C-Class (W203) 2001-2007, C160, C180, C200, C220, C230, C240, C270, C280, C300, C320, C230K, C350, Coupe

Is this price fair?

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Old Dec 16, 2004 | 09:46 PM
  #1  
Jim Banville's Avatar
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'06 Lexus GS300 RWD, '07 Camry SE V6 auto, '91 190E 2.6 auto
Is this price fair?

I know it isn't a "deal" like you left coasters get. This is a "$300 over invoice" offer from a dealer in Atl., Ga...

2005 C230K sedan w/ manual transmission, black ext., black leather inserts
Car invoice - $27,203
+sunroof package invoice - $1665
+fold flat seat invoice - $270
+destination fee - $720
+document fee (profit) - $299
+additional profit - $300
=sub total - $30,457 ("sticker price" at this point would be $32,350)
=total w/ .07% sales tax = $32,588.99
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Old Dec 16, 2004 | 09:53 PM
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Not a good deal at all. I got my '05 in May (right when they came out with the updates), I was actually the first one my dealer had sold. My cars sticker was $36,XXX and I picked it up for $33,XXX. This was without any type of C-spot coupon, etc.

Shop around for the best price, you can do much better then what you have right now.
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Old Dec 16, 2004 | 10:09 PM
  #3  
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From: GA
'06 Lexus GS300 RWD, '07 Camry SE V6 auto, '91 190E 2.6 auto
What exactly was done to lower your price? Did you refuse to pay for things like the $720 transportation fee? Or the $299 document fee? I'm getting $1893 off sticker. Without seeing your complete numbers, it looks like you saved somewhere between $2001 and $3999 off sticker.
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Old Dec 16, 2004 | 10:36 PM
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From: McLean, VA
Jim-
I don't have the paperwork here infront of me, Ill check tomorrow and get you the exact numbers. I didn't refuse anything in terms of processing or transportation fee.

I knew what options I wanted, called the dealer and told them what I wanted and they tracked down the car in Boston, and had it shipped to D.C. We worked out the price over the phone, no haggling at all.

Two things that may have helped me:
1. The '05s had just come out (usually the newest model is what the dealer marks up the most), maybe, somehow they werent selling as well as planned when first introduced and MB was trying to move them at any costs.

2. My salesman is a family friend, although not very close at all, he was great to work with and I would be more than willing to give you his contact information and hopefully you two can work something out. DC to GA isn't too far of a drive!
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Old Dec 16, 2004 | 11:10 PM
  #5  
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From: GA
'06 Lexus GS300 RWD, '07 Camry SE V6 auto, '91 190E 2.6 auto
Building your car on Edmunds, MSRP is $35,930. Invoice is $33,468. If you only paid invoice, you got $2462 off sticker! If you built the same car again, but only got the options I want (sunroof & fold flat seats), the difference between MSRP and invoice drops to only $2192. I guess the more options you get, the bigger the diffeence becomes. I just built the same car again, but selected all the options. Now the difference between MSRP and invoice is $2898!

Jim
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Old Dec 17, 2004 | 12:34 AM
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Bizzare price, what's additional profit? Is that a line item on the invoice. Anyway, I priced it locally and that car, with those options (I would add the CD changer, just my 2 cents), is $32,050 and the Buy It Now price is $29,158. Do I hear Road Trip? Let me know, I'll hook you up with my salesdude.

