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Good luck. I wouldn't count on any incentives (beyond the "fake" winter sales, And financing options) from Lexus on this vehicle or their entire line for that matter. Forget paying invoice in the Northeast on this car or the Infinity G35. Maybe $500 - $1000 over invoice at the end of a slow month with the right dealer on an in-stock or tradable from another local dealer vehicle. That amount would probably offset having a car shipping from CA. The cars are just in demand, it's not a Chevy Impala.

If you get it at or below invoice I am sure everyone on the boards would love to hear the story.

Will report back when I start shopping around. However, I don't think the demand is holding. Month to month sales have been down, and I actually don't see that many IS's where I live (Boston).

Yeah, you're not likely to find one -at- invoice in your area... So. Cal where there's like 50 lexus dealers they'll do 250s that way, and 350s later in the model year...even then that'll be cars right on the lot though so you're stuck with how they configure them in your area... and you're flatly not getting a special order at that price, even from someone who's ok with doing special orders.

I understand how ya feel on pricing, it took a while for me to accept the idea of paying ANYTHING over invoice, but Lexus simply doesn't have any reason to work that way, they're the #1 selling lux brand in the country, they're not desperate for sales especially on a car they have no problem selling anyway... a couple areas like so cal are the exception due to competition.

Yup, I realized that but this year will likely be different!

XM/Sirius is port installed if you order the car (which I recommend doing if you can't find exactly what you want)... I have factory XM and it's pretty nice- note that the factory ipod adapter does NOT work with satellite, so it's one or the other. There are aftermarket ipod interfaces that work with sat. if that matters to you.

Auto-tilt mirrors in reverse- I find them useful fairly often... note they only come on lux or sport packages (also exclusive to those 2 packages are memory seats; plus they both include all the other nice lux features like rain-sensing wipers, HIDs with AFS, etc...)... since you're in the northeast you'll enjoy the heated seats, but that comes with both Lux and Sports too...

Personally I say sports package because it gives you -everything- the luxury package does except the power rear sunshade (which I've yet to meet anyone who uses) and it's $500 -less- plus you avoid the woodgrain that I think doesn't look right in a sports sedan and also get the sport pedals which look a lot nicer. You also do get the sport suspension but there's honestly not a huge difference between that and the "normal" one... 5% stiffer shocks and a .5 inch front drop...that's it...

Mark Levinson is definitely worth it... $940 for more spoeakers, better speakers, and more power... difference is significant having heard both.

I do -not- recommend getting navigation though. It's $2500-3000 (depending if you get ML or not) and it does considerably less than the aftermarket Garmins that cost 300-400 bucks. Lexus will then further screw you on map updates each year to the tune of 250-300 bucks versus 50-75 bucks from Gamin. Get a nice Nuvi 660- it'll do more functional nav (since it still fully works while the car is in drive unlike the factory system, has bluetooth, and also does realtime traffic that the factory system can't... ) 300-379 depending if you find it on sale or not... Lexus navigation was very nice in 2000... by todays standards it's massively out of date on features and very overpriced.

If you're comfortable driving a RWD car in the snow don't worry too much about the 350... just get a spare set of rims and put GOOD snow tires on em, put the car in snow mode, and you'll be fine. It's worth the extra 100 hp for the majority of the year it's not snowing.

My 08 350 was a special order BTW (since that's the only way to get sports package in the southeast, and the only way to get Mark Levinson without nav) and I can't say exactly what I paid, but it was a very very good deal... I negotiated it as "Special order for X over invoice" and the dealer agreed to that, so what options I picked didn't matter for changing the price, it just added the invoice cost of those options to the original base+x.... I think that's a lot better way to negotiate than the "X off MSRP" many dealers go for, because every option you add throws more MSRP markup into the total.

Note there are many dealers who hate special orders, or won't offer much discount on em- Simply find a better dealer if you run into that.

Thanks, good to know.

I have to hear in person what the sound system is going to be like, but at this point, I'm almost decided on a base model IS350 with a few options (nothing major like Nav). I will not be adding the X or Sport package since I want a smoother ride. The reviews I've read atleast of the 2006 model really emphasized an uncomfortable ride with the Sport suspension.. unless this has changed in the 2008 model I will be eschewing it for a plusher ride.

I'm also waiting for a good incentive or two, which seems likely since sales have been dropping significantly in the past months and probably for 2008, which is looking like a terrible year for the Automotive market (therefore a good one for buyers). I don't haggle. Having purchased many many vehicles for friends and family, I simply go in with an offer of below invoice to invoice or nothing, and if we don't get a yes, we walk out. Most of them time, the dealer agrees when your at the door. I will never purchase anything over invoice. If there isn't a single Lexus dealership willing to sell to me at invoice, I will simply not purchase a new vehicle.

Thanks guys.

rear sunshade, illuminated scuff plates, auto steering wheel, headlight cleaner, mark levinson, memory seats?

they said that they dont make it too often with those features

i got the nav, air conditioned seats, afs, xenon, but not all those other gadgets listed above

Time to buy your own IS ^_^. When I get mine, no one is driving it but me, so I won't need the Memory seats.

Hi all,

I'm going to be test driving a new IS soon and am seriously considering it, along with the Infiniti G35.

Some questions:

1. Which of the packages are *must haves* in your opinion? I'm not taking Sport or X as I want a more comfortable ride . Is the Auto-Tilt down side rear view mirrors useful? Are the Mark Levinson speakers worth it over the standard Premium speakers?

2. Are satellite radios standard? They are grayed out in Edmunds.

3. Does anyone regret getting the 250 instead of the 350?

4. How much did you pay for your IS? Did you get it close to invoice?

Thanks for the feedback guys! I will probably be getting this Lex if the test drive goes well.