firstone

Isn't the end result the same?

You started a thread that asked someone to post to another thread, which doesn't make any sense. If you had started a thread that asked a question and then directed responses in that thread it would have stayed open. A new thread seemed very logical to me considering there was so much confusion in the former. There was so much conflicting information regarding a relative simple topic.

gordonw Sorry to tell you I have a newly manufactured ES350 that has HID with Adaptive feature ( my headlights rotate when car goes around corner). The window sticker I took off the car shows a list price of this feature at $815. I can assure you that I have only one set of adjusters under the hood. The manual is indeed incorrect regarding the adjustment of the HID AFS headlights. Many of the posts on this issue seem to conflict with others regarding the headlight adjustments. I tried a new thread entitled "ES350 HEADLIGHT ADJUSTMENT EXPERT NEEDED" but it was blocked. The reason I started that thread was because I hoped there is one person who really knows what is going on. Tom

Please answer the last two posts on Nov 19 under headlights Thanks Tom (firstone)

I don't have an answer for you because I have both the HID & the AFS. Sorry

Chuy I also have not found the second set of screws. The ES-350 manual shows that the outside screws are adjusted through stamped holes in the same beam as the inside screws. My car only has the one set of adjustment screws and one set of stamped holes above the 2 visible adjustment screws!!! Note: Many times a lot of documentation is not updated when a change is made to the product. I wonder if newer released ES-350 don't have the second set of screws. Do you have the HID auto-leveling lights and the the AFS cornering movement? I ask this because I wonder if some of the posts here apply to the standard headlights and others apply to the HID/AFS headlights. Someone in a similar post on this issue claim the auto leveling HID lights will keep adjusting the light height level as the screws are turned. I have turned these screws counterclockwise and counterclockwise 50 turns and yet see no movement from a mark on my garage wall. I I sure hope someone out there will have the real scoop on adjustment of these HID headlights with the AFS feature. Tom

The release date for the '08 ES350 will be sometime in September. Naturally, the discounted price will be closer to the MSRP than a new leftover '07. I just helped my dad get a 2008 ES350 with Premium Plus/NAV and other options today for $37,500 (11.6% discount off MSRP). MSRP was $42,421. At frist we wanted a 2007 model but none of the local dealers had the color/option combo we wanted. So we managed to get a 2008 that had just arrived a few days ago to the dealer (it still had all the plastic on the seats and no one had test driven yet). I think we got a great deal on this car considering it's a 2008 model. What do you guys think? That is an amazing price especially on a 2008. Consumer Report Car Buying Kit states the dealer discount from Lexus is 13.9%. Your deal at 11.6% leaves the dealer with a profit of 2.3% of the MSRP of $42,421 or $975.68. I don't see why a dealer would sell at that low profit margin. Did you take their finance or maintinence package? One company in my city own both Lexus dealerships and I wouldn't be surprised if they also own the dealership in nearby city 70 miles away. Deals like yours don't exist here or I would guess a lot of places. Good work! My dad did lease his car through Lexus Financial Services. Money factor was rather high but then again it's always been a bit high on the 07 ES350 as well. Aha ...this is a lease not a purchase that might make some difference as to how good your deal really is. Can you tell me what the interest rate is? The old adage "you can pay me now or pay me later" might apply here. I never lease anything. A lease can be pretty expensive. I keep my cars more than 5 years. I take very good care of them and can usually sell them to a friend for about midpoint between KBB retail and a private sale price. Not having a car to trade in makes the next new car purchase very easy. Tom

Well, that really depends. I have a financial planner that I am happy to pay irregardless of whether or not I could do it myself, and I have a CPA that I am happy to pay irregardless of whether or not I could do that myself. Its not a question of being lazy, I'm too busy out making money to worry about watching my investments and making calculated moves or doing my taxes. They do a great job for me and I'm happy to pay them, doesn't make me lazy. My comment was that "some" people are lazy. Of course this was not directed at you. Please don't take issue with my post. It was a general statement. I had a very sucessful industrial distributorship business for over 30 years and retired at 59 YOA. My investments were made in growing my business. My timely inventory purchases returned more to me than my investments that I payed far too much commission on both the buy and the sell side. It was pretty easy to make money in the market during the 90's. Many brokers & planners never ever saw anything like what happened starting in Jan 2000. How many folks really got hurt badly in the Jan,2000-2003 period on bad advice from their planners & brokers. A unpaid guru I follow advised his clients to get out in a e-mail allert in Jan 2000. I did............what a call! To run my business I had to understand the economy and how it affected my customers many of which were in the Fortune 500. Using this knowledge it was easy to apply it to my investments. I have not used a broker for over 15 years and I never used a "financial planner"........... I realize this is off topic but I felt I needed to answer your comment Tom

The release date for the '08 ES350 will be sometime in September. Naturally, the discounted price will be closer to the MSRP than a new leftover '07. I just helped my dad get a 2008 ES350 with Premium Plus/NAV and other options today for $37,500 (11.6% discount off MSRP). MSRP was $42,421. At frist we wanted a 2007 model but none of the local dealers had the color/option combo we wanted. So we managed to get a 2008 that had just arrived a few days ago to the dealer (it still had all the plastic on the seats and no one had test driven yet). I think we got a great deal on this car considering it's a 2008 model. What do you guys think? That is an amazing price especially on a 2008. Consumer Report Car Buying Kit states the dealer discount from Lexus is 13.9%. Your deal at 11.6% leaves the dealer with a profit of 2.3% of the MSRP of $42,421 or $975.68. I don't see why a dealer would sell at that low profit margin. Did you take their finance or maintinence package? One company in my city own both Lexus dealerships and I wouldn't be surprised if they also own the dealership in nearby city 70 miles away. Deals like yours don't exist here or I would guess a lot of places. Good work!

