New Rx300..

[javaboss]

go for it neil.. very exclusive! and a fantastic motor!

A head turner!

Good news! My wife has spoken to her friend at work. It seems that her husband is the managing director of a Lexus dealership. She is going to speak to her husband tonight and will get back to us tomorrow.

Watch this space!

[javaboss]

I've just received the RX300 brochure and accessories brochurethrough the post this morning.

You're never going to believe this but you can get a 'hot/cold' box for the boot of the RX300! It plugs into the power socket!

Coooooooooool! I could keep beer in it! :D

Does anyone know how much it is?

[MsW]

A 28 litre one is going for just under £60 at Halfor*s at the moment - hot and cold, so I would imagine the Lexus one is going to be at least twice that much

[JohnRX400h]

I got my cool/hot box from Makro £30 and just as good - just says Pepsi rather than Lexus on the side!

[javaboss]

Right - the wife and I are off to Lexus Bromley on Sunday morning on the way to visit some relatives. I'm going to make sure my IS is all beautiful as they're going to give me a price on it against a cash purchase of an RX300 SE-L.

We're going to see Ray. Anyone dealt with him before? Is he a nice bloke to do business with?

[javaboss]

Went to Bromley Lexus today. Didn't realise that it was not one of the new Lexus centres. Spoke to Ray - a very nice and helpful chap.

Ray looked over my IS and commented that it was in 'brand new' condition still and the tyre shine hadn't even worn off! He is going to speak to the dealership manager and give me a trade in price against an RX300 SE-L tomorrow. Will keep you posted...

[ColinBarber]

Any news on your deal?

[javaboss]

Nah, Ray from Bromley hasn't phoned me back yet! It's just stupid that I have the chase around after these people! I'm looking to spend the best part of £38k and they just can't be ****d to phone me back!

The only thing I can think of is that these dealers must have queues of people running around the block wanting to buy cars - otherwise they must be stupid on not bothering to ring you back.

If I don't get a call today then I'm going to ring the dealer manager and make a complaint.

[javaboss]

No phone call. No surprise.

Are Lexus dealers getting as arrogant as Merc dealers?

[ricky_is200]

No phone call. No surprise.

Are Lexus dealers getting as arrogant as Merc dealers?

I've had no problems getting Merc dealers to call me back :) I also went looking at a basic Jag X type with my Dad on saturday and as promised the dealer called my dad back first thing monday morning. He's not going to buy it though :yack:

[Steve]

Perhaps a dealer review is needed.

On the Jag X Type.. I was not impresssed with the X type.. did a few hundred miles in the states in one.

Was a nice hard ride... was not bouncy but felt sporty

the interior really lets this car down.. felt plasticky and cheap. The seats felt ok but the leg room was restricted on the width.

When giving the car some welly it had the same power as my old motor.. felt no difference at all. Same size motor as my Lex but for a new car I was expecting a tad more.

Smooth transmission

This is one luxury car that does not come into my top 5 of luxury motors.

Now the RX i Would like to try.. I might see if I can sign myself up to the open road!

[Monster-Mat]

why not take your business elsewhere

[Matthew_McNally]

On the Jag X Type.. I was not impresssed with the X type.. did a few hundred miles in the states in one.

Was a nice hard ride... was not bouncy but felt sporty

did you think so Steve?

I thought it was the exact opposite - there was waaaayyyy to much body roll - even in the 3.0 sport, which had stiffened suspension

[ricky_is200]

This was just the 2 litre 'S' model so was probably a lot slower than the 3 litre you probably drove Steve. He liked the interior it had that Jag feel but wasn't impressed with the performance or the trade in price they offered on his 2 year old passat.

Sorry javaboss this is a bit

[Steve]

On the Jag X Type.. I was not impresssed with the X type..  did a few hundred miles in the states in one.

Was a nice hard ride... was not bouncy but felt sporty

did you think so Steve?

I thought it was the exact opposite - there was waaaayyyy to much body roll - even in the 3.0 sport, which had stiffened suspension

my car rolls like a sack of spuds mate so it felt stiff to me.

[javaboss]

Well, had some phone calls back from various dealers today. To be honest, they've all offered quite stupid amounts of money for my IS. They all seem to be hell bent on offering a huge loss on my current car - and bugger all off the RX just to sweeten the deal!

From various car price guides on the web, it seems that I will be able to trade the car in when it is a year old for the same money as I'm being offered for it now! It must be that all Lexus dealers don't want to sell me £38k's worth of RX!

My wife and I are now starting to think about sticking with what we have until next March. Hopefully, the RX halo effect will have worn off by then and we'll actually be able to get a realistic trade-in!

We're are going to visit our local BMW dealer at the weekend for a test drive of an X5 diesel. It'll be interesting to see what they offer for the IS! :D

[smw]

You might want to have a look at this broker - he simply puts you in touch with a Lex dealer who will sell at the prices he quotes.

http://www.broker4cars.co.uk/lexusprices.htm

PS

X5 - bit of an image problem (IMHO).

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Java have a look in this weeks AutoExpress they compare the RX with 2 others, guess which comes 3rd?

[javaboss]

Cheers smv. I've just filled out an enquiry form. Worth a go I suppose!

[smw]

I'll be interested to hear how it goes with the broker.

Quite a few people on TOC have used it and had no problems - haven't actually used myself though.

Hope it works out.

[javaboss]

You might want to have a look at this broker - he simply puts you in touch with a Lex dealer who will sell at the prices he quotes.

http://www.broker4cars.co.uk/lexusprices.htm

PS

X5 - bit of an image problem (IMHO).

Hi smw,

The websites quote prices for the wrong cars! They are prices for the OLD RX300. However, I have filled in the form and should hear from them tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice!

[smw]

You don't have much luck do you !

I never would have believed how hard it is to spend 38 grand !

[javaboss]

I know! My wife and I just can't believe it either!

We've got CASH burning a hole in our pockets to cover the difference between my car and an RX300. We just hate being ripped off though! and to be honest, the trade-in offers we've been presented with are just taking the *****. You can see that the dealer has cars up that are the same age and are just short of £21k. There's no way I'm taking £17k for my IS.

We've pretty much decided to wait until next march as my car is only likely to drop by another few hundred quid according to the price guides. We might just as well keep it for a bit!

[smw]

This makes sense.

Obviously the biggest chunk of depreciation on a car is going to be almost immediate i.e as soon as the vehicle is no longer 'new' , has a registered owner and starts getting miles on the clock.

That said the dealer is in a funny position really with your car - I'm currently looking for an IS and I have been able to get a dealer down to £19 400 on a brand new 200 SE (manual with paint).

So say you wanted 18 from the dealer for yours - he's got to then valet it / advertise / check it over / tie up his cash flow and make a profit. You can see that even if he covers his costs and strives to make £400 profit your car would have to retail on used at about the 19 mark -which as I've said is almost the same as he can put a new SE out at. I know yours is an auto so it would be worth more - but you see the point I'm making.

However you also have to take into account the profit he is making on the new RX he is selling you - although as has already been made quite clear - they don't seem in a rush to do it.

Lets face it these cars pretty much sell themselves - it's a desirable product and demand and supply are well matched. Do you think a Ford dealer would be keen top cut a 38 K deal with you - he'd probably camp outside your house all night until you signed the contract !

[ColinBarber]

The RX is being imported in low numbers. Some dealers have already sold their initial allocation and are waiting for the next allocation to take them through to next year. So why discount the price, there are enough customers who will pay full price.