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Lexus ES 300/ES 330 Prices Paid and Buying Experience
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Sorry for my misquote. You deal sounded so similar to vxlexus's that I just typed that quote in by accident.
MSRP $34,384
No Bargaining involved.
I will likely be looking to buy a new car, probably an ES330, sometime next year (can't move right now to take advantage of year end '05 deals, so I will be waiting till '06es are more flexible in pricing.) I know a couple things that I want for sure, but not sure how to make sure I am getting quotes for comparable cars from dealers. I see four trim levels on some websites, like vehix, but I see a large variety of options on other sites, like this one, so I am not sure if each car is built to a particular trim/option level, or if there are many possible configurations. Basically I want a car pretty well loaded up, with Levinson sound system a requirement. I do not want chrome wheels. No color preference except not white. Is there an exact package to ask for quotes for? Sorry if this is already posted somewhere; I couldn't find an answer to this particular question, but I might have missed it since there are many pages of posts to check.
Also, anyone have a particluar dealer in the Atlanta to recommend or avoid? Thanks in advance.
:lemon:
Car_man
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Smart Shopper / Prices Paid Forums
Looks like from what dshahs says above, the Levinson option is pretty rare, so I guess I will have to see what's out there with ML sound when I am ready to buy, and take it from there. I bet most of the cars with Levinson sound are pretty well loaded up, so I shouldn't be lacking any options I want. But again, I am pretty flexible in the option and color department.
Pohanka lexus quoted 35580 for 2006 ES330 with FI, HH, HL, HN, ND, WU.
- MSRP $34,384 Level 1 17" Wheels & Summer Tires, Wood Trim Steering Wheel, 6 CD In-Dash Changer, Wheel locks, Cargo Net, and Cargo Mat
- MSRP $35,874 Level 2 17" Wheels & Summer Tires, Wood Trim Steering Wheel, 6 CD In-Dash Changer, Heated & Ventilated Seats, High Intensity Headlights & Rain Sensing Wipers, Power Rear Shade, Wheel locks, Cargo Net, and Cargo Mat
- MSRP $37,524 Level 3 17" Wheels & Summer Tires, Wood Trim Steering Wheel, Heated & Ventilated Seats, High Intensity Headlights & Rain Sensing Wipers, Power Rear Shade, Navigation System, Wheel locks, Cargo Net, and Cargo Mat
- MSRP $39,214 Level 4 17" Wheels & Summer Tires, Wood Trim Steering Wheel, Heated & Ventilated Seats, High Intensity Headlights & Rain Sensing Wipers, Power Rear Shade, Navigation System, Mark Levinson Audio, Adjustable pedals, Wheel locks, Cargo Net, and Cargo Mat
This answers my question from earlier about what to ask for when getting quotes. Looks like if I want Levinson sound, I need quotes on Level 4 cars.
By the way, I entered 2 zip codes, 30303 and 30319 in the lexus website. Neither returned an option package containing ML and adjustable pedals. So, your dealer must be maintaining pretty good inventory.
See the following:
http://lindsaylexusof.reachlocal.net/new_inventory.htm?start=35
My view is that this is because of two reasons:
1. Vehicles purchases slow in winter and Lexus wants to encourage folks to visit the dealerships.
2. It can be close to the end of the model year.
I would predict fairly good prices on 2006s because of many estimates that have the 2007 into the dealerships by Spring of 2006.
The 2007 will be a major change, if Lexus sticks to its pattern of making major design changes every five years.
Government charges vary a lot from state to state, but MSRP is the same for the same options regardless of where the vehicle is purchased. Note that even the destination charge is the same in all states.
That aside, an MSRP of $34,500 does not represent a fully loaded vehicle to me. I would look for $37,000 - $39,000+ in "fully loaded" vehicles. ML and NAV are not cheap options.
In my view, however, 80% is completely bizarre. No poster has received even close to this price. The absolute lowest feasible price that I have seen is approx. 87% MSRP.
