CPD SLK

So I was going to buy a ML63...but I decided to settle for a sedan instead. My dilemna is this now...M3 vs C63 vs RS4. With the market the way it is...I am sure I can get a great deal.

The M3 will have .9 percent financing and free maintenance, which is making me lean towards that car...but I really want the C63. I have yet to drive the RS4, but kind of want an automatic cuz I drive into SF, CA sometimes.

What is a reasonable price to pay for a 2009 C63 in palladium silver with black interior. It has the P30 and P2 package and the multimedia stuff. The sticker retial they are wanting is 69K. What should I offer them? I have a trade in that I still owe money on but it will allow me to have about 6-7K for a down payment...I woudl like to get my monthly payment under 1000K. Give me the magic number I should offer. Thx!

paulGT3

I went through this very predicament. I have back problems and couldnt drive my 911 any more. So I was to get a sports sedan I can get in and out of . I drove the M3 HARD and was very close to getting one and yes
they make it easy for financing. I looked at the RS4 but thats been discontinued. A friend pointed me to the AMG. One drive Done deal,
and this is from a guy who has come out of 3 911s. The M3 has substandard brakes and down on power. Its just not that same car.
It may handle a bit better. but not worth the money. You WILL be sorry if you get the M3. The AMG has fallen in price since I bought it.
I highly recommend Fremont Fletcher Jones. They came to MY house and did the paperwork and then delivered my car. I live in SoCal and
you are up there. If you go there my 911 GT3 is still on their floor.
Go there and be happy

SebringSilver

RS4 is an awesome car with towering ability that you won't fully appreciate if you're living in California. Rear seat legroom is very minimal so if you were originally intending to purchase an SUV, I'm assuming interior space is important to you. The car is now out of production, so you'll have the best version of the B7 platform, but also the last version of the B7 platform.

M3s are, as far as I can tell, rather commonplace and you'll end up passing yourself on the roads a lot. You'll save some money by way of the financing incentives BMW is currently offering, but if I'm not mistaken, that only applies to MY08 cars. Legroom in the back is surprisingly generous, and that might sway your decision a little.

C63 AMGs are a relatively rare sight, and something of a sleeper if you don't immediately focus on the quad pipes at the back. I like the contrast between the relatively understated looks (all three cars are good in this way), and menacing bark of the engine. Spaciousness is greater in the Mercedes than it is in the other two.

All three cars are close in terms of performance when in stock form. But it will cost you less to get more performance out of the AMG than it would in the Audi and the Bimmer.

Happy shopping!

taylorcoleman

IMHO, buy based on what car makes you feel at home. I orignally bought based on what financed better (hard to beat .9%), but I had a great deal on a car that was 2nd best to me. Bad idea. On the other hand, some people are deal shoppers (even with high performance cars) and if you are, then you can't get a better deal than an M3 at the moment, I believe.

Now I'm also seeing you want a payment to be under $1,000/mo. Please, take this personally....if you can't calculate your own payment (lease or buy), than you should not be in the market for such a vehicle. Buy a Saturn with no hassle pricing if you don't want to do the work/research involved.

Last para was meant to invoke some emotion. I wish you the best in your decision.

CPD SLK

I appreciate everyone's input...thx for the helpful info..I really am leaning towards the C63...

As far as calculating my own payments...I have a master's in mechanical engineering...I think I can make a simple interest calculation haha...I just wanted to know what a reasonable price would be. The car I want with the 030 suspension and P2 package has a sticker price with tax and destination charges...I was like HOLY CRAP!

I've seen some 08s used going for under 60K...what should I throw on the table for this car? Anyone mind throwing out a good number given today's market? I ahve a couple of dealers that are telling me that they're willing to give me a good deal based on the time of the year and all that.

taylorcoleman

OK, cool man. Just checkin'

I'm a fan of buying used if you can verify the owner's driving and maintenance habits.

A good starting point on a new will be invoice + $500. Test drive it, offer that, walk if not accepted. Repeat.

P30 is much more rare--you'll pay for it. Another option is sans P30 and do aftermarket in 6-12 months after purchase. Should be able to get a fully loaded '09 w/o P30 for $61k or so. May have to fly to & drive home to find the right deal for you.

1st amg

offer them about $2500.00 to $3000.00 off list, should accept it, I know w few C63 owners who settled on that including myself

CPD SLK

As far as invoice goes...is the most accurate way to calculate the invoice to add the cost of packages to the base invoice? I've also seen varying base invoices.

On another note, I've attempted to locate a used 08...but haven't found any in the california area unfortunately...I'm gonna try a more in depth search tonight...hopefully I'll find something.

shap07s550

In this market I'd be shooting for 5k off a 69k msrp car. I'd say you can finance 50k of it for 60 months for between 5% and 7% APR depending on your bank and credit score and that will bring your monthly payment to around 1k a month.

I pick up my 73k msrp '09 C63 this week. I got nearly 5k off msrp 2 months ago(part of an "end of your lease is a few months away and we will give you **** discount off any new mercedes you get" promotion) and if I recall correctly there have been people on this forum getting a few thousand off msrp depending on location in US. Also, the economy ain't getting better and with '09 lease money factors running 11%(!!) for the past month even for super-prime customers they ain't getting many C63's off the lots on leases which will give you more leverage, in theory, to negotiate a better deal with lease buyers out of the mix.

