Finally got my ride yesterday... Damn, it is sweet... Saved about $2600 off of MSRP, paid invoice + T&T + the mandatory advertising fee of $500 bucks, no other dealer fees or PAC fees... The dealer showed me in his office it was the same invoice as on the Kelley Blue Book website...

Said he made absolutely no money on the deal right now and and won't until they get their 3% holdback kicked from Mercedes Benz in 9 months...

I must say I was pretty happy...

3 other people wanted my same build when they saw my ride in the showroom that just walked into the dealer on sunday afternoon, and they were even willing to pay full sticker!

Why did the dealer sell it to me? because he lived up to his promise that he gave me of selling it at invoice when I ordered it... He said he wants me to have a great experience with my entry level benz so I will come back and by an E or S in a few years... Great dealer, hooked me up fat....

I think I am the only one who has paid invoice so far... Yes I know some people may be able to weasel the dealer into waiving the 500 dollar advertising fee but NO WAY when you are paying invoice for the car...


Only took pics with my cell phone (which suck) cus my digi charger is lost in storage currently...

The car is frickin awesome... I must say I accidentally went 98 on the freeway, but kept it at about 2900 rpms, so i dont think it will effect the stupid breakin period too bad...


one gripe I have though is the cheap @ss platic door lock caps... very chinsy and cheap looking, you can even see the seam from the plastic mold stick out a few mm instead of it being a smooth plastic knob...


other than that, the car is LEGIT...

mad breezays be givin it the eye when i cruise the block, smoothest car I have ever driven, love how it hugs the ground and sits so low compared to other sedans around you...

 

I agree the door licks are cheap looking, they are a cost cutting move on the last year of the W203 and the same thing on the E class. The line that you talk about though is for lining up the lock in the installation process.

 

Once you paid that $500 you are not paying true invoice - you paid $500 over invoice.

MY dealership didn't have any fees, I got it $300 above invoice with free All season mats.

But you did get a great deal.. I'd not mind paying $1000 over invoice for this car if I can get it earlier!

 

Congrats on the new arrival....still any day now for me...

 

sorry buddy, but your car ain't comin till Q1 2009... I was originally supposed to pay below invoice for $4800 off if I wanted to wait that long...

 

I got a call from the Business Manager at the dealer, following up with me about extended warranty and other dealer-added crap. Then she asked if I was coming in tomorrow to pick up the car. I was like "WTF?"

Apparently the my car arrived yesterday and it will be ready before the end of the week. Thanks for the warning... duh!

 

great deal! Car looks beautiful!

You could always replace the door lock pins with much smaller and sleeker looking chrome or aluminum ones.
That's the first simple mod I'll definately do.

 

Wow, so invoice plus destination and an advertising fee? You put $ 2,800.00 in his pocket. Remember he has to pay his advertising if you buy a car or not. Let the repair shop contribute to advertising the dealer, that is where he makes the big bucks anyhow. Destination charge? Not really, it is a charge at destination. The cost of transportation from the factory door to the dealer is INCLUDED in the invoice. The destination charge is a way for the dealer to make a few bucks that are not included in selling price used to calculate the salesman's commission. Many people think this is a fixed cost from the factory, and the F&I monkey puts it on the contract as if carved in stone. The holdback is 5% of MSRP for most cars, and there are other incentives like trunk money and other compensation for exceding sales quotas.

So, invoice LESS 5% of MSRP without destination charge is close to the dealers cost.

Recall also that you can take European Delivery and carve a fat 7% off MSRP, as a thank you from the German people for visiting. Anything the dealer is willing to give, like a free "Black Forrest Package" is a bonus!

 

dude, i paid kbb invoice, and that includes the destination fee... i paid 500 over invoice, what are you talking about... yes i could have got the 500 wavied if i was getting an otherwise crappy deal, but when u pay invoice, you dont get that off, especially when other people are waiting outside with full msrp offers...

i agree with below

 

What are you guys arguing about? The advertising fee is charged from MBUSA to the dealer and appears on the dealers invoice. It varies based on how much advertising is being done in each market. So, if you pay invoice, you paid the fee.

 

Does it really matter as long as you got the car and are happy with your deal?

 

MBTex,

You make another great point!!!

 

how and where can you replace the door lock pins? Does Mercedes make chrome/aluminum or other better looking door lock pins, or is it aftermarket only? and if so, where?

 

incredible deal.

we agreed on 1000 over invoice for my c300 when i ordered in sept. and i asked him flat out, what are the additional fees on top of invoice price? he replied TTL. so if he tries to tack on the advertising fee, i'm gona have his words in writing.

 

Thing is, though, the IRG Participation fee (ad fee) is on the Invoice as part of the invoice. It's not an extra amount they're making off you, because they are charged for it as part of the invoice. If you don't want to pay the ad fee, then you'll have to renegotiate for invoice + $500. No way around it.

 

The price you pay for a car and the size of your member are pretty similar. With either one, no matter what number you tell someone, they are never going to believe you. So if your happy with your size...err number than thats all that really matters. Unless you have a wife, then she has some say in your numbers.

 

well ....just got my new C a few weeks ago and i have nooo concern about ..... "size" of my member the number or price i paid for the car wasnt the "best" deal in town however it was pretty much hassle free , not msrp and i got the car i wanted without any kind of wait ( next day pick up ) soo im happy each consumer is different i guess ??

 

CONGRAT! I got my Sacks Ave C350 for $42495.00 incluiding destination fee.

 

That's a good price! The best the were offering on their Saks coming in next month was $43495.

 

Hey people come on!!! The dealership have to pay some things like, credit lines, salaries...etc,etc. People work to make money, so i think 1,000 over invoice is a good deal to all (dealership and customers).

 

Thats a horrible price. I refuse to pay anything over invoice for a new car, sorry but thats just the way it is. They still get a 3% kickback from MBUSA, not to mention the boatloads of money they charge during service. Clearly, these dealerships are making large amounts of money. Come on $150 bucks for an oil change? Yet, they charge that and people pay it.

However, there are those who will pay MSRP + markup if they want to be the 1st on the block, however, when the pricce drops 3 grand the month later they kick themselves in the ***.

 

^ +1

 

I'm with the guy above you, I don't sell anything in our store at or near invoice otherwise my wife and I would be sleeping outside or be homeless. Our customers pay whatever is the list on items in stock etc... and in my 5+ years of having the store not one person has griped about our prices. Knowing this and somewhat believing in Karma, when I go to buy a car I don't weasel them down to what they paid for it as I wouldn't expect nor would I sell merchandise that way to anyone without a sellers/buyers license to do so in my industry. With that said if you don't have a license to buy/sell cars at wholesale why should the dealer have to sell theirs to you at wholesale. I paid full pop for our C300 sport in August to be the 2nd person in town with one, I don't regret it one bit, I think overall our company made 3% more this year over last I ain't crying but again to each his own.

-Ryan

 

I keep trying to find pics of your C350 but can't. Have you posted any? I like the C350 too...

 

I love the C in white.