How Can I Get The Best Deal On A New Lexus?

[fredsmith]

After test driving several of the usual suspects over recent times (BMW 3 series, Saab 93, Alfa, Honda Accord etc) I'm committed to buying a Lexus. I had an extended drive in a 220d which I loved, but reading the correspondence on this forum, and talking to a couple of people in the know, my head's been turned in the direction of the IS250 Auto.

So I've been talking to a couple of dealers in the midlands area over the past couple of days (I don't want to be more specific than that, in case they read this!). Trouble is, I'm never quite sure how far I can push these guys. Am I being offered a brilliant deal (as they tell me!), or could I do significantly better by being a bit cheeky/clever?

I'm conscious that December is a ropey time for the trade, and the end of a quarter as well, so they should be desperate for business.

At the moment I've been offered a new IS250 Auto with no extras for around £22,450. This I'm told includes a 10% discount off the book price. It also includes delivery and 1 year's road tax. After a strategic pause, the dealer added some sort of customer care deal including tyre insurance and Supaguard which he claims is worth over £900 (could probably get something similar much cheaper if I shopped around).

I just wondered if some of the more experienced wheeler-dealers on here could offer any realistic tips about what I can realistically ask for either in further discounts or freebies.

Any info greatly appreciated.

fred.

[WylieCoyote]

Buy a copy of What Car. That will give you the retail price and the 'target price' - the discount you can realistically expect. They also offer an 0845 telephone number - a 'deal checker' where you speak to someone, give them the details and they'll tell you whether it's a good deal or not. Don't bother with supaguard unless they throw it in for free. Always make 1 years road tax, carpet mats, and a full tank of fuel as a deal breaker. Just as a quickie. the price you were quoted, I checked in What Car and the MINIMUM discount is £22,132 on that car. Push for £22100 with fuel, mats and tax (mudflaps if you want them too)

Keith

[fredsmith]

Buy a copy of What Car. That will give you the retail price and the 'target price' - the discount you can realistically expect. They also offer an 0845 telephone number - a 'deal checker' where you speak to someone, give them the details and they'll tell you whether it's a good deal or not. Don't bother with supaguard unless they throw it in for free. Always make 1 years road tax, carpet mats, and a full tank of fuel as a deal breaker. Just as a quickie. the price you were quoted, I checked in What Car and the MINIMUM discount is £22,132 on that car. Push for £22100 with fuel, mats and tax (mudflaps if you want them too)

Keith

Thanks Keith, very useful info. However I did take a look at the What Car site and the £22132 they suggest is for the manual version. You have to add £905 for automatic, making £23037 -- so maybe the £22450 isn't such a bad deal? Especially as the supaguard offer is being offered free. I thought carpet mats were standard with a new Lexus? Seem to recall seeing that on the Lexus website.

Anyway, thanks again. Good stuff.

[oldcro]

Just be carefull you don't be too greedy and loose what is a pretty good deal. By all means check other dealers to see what if any improvements you are offered, otherwise tread carefully.

[fredsmith]

Just be carefull you don't be too greedy and loose what is a pretty good deal. By all means check other dealers to see what if any improvements you are offered, otherwise tread carefully.

I completely agree that there is a fine line between being a shrewd buyer, and being unreasonable. I've no desire to be greedy, but equally, I don't want to be the victim of a dealer's greed either! Trouble is, I buy a car on average about once every 5 years, which isn't frequent enough to keep abreast of trends. There may be some obvious things to request that I'm not aware of, hence my question. After looking at various quotes on the web, I'm beginning to think that the deal I've been offered is reasonable. Not spectacular, given the time of year, but reasonable.

fred.

[WylieCoyote]

Yes Fred it would be a decent deal for auto and free supaguard. I didn't actually read the post properly when I got home from work last night so my apologies.

No you don't want to lose a good deal as oldcro says but there are what, 10 Lexus dealerships within 50 miles of you? So there's always someone who will give you a good deal.

I've looked on Broadspeed.com which are brokers and you get a new car from a UK dealer and they supply your exact car (admittedly minus supaguard) for £22330. Try places like drivethedeal.com, dealdrivers.com and so on. Even if you don't buy from them it's a good bargaining tool.

If you could get your car for £22330 and they'd Supaguard it, full tank of fuel and years tax, I'd bite their hand off.