I would not post a deal of 80% in my summaries, unless I confirmed with the dealer that the quote was real.
That aside, here is what I have learned about Lexus/Toyota:
1. Very difficult to order specific options. Sometimes it works fine to order what you want, but other times the options are just plain unavailable.
If you do order one, you need to do it immediately when vehicles of the new model year come out. If you wait, your special order may never get made.
2. Lexus does not make that many vehicles. Specifically, at times you may be forced to compromise on your desired options. For example, my boyfriend bought a 2004 ES330 in August of 2004, after the 2005s appeared on dealerships. The only 2004 with NAV to be had in Texas was Alabaster metallic, a color he did not really want.
So, if it appears that the 2006 does not come with ML, it may be just that the specific vehicles delivered to dealers in your area do not have ML. So the dealer tells you ML is not available on 2006 and the buyer interprets that as the 2006 does not come from the factory with ML.
If the 2007 comes out in spring, you will likely have trouble finding options you want on the 2006.
I have been looking at mostly NJ dealerships since they are also recommended in the wholesale clubs' car buying program. Though the fixed price offered though the program for this region is supposed to be $500 over invoice but I guess its a good place to start negotiations because the dealer was willing to offer on invoice.
Little Falls is also a recommended dealership. Ray Catena / Tri County and Prestige. I am not sure which one is the biggest on East coast.
I would not mind driving since the ones close by are not as good unless they can match the price.
I bought a ES 330 today. MSRP is $35234 and I was offered $30664.88 + TTL. It is the so called premium package. Based on what I have read from the forum, it seems to be a good price.
Let me know your final deal, including MSRP, price, geograhical region, model year, and dealer.
yes, it has 11 on the odometer.
It is the silver 2006 ES330 with 17" wheel/CD changer/rear sun shade/cargo net of MSRP of $35234. Dealer showed me invoice price of $31400. Paid $30668.
I am in Texas.
The only factor that bothers me here is the mileage. Does anyone has a different bothering factor?
Thanks in advance.
91% is a lot for this time of year, however. If I were you, I would try to pitt the dealers in your area against each other, even if out of your state. Get quotes from nearby dealers and from the internet. See if you can get 88.5-90%
I have a couple of quotes from New Jersey for example:
que2, 2005 ES330, 1059, 3/31/05, Little Falls, New Jersey (Tri-County Lexus) $35909, $31,800, 88.6% MSRP
x021607, 2005 ES330, 1006, 9/1/05, Bridgewater, NJ (DiFeo Lexus), purchase, $35909, $32500, 90.5% MSRP
I will guess that Bridgewater is closer to New York, which might explain que2's slightly better deal.
The difference between 90.5% MSRP and 88.6% MSRP is worth approximately $700 so it might be worth a trip to Little Falls, for example. It is up to you.
The percentages that you are quoting that we should strive for are for 2005s or 2006s? Does it make a difference? I have been told that there are only a few 2005s left and the 2006s have been at the dealer's for some time already.
Is there ANY difference between 2005 and 2006 ES?
Does anyone have an experience with the actual special order of an ES330? What price difference, if any, does it make? How long does it take?
The only difference between a 2005 and a 2006 is that there are different special packages. The differing packages impact the color of interior, the color of the exterior, and perhaps the wood on the interior. In other words the differences between 2005 and 2006 are purely cosmetic. The features are the same.
In my experience, special orders can be problematic for Toyota. However there are posters on this thread who have successfully special ordered vehicles. I suspect that better bargains appear on the dealer's lots than on special orders, since dealers pre-pay their vehicles and are incentivized to move them.
Don't be afraid to show up in person at the dealers. Ask the salespeople your questions. At least with Lexus,there are fewer hucksters in the sales departments than for other brands, in my opinion.
Visiting Lexus dealers is a relatively pleasant experience, at least when compared to other brands.
Note, I once had a Toyota salesman who, after accompanying me on several test drives, implied that I had wasted his time because I did not make a purchase from him. You do not receive that kind of treatment from Lexus dealers in my opinion.