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Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Prices Paid & Leasing Experiences Archive Lexus ES 300/ES 330 Prices Paid and Buying Experience 
1357 messages, Last post on Jun 16, 2008 at 7:37 AM
You are in the Prices Paid & Leasing Experiences Archive Forum. Your Hosts are car_man & kyfdx
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| I thought that it might be helpful to let people know what some dealers in Washington State are doing. The State imposes a Retail Sales Tax on the purchaser of an automobile. The State also imposes a smaller Business and Occupation Tax ON THE SELLER. Some dealers in Washngton try to charge the B & O tax to buyers as a separate line item. This is an outrageous deception and to the best of my knowledge no other industry has the nerve to attempt to charge B & O tax to a buyer as an additional line item charge. I encountered this tactic several days ago when my wife purchased an automobile (not a Lexus). We walked out of the dealership and the salesman ran after us to let us know that they would agree to delete the B & O tax. | |
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which is about the mid range of deals that folks on this site have been posting for the past couple of months. Also, the vast majority of folks have been getting around 89% The lowest has been about 88% and the highest was about 93%, which was very, very high. You got an average deal, I'd say. I would not worry about invoice or dealer charges, so long as I received about 88 - 90% MSRP not including government charges, like tax, license, etc, which is going to vary by state and locality. |
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I'm moving to Sacramento CA in June, and will buy a new ES330 then . Here are some questions: 1,Does the NAV system need subscription fees (yearly paid? and How much?)? Some guy told me if I drive to different city, i have to download the local map which charge a fee as well. (sounds ridiculous to me). 2,any experience in Sacramento/Bay area? 3,If I only want a base model without any option, is it likely for me to get a deal around 88~89%MSRP? 4,Does Lexus has a seasonal incentive/discount? If it does, when is the best time to buy? One guy told me ES will start to sell 2005 model in October, ---but I would not wait that long. Any answer or advise will be appreciated. |
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piera, The NAV system requires no monthly/yearly fees and the entire US is located on the DVD discs that come with the vehicle. Of course not every single street is in the system. The only thing you have to pay for is system upgrades when they come out if you want to upgrade the DVD discs. "3,If I only want a base model without any option, is it likely for me to get a deal around 88~89%MSRP? " First of all, good luck finding a ES330 with no options. The produce very few base ES330's. "4,Does Lexus has a seasonal incentive/discount? If it does, when is the best time to buy? One guy told me ES will start to sell 2005 model in October, ---but I would not wait that long." For the best deals on 2004's you would need to wait until August or September of 2004. But even right now they are giving good deals on ES330's. The entry level luxury segment is extremely competitive currently, and you can generally buy a ES330 for less than $1K over invoice. |
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A local Lexus dealer has shown me the Factory Invoice on an ES 330. The invoice totals up the Base Price, Destination Fee and Options and shows that sum as a subtotal. In addition to the subtotal the dealer has added a $397 Lexus Dealer Advertising charge. I offered the dealer $500 over the Invoice not including the LDA add on charge. By the way, the price that I offered is 89.45% of the MSRP, which seems in line with current prices that other Town Hall members have achieved. Is the LDA a legitimate part of the Factory Invoice, or is the dealer just attempting to justify a higher price than that which I have agreed to pay? |
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... I think for the purposes of this board, we should decide which is a better benchmark by which to compare prices. First of all, where does one obtain invoice? Is invoice listed anywhere on the sticker? How much can the dealer cludge the invoice? I know that invoice is supposed to be kind of a rock bottom price, but what the heck is it really, and does it have dependency on geographical region of the dealership? I am very much interested in hearing debates on why invoice is a better comparison basis than MSRP and am open to changing my opinion. I like MSRP because it does not vary by geographical region, is set by the manufacturer, is posted for all to see in a format that is retainable by the buyer, and can't be cludged by the dealer. |
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.. the dealer can add any fees in that he/she wants to, and they can even charge as much as they can get for a car. That being said, the dealer is trying to welch on your original deal, I'd say. For an apples to apples comparison with what other members have reported receiving, you would get about 89% of MSRP including whatever that LDA is. I think that MSRP comparison should include everything except taxes and fees that have to be paid by the BUYER (not the dealer) to a government entity. |
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Thanks to atoews for the many informative posts on this Board. I agree that for the reasons you state, in most cases, a percent of MSRP is the better way to go. Unfortunately, in my case I was the one who initially offered a flat dollar markup over Invoice. Please note that the Dealer did not try to welch on an original deal. We had no original deal because the dealer never accepted my proposal of $500 over Invoice. However, a case can be made for using a markup over Invoice where the percentage MSRP markup on options is higher than the percentage MSRP markup on the vehicle base price. For example, chrome wheels are marked up 100% Invoice is $850 and MSRP is $1,700. In my situation I have decided that the best way for me to go is to purchase a car in California where I can buy at 89% of MSRP and have the car trucked up to Kirkland, WA where I live. I have talked with autopurchaseconsultants.com, an internet auto broker, who may assist me with the transaction for only a $100 fee. Since I am not in iminient need of a new car, I think that I might special order exactly what I want so that I can eliminate some of the options that I will never use such as heated seats (I have them in my present car and never bother to use them) and adjustable foot pedals (something that I can live without). Eliminating the heated seats and adjustable pedals will pay for almost all of the shipping costs. The California dealer won't have to worry about flooring charges and can retain all of the dealer holdback. After shipping costs I will still save about $1,500 over the best verbal offer that I have received from the dealer. It seems to me to be a win -win situation. I don't understand why the local dealer won't at least match the deal. If I was the dealer I would figure that a smaller than anticipated profit is better than no profit at all and it would make sense to me to keep my local buyers happy. This is paricularly the case where a car is special ordered. I guess that's why I don't sell cars for a living. I just won't feel good about buying the car from my local dealer if I know that I can buy the car somewhere else for a savings of $1,500. |
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and you are correct. I have noticed that the dealers "play around" a lot with chrome wheels, for example. I suspected that using % MSRP on chrome wheels would not be accurate. The % off MSRP probably works better on options that are normal options, ie. not gold package, black pearl package or chrome wheels. Good luck on your purchase. Why not make a trip to Ca while you are at it? |
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| Having only checked with two dealers in the Midwest, I have not been able to get the pricing discussed on this board. Any suggestions for specific dealers in the Midwest (Chicagoland)? | |
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