Purchasing Soon

[ADoll]

I am looking at purchasing a new LS 460 AWD. I went to my local dealer yesterday and the sticker was at $72,000 with Navigation. What is a reasonable price to pay currently given the market and all carmakers struggles (even though Toyota/Lexus is less than most)?

Also is it worth spending the extra money for the AWD or is the front wheel drive good enough?

Thanks in advance,

Aaron

[Phil J.]

i drove the rwd and the awd. i liked the awd a lot better! drive both and you will see what i mean.

they told me that they did not make many awd cars and that they would not give a discount. my dealer only gave me 1500 off.

the awd comes standard with a better suspension and some other features so check that out.

btw i paid 85k for my car so the price must have come down or i my car had more options.

[SW03ES]

Is yours an LS460L Phil?

The LS460 AWD is nowhere near $85,000, the price the OP quoted at $72k is about right. They don't even sell a SWB LS AWD that costs $85k...

[NoSpin]

Aaron, I would advise you to order a Consumer Reports write up on the vehicle. You will get all the retail and dealer costs on the car (which you can get from Edmunds, NADA and Kelley) and info on how to negoiate with the dealer (hint: you negoiate UP from the dealer cost, not DOWN from the MSRP). Another advantage to the CR reports over the free web sites is they tell you what the hold back is (if applicable).

[SW03ES]

You can calculate the holdback on your own. I wouldn't pay for a report, its all data you can easily gather on your own.

[Phil J.]

Steve my car is a LS 460L awd

I checked, I paid 85 with 1500 off. I hope that I did not overpay. My car had a lot of options. I just built a car online and the cost of my car was 84,500. I also purchased some little do-dads from the dealer and that is how I got to 85K.

If did overpay it is too late now.

Anyway I am happy with the car even if it is not perfect in every way. To me it is wort every penny I paid.

I do think there are small and inexpensive things that Lexus could do to make the human interface better. I would buy the car again without them but I do wish they could change just a few things.

rgrds

phil

[NoSpin]

You can calculate the holdback on your own. I wouldn't pay for a report, its all data you can easily gather on your own.

Steve, there is no way to "calculate" a holdback. It varies by manufacturer, by model and by time. Some models have no holdback.

As I stated, you can get all the pricing info for free, but none of the sites I mentioned gives you any info on holdbacks (unless something changed in the last year or so).

IMHO when you are spending some $80,000, saving $15 and not going in fully armed is the height of being penny wise and pound foolish.

Well this will probably get me kicked out of here already!

[SW03ES]

Phil,

If its an L that makes sense, I was going off the "LS460" in your profile, you should change that to "LS460L" ;)

NoSpin,

You can absolutely calculate dealer holdback on your own, Google "Dealer Holdback Lexus" you'll find that Lexus' dealer holdback is 2% of the base MSRP. So on a $58,000 LS460 it would be $1,160. It can be found on edmunds, carbuyingtips.com, etc.

I agree that you should be armed, but I hate to see people spend money on things that they can very easily figure out themselves.

[NoSpin]

Ah ha, I stand corrected Steve! Well I haven't looked at those sites in the last couple years (since I bought my '07 LS). I agree, if you can get it for free no need to pay for it. Thanks for the reference.

[Will B.]

given the market and all carmakers struggles (even though Toyota/Lexus is less than most)?

The only major auto manufacturer who has had a bigger sales drop than Toyota has been Chrysler. Only Honda is struggling less than most.

Chrysler, which shut down production on Friday as it began the first day of bankruptcy hearings, posted a 48 percent drop in sales, the largest among the major automakers in the U.S. market, followed by Toyota and Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) with declines of 42 and 38 percent, respectively.

Sales at U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co (F.N) slid almost 32 percent last month, while sales at GM, which like Chrysler has been operating under federal supervision, fell 34 percent.

Honda Motor Co Ltd's (7267.T) sales were off 25 percent.

[TLJ3]

There are multiple pricing sources available on the internet - autos.msn.com; autotrader.com; car.scom; motortrend.com; edmunds.com to name a few. The simplest and most accurate site I've used to get a price that I should be paying is Edmunds.com. They have a link near the top of the screen on the opening page called "true market value," or TMV. From this link, you can configure your car the way you want to buy it. You'll see 3 prices - invoice, or cost to the dealer, the MSRP, and the true market value price, or what others are paying. This is a reasonable guide to what you can expect to pay. For example, I recently purchased a new LS460 with comfort package and navigation. The MSRP was $69,200. The TMV price was $65,200. I paid $64,500, so it's right in the ballpark.

With all the information available today, I'd hate to walk into a dealership and not have as much as information as possible. Good luck!