Hoopa70

Socks are off..
New day, new attitude. just sent them an email. Thanks a million for all the help. My fingers are crossed, the car in the link has a few more goodies than the demo's.
You guys all feel pretty strongly about not buying the demo. I know I would probably beat on a demo as well, but these cars should take some punishment with no issues I would think.
edit: BTW, great forum!! thanks for all the insight. At least I'm getting a little education..

Hoopa70

Well the one sportstick posted a link to is sold. I am still searching and weighing options. here is the link to the local demo I was interested in:
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...5&aff=national

Doanster

If this is the car you want, I'd go in there and deal away. Use the current incentives against them and if they don't go down to the price you want, work other things into the deal that won't cost them $$, just margin. MBUSA Extended Warranty would be a good one. They charge like $3k, but obviously there's a lot of margin built-in. That way you can say it'll alleviate your worries about buying a demo. Or ask them to swap in the 18" AMG's.
Lastly, sorry to beat a dead horse, but have you asked them to run a search for you? If they didn't find the car that Sportstick found, there may be another one out there!

Hoopa70

what (if any) is the difference between the CPO warranty and the MBUSA warranty? Just curious.

2nice4me

4matic is great, last year we had more snow then usual years and $matic made a difference for sure. I saw other MB and BMW's get stuck on street with a slight incline.

Plus IF your wife is the main driver of the car you better get the peace of mind. you will not hear the end of it if she gets stuck.

Hoopa70

I found one i think...
The original local dealership with the CPO car has another car we are looking at. Originally when I had asked about this car it was going under contract. For reasons unbeknownst it is still available. here are the details...
'09 sport 4matic with P1, ipod, and burl walnut trim.
The car has 200 miles on it (it was a demo). It is NOT cert-pre-owned, and the warranty went into service 2/27/09. So it comes with the remainder of the standard warranty, not the 100k CPO warranty. MSRP was over 40k, they have it listed at 34,900. I'm a little unclear how to value this thing being that it's basically brand new, minus the 7 months of warranty that has ticked off...
All thoughts appreciated, I plan to follow up with the dealer tomorrow a.m.

Sportstick

Run it through Edmunds again for your zip. Pending that, I would start at $30k and probably top out at $32k. 200 miles is not much usage for being put into service in February, so likely no harm done.

Hoopa70

dealer retail on edmunds back at 36,900. the variables are what is killing me. Brand new 09 incentives , which it doesn't qualify for.. , the missing 7 months of warranty. I am not too confident about getting them down to $32k. It's pretty much a "take it or leave it" atmosphere at this place.
Another variable is that it is the only dealership nearby and i know how things go when bringing a car sold at dealership B in to dealership A for service.. It's an exercise in frustration and a ticket to the back of the line..

Sportstick

Yes, and to complicate it more, the manufacturer provides additional unknown amount of support to the dealer for new units turned into loaners. Sometimes, "take it or leave it" is a highly profitable first act...try being firm and see what happens as you walk out the door.

Hoopa70

Will see what tomorrow brings. I really hope to come to terms with the local dealership. I am just trying to avoid the "WTF did I just do?" after signing the P+S agreement.
I get the feeling that the tanking world economy hasn't hurt the luxury car business?

Sportstick

Actually it has....Lexus, BMW, MB are all off about 20% or so versus year ago. That's why it pays to be a bit more stubborn than usual.

http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1...big-incentives

Hoopa70

update: epic fail.. went to the dealer today to work out the details. I decided to take the 350 for a test drive while the dealership looked over my trade in. We get back from a 10 minute test drive (man that 350 is sweet), and see the car we are trying to buy pull into the lot. Someone else was out on a test drive in it.. I don't have to tell you what happened...(Yes, they bought it!!) So, I'm screwed now. No black 09's left, and i'm skeptical about the 08's being loaner cars. Did I mention the 350 is sweet? wife still not having it.. I think I'm throwing in the towel for a little while, maybe get a 2010 leftover next year.. Thank you all for the help, wish it had a happier ending.

Sportstick

http://www.fleetrates.com/new-2009-M...ents-NMC300LA1

Hoopa70

interesting, how does this work?

Sportstick

I have no idea... I just came across it while browsing and remembered your quest. There was also a black sport 4matic 09 on that site. I don't know where they are located, but its always fun to fly somewhere and drive home!