I was at the dealer today, trying to add a C230 to my family. We negotiated for quite a while, but I could not get the dealer to move on the price, nor on the changer. I kept on insisting they throw in the changer for free (like I've heard on here), but they wouldn't budge - an inch - Worst yet, the car was actually a demo, with 1700 miles on it, and they were still charging full sticker, and wouldn't budge on that either? I know dealers need to make a profit, and I'm cool with that, but throw the consumer something so he feels like he's getting a value too.

 

My dealer demands $1200 for the changer installed. But since I bought two cars in 77 days at full MSRP, they felt the could do it for a mere $1000.

I was at Ultimate Electronics this evening. An Alpine changer which is just like the MB changer except for the little box for the fiber optics sells for $199. The same changer with an FM modulator is $229. And the installation is free.

And while I'm ranting, a changer is standard equipment in an IS300, and an in-dash six disk changer in a Focus is a whopping $280.

 

I hear you Lynn. My dealer actually made a point of telling me I can go to "Cartoys" and get a changer installed for $400 bucks. When I told him, that I didn't want an aftermarket changer, and some non-qualified MB tech digging into the guts of my car, he didn't care. Still wanted full price for the changer. No budge whatsoever. Again, I understand the dealer needs to make a profit, but it's hard to accept a deal when they won't budge at all on price, or changer and it's a DEMO with 1700 miles!

 

you take the good with the bad.

mercedes for years didnt think you should be able to change the position of the steering wheel, now they have decieded that cds are not really mainstream enough.

also remember some people in some regions are getting coupes 500 over invoice, in some markets, its still a 6 month wait to get one at msrp.

go to www.edmunds.com and check out the TMV of the car in your area, print it out, and take it to a dealership (assuming its less then msrp ) and work with that. or do one of those online price quote things.

local dealers may not be willing to move, so do some phone work, and if need be increase your search range. look at it this way, is a 100 mile trip to distant dealership worth a grand or two??

greg

 

Remember, this is the same dealer that has my C240 has sitting in the service bay awaiting a back ordered part that "may" arrive this week. I love Mercedes-Benz. I love my C240. I could possibly love the C230 I want to purchase, but I'm not going to leave the dealership with one less large check and one less vat of vaseline, if you know what I mean.

 

Ethan:
My suggestion is shop by phone with dealers. Being in Portland, check out dealers in other Oregon towns and up thru Seattle. A dealer an hour or two away will know they are only going to sell you the car on price. Be sure you get all the exact numbers specified in advance.

FWIW, I was able to get the dealer to add a CD for $725 a few days before delivery. I told them I could order a MB changer for $465 and installation would run about $200, but would prefer to get it from them if they could be competitive.

My experience with dealers was that some were rigidly unmoveable with pricing, and others were interested in meeting a competitive price. I don't like to get into long negotiations with them. I offer them a chance to meet a competitve price, and just want a yes or no. It's not like their car is any diferent from one at another dealership. This is especially true when ordering a build to order vehicle. It also seems that higher volume dealers might be more willing to deal, since they have a higher allocation of the cars.

Good luck

 

Ethan...I concur wit the good Dr.

Shop around, get your best price, search the internet for info on invoice vs. MSRP prices. With that as ammunition, go back to your local dealer and mention you've talked to other dealers with NEW cars in stock that can beat his price. As negotiating tactic, tell him you've done the homework and make him an low ball offer (3% over invoice?) based on the fact that his car is USED.

Be ready for his hard sell, and come back with something like "I'd consider it if you include one phone with connection kits for both cars at that price"...then negotiate down to the CD changer. Play the game, but be prepared to walk, too. The worst that can happen is you buy a new car elsewhere and he initially refuses to service it for you(a call to MBUSA will solve that issue too).


Good luck...

 

Ethan:

It's not worth "playing the game" if the dealership is out to do that kind of sales approach. My last 6 cars were all bought over the phone. I don't get into "playing the game", I come up with a fair price that I am willing to pay, and even tell them when I call, "I am prepared to buy a car for $$$ and just want a yes or no on whether you would sell at that price". Dealers who offer a yes without further BS have been pleasant to deal with. All 6 purchases have gone fine. Also, local dealers have been quite willing to have warranty service work. Service and sales are different profit centers. Service departments welcome the opportunity to have you as a customer, regardless of wher you bought the vehicle.