You would be UNBELIEVABLY shocked what people will do. My father, who is an extremely successful sales professional, fancies himself a shrewd negotiator and he is. I watched him haggle until he and the salesman literally almost came to blows over the price of a car...and then buy paint protection, Lojack, an extended warranty, and get approved for a 13% interest rate until my mother finally stopped him and insisted they finance it at their credit union who did it for 7% (this was many years ago). He is a very savvy and smart businessman and investor. He just got whomped. Dealers absolutely give up money to anticipate getting it back on the loan or on extras, I consulted with car dealers for years. They will make the profit they want to make, or they won't sell the car. People buy the *BLEEP* all day long. Now, luxury car dealers are a little more upfront, but not always. I'm a residential real estate broker and I had a situation just today. A buyer and I negotiated literally for 3 days and we got him a great deal on a home, really sharp guy. He was approved for a loan through a bank at 8% when my lender could do it for 6.5. He wanted to give the business to the first lender because they got irritated when they found out he had called another lender after all the work they'd put in on his case. Just think about the cost of that abhorently inflated rate on a $500k house over the 7-10 years he'll own it. If it wasn't for me, he would have done it and wasted all that hard and good negotiating. I guess this is good for the folks who really know how to shop for cars, loans and other big ticket items. Because the car dealers and the bankers make huge profits they can sharpen their pencils when they are dealing with an informed buyer. Another example is how much some people pay for financial advice simple because they are too lazy to learn how to do it themselves. Thanks

Hello I picked up my new ES 350 Saturday. My dealer had offered a maintenence package for up to 40,000 miles as follows Following the Lexus maintenence schedule per book, 1st 5000 miles service is free, at every 5000 miles after that the oil, filter etc and a 5 tire rotation is donel. (Price for this service is $89.95 normally.) At 15,000 miles besides the oil,filter and rotation a new a/c filter is replaced. Normal Price $222.80 At 30,000miles " " " " " In addition the brake fluid is replaced and a lot of inspections are done. Normal Price $366.70 The total of this package is $1041.25 they offer a discount of 15% for a package price of $885.06. I am trying to decide if this package is for me. If any services go up (and they will) this I would be protected for paying these increases. If I were to buy this package from the dealer they led me to believe that at trade in time my car would be considered a "certified one ". I don't know if that benifits the former owner more with a higher trade in or the it helps the dealer make more money on the resale. I guess if I am going to the dealer for service anyway I might as well save the 15%. Given the high quality of a Lexus any extended warranty seems would seem to me to be perhaps a waste of money althouth there will be cases where an owner wished he had one because quality problems can show up. Tom

Tom Dealer holdback on a ES 350 is $669. This is no matter what the MSRP is. Reference Consumer Report New Car Buying Kit. The cost is $39 for 3 months. The kit enables you to determine actual dealer Invoice on any car. Dealer invoice includes Destination fee but not the Dealer Holdback. If you buy a ES 350 at invoice the dealer still makes the $669. The point I am trying to make is that dealers are not going to "give most of the profit" on any car because they will make it up on high interest rates. warranty extensions or prepaid maintanence plans. They want it all and get it sometimes from uninformed buyers. The dealers are good at what they do. Tom

Thanks for your reply I find it hard to believe that anybody that is able to buy a car (particulary a Lexus at 500 -$1000 over invoice) whould be foolish enough to get screwed on a non competitive loan. The dealer typically doesn't give away the profit in anticipation of making it up on a high interest loan.. Sorry I can't buy your conclusion.

Hello Today I pick up my new 2007 SE 350 Obsidian (black) with Cashmere interior. MSRP $39.472 includes Destination but not sales tax or dealer fee of $119 Options include Rear seat air bag, Full size spare, Blue Tooth, Rear seat shade, HID head lights, Park Assist, Premium Plus, Wood wheel, Preferred Accy Pkg. I chose not to buy the Nav. because I love my Garmin 276C because I can move it from car to car to boat (using the Blue Charts). According to Consumer Report Buying Kit dealer cost for this car minus holdback but including destination charge of $719 with all options is $33,984. My cost before sales tax & fee is $35,972 which is a discount from MSRP of 8.8867% Using Consumer Report Kit I figure the dealer discount on this car is 13.9% before the holdback or any Factory incentives. I have seen members here say they would walk out of a dealer if they didn't get 12%.......or more discount. I can't see a dealer making only 2% or $789 on this car! What am I missing?????? I am going to love this car!!!!!!

You don't say what options (invoice on an ES is middle $29K) Options obviously can increase that greatly I don't typically wory about what options are on a car. Most dealers buy a model in 3 or 4 configurations. I find the car with the most of the equipment I want and then ask for my cost on the car. The only other way to order out a car with the specific equipment I want but it is too late in model year to do that. For example On a ES 350 with MRSP of $41,822 I was offerred a 7.70 discount from MSRP On another ES350 with a MSRP of $37,387 I was offerred a discount of 6.64% discount from MSRP You can see the trend here is the higher MSRP the bigger the discount This method give me a good idea of what I would pay for any other ES 350 on the lot. Isn't this a easy way to judge a good price. Thanks for you help

Hello Newbie Here I have a offer in writing (e-mail) from Lexus dealer on new ES 350s..........mulitple cars at same price to choose from. MSRP $39,472 my cost $36,472 which is 7.6% off MSRP This is my second attempt to deal with Lexus dealer and I was surprised because a long time ago when I looked at Lexus 400, MSRP was selling price. I got this price July 21 long before "The Event" summer sale going on now. Is there a release date for the 2008. Any one know if the new model year will be discounted a lot less than what I have been offerred? Appreciate any input on price. Thanks firstone