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Wow, that all escalated quickly. I don't want anyone to think I was saying one should spend "hours and hours" trying to get 1% off or 1% MORE off, I was commenting on mr. 'tmoney"'s comment that sometimes time was worth more than the $4,000-$6,000 that one might save and was trying to QUANTIFY just how much time that WOULD be valued by ME from a cost benefit standpoint.
Anyone who might think I was advocating hours to save another 1% was simply missing the point. As many accurately pointed out, with a car such as this 1% IS about 600-650$, so do the math and figure out how many of those you can string together and get the deal/price you want.
Also, as others have said trying to get to a FLEET DISCOUNT somehow will really push the buyer into the 10-10% ranges as a possibility and without it I think we've seen tops at about 10%
If the prices Mercedes charges for their goods & services bothers you so much, why do you even own a Mercedes?
I worked hard to get where I am, and at this stage of my life the extra money I pay for the privilege of owning such a fine automobile is totally worth it for me.
Remember...life is short, and you can't take it with you when you go...
people can only take advantage of you *IF* you let them to. that is why i never get the wheel lock when i ordered my c450, i ask them for free as gift when i picking up my car. haha
just remember to spend your money wisely.
do you know how many celebrities and sport players that went broke?
people can only take advantage of you *IF* you let them to. that is why i never get the wheel lock when i ordered my c450, i ask them for free as gift when i picking up my car. haha
just remember to spend your money wisely.
do you know how many celebrities and sport players that went broke?
Spending your money wisely and going out to by a luxury item are two completely different things. Whenever one considers to buy a luxury good whether it be a LV handbag:suitcase or a MB, BMW. Etc. you are already spending your money "unwisely" because you're splurging on something that provides the same service as any old handbag/suitcase and the car will still take you from point A to point B whether you drive a toyota matrix or a bently continental GT. I just find it silly to haggle over a luxury item, of course I'm not saying pay full sticker msrp, because 99% of the auto industry gives a discount on the sticker price, it's a widely known fact, and you will feel as if the dealership doesn't value your business if you don't get a slight discount. I was happy when I received a 5% discount without even asking. I was ready to spend $60k on a car and the discount just assured me that the dealership appreciated my business. Overall, leaving both sides of the table happy at signing. If Im already willing to spend $60 on a car, what's another extra 2-3k on top of the 3k discount they just gave me? Not worth the energy, i want my car and i want it now. I pay cuz I want to pay for what I want. To me, the time and stress spent running around between dealerships to get the better offer than the last is not worth the time or the money. I much rather use that time to be with my family or go play 5-10NL holdem at my casino lol
Last edited by tmoneyC450amg; Jul 31, 2016 at 02:33 PM.
people can only take advantage of you *IF* you let them to.
Do you honestly believe one dealerships discounted price on a $60,000+ vehicle which is $600 more than another's dealerships price...is being taken advantage of?
that is why i never get the wheel lock when i ordered my c450, i ask them for free as gift when i picking up my car. haha
Oh you're paying for those locks alright, you're just paying for it somewhere else in the deal...or at some other time.
just remember to spend your money wisely.
do you know how many celebrities and sport players that went broke?
I feel I do spend my money wisely...it's how I was able to afford my Mercedes to begin with, case in point: researching four different dealerships until reaching the 16.2% discount off MSRP of my current C450.
Last edited by MASSC450; Jul 31, 2016 at 02:46 PM.
If anyone doesn't want to waste their time negotiating you can just hire a car buying consultant to do all the negotiating and you just have to go in and sign the paperwork. No fuss no muss. It'll cost you $300-$400 but you'll get a great deal.
I use Automatchconsulting.com, great experience the two times I've used him.
Last edited by DapperStyle; Jul 31, 2016 at 06:21 PM.
My experience at my dealership in central NJ - they had (1) C450 in their inventory. They were very willing to go down to invoice (from $64,000 MSRP to $59,000), plus a $2,200 fleet discount via my wife's company...but they would not budge past that. They were perfectly content to let me walk and find that 16% off MSRP deal that many others here have gotten somewhere else.
I'm a little late to the game on this, but are people really getting cars with a $65,000 sticker, for $54,000? 16% off sounds insane to me! I am not calling anyone a liar, I am really asking.
I must be way out of touch, I cannot wrap my head around a dealership agreeing to this. Have people posted pics of their invoices from closing showing 16% off sticker?
I'm a little late to the game on this, but are people really getting cars with a $65,000 sticker, for $54,000? 16% off sounds insane to me! I am not calling anyone a liar, I am really asking.
Yes I did get a 16% discount on my 2016 C450...got that discount while the June specials were going on, that and a $2,300 fleet discount through my company. In addition, I received full trade-in value on my 2015 C300 Sport 4matic according to Kelly Blue Book...$34,000.
And yes I PM'ed a copy of my P&S to someone here on this site.
