dawizard

Hey everyone,

I am finally buying my very first MB - ML350.

I found some options and am down to a couple. I had a couple of questions and was hoping to get some advice from you guys who have far more experience than me. I apologize in advance if these sound dumb...I am pretty rookie with this car purchase process so far.

1. Pricing - The MSRP is about $64,500. The invoice price is around $59,700 and the "Tru Market Value" per Edmunds is $57,514. The dealer whom I am working with isn't explicitly signed up with these guys and so I wouldn't be able to get a 'certificate' from Edmunds but the sales guy I worked with asked me to bring along a copy of it and he can work with that. Soooo...I guess the question is, is it a good price if they do happen to agree on the "True Market Value" or should I be pushing for more?

2. I have a Mercedes Amex Platinum card - Anyone else have experience with it during buying a car? Any specific benefits besides their reward certificate? Like 6x points but upto how much could I pay with it?

3. The most awkward one - Black exterior - Black interior / Beige interior - This is not a custom build, I am picking from what they have available. I understand this is totally choice but wanted to see if anyone had strong opinions for either one after having theirs for a while? My build will have panoramic sunroof, ambient lights inside so I am kind of evenly split between either Black or Beige interiors. Also, live in Northern California and no kids so I am not too worried about Beige getting super dirty right now. Beige looks somewhat luxurious while Black feels sporty-ish?

Thank you!

Nanook

Black for the win

another_geek

In my experience, when purchasing a vehicle, most dealers limit the amount that you can put on a credit card - $5000 is the max for my last few purchases. It has to do with the 3% fee that the dealer has to pay for the credit card transaction.

DFW01E55

I can only help on the colors, above the Mason Dixon line black interior seems to be preferred. Almond/beige is preferred below .... based on Cars.com sampling of 200 Bluetecs at dealers this weekend.
Good luck.

dawizard

That does look nice =) Does it get dark though? For people sitting in the back? Ambient light do any good? Do you wish you had it somewhat brighter after having had this for a while?

I might end up doing the same, will see how much I can max on the card that the dealer can accept. I am still wondering in terms of financing, will probably check in with a few banks before I head to the dealer tomorrow. MB currently has a 2.99% APR and the best I have seen for banks around a 60 month timeframe is about 2.2%...I have a pretty solid credit score so not too worried on that part, just want to figure out a good rate at this point.

That is quite interesting, I didn't know about the Mason Dixon line. I can only guess that it looks like Black wouldn't be such a bad option in Northern Cal, we get plenty of Sun but it isn't crazy hot all the time either...

SmokinReefer

1. Pricing will depend on availability of the model, competition in your area, motivation of dealer and whole bunch of other factors. Ask for 12% off MSRP. That's a good number only a few of us have been able to get because the factors lined up right. Some have even managed to exceed it.

2. My dealer has $4,000 cut off for credit cards. After that it's cash or certified check. Check with your dealer

3, Black outside with beige interior is real nice. Had one like that but the kids dinged it up. But then you don't have that problem. It is a real nice look though.

If you can find the time, try ordering one. Get everything exactly the way you want it. In the advice of folks here, I added the wrapped dash to my order. It's probably the best option for the interior besides going Designo

Nanook

Not sure what you're asking...interior is not black but a rich brown..sorta light and very nice..pano roof lets plenty of light in!!

audi40

AAA was offering 1.90% for up to 60 months when we picked up our ML 5 wks ago. I asked the dealer's FI manager if he could beat the AAA rate and he ended up getting me 1.49% with Digital Credit Union (DCU) for 60 months. When I bought my A6 last Aug., the same dealership group got me 1.39% thru Wells Fargo. A good FI guy should be willing to shop rates for you as they have access to deals not offered/advertised directly to the public.

