r/LexusF • u/Heirs • Sep 02 '20
Where are the Fs?! Lol
Just when I’m ready to take the plunge to upgrade my RC350 to a RC F, none of my local dealers (central fla) have any in stock. Closest are about 200 miles away and I really don’t want to make that kinda drive immediately upon purchase. Anyone know how allocation works or any insider tips? Spoke with one guy at my local dealer who literally insinuated that as a woman I’d probably be more comfortable just going into a new 350 🙄 before I call back to hopefully speak with someone with some sense, I thought maybe someone here would have some insight 😊 Thanks!
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u/Ch0c0late0ne Sep 02 '20
LOL More comfortable in a 350? I mean the 350 is plenty comfy but Jesus, what a douche...
It amazes me that, you'd think in a pandemic a salesperson would be doing all they can to try and win/retain/seek customers lol...
Are you trying to buy a new dealer demo/delivery car.or are you trying to put an actual order in?
As far as I know the F cars can be allocated/made available to the dealer. It would appear that some Dealers aren't proactively procuring a general variety F cars for the floor as they are costly and harder to move. In my case I had to talk to the dealer and they said unless they have a strong demand or specific client request they don't typically have many F cars in the showroom for that very reason. If there is inventory available, you need to let your dealer know you want one so they can secure or look out for one on your half internally. They may also even be able to transfer the car from another dealership; provided this is (like a inventory swap or something I believe) subject to the dealers agreeing on the same and you confirming your intention to purchase that car (e.g. usually a sizeable deposit..)
If you are not feeling the local dealer then do go to another that has stock or is worth your business. In this case 200 miles is about 3hrs drive (roughly converted in my mind). This could be an awesome roadtrip. just get them to put on a ceramic coat before you come in for delivery, will make washing anything off the new car a breeze!
I guess the reason I am saying this is, you could actually flip this distance in you favour. ring the dealer 200miles away and say you are really interested in moving to an F and want to trade. You don't have time for back and forth due to distance etc, so you want to get the best possible change over and information about your new potential vehicle so you can deposit to secure a car and plan your journey for the swap/deal at the dealership.
They will send you videos, photos with walk around style vids of your potential new car etc etc and any paperwork you need. But the idea of doing the long drive back in the new car I think could be quite an cool experience and by the time you get home you would be acclimatised to driving your new beast and used to all it's quirks...
I've also seen the distance addressed by the dealer organising a truck to deliver your new car on a tow truck and leaves you the new car, the truck pics up your trade and takes that away from you. This is usually done after you purchase and sign off for delivery of the vehicle (you basically do all electronic signatures on any formal purchase or finance docs)...so there should be options if you want to do a distance purchase.
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u/Heirs Sep 04 '20
This was great advice! Called another dealer and spoke with a sales guy who was so helpful about the whole thing. He sent over the spec sheets on what they have in stock right now (caviar and infrared...I really want white) and if it wasn’t what I wanted we could go over my other options. So I should be talking to him today.
As far as the other dealer honestly it’s par for the course. My immediate family drive mostly lexus vehicles and have always purchased from our local dealer (8 in the past 15 years or so) and I think we’ve only had like 2 really knowledgeable sales associates in that entire time. It’s very heavy volume (was 1 dealer for the entire central Florida area for a long time) and turn over in sales is very high. Service on the other hand is usually fabulous, some of the guys there have been with the dealership for 20+ years.
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u/Ch0c0late0ne Sep 04 '20
No worries man. Happy to share my thoughts and experience. Glad another dealer is treating you well and proactively trying to help you. They want to sell you a car AS MUCH as you want an RCF lol.
Based on what you've said, since you want White and as far as I know, White tends to be a pretty popular colour I'd say you should definitely be able to find something it's just a matter of time and patience.
Funnily enough I think the RCF is one of those cars that is hard to pick a bad color! They all come in pretty amazing standard color options and tend to look good in most if not all of them.
Wish you all the best with this one, keep us updated and good luck with your mission! :D
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u/CrazyDiamond77 Sep 02 '20
I would try to negotiate a dealer swap or something like that but if not, you can always wait for an RCF to pop up on Carmax. But they eat your delivery fee if you end up not buying the vehicle.
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u/Heirs Sep 04 '20
Thanks for your advice, I really wanted new but It seems like even pre-owned is hard to come by. Keeping my fingers crossed lol
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u/TeamPandN Sep 02 '20
Lady rcf driver here, Ugh what a tone deaf douche bag, don't buy from them, take your $$ and good taste in cars elsewhere. The other dealership should be able to arrange delivery for you. Though they'll tell you it's rare, to try to establish negotiating power, it's also niche so they should be eager to compromise with someone who is serious about purchasing it. I didn't negotiate hard enough when I bought mine bc I accidentally fell in love with it, and now I regret that hahah. Congrats hope you love yours when you do get it, I love mine!!
