920
9.Acura MDX/15/$39,464
10.Honda CR-V/16/$21,510
11.Lexus RX330/16/$39,599
BTW, hot models measured by days on the lot may be misleading as supply volume varies. Thaty said, I am suprised to not see Acura TL on the list. I was told that TL are flying off the lot as they come in. Or are they bluffing?
1. The darn '01 ES has been so good and still drives so beautifully, I can't figure why I need to trade it.
2. While a noticably larger interior has its pluses, the new ES is starting to feel less like a Toyota on steroids and more like a slightly smaller Lexus version of a Buick Park Avenue. Not necessarily a bad thing but not necessarily aimed at the same people who have been buying these cars.
3. The new nose is thoroughly modern and the rear-view is handsome, but the slab sided monochrome profile makes the wheels look small and the car look like it needs to go on a diet. While two-tone paint may be out of fashion, it's a neat trick that shaves a thousand visual pounds off a vehicle.
4. Thanks to my dealer's generous policy to provide brand new ES loaners, I've driven an ES330 as lately as last month. It's absolutely true that the transmission is a little slow to react. While it may not be dangerously so (as some claim on other message boards), what's the deal. I thought they figured out automatic transmissions about 40 years ago. Our '01 reacts quickly, quietly, and without hesitation.
They've added a larger engine and thrown in free leather. On paper this car is a bargain. So why can't I get excited about it? The old one felt like a premo Toyota. The new one feels more like a Cadillac.