W205 C300 Discount Challenge in Canada ?
02-21-2015, 01:11 AM
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W205 C300 Discount Challenge in Canada ?
Hi,
I'm planning to get the w205 c300 4matic in Montreal Canada
I will need info and advice if you bought the car in Canada
Ex : Price discount and package options....
Thanks !!!
I'm planning to get the w205 c300 4matic in Montreal Canada
I will need info and advice if you bought the car in Canada
Ex : Price discount and package options....
Thanks !!!
02-21-2015, 07:21 PM
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C300
I'm not sure how the dealerships are structured in Montreal, but I can give you my perspective in Toronto.
First, I found out the wholesale (or dealer) price of the model that I was interested in. For Canada I find that carcostcanada.com provided fairly decent figures (in fact the dealer I purchased from flat out said we will work with the carcostcanada or unhaggle.ca prices). Generally there is a 10-11% profit margin on the C class sedans.
Next I went to test drive the car at the nearest dealership. Over the course of the month, I visited several dealerships, spoke to different sales reps, got a whole bunch of information.
Here's a word of advice..find out whether the dealer you are visiting is corporate owned or not. Most dealers in the Greater Toronto Area are corporate owned. At most, you can expect to see a 4-5% reduction in MSRP at these locations. You will definitely get better discounts in privately owned franchises.
Once I got the feel for the car (and the ballpark cost), I emailed franchise dealers (not corporate owned ) asking for their best quote on the model I was looking for. Try to email the sales manager directly and ask your question. Eventually, I got a few responses and I booked an appointment with the lowest quote.
Finally the fun part. To help my negotiation I created an excel file with all the different options, the MSRP cost, the wholesale cost, the additional charges, factored in discounts etc. I took my laptop with me, and as the rep gave me the numbers, I immediately entered it in my file and it updated my cost real time. The advantage to this method is that
1. It shows the rep/manager that you are serious
2. I know when the rep is bul****ting me. For example, I'm giving you a 5% discount, when is really translates to 4%
3. It let's me play with the discounts and percentages before I submit an offer.
Overall the final negotiation took a little over an hour. When I first went it, the rep showed me a 3% discount off MSRP. Once he saw that I was serious, he dropped in to 5% discount. I bring out the laptop, he drops it to 6.25% discount. Finally I was able to get 8% off MSRP and an additional $1000 off for Fleet discount.
Kinda long winded post, but I hope that helps.
First, I found out the wholesale (or dealer) price of the model that I was interested in. For Canada I find that carcostcanada.com provided fairly decent figures (in fact the dealer I purchased from flat out said we will work with the carcostcanada or unhaggle.ca prices). Generally there is a 10-11% profit margin on the C class sedans.
Next I went to test drive the car at the nearest dealership. Over the course of the month, I visited several dealerships, spoke to different sales reps, got a whole bunch of information.
Here's a word of advice..find out whether the dealer you are visiting is corporate owned or not. Most dealers in the Greater Toronto Area are corporate owned. At most, you can expect to see a 4-5% reduction in MSRP at these locations. You will definitely get better discounts in privately owned franchises.
Once I got the feel for the car (and the ballpark cost), I emailed franchise dealers (not corporate owned ) asking for their best quote on the model I was looking for. Try to email the sales manager directly and ask your question. Eventually, I got a few responses and I booked an appointment with the lowest quote.
Finally the fun part. To help my negotiation I created an excel file with all the different options, the MSRP cost, the wholesale cost, the additional charges, factored in discounts etc. I took my laptop with me, and as the rep gave me the numbers, I immediately entered it in my file and it updated my cost real time. The advantage to this method is that
1. It shows the rep/manager that you are serious
2. I know when the rep is bul****ting me. For example, I'm giving you a 5% discount, when is really translates to 4%
3. It let's me play with the discounts and percentages before I submit an offer.
Overall the final negotiation took a little over an hour. When I first went it, the rep showed me a 3% discount off MSRP. Once he saw that I was serious, he dropped in to 5% discount. I bring out the laptop, he drops it to 6.25% discount. Finally I was able to get 8% off MSRP and an additional $1000 off for Fleet discount.
Kinda long winded post, but I hope that helps.