Keith

[Wallace]

Fred I took a computer print-out from drive the deal.com to my local dealer and asked him to match it. I also had a contact at Lexus Nottingham who said he would match the price. Then after several calls to Wolverhampton and Nottingham, i settled on a deal from my local garage. Even i was suprised how much they were willing to discount by.

Good Luck

[Steve ( West Mids )]

You don't say what model you are looking at, is it the SE? Also have you a part exchange and when do you want the car as it makes a big difference?

Petrol, mats and tax are standard on a new car, Supaguard is considered by most a waste of money and you can buy it for far less on the www. and do it yourself ;) So go for more discount.

Also are you bothered if it's an old spec. car ( seats, antihijack ) if so make sure you say.

If the car you have been quoted on is not an SE then you are paying too much as list is only £24,877 and you are getting £900 of nothing ( when did you last have to buy a new tyre due to damage ) not wear or bad wear ? This insurance is only costed at about £100.

Good luck with your quest.

[fredsmith]

You don't say what model you are looking at, is it the SE? Also have you a part exchange and when do you want the car as it makes a big difference?

Petrol, mats and tax are standard on a new car, Supaguard is considered by most a waste of money and you can buy it for far less on the www. and do it yourself ;) So go for more discount.

Also are you bothered if it's an old spec. car ( seats, antihijack ) if so make sure you say.

If the car you have been quoted on is not an SE then you are paying too much as list is only £24,877 and you are getting £900 of nothing ( when did you last have to buy a new tyre due to damage ) not wear or bad wear ? This insurance is only costed at about £100.

Good luck with your quest.

Steve -- no it's not an SE. It's the standard Auto. If £24,877 is list. I'm getting about £2,400 off. I don't have a P/ex but I do have a reasonable deposit, leaving me around £15K to finance.

Hmm, mixed messages!

I'll chat to them again tomorrow and gauge the possibilities.

fred

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

Fred - www.drivethedeal.co.uk

Just got an on-line quote - £22,590 for a base 250, Auto with Metallic paint, so the price you've been quoted is a good one

The Supaguard is not worth the paper it's written on, the whole kit only costs £25 off eBay which will allow you to do loads of cars yourself! Tyre insurance is ditto - too much small print!

See if you can wangle fitted rubber mats and mudflaps out instead, but if not take what they've offered. You won't regret it.

Either way it is a good deal. Take yer cheque book and go do the deed!

One final thing - unless you're really hell bent on a new motor, check out "Cargiant" thay had some 06 and 56 plated SE Auto's, for less then £20k a couple of weeks ago. With your savings you can get a Cherished plate and no one will ever know!!

[Exiled]

With no trade in complications you are in a very strong position and I understand your reasoning regarding being ripped off.

Study very carefully the advice given so far, I don't think you will get any better. Some of the chaps on here really do know what they are talking about. The only subject I feel qualified to comment on is the Superguarding of the car, I've had it and it's a waste of money.

As Steve says, old spec models don't have autolock and there is a bit less leg room in the back and yes you are correct, all cars do come with fitted mats. If you end up with 10% discount I think you've done fine.

One other point which may or may not matter to you. Do you want to have the car looked after by the dealer most convenient to get to. If you go elsewhere and save a few bob will you feel embarassed asking your local guy to sort out any problems when you have'nt bought the car from him?

[fredsmith]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

I managed to get a little more shaved off the price, with rubber mats and a tank of petrol thrown in, so I decided that would do me. It is definitely the new model with the auto-locking and adjusted seats. No doubt I could have done even better by being a pain in the arse but ultimately you have to ask how much of a timewaster you want to seem to be in order to get a tiny additional improvement.

In the end I did take the Supaguard. I hear the sentiment expressed here but it was offered, so what the hell? Another additional thing I managed to get was gap insurance (to ensure I get the full replacement value of the car in case of write-off). I managed to swap this for the tyre insurance which seemed like a good move. There's every chance I'll never need it but it's a little bit of extra peace of mind.

It's just the basic IS 250 Auto + parking sensors but still looks like a beautiful car. In the end I just couldn't run to the MM, and to be honest I didn't really need it. The quality of the basic audio is excellent, and I already have a decent Sat Nav. It was only the parking sensors I needed so I ordered them as an extra.

Hoping to take delivery within a couple of weeks, and cannot wait!

Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement.

fred