Last edited by Buellwinkle; Dec 17, 2004 at 12:37 AM.
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Old Dec 17, 2004 | 09:00 AM
  #7  
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From: GA
'06 Lexus GS300 RWD, '07 Camry SE V6 auto, '91 190E 2.6 auto
I should clarify - the price structure I have shown here is how I add it up. The "addition profit" line is the "$300 over invoice" deal. The salesman had it added into the price. I broke it down like this because my numbers and his weren't meshing. His total came up to be about $300 more than mine. I put the word "profit" in paranthesis next to the doc. fee since that is basically what it is as well. This is for a car that is to be ordered. If I buy now, I would have to pay approx. $500 in ad valorem tax (paid annually, based on value of the car) when my Ga. tag comes up for renewall in March '05. The tag is currently on a Nissan 240SX I have. In Ga. the tag stays with the owner and is transferred between cars as you trade up. If I buy on Jan. 18th (60 days prioir to my B-day) or later, I only have to pay the transfer fee ($20) for my Ga license plate. I can skip paying the '05 tax! We've timed our car purchases based on this several times . The possibility of buying in SoCal is still on the table, but I don't really enjoy hours and hours and hours of highway driving. My time is worth SOMETHING. Flying out there and back and having the car shipped would seriously eat into the additional savings from their lower purchase price. This reminds me of that episode of Seinfeld where Kramer and Newman were trying to figure out how to come out ahead by driving to Michigan to redeem all those empty bottles and cans
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Old Dec 17, 2004 | 09:54 AM
  #8  
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From: GA
'06 Lexus GS300 RWD, '07 Camry SE V6 auto, '91 190E 2.6 auto
Okay, I thought the dealer made a mistake because his price was actually $300 MORE than the "offer" listed above. Turns out, he says it is a $300 IRG (advertising fee) added to all MB's.
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Old Dec 17, 2004 | 10:49 AM
  #9  
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Originally Posted by Turbo2
Jim-
DC to GA isn't too far of a drive!
Spoken like someone who hasn't made that drive.
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Old Dec 17, 2004 | 11:04 AM
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My neighbor's dad just had a giant older Caddy shipped from NYC to The O.C. and it cost about $900 and that's the second time, he bought it from someone on my block a few years ago and had it shipped to NYC.
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Old Dec 17, 2004 | 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by Jim Banville
Turns out, he says it is a $300 IRG (advertising fee) added to all MB's.
That, I wouldn't pay for. Why should a buyer be stuck in paying a dealer's advertising fees ?!? That's BS.
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Old Dec 17, 2004 | 01:08 PM
  #12  
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I don't know if this is possible but can you order a car from a dealer in another state and have it dropped shipped to another dealer when it's shipped? Or better yet, this maybe far fetched but what if you order a car in CA, saved your $2,500 and picked it up in Germany as part of the euro delivery program. Then when the car is shipped back, have it shipped to your home which is probably quicker and cheaper for them to ship to the Atlantic vs. the Pacific. $2,500 would pay for an awsome vacation in Europe.

Last edited by Buellwinkle; Dec 17, 2004 at 01:10 PM.
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Old Dec 17, 2004 | 05:01 PM
  #13  
Jim Banville's Avatar
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From: GA
'06 Lexus GS300 RWD, '07 Camry SE V6 auto, '91 190E 2.6 auto
2,500 would pay for an awsome vacation in Europe.
Wouldn't air fare eat up most of that?

Anyway, the salesman said the $300 ad fee is part of the invoice price. If you look at edmunds.com, they have a disclaimer that says that there invoice prices don't include the ad fee because they don't track add fees. Today he said he'd drop the price to $100 over invoice, plus the fees. I'm tired of fretting over a few hundred dollars so we signed the order. I guess I did okay for my region since I'm paying $400 less than he initially offered and he cut my ordering deposit in half.
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Old Dec 17, 2004 | 06:50 PM
  #14  
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Congrats on the new car, you'll like it more than the ole C240.
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Old Dec 17, 2004 | 08:58 PM
  #15  
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From: GA
'06 Lexus GS300 RWD, '07 Camry SE V6 auto, '91 190E 2.6 auto
I guess I have to change my avatar and start rooting for McLaren again

My understanding of the Europen delivery thing was that the price was fixed at 7% off MSRP and shipping was free, but you had to pay for a "tour package".
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Old Dec 18, 2004 | 12:32 AM
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From: The blue white rock, third out.
2002 C230 Coupe(M111)
Fly to Cali on the weekend, you can be back in peanutville by Sunday night if you drive straight thru :-)
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