ScottyGams

Hey guys,

First of all, thank you for all the information I have gotten just from reading other people's post. I think I am very knowledgeable on this car now! Funny thing is, I am loving the new C more and more!

But I digress. I am 22, and this is my first time negotiating a lease. My father is co-signing with me. I am dealing with Ray Catena in Union, NJ. I am also dealing with MB of Morristown to check up on Ray Catena. I am looking to do a 36/39 month lease on the following:

C300 Sport (black exterior, grey/black interior)
Premium 1
Multimedia
Auto Tranny
iPod

I decided to dump the AMG wheels, as these are hard to get right now. Instead I will get Premium 1. The multimedia is in limited supply, but it is too important to me. Here are the questions...

#1 My salesperson tells me my best bet is to get the car delivered in December, because these are historically the best rates to buy the car. 00315 is ridiculous considering a 3 series is at 00140. Am I right to rush to get an order in this Saturday so I can get supposedly good December rates? Anybody know what these rates might look like? Is January going to be THAT much worse?

#2 My dealer (New Jersey) won't budge over $1000 off MSRP. I see that people are getting $1500 off regularly in the "What are you paying" thread... Should I push the deal considering I am getting a pretty optioned car (6K in options), and considering it is not getting here till december?

#3 Can I fit 19s on the car? I am not going with the 18s, so I figure 1 inch over OEM won't kill me. I know NOTHING about offsets. To be honest I want to get replicas of the CL63 AMG rims, as shown on this black E AMG



and here on an SLK



Here are the stats on the wheel

Wheel Diameter : 19"
Wheel Width: 8.5" Front and 9.5" Rear
Wheel Offset: ET32 Front and ET35 Rear
Wheel Finish: Polished Face with Antracite Insert and Clear Coat

Good to go?


If you can only answer one, that is more than nothing so of coarse I am grateful. I look forward to officially joining the community in the NEAR future, and thanks in advance!

amdeutsch

For leasing questions I would go over to our leasing forum and pose them there. We have a sponsor who is more than willing to help out with answers, etc. Just go and read and you'll see for yourself.

W0n6_3d4n

You can wait for the C63 19 inch wheels. I believe the E63 has too low of an offset.

Peyton

I would order now. This is because, 1, you will know you have the car by December or whenever they tell you, then secondly, if you can't get the price you want, you can just pass on the car. you will need the downpayment of probably at least $1000, and then they will make the car, and give you first right to buy it. If leasing issues don't work out, then you aren't out the money, but at least you don't have to wait 3 MORE months from december.

PLUS, it is in your favor if the dealer has a car on the lot that they want gone, and a very willing customer right in front of them. So chances are better you can negociate 1. at the end of the month (any month so they can get their quota) and 2. If the car you want is already there and you insist you're walking out with your initial down payment if you don't get the deal you want.

bjafari84

Yup, those wheels will not fit, you will need an offset around 48mm

mb_horseshoe

I've found better success dealing with INVOICE pricing rather than dealing with MSRP -- go to edmunds.com, or carbuyingtips.com and read up on how you should negotiate a lease.. Typically, a good deal is to pay 3-5% over invoice (which is around 1-1500 lower than MSRP).

And yes, wait till December -- demand should be a lot lower then.

EDIT: ALSO, what kind of rims are those?!

ScottyGams

i will take the mods advise and make a new post in leasing forum.

As far as the wheels, I am a little confused. You are refering to these CL replicas? What does the E63 have to do with the offset of a C? I have seen these fit on a CLK, E55 (pictured) and SLK (pictured) but they won't fit on a C Class? strange...

And to answer horseshoe, these are replicas of the CL63 20" wheels, made in 19"...

W0n6_3d4n

Each car has different offset, if you put the wheel of E63 which has offset of 38 into w204, it will stick out so much it will rub everytime you hit a bump or do a corner.

kevmac

My advice to you would be to visit David Michael as well. They have a dealership in Princeton and they typically give better deals than Ray Catena. I am in no way bashing Ray Catena's dealerships or trying to steer business from them. Personally, I feel their Edison dealerships and service center are models for other luxury dealerships to follow. Sometimes, it is worth paying extra for good service, but it doesn't hurt to comparison shop.