02-21-2015, 09:07 PM
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I have never tried easycardiscount.com but apparently they will do the legwork for you at no cost. All of the others like carcostcanada and unhaggle charge a fee. Redflagdeals.com has a lot of positive comments about them so at no cost to you it might be worth checking out. BuildertheBob 8% sounds like a great deal for Canada.
Last edited by vols1; 02-21-2015 at 09:11 PM.
02-22-2015, 11:27 PM
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B200T
I'm not sure how the dealerships are structured in Montreal, but I can give you my perspective in Toronto.
First, I found out the wholesale (or dealer) price of the model that I was interested in. For Canada I find that carcostcanada.com provided fairly decent figures (in fact the dealer I purchased from flat out said we will work with the carcostcanada or unhaggle.ca prices). Generally there is a 10-11% profit margin on the C class sedans.
Next I went to test drive the car at the nearest dealership. Over the course of the month, I visited several dealerships, spoke to different sales reps, got a whole bunch of information.
Here's a word of advice..find out whether the dealer you are visiting is corporate owned or not. Most dealers in the Greater Toronto Area are corporate owned. At most, you can expect to see a 4-5% reduction in MSRP at these locations. You will definitely get better discounts in privately owned franchises.
Once I got the feel for the car (and the ballpark cost), I emailed franchise dealers (not corporate owned ) asking for their best quote on the model I was looking for. Try to email the sales manager directly and ask your question. Eventually, I got a few responses and I booked an appointment with the lowest quote.
Finally the fun part. To help my negotiation I created an excel file with all the different options, the MSRP cost, the wholesale cost, the additional charges, factored in discounts etc. I took my laptop with me, and as the rep gave me the numbers, I immediately entered it in my file and it updated my cost real time. The advantage to this method is that
1. It shows the rep/manager that you are serious
2. I know when the rep is bul****ting me. For example, I'm giving you a 5% discount, when is really translates to 4%
3. It let's me play with the discounts and percentages before I submit an offer.
Overall the final negotiation took a little over an hour. When I first went it, the rep showed me a 3% discount off MSRP. Once he saw that I was serious, he dropped in to 5% discount. I bring out the laptop, he drops it to 6.25% discount. Finally I was able to get 8% off MSRP and an additional $1000 off for Fleet discount.
Kinda long winded post, but I hope that helps.
First, I found out the wholesale (or dealer) price of the model that I was interested in. For Canada I find that carcostcanada.com provided fairly decent figures (in fact the dealer I purchased from flat out said we will work with the carcostcanada or unhaggle.ca prices). Generally there is a 10-11% profit margin on the C class sedans.
Next I went to test drive the car at the nearest dealership. Over the course of the month, I visited several dealerships, spoke to different sales reps, got a whole bunch of information.
Here's a word of advice..find out whether the dealer you are visiting is corporate owned or not. Most dealers in the Greater Toronto Area are corporate owned. At most, you can expect to see a 4-5% reduction in MSRP at these locations. You will definitely get better discounts in privately owned franchises.
Once I got the feel for the car (and the ballpark cost), I emailed franchise dealers (not corporate owned ) asking for their best quote on the model I was looking for. Try to email the sales manager directly and ask your question. Eventually, I got a few responses and I booked an appointment with the lowest quote.
Finally the fun part. To help my negotiation I created an excel file with all the different options, the MSRP cost, the wholesale cost, the additional charges, factored in discounts etc. I took my laptop with me, and as the rep gave me the numbers, I immediately entered it in my file and it updated my cost real time. The advantage to this method is that
1. It shows the rep/manager that you are serious
2. I know when the rep is bul****ting me. For example, I'm giving you a 5% discount, when is really translates to 4%
3. It let's me play with the discounts and percentages before I submit an offer.
Overall the final negotiation took a little over an hour. When I first went it, the rep showed me a 3% discount off MSRP. Once he saw that I was serious, he dropped in to 5% discount. I bring out the laptop, he drops it to 6.25% discount. Finally I was able to get 8% off MSRP and an additional $1000 off for Fleet discount.
Kinda long winded post, but I hope that helps.
What percentage would carcostcanada have resulted in (without the haggling)?
Which dealer did you end up getting it at?
Didn't quite understand the laptop thing. Do you mean you had Carcostcanada's prices on there?