I am financing 60k of my new C63 for 60 months at 5.25% with my local bank, and bringing another 13k to the table to cover the rest of the negotiated price of the car, taxes and doc fees. I expect to sell the car in 2yrs with between 15-20k miles on it for no more than 55% of msrp and maybe as little as 50% of msrp and my all in costs for financing, taxes, doc fees and depreciation will be 18k-20k a year, not including insurance...yikes! So be aware the 1k a month payment may leave 30% to 40% of the total cost of the car out out the equation - if you plan on flipping the car in 2yrs anyways...Good Luck!

CPD SLK

Well....I'd only have about 7K for a down payment...so I'd have to finance more than 50K, hehe. Can you help me out with what an invoice on a C63 would be with the P2 and P030 packages? I couldn't find a website with that info...

norb

I also looked long and hard at the M3 but in the end the C63 was better for me. I actually liked the more masculine styling of the C63 and it is a torque monster compared to the M3. Plus the exhaust note was a deal maker. Either way I think you'll be happy with the M3 or C63.

shap07s550

Edmunds.com has invoice pricing up on the 2009 C63, just go to "new cars" and start from there. Mercedes USA, mbusa.com, has all the 2009 pricing available and easy to understand, start at "vehicles" on the top of the main page and you can easily make your way to the C63 pricing info at the amg website if you get confused about options on edmunds. I just ran numbers on the 2009 C63 on edmunds and invoice for the car and options appears to be 7% below MSRP. Also, for running numbers on financing costs Edmunds has a very good car finance calculator that I like to use. Don't forget metallic paint is extra $720. Also, destination/delivery charge is $875 and not subject to "invoice" pricing...Good Luck!

YellowJacket

The difference in invoice and MSRP is about $4,000. Does Mercedes give dealers a huge holdback or other incentives to make money? Seems to be such a thin margin for cars with low sales volumes.

norb

Its thin because its basically a C class. They do have hold backs and of course the more AMG models they sell the more they'll get towards future allocation. Depends on the dealership. I got mine from a small independent MB dealer in Houston, and they are hard pressed to sell at invoice they just don't have the volume.

Ol'School

between those three I'd go for the M3 .. C63 has more power and more practicality, is about the only actual "saloon" with proper legroom and boot space, a better interior than the M3's, and is a Merc .. but If you're concerned about handling and sportyness the M3 is the one to go for. (I think !)

peet

Been there (see sig)... almost bought a year old RS4 this time around but I just didn't "feel it." It's a very VERY nice car, don't get me wrong, but it's just not a brute. If you want a refined small sedan but want some power - great choice.

M3 - nah. Had an E36, loved it. Drove an E46, bah, drove E9X variants, nope. After all, even BMW decided the engine isn't what they thought it'd be and just last week (this week?) announced they are killing the V8 and going with a turbo 6 for the M's.

In the end we can't choose for you - it's a very personal decision. Go drive all four (yep even the ISF) and decide for yourself. Also - fwiw - I miss the free maintenance, but for around $2k I extended my warranty to 7 years total and included maintenance so it's like my bimmer was. (and for those who are curious, it's an aftermarket warranty - not benz, but it covers 100% with a $100 deductible on warranty work after factory coverage ends).

Either way you won't go wrong. And there's more to life than a .9 financing rate

Ol'School

they did ?!!?

Stangar

Yup! It's true. Better run and get that V8 M3 while you still can.

Ol'School

I've always hated BMWs, the V8 M5 of the late 1990s was about the only car I couldn't help falling for .. but then they killed it and replaced it with the current V10 lorry and that was sad, so when they upgraded the M3 to it's current V8 status I just absolutely loved it that it was actually competing with my childhood dream - the AMG E class - as to which will be my first life partner :P ... and now you're telling me they're deciding to kill it ?

it's not what BMW doesn't have that makes MB the superior car to me ... it's the habit of making the wrong decisions turning the gorgous elegent 7 series of the 90s to the current hedious one, charging into the world of contraversial designs, killing the most famous modefied car in history - the previous M3 - (even though I wasn't a fan), and now killing the only interesting engine in thier lineup.

they always manage to get it to the very top - right below Mercedes :P - and then mess it all up.

CPD SLK

Well...I did it. I picked up my silver/black C63 last night. And I got an amazing deal!!! I paid 700 under invoice!!!! I guess I was a better negotiator than I thought I was, haha. Ill post pics later!

taylorcoleman

Awesome news, congrats!

YellowJacket

Congrats. Great buy.
What is $700 below invoice on a $69k car?

Ol'School

Congratulations !

Llans737

< After all, even BMW decided the engine isn't what they thought it'd be and just last week (this week?) announced they are killing the V8 and going with a turbo 6 for the M's. >

Hey, if you don't mind telling..., what is the official source of this info.

Thanks

SebringSilver

So what did you do (or are going to do) with your SLK55?