Too bad Lexus decided to discontinue the GS after the 2020 model year. As a sedan loving guy, it was the only Lexus that was sporty enough for me. The ES is plain old boring and lacks that sportiness.
It will be interesting to see if Lexus decides to bring back the GS at some point.
Lmao.
Consensus is the deal sucks, I get it. Still havent found a broker that can beat it for an in stock vehicle though. So itâs basically get another car, or overpay for this one.
The key to leasehaking is flexibility, it sounds like you have very little of that. If thatâs the car you want for $1,000 plus a month effective get it, but donât come here looking for someone to say itâs a deal.
I recently shopped the BMW market and know that expecting more than a percent or two of MSRP is very tough right now. Why should a dealer give you a discount if the next guy is paying full price or more?
A couple quick things:
There really isnât more money to squeeze out other than hoping another dealer has the same car and will give you a better deal. On the plus side, thereâs loyalty money and the residual isnât bad at all for a 5-series.
Regarding financing, iâm not sure if iâd want to be stuck holding a 5-series. They traditionally depreciate heavily, and at some point this used-car market will have to self-correct. Sedans continue to be less desirable vs. SUVs (I love sedans and coupes). Personally, iâd still take a lease, particularly on a car that is likely to depreciate heavily and incur high long-term maintenance costs.
If I were going to jump into a mediocre/bad deal, I would rather order and M3 or M5 (finance, not lease, M cars lease terribly in most cases), since they typically donât see terribly high discounts unless itâs the end of life model, new version, etc.
The reality right now is that most deals suck. If you WANT a particular car, you probably arenât going to get a deal on it. My personal recommendation is to buy something that doesnât get heavily discounted in âregularâ times. Perhaps a Tesla, Tacoma, 4Runner, etc.
I just talked to a friend this weekend that is a Lexus salesman. He claims the GS will be coming back within the next couple of years. Maybe more like an Audi A7 type vehicle. He didnât know specifics but claims thatâs what they are hearing through the Lexus rumormill.
Thanks for understanding and being reasonable.
So thatâs just the taxes and fees and registration costs etc. Comes out to $5200 something with NY taxes. I added a downpayment of around 700 to lower monthly cost by 25 or w.e. If I do 0 down and taxes/etc go into monthly payments instead and instead do 7 MSDs effective monthly payment is lowered by $40. Which is fine, but then Iâm paying closing to 8k at signing, even if its refundable.
Didnât come in here for acceptance on this deal, partly came in to see if itâs really that bad (local brokers saying itâs not). LH brokers were very helpful, but I canât be as flexible as they want me to be. I get LH users are from all over the country. Sure if I lived in across the country I can get 7-10% off on this. Even if Iâm saving $75-100 a month, I donât see the justification for doing that on a trim or package I donât want and stuck with for a minimum of 3 years. Or I can wait on a 3 month build and get it shipped here.
Off topic, but Lexus doesnât know what the hell theyâre doing. They should rename themselves to the âRX storeâ since all they sell is mostly FWD Highlanders with Lexus badges on them to make the buyers feel like itâs a luxury vehicle. They use the tired and underspecced 3.5L V6 2GR engine thatâs been around since the mid 2000s, while the Germans are running circles around them.
Toyotaâs about to get their ass handed to them as they ignored electrification while goofing around with Hydrogen and Hybrids. Thereâs a good chance that MBA students will read case studies about them next to Sears and Blockbuster Video. Drive any âsportâ Lexus next to a BMW, Audi, or even Acura and youâll realize how far Toyota has fallen.
Lexus/Toyota is counting on Mazda to build/design a RWD Sedan (as an upscale Mazda6) and then rebrand versions for Lexus. Basically the worldâs largest automaker couldnât be bothered to build a 3/5 competitor themselves. Itâs a mindset problem. Lexus used to come to the table that they have to be the BEST. The early LS is a great example. Now theyâre okay with âgood enough, letâs just dial it inâ. There is not a single vehicle in their entire lineup that stands apart for being outstanding in its segment.