I'm a little late to the game on this, but are people really getting cars with a $65,000 sticker, for $54,000? 16% off sounds insane to me! I am not calling anyone a liar, I am really asking.
I must be way out of touch, I cannot wrap my head around a dealership agreeing to this. Have people posted pics of their invoices from closing showing 16% off sticker?
Here are my details from June 24, 2016. Sticker was $63,620. I got it for $52,704.18 but then had to add in tax, tags, and service fee. So I saved a little over 17% off sticker.
WOW! Thanks for sharing guys. I am stunned. Tan70ri, my sticker was $66,010 and I paid a little more than $1000 under your sticker. I guess live and learn. I had no idea I could push it that far.
If you're at the right place at the right time and you give off the slightest vibe that you might be considering paying a visit to the BMW nextdoor to compare you would be amazed at the deals they become willing to agree to
You know when you sit down in your driveway, start the car and find that you can't engage reverse. You sit there tapping the stalk and nothing. Foot on the brake all the way to the floor, radio on so the car is running, why are the wipers going on?
And then you remember you are taking your wife's car for an inspection.
Ha! I've done that too when I have to move my wife's BMW...
...then I have a problem turning off the windshield wipers...boy do I HATE BMW windshield wipers. That whole double up or double down activation to turn them on/off sucks!
I travel quite a bit for work, renting cars all the time. Needless to say, the past month has been an interesting experience. I especially love when I have to turn around after I've been driving a bit and either turn on wipers or turn signals!!
You know when you sit down in your driveway, start the car and find that you can't engage reverse. You sit there tapping the stalk and nothing. Foot on the brake all the way to the floor, radio on so the car is running, why are the wipers going on?
And then you remember you are taking your wife's car for an inspection.
Not as much as you would think. The main reason for the 9G-TRONIC change is corporate direction, and the roll out will be very similar to the 7G-TRONIC's roll out replacing the 5G-TRONIC starting in 2003. At that time, most vehicles got the new transmission except for the vehicles that produced an excess of torque beyond the new transmission's capabilities. The same thing will happen with this roll out.
Arguably, the most important aspect of a transmission is the efficiency of transferring engine torque to the axles. The 9G-TRONIC specs talk about the 9G's torque converter being 92% efficient compared to the 7G's 85% efficiency, which is fairly significant (and probably worth the wait for a model with 9G over the original 7G). The only problem is that the 7G-TRONIC PLUS (which is the "old" transmission in question) is a 2010 redesign of the 2003 7G-TRONIC transmission with 85% efficiency. The 7G-TRONIC PLUS transmission has a 90% efficiency. The other thing to keep in mind, is that the torque converter efficiency plays more into fuel economy than performance. There are some performance specific enhancements in the 9G transmission, but again most comparisons are 9G to the original 7G. If you look at the 7G-TRONIC PLUS specs, they talk about the same enhancements over the original 7G. (Note: I ignored the AMG specific tuning for this discussion, mainly because AMG tunes both the 7G-TRONIC PLUS in the C450 and the 9G-TRONIC in the C43, which ends up as a wash).
If it were me, I would wait and get exactly the C43 with the options that I want, but if there was a C450 with the exact options (for obviously cheaper) - I wouldn't let the first gen 9G transmission be the road block.
People need to understand that not every dealer is willing to have a fire sale at 15% discount, and not everyone have access to fleet discount. These boards are fantastic, a lot of valuable information is shared by enthusiast, but sometimes we may see one member with 15 or 20% discount, we don't know all the circumstances, and just assume that kind of deal is the norm. In Canada, most dealers will negotiate, but the moment the customer's demands become unreasonable, they'll just quit, wish u a good day, and move on.
In Canada, we definitely do not get the same crazy discounts that our friends in the US gets
Not as much as you would think. The main reason for the 9G-TRONIC change is corporate direction, and the roll out will be very similar to the 7G-TRONIC's roll out replacing the 5G-TRONIC starting in 2003. At that time, most vehicles got the new transmission except for the vehicles that produced an excess of torque beyond the new transmission's capabilities. The same thing will happen with this roll out.
Arguably, the most important aspect of a transmission is the efficiency of transferring engine torque to the axles. The 9G-TRONIC specs talk about the 9G's torque converter being 92% efficient compared to the 7G's 85% efficiency, which is fairly significant (and probably worth the wait for a model with 9G over the original 7G). The only problem is that the 7G-TRONIC PLUS (which is the "old" transmission in question) is a 2010 redesign of the 2003 7G-TRONIC transmission with 85% efficiency. The 7G-TRONIC PLUS transmission has a 90% efficiency. The other thing to keep in mind, is that the torque converter efficiency plays more into fuel economy than performance. There are some performance specific enhancements in the 9G transmission, but again most comparisons are 9G to the original 7G. If you look at the 7G-TRONIC PLUS specs, they talk about the same enhancements over the original 7G. (Note: I ignored the AMG specific tuning for this discussion, mainly because AMG tunes both the 7G-TRONIC PLUS in the C450 and the 9G-TRONIC in the C43, which ends up as a wash).
