Thinking Of Buying An Is200 Se Auto With Sat Nav

[ttucker]

Hi, I am looking at buying a 2nd hand IS200 SE Auto with Satellite System from a Lexus main dealer.

It's in good condition but has done 57K miles.

It was registered in 1999 and is a T reg

They are asking £13,750. WHat do you think is a fair price to pay - £12,000?

I don't expect to put many miles on the clock so hoping to reduce the mileage over the longer term.

A quick answer would be very much appreciated.

Cheers,

Trev

[Chris.S]

I don't know wether a main dealer would knock £1700 of a car but its worth a try.Around £12,000 seems a fair price depending on condition

[ricky_is200]

Did anyone watch wrong car right car last night on BBC? Its amazing the amount they were able to get dealers to knock off the prices. Made me realise I never push hard enough. They were able to get a £12000 used car down to £10000 with free extra warranty, tank of fuel, and also got the dealer to lower his APR from 6 to 4%.

[Nick]

Exceptions do not prove the rule. I would be amazed if you could get it for £12000, unless it is in a poor colour or they have had it for months. Huge discounts on cars usually means only one thing and that is ludicrous asking prices. A car with no discount is the best if the asking price is below the market. The important figure is what you pay not what you get off.

P.S Chris are you open to these kind of offers, as if so I'll buy yours

[Chris.S]

How much

[Mattj]

I would go with Ricky on this one, I always find that program really good, makes me think I should have pushed harder too, I think its the way they go about it though, trade-in, extras, overall price, then finance, one of the guys at work here swears by!!

Problem I have had in the past is although they really want to make a sale, they don't want you to walk out, I frequently find myself over a barrel as they are selling exactly what I want....

[tony_hetherington]

I'd be surprised if you could get an IS knocked down by that much to be honest.

I've literally just bought a used IS200sport from a dealer (it arrives tomorrow). I spent about 4months looking for one, and about 1 month actually in a position (i.e. with money) to buy one. During that month I walked away from maybe 3 or 4 cars because the dealer would not go low enough on price.

I just bought a car that was up for £14k, and I paid £13.5k, and that took some REAL arm bending. I frequently offered £1k less to many different dealers, and NONE of them were prepared to look at my offer, let alone talk about it. On used IS' they really dont have much room. On other models.......GS' for example, they have more room to move as there's not so many of them.

Just my experience anyhow - hopefully you may be able to do better as it's an auto (like the GS vs IS, there's fewer autos than manuals) so my fingers are crossed for you !!

Good luck :)

[Nick]

Tony,

Saw your car advertised at Worcester, and not only have you bought one with a great starting price but you have also done a good deal on it and recognised the deal as one not to be missed. Well done and enjoy it!!

[tony_hetherington]

Nick,

Thanks very much !! I spotted the car, the following day my Dad was working in Worcester (I live in Kent) so he went in and made the offer with me on the phone (I'd driven loads of IS' so it was just the condition of the car which was an issue)........£500 deposit later the car's mine (and arrives tomorrow as I say!)

For the benefit of others, I bought a 2000W IS200sport in granite sky with 41.5k on the clock from a main dealer (Lexus Worcester)....and as I say, it was up for £14k, and I bought for £13.5k (quite chuffed with that price - you compare it to others on the lexus.co.uk site and it's a grand cheaper of similar examples).

Actually, when i rang the dealers who I had also looking for cars for me to say I'd bought one (so thank you very much, type phone call) and told them what I bought, they all said "wow, good price, we wouldn't have been able to beat that"........so was a bit lucky it seems :)

Thanks again for the comments,

(oh, and sorry to jump in on the post !!!)

[ricky_is200]

On used IS' they really dont have much room. On other models.......GS' for example, they have more room to move as there's not so many of them.

Just my experience anyhow - hopefully you may be able to do better as it's an auto (like the GS vs IS, there's fewer autos than manuals) so my fingers are crossed for you !!

I would have thought it was the other way round, on cars such as the manual IS200 where there are so many used examples available the dealer would be keener to close a deal as there is so much competition and they have so many of them to shift. More used models available tend to push the price lower.

