While at the Chicago Auto Show, I fell in love with the ES 330. I have
never owned a luxury car and I have never owned an import. I have
never bought a car off of a dealer's lot. Aside from used cars that
were passed down from family members, I've always ordered my vehicles;
all, by chance, American.

My question is:

Can I order an ES 330 to my specs, just as I can an American car? I'm
not in any hurry to get the car but, paying that kind of money, I want
to get *exactly* what I want. Is that a problem with Lexus/any import?
In 2001, I assisted my grown son in buying a Mercury through
CarsDirect.com and was very happy with the way that service worked. We
only dealt with a CarsDirect rep by phone, got a 'no haggle' price
from CarsDirect that beat any dealer prices that we had previously
obtained and never had any contact with the dealer until the car was
ready to be picked up. Can I do the same thing with a Lexus? The
CarsDirect site says that, in some cases, they only offer to hook you
up with a dealer with whom you can negotiate a price. I would,
naturally, prefer not to have to haggle over the price of a luxury
car. I have already researched the car prices (MSRP & invoice) and
know what a fair price would be for exactly what I want.

Like I said, I'm willing to spend what the car's worth but want to get
exactly what I want with the least hassle.

Any ideas?

Thanks for any help!
--
Rich Cervenka
Chicago, Illinois, USA

Yes, you can order, but most dealers dislike doing it that way, almost to
the point where they will tell you can't. What they would like to do is to
take your specs and find a vehicle on some dealer's lot or inbound that is
"close enough."

With an ES, you basically chooose from four or five packages, select an
exterior color, and select an interior trim. Everything else is dealer or
port installed. There really aren't many options to mix/match so it is
highly likely the dealer can find you a car.

I always advise anyone shopping for an ES to drive a high-end Camry and make
sure that the Lexus is worth the extra money to you. And while you're out,
drive a G35, a RWD car with a lot more performance for less money.

- Mark

On Thu, 12 Feb 2004 19:43:21 GMT, "markjen"
<mark.jennings4 (AT) comcast (DOT) net> wrote:

--
Rich Cervenka
Chicago, Illinois, USA

Rich

We just bought an 330 ES last Saturday. I researched, agonized about
buying foreign, etc, just like you. For what its worth, here's what
happened:

Decided to buy now and off the lot because the yen continues to creep
up against the dollar. Dealer indicated that they would negotiate a
price for car on lot or on the boat. We purchaed the "Premimum
package" (no nav) had everything we wanted but didn't include variable
suspension. It had wheel locks that I didn't want. Dealer gladly
removed locks, handed them to me and replaced with wheel bolts. No
cost, no fuss.

I researched Fair Market price on edmunds.com, then used the Lexus.com
site to get two internet prices from dealers nearby. Second dealer
was very close to edmunds FMV price but it took two e-mails to get a
price. First dealer was 2% BELOW FMV from edmunds.com. Took about 1
hour to negotiate a fair price (my opinion) for my 1994 Eagle Vision
Tsi.

Summed up -- FMV on web was HIGH, used car estimate about right,
ordering may put you at risk for currency exchange rate and with the
rising federal and trade deficits don't expect it to move in your
favor, car had all but one item and I'm not sure I needed the missing
item. PS my wife loves her new car

Howard

Rich Cervenka <UseNewsgroup (AT) NotEmail (DOT) net> wrote

Back in May of '97 I wanted a Lexus ES 300. The only problem was the
inside headroom with the Moonroof. The moonroof was an "option", but
there wasn't a car to be had without a moonroof. I called it a "forced"
option. I placed the order for a car with all of the other luxury
options. They said it might take 4-6 weeks to order one. Well, August
came and went. The 97's were finished. As of Aug 15 '98's were started
to be made. My car came on November 2. '97. It took forever, but it is
the best car I've ever owned. Almost 90,000 miles on it. No problems.
I got a car that was comfortable for me, and a car that will have
lasted me to over 100,000 miles. I will be buying a '05 LS 430. Lexus
makes a great car!





In article <vg4n20l7191ljq682n6p8tk01dudhmrrbv (AT) 4ax (DOT) com>, Rich Cervenka
<UseNewsgroup (AT) NotEmail (DOT) net> wrote:

"markjen" <mark.jennings4 (AT) comcast (DOT) net> wrote

I was looking for a Camry with a Navigation system. It was impossible to
find it anywhere. I ended up buying the Lexus ES330. There are a lot of
differences between a Camry and ES330. Enough to justify the price
difference. (In my case, the most high end Camry was around 31k, I ended up
paying $35k for a 2004 es330 with a Navigation system (also fully loaded).
Plus, the dealer treatment, free car washes, free oil changes, and other
perks are just fantastic and worth the extra $$.

One can certainly order it with any of the standard options available. The
Lexusl.com site covers these. It takes about 10-12 weeks to get it in.
Note some features go together like the multiple height adjustment and the
navigation packages.
"Rich Cervenka" <UseNewsgroup (AT) NotEmail (DOT) net> wrote

On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 06:51:11 GMT, "Stephen Keown"
<skeown (AT) houston (DOT) rr.com> wrote:

Thanks for all of the responses, guys! They are all appreciated.
--
Rich Cervenka
Chicago, Illinois, USA