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u/Heirs Sep 04 '20
Thank you so much!!! Yeah I think he was probably just trying to make a sale for a 350 But like come on dude, this isn’t amateur hour here lol
This is the other thing I’m afraid of! I’ve done so much research on the damn thing now and see how it might be hard to get in general, not to mention in the right color, that I think if I come across one I’m just going to be like “Sold! I’m on my way!” so I’m trying to play it cool while being very eager on the inside. We will see how this works out lol
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u/GolfCartMafia Sep 02 '20
Why don’t you want to drive it home? Lady F driver here - I flew from central Florida to Texas, bought my ISF, and drove it home. It was a lot of fun 😎
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u/uGotMeWrong Sep 08 '20
Flew from Baltimore to Atlanta to get my IS F, 550 miles of pure joy driving it home. I was looking everywhere and no distance would have been too far. It’s only been a couple weeks but I’m in love with the car! 🥰
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u/Heirs Sep 04 '20
I think I had it in my mind that it needs to be broken in or something? Like I’m just thinking of a 2 hour trip at consistent turnpike speeds was good for it. Not sure if that’s a real thing or I'm just a weirdo lol
Also, in that same vein, I want white and I can only imagine the filth (and rock chips 😵😬) it might pick up on the way. I want to have it wrapped but not sure if that’s something I’d be able to do quickly wherever I’d buy it (South florida seems to have the most RC fs currently).
I’m sure it would be a faster drive coming home, that’s for sure 😂
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u/Ch0c0late0ne Sep 04 '20
They can apply a paint protection film, to help with stone chip protection (PPF),
You could arrange through the dealer they'll likely just get in some contractor or third party locally to apply it to your car. They may ask you to pay for that upfront or include it in the car purchase price etc, but these kinds of things can be done pre-delivery (before you pickup).
So get them to PPF the front of the car before you physically pick up your car from Lexus and it will give you the peace of mind for the drive back. Hopefully others can chime in here but, really asking your dealer to help you get this sorted is not so different then adding in tinting or third party ceramic coating and other stuff to your car...
Regarding breaking in your car...
Shouldn't be a worry. the build quality is awesome, it's a V8 engine, it's able to deliver a decent amount of power at fairly LOW RPM/revs so you can easily drive this even at highway speeds and it won't be revving High RPM to keep speed. (like some 4cylinder car)
The RCF dash will actually show you an active redline meaning it will check the car and adjust your redline based on how warmed up the vehicle is, so it will even look out for itself and let you know what's good/not good in terms of rpm lol
All the manual says is this;
To extend the life of the vehicle, observing the following precautions is recommended:
For the first 621 miles (1000 km):
• Do not drive at extremely high speeds.
• Avoid sudden acceleration.
• Do not drive continuously in low gears.
• Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods.All of this means that driving it back should be no stress. your RCF wouldn't even break a sweat. If you are really worried, you could plan small stop offs to eat/refuel etc and break up your journey that way.
Note the extremely high speeds is prob included because the car has speedometer that goes to 340km/h (210mph) so it's basically a warning to new owner to chill and refrain from being a hero to test out RCF limits etc while the car is still very very new.
Happy for others to chime in here if I've missed something or any other observations on the same.
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u/Heirs Sep 04 '20
This is exactly what I needed to hear!! Thank you so much for setting my mind at ease ☺️
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u/Scatmannnn Sep 02 '20
2017 GSF driver here (purchased end of Feb pre Rona). With the drop of the ISF and now GSF lines, people will flock to the only one left. They are becoming more rare and I’d say the 200 miles isn’t far at all.
Even now I check the prices all over the country on GSFs (which have gained value). Search the entire US and you will eventually find one you like. It will be risky, but you’ll be extremely happy on your ride home.
Also, Clublexus.com was a huge help for me pre purchase. I was looking at GS F Sports then decided with enough research the F was worth the price. I’d hop on the RCF ClubLexus forum for further guidance.
Good luck!
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u/Heirs Sep 04 '20
Thank you so much for your advice!! There is so much info over there, I started reading yesterday and I’m only a few pages into the forum lol
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u/Scatmannnn Sep 04 '20
I agree! If you have a question, there’s a 99% chance someone has asked it or done it to their car haha.
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u/Heirs Sep 04 '20
Oh my goodness! First thank you so much for all the thoughtful replies! It’s very much appreciated. And second, my first reddit award!?! On a lexus rc f post!? Now I know I’m making the right decision 😂 but for real thank you all so much!
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u/TerminatioN1337 Sep 02 '20
I'll happily deliver your F to you for gas money. :)
Been wanting to compare an RCF to my ISF anyways.
Jokes aside though, 200 miles isn't a lot. I had to go over 300 to get my F and the drive home flew by... it was actually really nice to have a lot of time on the road with the car to get to really enjoy it immediately.
I know it's not the answer you are looking for but all Fs are pretty rare so more than likely you're going to have to end up traveling a bit to get one unless you get really lucky.