I agree with what Nick said though, its the cars they want to shift (due to colour or the time they have had in stock) that they are most likely to discount.

[tony_hetherington]

More used models available tend to push the price lower.

Absolutely 100% correct.......

and consequently, that means there is less margin for the dealer to play with.

Are we talking about defined market prices, or a dealer's ability to discount? I think that may be where we're getting confused!?

-Market prices will be lower with greater number of cars, and discount will be less due to lower margins.

-Market prices will be higher with fewer cars, and discounts will be more due to (possibly) higher margins

-eminating from the original greater value of the market price.

I hope I made sense there !?!

[Nick]

Tony,

You are assuming that only the retail price would be affected when in fact the trade price would alter downwards to reflect the retail price. What you must all bear in mind is that the dealers margins are not that large after preparation, warranty, valeting, discount and commission are taken into account, (average is approx £1000 across country) which may surprise many of you. The most desirable cars in the best colour and sat nav, low mileage, etc etc will always make more money in the trade and retail. Look at the differences in asking prices on the Lexus locator, and you can see the trend. If you intend to keep a car for a long period then big savings can be made on "undesirable" cars of all makes, as a 10 year old is valued far more on condition.

[jenners]

"The most desirable cars in the best colour and sat nav, low mileage, etc etc will always make more money in the trade and retail"

Except if the car was bought outside the UK but within Europe ! :D I believe Lexus GB are treading on dodgy ground with regard to European laws on treating goods bought within Europe differently. I don't mind passing on any savings I made on my purchase but in the long run, whislt the UK (including dealers and consumers alike) treat the cars differently there will always be the large difference in price between the UK and our european counterparts.

[tony_hetherington]

.......I think there's one underlying point to bear in mind here, and that's that IS200's, for example, have a VERY high spec for comparable not much money compared to the likes of BMW's, Mercs etc, and perhaps that is somewhat forgotten when thinking of discounts etc ?

Compare used prices of IS200's vs BMW 3 series and for same price you get NOWHERE near the same amount of car !!

Just a thought to leave this -I think very constructive- thread with !

[PaulFromSwindon]

I think the point to bear in mind that they are probably not going to negotiate a lot cos of the Sat-Nav - I bought my 2000/V sport with sat Nav for 15,200 a few months back, they knocked 800 off the price and chucked in an MOT, new spare wheel and full valet. It was still over the odds, but there aren't many around with Sat Nav in that age group - not from dealers at least - I would not buy one without the warranty.

Another guy actually sold my car to someone aelse after I had put a deposit on it, they had to eat some humble pie and promise to find him another - they only had a white one in stock and the guy did not want white.

Bear in mind the Sat-Nav was a 2,5K option, and more to the point, it actually works, which is more than can be said for a lot of Sat Nav systems, apparently.

Enjoy the Lexus, anyway. Mines just been stuffed by a 7.5 ton lorry, waiting for the go-ahead to get it fixed. I have a Jag X-type loan car, and believe me, it's made me realise how good my IS200 is! Can't wait to get the old girl back.

Have a good one.

Paul

[javaboss]

I have a June 2001 IS200 SE auto in platinum ice (no sat nav). My local dealer offered me £15k for it when it's 3 years old next June (if I buy another one that is!) It'll have aprox 22k miles on the clock by then.

We didn't get down to serious talking, so I hope I might be able to get nearer 16k - that way it'll be worth trading it for a new one next year. If it's less than 15k then I might as well keep the car as it's like new! (it spends the week in my garage and is only used at weekends! and it's does get very pampered!)

Have IS200 resale values dropped recently then? Am I being unrealistic?

[Chris.S]

Which dealer was that mate cause I couls do with a part exchange price like that

[javaboss]

I'm not sure if I should be saying now!

I was in the dealership having my wheels switched over as they had corroded. I was talking to the salesman that sold me the car and asked for a 'ball park' figure should I come to trade it in when it was 3 years old. He said £15k. He knew it had low mileage and was well looked after. He also knew that if I got a good deal I would be a regular 3 yearly customer!

Oh, go on then, I'll tell you - it was Lexus Hadleigh. Hope they don't get cross with me