I usually start my shopping with the out of town dealers, then give the local dealer a shot at my best price. With the coupe, I was very persistent with local dealer because I felt salesperson had put some good effort into showing us the car. After looking at the car, I told her I was going to price shop and give them a shot at the best deal. At first it was MSRP only, then they moved to a 2% discount (plus their advertising/processind ad ons) but it was still a lot more than competitors. I insisted on speaking to sales manager, and told him I wanted to do business with them because their salesperson had been good, but it wasn't worth $500 to me. No deal, so I drove another 30 miniutes down the road for $500.

The only other consideration is what loaner car policies are in your area. Around here, service departments provided loaners exclusive of place of purchase. I've seen in some posts that some dealers provide loaners only for their sales customers. You have to decide what the value of any promised added level of after sale service is from your local dealer.

 

With your advice in mind, I'll be making some calls on Monday. Thanks for your help.

 

Ethan:
Laying here recovering from leg repair, with not much else to do, I took the time to look at dealers in Oregon and Washington. Its a little differnet market from the NY metro area, where there are more than a dozen dealers within a 2 hour drive.

You best bet might be to try the Seattle/Bellevue/Tacoma dealers, since they have to compete with each other. Looks like out ther in the NW, lots of dealers have a pretty exclusive territory, not much of an incentive to deal.

Having spent 7 years in Seattle, I understand the northwest realities. Georgeous area, but if it's not there it's not readily accessible. A bit different from CT with NY. Boston, Philly, DC all within hours.

 

Wait a second, am I reading correctly? You bought a 2002 C240 from this dealer and now you want to buy a second car? What is wrong with them? Have you spoken directly to the sales manager? I do this often and avoid the salesperson altogether. I'm not sure they'll throw the CD in, but you should be able to get it for $500 or so, installed. They know they've got 2 of your cars for servicing, and the potential of more sales in the future. They're being stupid, and that's why I'm wondering if you've dealt the the manager. In August, I paid MSRP for my C240 (Wash DC area), but they "cut me a break" on the CD for $500 after I conferred w/ the sales mgr. BTW, it's no simple task to install the CD, and I believe they use a 2-hour labor estimate. Good luck and don't give up on them yet.

Lynn: On MBUSA the CD is listed for $775 I think. I assumed that's installed. How is your dealer trying to get $1200??? That's insane.

 

i got my car from valley motors in b'more.. they were the only dealers in the DC area that would throw in the CD player for free. While I was there, there were people calling from TX and other areas ordering cars through them. So you may be able to work something out like that

you shuold contact Marsha Benett. She is really cool. Tell her Farzan referred you. I think she will still remember me..if not, tell her it's the pain in the butt sri lankan who kept their dealership opened an hour past closing to pick up the car.

 

Ethan, go read the topic below: Ordering C230 very soon, need help. There's more advice about ordering and getting the price in writing, which you'll see I did not do and paid for it.

 

The price at the MBUSA site does not include installation. From the Build Your Own page 3 Accessories page:

About Accessory Pricing

Actual prices vary by dealer and do not include labor, installation charges or local taxes.

Wheel pricing reflects all four wheels. Tires sold separately.

That is how they get away with it. The local Acura dealers are packing RSX's with dealer installed items at 3 to 5 times the price suggested on Acura's web page.

But it is really obscene that MB dealers can charge what they do for a changer that should retailfor about $250 to $275, including the little for for connectiing to the fiber optics. Like I posted earlier, I can but the exact same changer with and FM modulator, instead of the fiber optics box, for $229 with free installation.

 

Lynn, my broker bought my C320 from Plaza Motors in Creve Coeur. I paid $720 for the CD changer. I thought I read somewhere that the "suggested" dealer price is $800, so I thought I did OK. But I didn't know they were gouging others.

My broker didn't get me the $500 over invoice deal that the So. Cal folks are claiming, nor did he do as well as he did for me with other cars, but I'm starting to feel better about the overall deal when I heard your story.

 

1200 for the changer? Outrageous! MBUSA lists it for $775, and I bet lots of dealers would be happy to ship one to you for that price. I got estimates of about 2 hours for install, which is about $200 for local MB labor rates. $975 is the absolute tops that a dealer shoud charge at full list, installed.