Strafzettel

I think black looks a little cheaper/less luxurious than almond-beige. If you get the $5000 designo package, it looks expensive, no matter which color you choose.
It's interesting how people love the panoramic sunroof. I always have the sunroof in my C350 closed and I close the cover below the glass as well because it bothers me when the sun shines on my head and blinds me or makes me uncomfortably warm. Convertibles are the worst in my opinion, I don't understand how people like having wind blowing in their face and sweating at traffic lights. There is nothing nicer than a quiet A/C and a closed roof that keeps the sun, noise and odors away from me

Andrew77hun

Nanook can U pls post more interior pictures of your car?

Nanook

Don't have a lot...

dawizard

Thanks, these are all good points. I am hoping to be close to around 10% off MSRP considering the 2014 ML350's are available in big quantity and 2015's are coming around the corner. I was thinking of carrying my personal checkbook along but if they only accept certified check or cash, I might need to revisit that. It shouldn't be a problem since my Banks are close by.

I also like the Beige-Tex interior, it contrasts well and looks less cheap than the usual Black-Tex. Though I am somehow still biased about black. I did try to find out if they had other cars in stock with leather and all the options that I needed but unfortunately they have nothing in Leather right now with my selections or even close to it and I need the car sooner than a custom order later


Great point, I didn't even consider AAA until just now, I should get their membership which I have been long procrastinating.

I think when I saw your car at first I thought it had black interiors so was wondering about the whole "how dark does it get in there" The leather looks really nice! I wish I had the time to place a custom order, won't get in before Late September if I do now


I had the exact same sentiments on the black vs beige, it looked a little less luxurious but then Beige also felt like a 'safe' choice, black is kinda not so obvious. I do like the Panorama though, atleast some nice local drives where I don't mind some wind in my hair

hos

When we spent $60k on our wagon, I put it all on the credit card, but had to pay an additional 2.5% ($1500). I only did this as the points I earnt on the card were enough for a business class trip overseas. Made for a cheap airfare!


I would go black on black, but that is just my opinion. and get the black roof lining too.

dawizard

That is a fantastic deal, I wonder if I could do that with my MB Amex Platinum (pay the 2.5%) since I would get 6x points of using the card at the dealership....that's a motherload of points

dawizard

Anyone wondering what happened, well I started the process of pitting dealers against each other to get the best price.

I am at around 11% off MSRP right now with hopes to go higher. The original salesguy I was working with when I test drove actually responded saying he'll need me there in-person to motivate his manager to go beyond 11% I had to tell him to ask his manager to motivate me. Nice guy but not very sharp.

The color debate is still on though I am leaning more towards Black/Black since the horrors of making the beige dirty with grease marks/luggage etc is quite a bit. I really like the look and everything but the potential cleaning horrors are something I am debating with the wife

SmokinReefer

11% is pretty good. Back in January I got a bit under 12%. Keep working them over.....

My daily driver is black/black and it's ok. Maybe I'm tired of it. My new ML from January is silver with black interior including headliner. I really like it with the satin wood and wrapped dash, but then I ordered it that way.

I had the tan interior in a black ML a few years ago. I still like that combo a lot. It looks real sharp. But as you mentioned, you have to be careful, especially with kids putting their feet and book bags against the back of the front seats

dawizard

I actually just heard from one of them saying a Lunar Blue/Beige is becoming available too. I love the blue on this so now we have a 3rd contender but I am leaning towards Lunar blue a lot more than Black-Anything right now

DFW01E55

Blue/beige FTW.

Wish they'd deal on the Bluetecs like this.

dawizard

Just when I thought I was done, a day before the car is supposed to arrive at the dealership where I negotiated a great final price (and put a refundable deposit down), the previous salesguy who helped me out at another dealership calls up and is looking for an opportunity to catch up.

I feel uncomfortable switching now but if he comes back with another 500-700 savings, might be worth it, a little bit of drive away 40 minutes but I don't mind it.

It's not personal, just business after all. I am already at 13% off MSRP as it is...am I a terrible person?

fabbrisd1

In a manner of speaking - and all a negotiation in your head at the moment - it's all up to dealer/no-deal if they come up with something more - then your final decision to be honorable or not to the dealer you placed good faith deposit.

dawizard

It's here and I am loving the color even more every day !! Thanks everyone here for answering so many of my questions, I'll probably have more down the road =)