02-23-2015, 12:26 AM
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C300
Carcostcanada lists the dealer profit margin at ~10%. Suppose the dealer is buying the car for $50K, they slap on $5K for profit and list the MSRP for $55K. If you don't haggle, they will offer you a 3% discount on the MSRP. So their initial offer will come to $55,000 - $1,650 = $53,350 (plus freight, fees and taxes).
As for the laptop, you don't really need it. A pen, paper, and a calculator will suffice. For me, the laptop helped me crunch the numbers on my own, right in front of the sales rep. I had set up an excel file with the MSRP and the carcostcanada pricing for the C300 and C400. This really helped when comparing models with different options. All I had to do was either add/delete the line pertaining to the option (eg. metallic paint), and the final costs will update automatically. I also added a cell where I enter the discount I want (for example 7%) and it readjusts to reflect the change in price. I found it useful to double check whether what I saw on the sale's reps screen matched with my own calculations... just to be on the safe side.
A side note, CarcostCanada will not show 'hidden' factory to dealer incentives or holdback incentives. Basically the dealer will say "Oh but we need to pay for the receptionist, accountants ect, you're cutting in on my profits here". Well, that stuff is covered by the 3-5% holdback incentives MB pays the dealer for each sale. So feel free to bring that up if the dealer goes on about paying overhead.
Also, before signing off on the deal excuse your self for a minute, and call up any of you previous dealers to check if they can beat the price. I knew I got a good price when one of the guy goes "don't know how you're getting it, it's 3K below my cost. I need to put a roof over my head"
As for the laptop, you don't really need it. A pen, paper, and a calculator will suffice. For me, the laptop helped me crunch the numbers on my own, right in front of the sales rep. I had set up an excel file with the MSRP and the carcostcanada pricing for the C300 and C400. This really helped when comparing models with different options. All I had to do was either add/delete the line pertaining to the option (eg. metallic paint), and the final costs will update automatically. I also added a cell where I enter the discount I want (for example 7%) and it readjusts to reflect the change in price. I found it useful to double check whether what I saw on the sale's reps screen matched with my own calculations... just to be on the safe side.
A side note, CarcostCanada will not show 'hidden' factory to dealer incentives or holdback incentives. Basically the dealer will say "Oh but we need to pay for the receptionist, accountants ect, you're cutting in on my profits here". Well, that stuff is covered by the 3-5% holdback incentives MB pays the dealer for each sale. So feel free to bring that up if the dealer goes on about paying overhead.
Also, before signing off on the deal excuse your self for a minute, and call up any of you previous dealers to check if they can beat the price. I knew I got a good price when one of the guy goes "don't know how you're getting it, it's 3K below my cost. I need to put a roof over my head"
Last edited by BuilderTheBob; 02-23-2015 at 12:28 AM.
02-23-2015, 03:25 PM
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Carcostcanada lists the dealer profit margin at ~10%. Suppose the dealer is buying the car for $50K, they slap on $5K for profit and list the MSRP for $55K. If you don't haggle, they will offer you a 3% discount on the MSRP. So their initial offer will come to $55,000 - $1,650 = $53,350 (plus freight, fees and taxes).
As for the laptop, you don't really need it. A pen, paper, and a calculator will suffice. For me, the laptop helped me crunch the numbers on my own, right in front of the sales rep. I had set up an excel file with the MSRP and the carcostcanada pricing for the C300 and C400. This really helped when comparing models with different options. All I had to do was either add/delete the line pertaining to the option (eg. metallic paint), and the final costs will update automatically. I also added a cell where I enter the discount I want (for example 7%) and it readjusts to reflect the change in price. I found it useful to double check whether what I saw on the sale's reps screen matched with my own calculations... just to be on the safe side.
A side note, CarcostCanada will not show 'hidden' factory to dealer incentives or holdback incentives. Basically the dealer will say "Oh but we need to pay for the receptionist, accountants ect, you're cutting in on my profits here". Well, that stuff is covered by the 3-5% holdback incentives MB pays the dealer for each sale. So feel free to bring that up if the dealer goes on about paying overhead.
