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Lexus ES 300/ES 330
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Comments
Also, they're not a dealer add-on. They're on every 2002 ES 300.
I can't figure out what they're for, although I guess it does not matter since you can't really see them.
Thanks for your response.
Sorry about misunderstanding where the clear plastic strips were located, and gave you the wrong idea. My original idea is that wherever it is located, it is just for protection. fredvh and kreativ also said the same thing.
By the way, did you have a chance to talk to your dealer about giving away their sales manager info for the 7/100 extended warranty for $1,200? I assume the 7/100 is a platinum plan ($0 deductible), correct?
You see, I got the price of $1,200 for the 7/100/$0 deductible warranty from another dealer back when the 2001s were out. When the 2002 came out, the price of the warranty went up (about $300). Then, when Lexus Corporate transferred my order to another dealer, they honored the original price I was given. So, under normal circumstances, they do not want to be selling the warranty for $1,200.
From what I can gather, the dealer cost is about $1,100, and you should be able to get one for about $1,450 without too much trouble.
Hope all this helps. I'm sorry I couldn't give you more info, but I don't want the dealer mad at me. I hope you understand.
I picked up my 02' ES in S. CA in early February, since then I have not had a chance to contact any local dealer yet. I live in N. CA. It is also not very urgent since I can buy it before 3 year/36K, although the price may go up.
Do you have good experience for the 7/100 warranty?
lenscap,
I appreciated the research you have done and the information you have provided. I fully understand why you don't want to release the sales manager name.
One thing to note: On a black car the badges will not show up much since they will be dark like the car. They are more frequently seen on lighter colors like silver or white.
Call around the dealers in Southern California and talk to the business manager. Tell them your friend in Chicago purchased the Platinum extended warranty for $1200, and you want to buy it for the same price. If not, ask for their best offer. SoCal Lexus dealers are usually pretty competitive, and as long as it's above their costs, I don't see why one of them wouldn't swing you a deal. It doesn't seem like you actually have to go to the dealer to buy the warranty (just use fax and mail), but I may be wrong.
I have not had any experience with that warranty. It would have been a waste if we had gotten it on our LS, but you never know how the '02 ES will do in 6 years. So it's good for peace of mind.
Yes, it is an option. hgani bought them for his silver '02 ES. I believe it was $400-some dollars.
Thx. micalene
watching and reading these forums for months. My
goal was to buy at invoice + $1000. I sent the
note below to most dealers in VA,TN,NC,SC,and GA.
I will not bore you with the response from most
dealers except to say many wanted MSRP.
I did get one dealer to commit to my request. At
this point let me say I have no connection with
this dealer in any way! I have never even met any
sales person at the dealer. (face to face)
So if you want to get the car at $1000 over invoice with an almost complete color selection
then you want want to use the contact below.
-------------------------------------------
RESPONSE TO MY REQUEST
-------------------------------------------
Thank You for you inquiry today. My name is Jay Miano and I am your
personal Lexus representative here at Hendrick Lexus. Please contact
me at
your earliest opportunity to review the details. We have the vehicle
in
inventory.
Jay Miano @ 1-800-277-5398
or 1-704-568-4122
or cell @ 704-953-2684
-------------------------------------------------
MY REQUEST:
-------------------------------------------------
I am looking to purchase the car shown below. I am looking for the Millennium Silver/Light Charcoal vehicle.
The invoice is $34,719.00, including the $394 LDA fee that is billed to the car.
I am willing to commit to buy this car for $35,719.00.
ES 300 INVOICE RETAIL
9000 Luxury Sport Sedan 4D 27,935.00 31,505.00
Destination Charge 575.00 575.00
Total Optional Equipment 5,815.00 7,235.00
-------------- --------------
Total Price 34,325.00 39,315.00
OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT
ENGINE
--- V6, 183", 24V, SFI (3.0 Liter) Std. Std.
TRANSMISSION
--- Automatic, 5-Speed w/Overdrive Std. Std.
ACCESSORY PACKAGES
LA Leather Trim Pkg.
(Std. w/Premium Pkg.-PM) Includes Leather Surfaced Seat Trim & Driver's Seat & O/S Mirror Memory. Incl. Incl.
LI Mark Levinson Audio Pkg.
(Std. w/Navigation System/Mark Levinson Audio Pkg.-NL) Includes Mark Levinson Audio System & Premium Pkg. Incl. Incl.
ND Navigation System Pkg.
(Std. w/Navigation System/Mark Levinson Audio Pkg.-NL) Includes Navigation System & Premium Pkg. Incl. Incl.
NL Navigation System/Mark Levinson Audio Pkg.
Includes Navigation System Pkg. & Mark Levinson Audio Pkg. 3,936.00 4,860.00
PM Premium Pkg.
(Std. w/Mark Levinson Audio Pkg.-LI & Navigation System Pkg.-ND) Includes Leather Trim Pkg. & 6-Disc Compact Disc Changer in Dash (w/o Navigation System Pkg.-ND) or Console (w/Navigation System Pkg.-ND). Incl. Incl.
POWER ACCESSORY
HN Sun Shade, Power Rear
(Req's Leather Trim Pkg.-LA) 168.00 210.00
OTHER OPTIONS
HL Headlamps, High Intensity Discharge
(Req's Leather Trim Pkg.-LA) Includes Rain-Sensing W/S Wipers. 512.00 640.00
DC Radio Equipment, 6-Disc Compact Disc Changer in Dash
(Req's Leather Trim Pkg.-LA) (Std. w/Premium Pkg.-PM) Incl. Incl.
