Hey guys/girls,

Does anybody know how much time on average one would have to spend in order to find a new CLS 55 AMG for MSRP at an authorized Mercedes dealer if you start looking for one now?

 

The MSRP part is not the problem. The when is the problem. I know of a couple of dealers that will sell the cars at MSRP for the cars but the wait at this point is 8 to 10 cars deep at most of the dealers I know.

 

If you wanted a new CLS 55 AMG but you didn't want to spend hours and hours trying to find one at MSRP because your time is too valuable (Econ 101 - Opportunity Cost), what do you think would be a fair premium to pay for an early delivery car?

 

Sometimes it's easier to get a car than you think. Most dealers have these long lists of interested buyers with or without deposits. The dealer's interest is to sell the car, so if a car comes in and the person that ordered the car backs out then the dealer may start calling off the wait list or the car may go to the person that is standing in the showroom at the time. It just depends on the dealer and how long it takes for the buyers on the wait list to get back to their saleman. If it isn't immediate the car will mostly likely go to the first person ready to buy.

In 01 I had a S55 on order and months away from delivery. I was about tenth of the list. One Saturday morning my saleman called me and said that a car that was very similar to the one I ordered had just become available. The guy that had ordered the car couldn't get his money together that morning, so if I could come up NOW I could have the car. I did and I got the car.

My recommendation is to call a number of dealers and work them until you get your car. You might be driving one in a month. Good Luck

 

Ken, what you say is completely true. Unfortunately, it doesn't happen all the time and it only happens with vehicles that don't have such a high demand. I mean, the S55 is an amazing car to me, but I really doubt something like that would have happened with a new SL500 back in 2000.

 

My dealer has a Silver one with Premium Package, no Xenon avail now for MSRP. They tried to sell me that one (they know I'm impatient) but I decided to wait for mine (early March delivery).

 

When I first got on the list in 2000 I was told that it would be a 2 to 3 year wait. The car was very hot. I was finally able to order the car a year later, that's how fast these lists go down. Two months later I was driving one.

 

Where is that car located? I'm surprised it hasn't sold yet!

 

What you are asking is how much of a premium should you charge for an early CLS55 correct?

Early E55's were selling for between 10 and 15K over for a short period of time but there was also a shortage of cars.

If the truly do launch the CLS by flooding the market a bit premiums will not hold long.

Then again it is all about what you are willing to pay to be first on the block.....

 

No, I'm not necessarily asking how much of a premium should I charge for an early delivery CLS 55 AMG, because if that was the case, we would try to sell our first cars for $10,000 - $15,000 over the MSRP.

What I'm asking is, what is a reasonable premium for an early delivery car, so that the person who is looking for one, doesn't waste his time = money, but still gets a car for a reasonable amount in order to be the first on the block.

Here's the thing. My company specializes in always having 5-10 cars of every new model that comes out. We don't want to screw a client and try to get the most out of them that we possibly can.

What we want is to build a relationship with those people so that they pay us a reasonable premium to have us get them an early delivery car every time they want a new car.

As you know, most of these customers are very wealthy individuals whose time is very valuable. They don't really have the time nor patience to put hours into researching when a new model is coming out so they can put a deposit 2 years in advance, and then hope that their dealer doesn't sell their car to somebody else who is willing to pay more than MSRP.

In the other hand, over a period of 6 years we have compiled a list of all the authorized dealerships (Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, Corvette, Ford, etc) that honor their contracts and only sell their cars for MSRP because most of them don't.

We have the experience and we know that the dealers that we work with, are not your typical authorized dealerships that try to gouge their customers every time they have a hot car in their showroom.

Fine, you can blame us and say that we do the same thing, but the fact is that we don't. You want to know why? Because those dealers are already making a ton of money by selling the cars at MSRP, and we only make money if we sell the cars we purchase for a reasonable premium over the MSRP.

Any feedback from anybody will truly be appreciated because we believe that we can only be successful if we are fair and honest to all our clients and take into consideration all feedback.

Regards,

Nelson

 

Euro Motorcars in Bethesda, MD. Not sure how long the car's gonna last. IT DOES NOT HAVE XENON. Keep that in mind.

Heck for a premium I'd be willing to give up my car that's coming end of this month/early March

 

I just stopped by the MB dealer in Vegas to check out a newly delivered CLS500. I was discussing the the pricing and whether there would a premium above MSRP. The answer he gave was that there would not be a premium above MSRP as long as I can wait 7-8 months. Anyways, I am not in rush so I am going to place a deposit this week and wait out my time. BTW, the salesman said that if I get a Nov/Dec 05 delivery, it would be a 2007 model.

 

Nelson,

To answer your question then. In some cases I have paid premiums in the 7 to 12% range for cars to get an earlier slot in production. The couple of times I have done this I did not feel like I had been taken advantage of by anyone and fully knew that I was throwing this money away because I was not able to wait. ( I do have one of those personalities at times....)

We can always use a respectable place to do business with that we know where people stand. I have no issue at all with what you do based on the upfront nature of your business. If I didn't have an early CLS55 in production I would probably pay 8K to 10K to get an early car.

Schiz

 

Thank you very much for your input Schiz. I guess I will make sure that we stick to asking around $5,000 over the MSRP for all of our early delivery cars if some people are willing to pay 8-10k over the MSRP to move our cars quickly and gain potential customers for life. If you ever need any car in the future because you don't have one in production or because your dealership decided to sell your car to another person who offered them more money than the MSRP, don't hesitate to give us a shot.

Nelson.

P.S. When is your car coming in and what colors and options did you choose?

 

It has been sitting in Jacksonville since Jan 17th waiting for release.

Black with Charcoal - Loaded

Schiz

 

I knew it was too good to be true! I called Brumos Motor Cars in Jacksonville, FL and they said that they didn't have any cars available for sale. The only way to get one was to get on the list and you know how that is. Anyways, keep us posted with anything else that comes up and is priced right!

 

Nelson,
I think Schiznick meant it is sitting in the Jacksonville Port, which is where most southeast USA cars come into. I dont think he is buying it from the Jacksonville dealer. Correct me if im wrong.

T

 

My apology, yes the port in Jax. Strange to hear that cars are being delivered on the WC. They are telling us EC cars with the exception of a couple show cars will be released on the 15th. I will keepmy fingers crossed.

Schiz

 

I am gonna ask my UK friend to ship one to me.
Ain't sure if there are any CLS55 already stocked?

 

The first delivery cars have already been delivered in the West Coast. Are you guys still waiting for your cars in the East Coast? I'm surprised that all cars were not released on the same day as the CLS 500s were.

 

It would appear that they released a batch of "extra" allocations last week. I was told that the port in Jax released the CLS's today. Should be a flood of them hitting the market shortly..... Mine will be in tomorrow and I will pick it up early next week when I am back in town.

 

I'm glad to hear you will be getting your car shortly. :Y It's just not fair that we get them earlier in the West Coast. Enjoy it and let us know what you think of it after you drive it.

 

hi guys!
i have a silver cls 55 available for sale....
if interested, e- mail me for more details. and give me an offer.
car has a $95,730 MSRP. it has less than 100 miles...


thanks

 

hi guys!
i have a silver cls 55 available for sale....
if interested, e- mail me for more details. and give me an offer.
car has a $95,730 MSRP. it has less than 100 miles...

my email is omijio@aol.com
thanks