Prices All Over The Place

[maneesh]

My local independent dealer that sells new shape S-classes from time to time, has a metallic green LS400 1998 on a R plate for sale. It's up for 14,995.

Blimey, I thought, that's a lot of dough. So I look up Parkers. For an average mileage of 60k on that car with full history, it should be worth:

12,650 Dealer retail

12,035 Private good

9,280 Private poor

Either that car has ultra low mileage or the dealer expects the customer to walk in and request a £2,345 discount. Furthermore, I would have thought the price guide of £12,650 is for Lexus dealers, and so at an independent you would pay less than that. Plus, it's a nasty pastel shade light green.

I can never figure out prices of secondhand cars, they seem all over the place.

[ColinBarber]

Had a look on the Lexus site. The cheapest MKIV is nearly £14k. Parkers prices are always under what Lexus dealers put their cars up for.

[maneesh]

Right, so are Lexus dealers overcharging or do the people compiling Parkers have trouble with numeracy?

[LennyLexus]

when I was looking parkers figures nevered matched private, dealer, main dealer etc.

[dipstick]

Seems to me that you get three tiers of pricing; private, dealer and Lexus dealer, the latter being the most expensive. When I bought mine from a non-Lexus dealer the screen prices were perhaps £1500 higher at the Lexus dealerships.

For that money you get a Lexus dealer warranty which would probably have been better than the standard 6 month dealer "warranty" I got, some assurance that the car will have been prepped well, and with some added support from Lexus GB if there is a subsequent problem with the car or the dealer.

In my case, I took the view that £1500 was not worth it for those perceived advantages, and mentally put it aside for exogenous shocks should they arise. Which they have not (yet).

Parkers is likely to be pricing at standard dealer, rather than main dealer levels I would think, although it's irrelevant anyway. A car is worth what someone will pay for it, so Autotrader or similar is in my mind a better guide to starting points for real world pricing.

[jamesholden]

We got our MKIV from a Lexus dealer for £11995.

The extra you pay includes things like proper Lexus service, warranty, tax included in price, fuel, delivery to anywhere in the country including for viewing, brand new Lexus mats etc.

All these things might sound trivial, but work the cost out yourself, service £200+, tax £165, proper warranty £500, mats £180 = £1000+

For the price they quote you do get absolutely everything included in the price, whereas other garages expect you to put your own tax on usually, cheap mats if any etc.

[ColinBarber]

The two car I have purchased from Lexus dealers did not include tax and if a service isn't due then they won't do it. mats I have had to pay extra for and one of the cars only came with half a tank of fuel so I think it depends on what dealer you go to, not just all Lexus dealers.

[jamesholden]

The two car I have purchased from Lexus dealers did not include tax and if a service isn't due then they won't do it. Mats I have had to pay extra for and one of the cars only came with half a tank of fuel so I think it depends on what dealer you go to, not just all Lexus dealers.

What dealer was this from? I know to avoid it then.

[ColinBarber]

One from Tunbridge Wells and the other from Guildford.