Mark ups

3 weeks ago I was dealing with four dealerships in SoCal. All were asking 5 to 15 grand over MSRP. This week I’m getting calls from the same dealers saying 3000 over MSRP and one Internet sales with no markup.
Yeah, I don’t think most of these guys were getting the 100K that they hoped for.
 
I’m seeing the downward trend too on smartpath. A SoCal dealer was emailing me a 1958 for msrp. Unfortunately I don’t want a 1958.
 
I reached out to a dealer 3 weeks ago. They said $10k mark up, along with $2k in add-ons. I said, "No thank you." They reached out a few days ago and asked if I would "meet them halfway" with a $5k mark-up with $2k in add-ons. I laughed and said politely, "No thank you." Today, they reached out again and said "We can do MSRP." Unfortunately, it's just the base trim, with the smaller wheels, no premium package, etc., so I decided to pass. Plus, I do not want or need $2k in useless add-ons. So, moral of the story, DO NOT pay any dealer mark-ups! There is NO NEED to pay the mark-ups!
 
While I would like to ascribe it to the wisdom of the masses, my real guess is that with the mid-trim coming in now it’s going to be incredibly difficult to convince someone to pay 95K for a vehicle that is nearly identical to a 65K option. So I would guess that any first editions that aren’t sold yet will go at or nearly at manufacturer price now because there is about to be a wave of vehicles arriving.
 
The QC delays may be affecting the general appetite for some level of ADM.

It's one thing to pay ADM when you can drive today (or at least some firm date which isn't too far off) as you can have the new thing before everyone else. Agreeing to $10K over and then have your car sit at the port on hold is certainly less appealing.
 
I’m on the waiting list at Longo Toyota. MSRO. LC, LC, Prem meteor shower. 6-12 mo
The long wait time is why I don’t even bother with Longo Toyota. They always have long waitlist for Prius, LC’s and any new models. You can get one sooner from other dealerships.
 
Feels good to go w a dealer that has no mark up from the beginning as opposed to a dealer that gets rid of markup because of no buyers.
But in the end is a business w supply and demand. I’ll keep on eye on local dealers.
 
My local dealership is generally below MSRP. I was guaranteed MSRP when I put down my deposit. But now that the hype has cooled off a bit, I might try to work them down a bit on the day of the sale when they force me to sit through all the lectures from finance, warranty, service, insurance, and accessories managers.

Anyhoo, I 100% expect them to call my bluff.
 
Yeah, I'm noticing the same thing. I'm on 4 waiting lists with dealers that don't charge above MSRP and all of a sudden the ones that were are now offering to sell at MSRP. I took one of them up on their offer on the color/options I wanted and am supposed to be able to take delivery between now and 6/17/24. I'd be nice if that delivery date holds up.
 
I'm not seeing a ton of new allocations being released. My dealer still has the same list of incoming LCs as they did a month ago, (but with a few removed - including mine - likely related to the QC stop). This doesn't seem to bode particularly well for negotiating a below MSRP deal.

Honestly, even if the situation was different, my dealer and I agreed to an MSRP deal when I placed the deposit, so either of us trying to change that on delivery day would be a bad-faith move, IMHO.
 
Im getting calls from all the dealers that have ones with markups dropping the markup, none have offered msrp yet though.
 
I think the combo of
  1. No 3rd row - eliminates it as a large family hauler
  2. Powertrain - a turnoff to Landcruiser purists to have a 4cyl hybrid
  3. GX550 cannibalistic competition: Luxury plus simple powertrain and a KDSS option to fix some handling issues
  4. Interest rates/economy/price point
All will work against the 2024 Landcruiser and bring prices down sooner rather than later
 
A first edition blue one just sold for $83,000 . I have no idea what the seller actually paid for it but the sticker was $78369 plus tax . Plus they had to pay for listing . They probably made no money or possibly lost money .
The buyer had to pay 5% above selling price which means someone paid $87-88k for it .
Both the seller and buyer made bad decisions based on market today .
 
FWIW, it was one of the more active auctions on BaT, and the buyer will end up paying ~$10K over sticker to become the second owner.

Regardless of what the seller paid, this shows there is high level of interest in the LC and demand currently outweighs supply by a large margin.

An auction for a GX550 Overtrail is not generating nearly the same level of interest. 30-Mile 2024 Lexus GX550 Overtrail Moonroof Delete | PCARMARKET
 
I think the combo of
  1. No 3rd row - eliminates it as a large family hauler
  2. Powertrain - a turnoff to Landcruiser purists to have a 4cyl hybrid
  3. GX550 cannibalistic competition: Luxury plus simple powertrain and a KDSS option to fix some handling issues
  4. Interest rates/economy/price point
All will work against the 2024 Landcruiser and bring prices down sooner rather than later
Personally, I only think #4 applies. There's a reason 4Runners sell so good (5 seaters). Hybrids are the best selling vehicle in the US and will continue to be (especially if gas prices creep back up). And some people (myself included) don't want the Lexus nameplate, it comes with a certain stigma, mechanics charge more (cause they assume you have more $$$), and you know if you got a GX 550, you'd be saying to your friends "oh but it's really a LAND CRUISER underneath" :ROFLMAO:
 
Regardless of what the seller paid, this shows there is high level of interest in the LC and demand currently outweighs supply by a large margin.
Because they are still rolling out. It would be an absolute disaster for them if that wasn’t the case when cars weren’t even on the lot. These are the very definition of temporary conditions and no way indicative of long-term interest
 
Personally, I only think #4 applies. There's a reason 4Runners sell so good (5 seaters). Hybrids are the best selling vehicle in the US and will continue to be (especially if gas prices creep back up). And some people (myself included) don't want the Lexus nameplate, it comes with a certain stigma, mechanics charge more (cause they assume you have more $$$), and you know if you got a GX 550, you'd be saying to your friends "oh but it's really a LAND CRUISER underneath" :ROFLMAO:
I actually think there’s a market division in North America: 4Runners are targeted to a pure off-roader market, LC’s and the like were sold as off-road capable family movers/camping dad cars. I think the stigma you talk about applies more to Toyota than to Lexus today: Who’s getting charged more when there are $20,000 markups on LC’s but not GX550’s? I could get a better deal (as a % of MSRP) on all the Lexus vehicles I looked at than their Toyota counterparts. Honestly, I think the FE’s did more to make LC owners look money-foolish like Cybertruck owners than anything else. I know when I see them out a year from now, I won’t be thinking “wow!”, I’ll be thinking “I wonder if they see themselves as a sucker now?”
 
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