Also, before signing off on the deal excuse your self for a minute, and call up any of you previous dealers to check if they can beat the price. I knew I got a good price when one of the guy goes "don't know how you're getting it, it's 3K below my cost. I need to put a roof over my head"
As for the laptop, you don't really need it. A pen, paper, and a calculator will suffice. For me, the laptop helped me crunch the numbers on my own, right in front of the sales rep. I had set up an excel file with the MSRP and the carcostcanada pricing for the C300 and C400. This really helped when comparing models with different options. All I had to do was either add/delete the line pertaining to the option (eg. metallic paint), and the final costs will update automatically. I also added a cell where I enter the discount I want (for example 7%) and it readjusts to reflect the change in price. I found it useful to double check whether what I saw on the sale's reps screen matched with my own calculations... just to be on the safe side.
A side note, CarcostCanada will not show 'hidden' factory to dealer incentives or holdback incentives. Basically the dealer will say "Oh but we need to pay for the receptionist, accountants ect, you're cutting in on my profits here". Well, that stuff is covered by the 3-5% holdback incentives MB pays the dealer for each sale. So feel free to bring that up if the dealer goes on about paying overhead.
Also, before signing off on the deal excuse your self for a minute, and call up any of you previous dealers to check if they can beat the price. I knew I got a good price when one of the guy goes "don't know how you're getting it, it's 3K below my cost. I need to put a roof over my head"
I was asking about the Carcostcanada pre-arranged price...what was the pre-arranged discount percentage that they offered (with one dealer)? I do have tokens with them, but don't want to cash them in to check until I'm ready to buy
02-23-2015, 04:02 PM
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hi,
When you talk about getting 5-8% off msrp, are you getting the invoice price before freight,pdi, etc and calculating the discount, then adding those fees back on? Is that the approach I should use? You also mentioned a $1000 fleet discount..I don't know what that is, is it something anyone can take advantage of?
Basically, I have the carcostcanada invoice price for a car I am interested in, and I'm not sure how much I should be looking at as a target. FWIW the carcost website says to add a 3-6% dealer markup. In my case, the MSRP of the car I want is 56,875..with a dealer invoice price of 51,787. Those numbers include freight, but they also do not include the current incentives (I see a $750 credit atm). So, is it realistic to expect to pay (51787*1.03)-750(incentive)? In that case, I get a rough price of 52,600...which is about 7.5% off of MSRP -- however, it seems like based on this thread and the other thread, that might be too ambitious a target?
When you talk about getting 5-8% off msrp, are you getting the invoice price before freight,pdi, etc and calculating the discount, then adding those fees back on? Is that the approach I should use? You also mentioned a $1000 fleet discount..I don't know what that is, is it something anyone can take advantage of?
Basically, I have the carcostcanada invoice price for a car I am interested in, and I'm not sure how much I should be looking at as a target. FWIW the carcost website says to add a 3-6% dealer markup. In my case, the MSRP of the car I want is 56,875..with a dealer invoice price of 51,787. Those numbers include freight, but they also do not include the current incentives (I see a $750 credit atm). So, is it realistic to expect to pay (51787*1.03)-750(incentive)? In that case, I get a rough price of 52,600...which is about 7.5% off of MSRP -- however, it seems like based on this thread and the other thread, that might be too ambitious a target?
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02-24-2015, 12:24 AM
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When talking about % discount off MSRP I mean, base + options only. Freight, PDI, Fleet discounts, taxes are not counted.
In my example my MSRP with options was $54000 (carcost price was 48500). Take away $4300 discount (~8%) and another $1000 for fleet discount = $5400 in savings with final MSRP of $48,600. Then you have to add freight, pdi, fees, taxes etc.
In my example my MSRP with options was $54000 (carcost price was 48500). Take away $4300 discount (~8%) and another $1000 for fleet discount = $5400 in savings with final MSRP of $48,600. Then you have to add freight, pdi, fees, taxes etc.
hi,
When you talk about getting 5-8% off msrp, are you getting the invoice price before freight,pdi, etc and calculating the discount, then adding those fees back on? Is that the approach I should use? You also mentioned a $1000 fleet discount..I don't know what that is, is it something anyone can take advantage of?
