undefinable16

It sure seems to me like your dealer is trying to rip you off. I especially don't understand their position on the Dealer Holdback - are they planning on charging you for the holdback and then getting it back again from Lexus at year's end (double-dipping), or are they going to refund it back to you when they get it?

Were you speaking with a salesman, or were you dealing directly with the sales manager? It's the salesman's responsibility to pass on your offer to the sales manager, who can accept, reject, or counter your offer. If the salesman didn't even present your offer to his manager he is not doing you (or himself) any favors. I would ask to speak to the sales manager directly or find another salesman. At least in my neck of the woods, foot traffic in the Lexus dealership is slow (in comparison to, say, a Toyota dealership); another salesman may be more eager to work with you.

Also, since you're in Denver, I would guess that there are several Lexus dealers in your area. If I were you I would check out pricing at the other dealers - it couldn't be much worse than what your dealer is offering. I wouldn't appear over-eager to buy, and I would be prepared to walk if they're not willing to deal. Give them your phone number and tell them to give you a call if they change their mind. Or better yet, tell the dealer that, while you'd rather have the Lexus, you're going to shop for an Infiniti or a BMW instead.

You have several factors on your side:

- End-of-month is coming and the salesmen want to make their sales quotas

- End of model year is coming, and the dealers don't want to get stuck with last years models on the lot

- Generally weak luxury car sales because of high gas prices

One thing NOT on your side is the relative scarcity of the IS 350 in comparison to the IS 250. If you don't have the need for speed you might be able to get yourself a much better deal on the IS 250 - it's essentially the identical car with a smaller engine. You might even be able to get a few additional options at a lower price, and you'll still have a car which will turn heads...

You didn't mention if you were special-ordering the car or taking it off the lot. Your best deal will generally come if you take a car that's already there. The dealer is paying finance charges for every vehicle sitting on the lot, so it's in their best interest to make the sale.

Good luck to you. Hang tough and you'll get the car you want at a price you can live with.

Yeah I'm positive they're double dipping with the dealer holdback. In fact, at the end of our call, he had the audacity to ask me what I thought about all the fees given that this was "new information" I had just got from him. He acted like he just educated me about unknown fees and now that I knew better, do I think the fees are called for? Unbelievable really..

My communication with them started via email with a salesman. I was then promptly referred to a manager who I had all financial discussions with over phone/email. I should mention here that I haven't actually gone in to the dealership and have no intention of doing so until I'm ready to sign etc. There are definitely other dealerships around and I'm going to look around get the price I want to pay for the car that I want.

I'm definitely going to try and swing an end of the model year and end of the month deal if I can but the scarcity of 350s doesn't help at all. Unfortunately, I do really have the need for speed :) so I don't think I could settle for the IS250. In my mind it's always between the IS350 and the BMW 335ci. In the end, I decided I don't want to deal with blown turbos and shoddy electronics in about 3 years time and the IS just makes good all-round sense.

This deal is for a car they had on the lot and were willing to make minor changes for me. eg it has the X-package which i want, but I really don't like the 5 spoke wheels that come with it so I'm having them replace them with the stock 18s which I much prefer. I talked to him about special ordering and he indicated that they'd still be looking at "$3000" profit over their invoice (which is already inflated) so it won't matter much either way.

Thank you everyone for your replies, I hope to be part of the family soon

hey come on now, bmw's are great. my fathers 5 series brothers 05 m3 and other brothers 2002 330i sedan havent broken down or had any type of electronic malfunctions. but i however, am trying to step outside the family circle of bmw's.The only person in my family that doesnt drive a bmw is me and my mother because she ABSOLUTELY LOVES her landrover and i am stuck with a nice but doesnt suit me 99 accord. i myself was considering the 335 but i wanted to be a little bit different than my brothers (and outrun for a much lower price) so during the next week or 2 me and my cousin are going to switch cars to see if i like the feel of and is350 over a bmw. but his is gonna feel so much more different than mine because im only getting the prem package with the heated seats and his has the nav and what not, and he has it on airbags and looks SUPER nice.

hey, is that with the Ground FX kit? nice car btw.

36k used? thats absurd. For 36k you could just buy a new IS350 with a premium package if im correct.