aosman

Hey Everyone,

I am finalizing details for my C Class order. This is the first time I buy a car in the US (I was overseas for a while). Are there ways we can get a better deal on the price we pay for a new C Class (09 model order)? Are there things I need to be aware of?

If anyone has any advice on how I should approach the whole ordering/purchasing process, please let me know. I would love to save as much money as I can, and get as many extras as possible (Don't we all )

Thanks!

Krytech

Difficult to negotiate a deal on a car that isn't available (MY09).

Work the best deal you can on an '08. Walk out if you can't get what you are looking for. If you can get $1000-$2000 off MSRP, you're doing well. Don't expect too many extras on top of a discount.

Good luck!

chilledbenz

Simple answer is you don't. You have a couple things working against you here, one being that anytime you order a car the "deal" you get goes down drastically. No dealership wants to give a real good deal on a car they don't even have in their inventory. Second ties in with the first and that is your trying to deal on a car that doesn't exist, dealers are going to be wanting to move the 08 cars they have to make room for 09's. If you wait till the 09's start rolling into the lots you can pick up a left over 08 for at least a $4k-$6k discount off m.s.r.p. maybe more depending on the m.s.r.p...the more it costs the more you get off.

To add to the other poster..the current discount on 08's is $2k - $3k off m.s.r.p. they aren't selling as well as they did when they were first introduced so the discounts have been going up. That can be said with all the models right now though.

Derspeed

I ordered my C 300 and paid $495.00 over invoice.

ColoradoDriver

Agree to an invoice-plus price. I usually order my vehicles. I always pay just a couple/few hundred over actual invoice. Just make it clear would you like to buy the car through them, IF you can come to terms on the invoice-plus price. Be willing to take your business elsewhere if they are not.

rb23lb

ordered mine, invoice + 500

Aggressive

Work for a corporation that has a Fleet discount. Or wait till 2010.

chilledbenz

Heres something I haven't seen posted on here yet that might help some people out.

2008 Invoice Pricing:

C300 Sport - $29,388
C300 Sport 4W - $32,401
C300 Luxury - $30,969
C300 Luxury 4W - $32,643
C350 Sport - $34,317


Options:

P01 Premium Package 1 - $1,302
P02 Premium Package 2 (C300) - $2,558
P02 Premium Package 2 (C350) - $1,256
320 MM Package - $2,744
Leather - $1,442
413 Panorama Sunroof - $930
359 Tel Aid - $604
510 CD Changer - $418
057 IPOD Kit - $349
786 18'' AMG Wheels - $930
Metallic Paint - $660

Jon935

i sold cars a few years back when i was in college, and if and when someone factory ordered a car, it was almost always on an invoice plus basis, we looked at it, as an easy deal, on inventory we didnt have to play the vig on. car comes in and goes right out.
i get a very different impression on MB, what is the big deal about ordering a car? yea everyone wants a sales TODAY, but it seems they make a much bigger deal about not building a car... not everyone wants a standard black benz with standard features.

love to hear some thoughts on this

ColoradoDriver

It depends if the dealer is able to get all the cars he wants. If he can, then an extra, "easy" order is great. But if cars are limited in numbers, he may want to hold out for higher sales prices.

aosman

Quick question: why are the posted prices cheaper than on mbusa.com?

narky

I did everything through e-mail, and I think it saved me quite a bit of time (driving to each dealer vs emailing each one). When I bought my last car, I did everything by phone, but emailing dealers leave a "paper" trail.

How I did it:

1. Researched a bit on the web about the rock bottom price I could ideally pay. I searched the forums a bit, but mainly used http://www.edmunds.com like I've done for two other cars. Good resource. The website gives you something called a True Market Value (TMV), a ball park figure you'd expect to pay for the car with the options you'd like.

2. Got a list of all dealers in my area. Googled.

3. Found the e-mail addresses of each dealer's internet/fleet/sales manager.

4. E-mailed each one with a detailed email about the car I wanted (which model, which color, which options I want, which I options I do NOT want, and which options I may want if available).