Basically, I have the carcostcanada invoice price for a car I am interested in, and I'm not sure how much I should be looking at as a target. FWIW the carcost website says to add a 3-6% dealer markup. In my case, the MSRP of the car I want is 56,875..with a dealer invoice price of 51,787. Those numbers include freight, but they also do not include the current incentives (I see a $750 credit atm). So, is it realistic to expect to pay (51787*1.03)-750(incentive)? In that case, I get a rough price of 52,600...which is about 7.5% off of MSRP -- however, it seems like based on this thread and the other thread, that might be too ambitious a target?
When you talk about getting 5-8% off msrp, are you getting the invoice price before freight,pdi, etc and calculating the discount, then adding those fees back on? Is that the approach I should use? You also mentioned a $1000 fleet discount..I don't know what that is, is it something anyone can take advantage of?
Basically, I have the carcostcanada invoice price for a car I am interested in, and I'm not sure how much I should be looking at as a target. FWIW the carcost website says to add a 3-6% dealer markup. In my case, the MSRP of the car I want is 56,875..with a dealer invoice price of 51,787. Those numbers include freight, but they also do not include the current incentives (I see a $750 credit atm). So, is it realistic to expect to pay (51787*1.03)-750(incentive)? In that case, I get a rough price of 52,600...which is about 7.5% off of MSRP -- however, it seems like based on this thread and the other thread, that might be too ambitious a target?
Last edited by BuilderTheBob; 02-24-2015 at 01:45 AM.
02-24-2015, 02:23 PM
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Acura TL & C-Class
That's a pretty detailed list and accurate. I bought my car last year in August (got it delivered in Dec). I purchased my car from a corporate store and the best I could get was 4.5% discount + $1000 fleet discount (total of about 6.5%). Although having said that, I did try to get a better discount from a private dealer but I had no luck. Funny enough, back then the private guy was surprised with what I got
I'm guessing the discrepancy here may have to do with time (and Bob's skills with buying too). I remember when I first walked into the dealer they didn't have a unit for show.
I'm guessing the discrepancy here may have to do with time (and Bob's skills with buying too). I remember when I first walked into the dealer they didn't have a unit for show.
02-26-2015, 08:55 AM
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Good question. I don't have a list but I know this. There are 3 class's of fleet discounts
Tier 3 is $750 (examples include professional designations like CMA)
Tier 2 is $1000 (preferred supplier partners, ie you get this discount if you work for one of these companies; another one is if you own 2 or 3 mercedes )
Tier 1 is $1500 (if you own 4 or 5 Mercedes)
Currently there is a $500 discount for the autoshow, and they just started a 3 month payment waiver program on the C class for lease and finance . It just started yesterday and lasts till the 28th. Only on corporate stores though.
Tier 3 is $750 (examples include professional designations like CMA)
Tier 2 is $1000 (preferred supplier partners, ie you get this discount if you work for one of these companies; another one is if you own 2 or 3 mercedes )
Tier 1 is $1500 (if you own 4 or 5 Mercedes)
Currently there is a $500 discount for the autoshow, and they just started a 3 month payment waiver program on the C class for lease and finance . It just started yesterday and lasts till the 28th. Only on corporate stores though.
02-26-2015, 10:04 PM
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Good question. I don't have a list but I know this. There are 3 class's of fleet discounts
Tier 3 is $750 (examples include professional designations like CMA)
Tier 2 is $1000 (preferred supplier partners, ie you get this discount if you work for one of these companies; another one is if you own 2 or 3 mercedes )
Tier 1 is $1500 (if you own 4 or 5 Mercedes)
Currently there is a $500 discount for the autoshow, and they just started a 3 month payment waiver program on the C class for lease and finance . It just started yesterday and lasts till the 28th. Only on corporate stores though.
Tier 3 is $750 (examples include professional designations like CMA)
Tier 2 is $1000 (preferred supplier partners, ie you get this discount if you work for one of these companies; another one is if you own 2 or 3 mercedes )
Tier 1 is $1500 (if you own 4 or 5 Mercedes)
Currently there is a $500 discount for the autoshow, and they just started a 3 month payment waiver program on the C class for lease and finance . It just started yesterday and lasts till the 28th. Only on corporate stores though.
I did talk my parents-in-law into buying a Mercedes as well...maybe MB will count it for the Tier 2 discount. Didn't even know about this!
Nor about the auto show discount....guess I'll catch next year's for that discount, if I don't have the car by then.