HH Seats, Heated Front
(Req's Leather Trim Pkg.-LA) 352.00 440.00
VV Skid Control
(Req's Leather Trim Pkg.-LA) Includes Traction Control. 520.00 650.00
WU Steering Wheel, Wood
(Req's Leather Trim Pkg.-LA) 264.00 330.00
LM Trunk Mat (PIO) 38.00 64.00
WL Wheel Locks (PIO) 25.00 41.00
TIRES
--- (5) P215/60VR16 Std. Std.
I copied his response exactly as he sent it. The rest I did by phone. I just wanted to give everyone this contact information. I went to my local dealer several times and they would not even consider this offer.
There is one thing that I don't like. The processing fee is $489.00. This is very high, compared to the norm of Lexus dealers of $175-$250. But even adding this, no other dealer beat this price. Plus, most dealers don't have this car in stock.
They have a great inventory now, but I bet as the inventory goes down the price will go up.
Good luck to all.....
Last Week we paid downpayment to buy ES300 '02 which includes
ACCESSORY PACKAGES
LA Leather Trim Pkg.
HL Headlamps, High Intensity Discharge
DC Radio Equipment, 6-Disc Compact Disc Changer in Dash
HH Seats, Heated Front
WU Steering Wheel, Wood
LM Trunk Mat
WL Wheel Locks
HN Sun Shade, Power Rear
HH Seats, Heated Front
We Paid $35,000 out the door....pls advice if the price is reasonable...we bought this car in NC
35K for out of door seems to be not a bad deal, the invoice for your car is about $31,558.
I am wondering why you select LA+DC options instead of the premium package which also includes the moonroof with the same total price. I guess it is your preference.
sliang,..tax rate in NC is 3%, my price includes licence + registration fee + document handling fee ...I did pick the premium package ..in my last post I missed moonroof in my detail breakdown...I will pick up car next week after passover...
fredvh...No I didn't order special..experience was very nice, I have been looking into this car & other new 2003 cars e.g. G35 & GLX/4Motion Passat ..I needed more reliable car for my daily commute..my wife loves this cars..Next week after passover I will pick up my car...good luck to all who are looking
Can the owners give me the miles-per-gallon that you are experiencing? Highway mpg should be better than the previous generation due to the 5-speed auto; but is it?
I hope we can have the same tax rate here in CA as in NC, 3% vs. 8.25%.
If my guess about your license, registration, & doc fees are correct, around $230, then the dealer added about $2,200 profit over the invoice which in turns that you had a $2,150 discount from MSRP, not the best I have heard, but reasonable.
jimervin,
The so-called Lexus processing fee was VERY high vs. mine. My Lexus dealer charged only $45 plus $5 tire tax, that's it.
I specified exactly the way I wanted the car, from color to options.
They told me it would take 3-4 months. Sure enough, the car arrived in February and I couldn't be happier. I love this car.
MSRP ............ 39,343.00
Selling Price ... 35,719.00
NC Tax .......... 1,071.57
Tag/Title........ 56.00
Documentary fee.. 489.00
____________________________
Total 37,335.57
When I ordered the car, however, I asked for a charcoal interior. I noticed in the ES 300 brochure that Pearl is only supposed to come with the black or ivory interior.
Any thoughts or suggestions? Am I making a huge mistake with the charcoal? What interior color did or would you select and why?
alpha
Also shared were the powertrain (identical) and suspension.
I wonder how Lexus can still charge mid to upper $30k for this car? Is it not still a Camry?
Easy. It sells.
And being just a Camry is no bad thing.
~alpha
justify plunking down an additional $15,000 for the latter?
Lexus's profit on these cars must enormous.
Interiors are very unique to the ES and was a very big seller for the wife. Styling, to me at least, is also unique. The ES motor has 18 more horsepower and a 5 speed auto vs a 4 speed for the Camry. Maxed out I think the Camry is more like 5-7K less not 15K. I believe a Camry can be in the 30's with V6 NAV etc.
Believe it or not, the platform is also shared with the Avalon which is even closer in price to the ES. Great value? Maybe not. But is anything a great value after basic transportation?
Whether or not it's a good value, you owe yourself a test drive and find out yourself. Let us know what you think.
The driving experience, in my opinion, is vastly different. It's quieter, the leather quality is superior (in line with the LS430), most all internal materials are superior, the audio system (in both standard and upgraded) is superior, and there are numerous performance and luxury features on the ES (both standard and optional) that aren't found on the Camry line.
Does this justify the price premium? On a strictly features for price scale, I doubt it. But it's like that with any luxury car.
I think most people who repeat the same, old "ES is a Camry with an L badge" comment that they heard years ago have not taken a test drive in both an '02 Camry and an '02 ES. This new-generation ES was able to move further upscale in luxury thanks to the intro of the IS a couple years ago.
I also considered Acura TL but if I buy the TL
I'll always be thinking "glorified Accord".
It seems that the only option might 3 series.
Couple of good things going for it.
1. rear wheel drive
2. 5-speed manual gearbox(she likes to row)
3. no twin to bring resale down
4.50/50 weight dist. for better handling
We will drive the ES 300, but after driving the 3
I don't know if their's any looking back!
Am I wrong?
Invoice pricing is easy to get over the Internet for virtually any car now. There's no need to go to the dealer for such information.
in that price range we want to consider all options.
BTW thanks for your honest appraisal of the ES
I'll pass it along to my wife.
The wife came out of a '97 Cobra in to her '02 ES and loves the ES. This may or may not change but it is always nice to have a car that isolates you like the Lexus. Up until a few days ago we had the Cobra for nostalgic tail happy fun every now and then. I'll let you know how not having a hot rod to fall back on affects her love for the ES!!!