If it were me, I would wait and get exactly the C43 with the options that I want, but if there was a C450 with the exact options (for obviously cheaper) - I wouldn't let the first gen 9G transmission be the road block.
Thanks for this in depth response.
I have been quite happy with the C450 transmission. Less gears is better, in terms of manual mode, in my opinion.
Overall, I can't complain too much, but I am also new to the automatic tranny world as I've only ever OWNED manual cars.
Hello all, my first post here. This winter I plan on either buying or leasing a luxury sport sedan, and C43 has really caught my eye. To not beat around the bush and get straight to the point, I am a little puzzled by the fact that all the C450s I have seen and actually test driven do not have 3 zone climate control, nor heated rear seats. I mean, if they are pricing the car at roughly $63K with all the options I need, it's a bit odd that rear passengers only get a vent that is available on basic vehicles costing half as much. Direct competitors BMW 340i and Audi S4 both have heated rear seats and I know that S4 has 3 zone climate control. Even more puzzling is the fact that most European C450s I have seen reviewed do have 3 zones. Anybody in the know have any explanation for this, or any information whether upcoming US bound C43s will correct this situation? Thanks.
Hello all, my first post here. This winter I plan on either buying or leasing a luxury sport sedan, and C43 has really caught my eye. To not beat around the bush and get straight to the point, I am a little puzzled by the fact that all the C450s I have seen and actually test driven do not have 3 zone climate control, nor heated rear seats. I mean, if they are pricing the car at roughly $63K with all the options I need, it's a bit odd that rear passengers only get a vent that is available on basic vehicles costing half as much. Direct competitors BMW 340i and Audi S4 both have heated rear seats and I know that S4 has 3 zone climate control. Even more puzzling is the fact that most European C450s I have seen reviewed do have 3 zones. Anybody in the know have any explanation for this, or any information whether upcoming US bound C43s will correct this situation? Thanks.
C43 will NOT have rear heated seat. I am totally fine and actually pretty happy about this so I don't pay extra for things I dont need.
For AC, I think it's dual zone climate control - passenger and driver. I think it's more than enough for me. Yup.
As soon as I see the interior of 340i, I cross it off my shopping list - too boring. I did't look at the new 2017 S4, it might be good though.
Hello all, my first post here. This winter I plan on either buying or leasing a luxury sport sedan, and C43 has really caught my eye. To not beat around the bush and get straight to the point, I am a little puzzled by the fact that all the C450s I have seen and actually test driven do not have 3 zone climate control, nor heated rear seats. I mean, if they are pricing the car at roughly $63K with all the options I need, it's a bit odd that rear passengers only get a vent that is available on basic vehicles costing half as much. Direct competitors BMW 340i and Audi S4 both have heated rear seats and I know that S4 has 3 zone climate control. Even more puzzling is the fact that most European C450s I have seen reviewed do have 3 zones. Anybody in the know have any explanation for this, or any information whether upcoming US bound C43s will correct this situation? Thanks.
Originally Posted by arnold0523
C43 will NOT have rear heated seat. I am totally fine and actually pretty happy about this so I don't pay extra for things I dont need.
For AC, I think it's dual zone climate control - passenger and driver. I think it's more than enough for me. Yup.
As soon as I see the interior of 340i, I cross it off my shopping list - too boring. I did't look at the new 2017 S4, it might be good though.
I like the way you think, Arnold!
Coincidentally, I went from a 2012 S4 to a 2014 335 to a 2016 C450 and I think BMW is ready for an interior "revolution"! Also, from what I read in the new C&D just now, the S4 will not be getting the refresh that the A4 just got til early 2017, as a 2018 model.
So to the OP, depending on your timeline, and if you want my personal opinion, steer clear of the Bimmer (unless you are ok with the interior) and forget about the Audi till after New Years or you'll be getting the same one that's out now (essentially) and be kicking yourself hard in 6 months.
As for stuff like 3 zone climate control and heated rear seats, again in my opinion, I think there are more relevant things to be picky about. Relatively speaking these cars as small enough that 2 zones are more than adequate. I simply cannot imagine a scenario where the people in the back seat need a separate zone than the front. And as for heated rear seats, I grew up in the 70's and went on family trips barely having a seat belt in the backseat so....
Coincidentally, I went from a 2012 S4 to a 2014 335 to a 2016 C450 and I think BMW is ready for an interior "revolution"! Also, from what I read in the new C&D just now, the S4 will not be getting the refresh that the A4 just got til early 2017, as a 2018 model.
Thanks for mentioning the new S4. I was doing some research yesterday on the upcoming S4 and couldn't find the release date. As I need a new vehicle sometime in late August or September, as I ruled out BMW already, I guess C43 is my best bet. Hope they don't rip me off on my special ordered C43.
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