Luxury Lexus Car Buyers May Kiss Price Haggling Goodbye
— -- The car-buying process may become simpler for people looking to purchase a luxury car since Lexus plans to test a pilot program that eliminates haggling.
Lexus is introducing a negotiation-free car-buying process at 12 dealerships across the country, a spokesman confirmed to ABC News.
Moe Durand, a spokesman for Toyota, which owns Lexus, said the company as a whole looks at overall car-buying trends, including "the nature of haggling."
"You see desire in the market to eliminate that part, which my dad loves the most," Durand said.
Another Toyota brand, Scion, has practiced "no haggling" sales since 2003 through its "pure price philosophy." That practice applies to Scion cars, accessories, finance rates and insurance products, according to its website. Scion dealers can choose whether to use the manufacturer's suggested retail price that appears on Scion.com or list their own price. A spokesman for Scion said the vast majority of Millennials prefer avoiding negotiations.
Saturn practiced direct pricing before General Motors discontinued that brand about five years ago.
Today, websites like Truecar.com tout that they offer "hassle-free" car buying without hidden fees.
As part of the new Lexus test program, those dealers simply let customers walk away if they don't like the price of these new and used Lexus models.
New Lexus cars range from $32,200 to $120,400 for hybrid sedans.
Duran said it may take "several months" to study the results of the pilot program and decide whether to apply it to the brand's 235 dealerships in the U.S.
Jeff Bracken, general manager of Toyota's Lexus luxury division, said he expects a dip in sales and market share in the short term, but that may only last a couple months until customers become accustomed to the new practice. Bracken made the announcement on Wednesday at the Center for Automotive Research Management outside Detroit, as reported by USA Today.