I did not include the price I intended to pay, because I wanted to see what they offered first.

5. Fielded the replies to see which dealers replied in a straightforward fashion with a quote and which dealers replied vaguely with promises of an unbelievable deal if, only if, I'd come right down to the dealership right away.

Emailed back the dealers with those promises to insist that we do all business through email and to tell them once more to send me their best quotes.

6. Began bouncing deals around from dealer to dealer: "Dealer A is offering me $XX,XXX and delivered in mid-March. Can you either beat the price or deliver the car at an earlier date?"

7. Rinse and repeat. Don't be shy. At the same time, I sought a fair price, not a too-good-to-be-true price, and let the dealers know.

So far, this process took about a week and a half.

8. Finally a dealer found a car with the options I could live with. I wouldn't be getting leather/MM like I wanted, and I would be getting P1, which I thought was pretty worthless, but I would also be getting my three must-haves: 6MT, pano, and AMG 18".

I haggled a bit for the final, final, out-the-door price, and finally shook on the deal (over email).

When agreeing on the OTD price, be careful. Even after you and the dealer decide on a price, they'll try to add random stupid charges. Make sure that the only extras are taxes and registration costs.

9. I went down to the dealer at this time and met the my dealer rep behind the emails. Put down a deposit, came home, and began furiously reading this forum for the next 2 months.

If you'd been haggling for a car on the lot, you'd instead drive the car home at this point.

According to chilledbenz's numbers, I paid 350~400 over invoice.

Anything wrong, anyone?

Andr3an

because they are the invoice prices

MCONDE01

Would these invoice numbers be different than lets say the invoice numbers on carsdirect.com or edmunds.com?
When I priced out a 2008 C350 I came up with an invoice price of $39,325...and with your breakdown above I came up with this invoice price $$38,200?

I would love for your numbers to be right!


Here is the breakdown:
C350 Sport - $34,317
P02 Premium Package 2 (C350) - $1,256
413 Panorama Sunroof - $930
510 CD Changer - $418
057 IPOD Kit - $349
786 18'' AMG Wheels - $930

= $38,200 ($1,125 less than the invoice price on carsdirect.com which was $39,325)

Am I missing something here?

By thw way nice breakdown "Narky"....same processs I take.

Derspeed

Sometimes invoice varies a little by dealership. Ask to see your dealership's invoice. If you want to order the car, you'll need to see an invoice from the same thing. If you are working with a good dealership, this shouldn't be an issue. If they are secretive about it, walk out immediately. Then...before you sign any paperwork, look over all of the #s very carefully and ask the salesman to explain anything you do not understand.

I have dealt with car salespeople who have said something like..."I don't care how much I sell the car for, I just want to move the cars." Obviously they aren't going to give cars away.

ColoradoDriver

There is an honest added invoice charge not reflected on the websites: MB advertising. That usually runs $400-$700 depending on the area of the country.

chilledbenz

It's not that Benz doesn't want to order you a car, if you have money they have the time to order you a car. What it comes down to is your dealing with high priced automobiles, your cheapest car is 30k at best. So when you have 100k cars sitting on your lot losing you money, you want to try your best to move whats already in your inventory. Thats the reason your going to get a better deal on something they already have sitting there than if you order one. In most cases you can get a car with more options on it for less than the original car you wanted to order.

chilledbenz

Two things here, I did get the numbers off edmunds.com but there is no advertising fee added there, plus they also could be off $400 that all cars went up at the first of the year. Second, car dealerships have two invoices they bring out, first one is the one they typically show the customer. You think I'm wrong? I've seen it before, there is a invoice that the dealership paid and theres an invoice that they show the customer. Usually the one they show the customer has the advertising fee already added into the price and reflects the invoice prices found on line. And make sure your looking at invoice pricing! Time and time again I read posts on here of people claiming they are getting $1-2k off invoice when in reality they are getting $1-2k off M.S.R.P (M.S.R.P. is the price on the window sticker). Invoice and M.S.R.P. are two different numbers!

Also thought I would add that I'm in Ohio and the price of the car could be different in different states.