Alternatives are getting one from autoklasse (i think thats the name) mentioned on this board. The changer+install kit+shipping should run about $465, and you can get the install done at a dealer or a shop that has experience working on Mercedes.

Not to malign those ethical, honest and hard working salespersons, but why deal with the slick and sleazy ones? I got my training for dealing with car sales people by working with the most skilled con artists in the country during my 10 years with the federal prison system. That's why I don't bother to try and "reform" salespeople who aren't being honest or cooperative. They only get to lie once, and then me and my $30,000 go elsewhere.

 

I bought from Tri-star Imports. They were far more interested in selling me a car, and very professional. I tried Plaza but was ignored for ten minutes, and then, when I had the audacity to interupt the newspaper reading of a salesman, ( the others were in a group discussing baseball) I eventually got a very short test drive. When I asked about six speeds, he told me to call back every three days. I asked if he could look at the computer for the store's allocation, and he looked shocked that I knew about that, turned and hurried back to his paper. He never even bothered to ask for my name or number.

Plaza has a very bad rep with first time buyers of German cars, or first time customers at their store. It seems you need a referral from a past customer if you are not known to them. They treat potential BMW, Audi, and Porsche customers the same way from what I have heard from owners of those marques. I wonder if the treat potential Cadillac, Lexus, Infiniti, and Land Rover buyer the same way?

Your broker is know to them and has puchased many vehicles there, so he is treated like a fellow human.

 

Howdy Folks:
Wow, I guess I have no reason to complain. When I decided to take the car, it was understood to be MSRP less 12.25%.( I get a DC discount), but when I called back to add the CD changer before delivery, it was an additional $905. MSRP for the changer was $775 and I was pushing him for the discount ($680). It was like pulling eye teeth. Another local dealer quoted $765 installed. I told my salesman that and next day he agreed to $760. At delivery, it was really about $800 and buried in the total price. (I was too worn to argue that difference).
So I'm thinking that I did OK considering that my salesman acted miffed at the start, claiming that he only got 10% under MSRP.
(MBtech or other MB employees... is that true?)

 

I bought my Z3 and C230 through autobytel.com. I have had good experience through them.

Once you fill in the the info and model, options that you want. They will assign a internet fleet manager from dealer near you (on their network of dealers) to contact you.

Usually they will work with you and find the combination that you want, then give you the quote on the phone. Mostly they are pretty firm on the quote but that depends on your skill i guess.

Also get the to fax the itemized list to you before you head down to the dealer. Both times I only spent around 3-4 hours at the dealer from arrival to driving the car home.

I think how much will they discount the CD changer is depending on how much they make over invoice. I saw Keyes MB at Van Nuys, CA charger $1,995 for the CD changer installed.

 

When I went to the first dealer (notice already I said the first) he told me a price, which I accepted. A few days later I thought it would be wise to check out another dealer. A friend gave me a reference so I checked it out. They gave me a price that was much lower so in all fairness, I went back to the first one and told him the price they were giving me! I was sure he would just match it and I would buy the car from him. To my absolute suprise, he said in this strong southern accent "well, If you can get a car fer that price, I think you should buy it from them". I was stunned but said, "I think youre absolutely right". I then proceeded to the other dealer and bought the car on the spot. Took two months for delivery, but thats another story. I was also disappointed that the first one gave me a very inflated price after making me think he was doing me such a big favor. Finding this out didnt make me have all the confidence that he was looking out for my best interest.

 

vinmanc32,

I know you are also from NYC. Can you tell me which MB dealer that you bought your car from? I bought mine in Queens.
Thanks !!

 

I bought my C230 from Hendrick Motors in Hickory. the dealer told me they could have it installed for $600. But they wouldnt be able to get the cd player i for 2 weeks. So as I was signing the papers for the car, I had my dad calling around to local shop that does some of the subcontracting for the local Mb dealerships. they said for a Becker 6 disc changer and install they would do it for $500. So I don't have a real MB changer my Becker works great. I'm happy with the deal i got.

 

my dealer installed the Cd changer in less than an hour.

 

I also tried very hard to get a free CD Changer but no deal. The best they did was offer me $750 to have a new one put in but I went for the RF module aftermarket CD Changer. Works really good. 10 disc Sony with the control module located under the radio in the second dim. Very clean install, people ask me if my car came like that. LoL. It cost me $300 for the aftermarket installed.