ScottyGams

oh ok... and considering its a lease I don't think that is a good idea. Is there anything I can do? Spacers? Can I make it work?

oblu

Cliffs notes: car's too new for anybody to know what offsets are going to work yet.

From looking at the car in the dealer, the offsets on the stock wheels look really high; like in the 50's. Offset 101: offset is the measure, in mm, of the hub distance from the center line of the wheel.

So a numerically high offset, means the hub is pushed out more toward the face of the wheel, a numerically low offset means the hub is closer to the centerline of the wheel.

Low offset gets you "deep dish".

When a stock wheel has a high offset, typically there's going to be suspension clearance issues using aftermarket wheels that are wider. But the car's just too new for anybody to have checked it out yet.

For instance, if you've got a stock wheel that's 8" wide with an offset of say et48, what you do with an aftermarket wheel to push it closer to the fender line is go .5-1" wider (as allowed by suspension and steering rack) and pull the offset 10-15mm closer to the center line.

All depends on how much room is in the well, and how the suspension is designed.

ScottyGams

got it! I get it now... thanks a lot for the write up!

so the new C is really different from the other MBs out there... I cannot used frayed logic of "it works for SLK and E, why not me?"

Is a 50+ offset rare? how hard is it going to be to find wheels for the car? are there benefits of having the wheel so far inside of the car?

I called up the company and they said they will have a 45 offset coming in in 6 weeks... keeping my fingers crossed!

the AMG wheels were 18 by 8 front with 50 offset and 18 by 8.5 rear with 54 offset (checked it out on MBUSA)

These new guys would be 19 by 8.5 front and 19 by 9.5 rear. reading your post, am I going to have to worry about suspension clearance because of a WIDER wheel to? I wish there was a cutaway picture so I could completely learn what you guys are trying to teach, but I THINK i get it. I think you are saying that I might be scraping some valuable stuff even if the offsets were identical, because of a wider wheel...

again... maybe a 45 offset will be the solution to my problems!

LaicepsYdobon

To be honest I haven't dealt with Ray Catena nor with MB of Morristown before. But since you are talking to MB of Morristown why not pop over to Globe (http://www.globemotorcar.com/) in Fairfield. I am in no way affiliated with them but I take my car in there for service and I will get my next MB from them also. Great bunch of guys but don't only believe me: http://www.dealerrater.com/dealer/Gl...-review-16245/ Good luck with your new purchase.

ScottyGams

ill give Global a shot too then... more the merrier!!! Ray Catena is a NIIIIIIIICE dealership though. my dad buys cars from them. i wonder if i am eligable for any type of loyalty discount?

oh, and as opposed to dealing with more PMs regarding the wheels...

they are from getyourwheels.com

I talked to a guy named Peter in sales at 888-250-9074 and he says 45/45 offsets will be coming in 6 weeks. You can put your name on a list, and he says he will take care of you when the time comes. Nice Guy!

MBfan21

I don't like the MB dealership in Princeton. They charge me too much when I get my service there. Always finding something wrong with my car. I would suggest maybe Ray Catena in Edison but make sure you don't get the guy in the back... he won't negotiate the price. The Paramus dealer was nice too. Edison is really big dealership.

kevmac

We've bought about a dozen cars from them in past. Don't count on it.

ScottyGams

yeah... true... they say $1000 under MSRP is the loyalty discount!

ZedStyle

Offset

The offset of a wheel is the distance from its hub mounting surface to the centerline of the wheel. The offset can be one of three types.

Zero Offset
The hub mounting surface is even with the centerline of the wheel.

Positive
The hub mounting surface is toward the front or wheel side of the wheel. Positive offset wheels are generally found on front wheel drive cars and newer rear drive cars.

Negative
The hub mounting surface is toward the back or brake side of the wheels centerline. "Deep dish" wheels are typically a negative offset.

If the offset of the wheel is not correct for the car, the handling can be adversely affected. When the width of the wheel changes, the offset also changes numerically. If the offset were to stay the same while you added width, the additional width would be split evenly between the inside and outside. For most cars, this won't work correctly. We have test fitted thousands of different vehicles for proper fitment. Our extensive database allows our sales staff to offer you the perfect fit for your vehicle.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/...jsp?techid=101

ScottyGams

yeah, i already took a look at that is wheel and tire section...

we are beyond that now...