For the record, I owned 2 ISes and a GS. There is absolutely nothing in the Lexus lineup iâd WANT to own today.
If I were in your shoes, and could wait for a vehicle. Iâd go the custom order route if it meant I could save money while getting EXACTLY what I wanted. For me personally, if I was dropping $70k without a significant discount from MSRP, iâd probably say âscrew itâ and order a base model M5 or lease the M550xi, preferably at a discount using a broker. Do a custom order with Performance Center Delivery so you could pick it up in California or South Carolina, regardless of where the purchasing dealer is based. You can also have some fun and make a trip out of driving it home.
Thereâs also the risk that nobody knows what surprises will come with your ordered car. Nobody knows how long shortages will continue, but BMW has surprised people by omitting power seats in the M440iGC (65k+ car!), removing touchscreens, removing SXM, removing passenger lumbar, etc. I donât blame BMW, theyâre doing what they can to get cars out in the door in a difficult situation. I would not want to own any of these vehicles, since I imagine a discussion in 2024 might go something like âIs that the 2021/2022 model that was missing x,y, and z? Well, itâs going to be worth lessâ. If your 540i isnât missing anything significant, great, if it is, I would definitely opt for a lease, since resale value wonât be your problem.
If you need a vehicle sooner, options are limited and youâre better off paying more for what you want to drive vs. buying a âdealâ and being miserable.
The car isnât being marked up over MSRP and going by memory, it doesnât look like the MF is being marked up to the max either. The rest is just math at this point.
Thatâs not what I meant by my comment.
Itâs a real shame whatâs happened with the car market this last year. I ordered pretty much the exact same MSRP 540i (same color, m sport, shadow line, red brakes ) in October of last year through a broker on here. Deal came out to 677 a month with roughly 2k fees/ taxes upfront. If I was in the market for a car now I would just get a bicycle. Good luck finding what you are looking for.
I agree, same here but the ES F Sport isnât that bad. While the ES is an old manâs car the F Sport package gives it a much sportier look with 19ers and aggressive bumpers. The Blue in the F Sport also gives it a youthful touch
Hereâs an alternate for you⌠assuming itâs still available, and will require some work and shipping⌠but effectively similar pmtâŚ
Not to derail OPâs thread, but the ES 350 is lacking in power. Still uses an outdated and underpowered V6 that produces only 302 hp. You canât even get it in all wheel drive.
However, the 4 cylinder ES 250 F sport is available in all wheel drive.
Dude if you really like the car and donât mind overpaying then go for it. I got my 540 ( 72k MSRP ) in April. Itâs 780/Month with 2800 DAS. It was 9% pre incentives and I got 1500 in lease cash. I posted in June and got some of the same responses youâre getting. If you really love the car and you canât find any other deal better then Take it. Who knows maybe next year the payment would me 100/more.
Appreciate the feedback, but ended up signing.
Was able to get a broker to get a slightly better deal on a different in-stock color in NJ and the dealer matched after some back and forth with the manager. The car has everything I want so no point in waiting on a new build for me.
Found an OL code they accepted from a buddy of mine. They tried to turn it down too, thinking it was fake. So much back and forth it was unbelievable. Dealer took an additional very slight % off MSRP and dropped my down payment to match brokerâs deal.
Came out to 810/m with ~4200 DAS. Iâm happy with the deal in the NY market today.
Dealer is either going to end up eating the OL code 1k or it was built into their deal structure so they didnât care - theyâve been very hard to validate this year to begin with, as most (legitimate) codes have been getting rejected for whatever reason, but moreover, the T&C are pretty specific that it must be within the same household (example below from another event). Either way, good on you for getting them to take it - Iâm just surprised!
âOffer valid to customers â and their family members residing within the same household, attending the 2020 UDE Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park event and registering on site.â
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