Vash

I sent you a pm.

It sounds like you're going to make out good regardless. The 599 is beautiful. Saw one at a local gas station. His buddies were in a GT3 RS and an SL65.

Kudos.

GrnLantern

Thanks, Vash. I won't be getting a 599 at the moment, though.

Still trying to get this BS BS sorted out.

(The one at the dealership you mentioned is marked up over $40k. Not going to work for me, I'm afraid. Thanks, though. )

jtrichel

There are matte blacks available. At least two at sticker that I know of. On lots now. Not sure they have the options you are looking for, though.

callmiro

599's are irrelevant with the F12 coming....hope you get the BS!

GrnLantern

Hit me with them, if you don't mind. At this point, I've opened up to Matte Black as an option (Diamond White, Obs Black, Matte Black, in that order are my color choices). As for options, right now, all I want is the P98 Black Series package. Everything else is gravy.

GrnLantern

Also, re-escalated my case to MBUSA.

Still, expecting nothing to come out of this, and by October I will *not* be driving a BS. Expecting the worst, at this point.

I should've been less picky with colors/options when I first started this search. :\

rory breaker

So when you sent your letter to Cannon did a rep from MBUSA call you or did the dealer contact you "after being notified by ___"?

GrnLantern

First letter sent to Stephen Cannon a couple nights ago. Got a follow-up call from a rep at MBUSA yesterday morning (no emails back from Cannon or MBUSA yet, though). The Rep said he'd try to work things out with the Sales Mgr and General Mgr. The Sales Mgr called me up and said he'd try to work things out with the GM (he was not apologetic at all for putting me in this unfortunate position). No replies until late late, I pinged the Sales Mgr by email. He replied late last night with the note I included above about things being final and the GM being firm on his decision.

Re-emailed Stephen Cannon (and fwded him the updated email thread) this morning.

I still need to call up the MBUSA Rep (I have an SR# / a case open) to let him know what the Sales Mgr (and by proxy, the GM) at this dealership said to me last night.

At this point, I doubt I'll be getting this car specifically since that dealership is unwilling to sell it to a willing and able buyer.

Hoping I can find another alloc/incoming car elsewhere should someone back out of their deal. Or MBUSA can do some magic.

GrnLantern

Oh and both the dealerships mentioned in this thread have solid Yelp and DealerRater reviews. When all of this settles down, I will be writing a lengthy and honest review of both of them.

I really hate that it's come to this, but as an MB owner (and strictly an AMG one, at that), I'm not feeling like a welcome customer at all.

rory breaker

Yep, and I'm sure you are communicating that to Cannon. Got to think he will come through.

GrnLantern

Indeed. In my re-escalation this morning, I mentioned how "welcome" I feel. (Didn't mention the Yelp/DealerRater reviews, though.)

Also, just left the MBUSA Rep assigned to my case some voicemail (I have no way of emailing him directly, unfortunately).

GrnLantern

Latest update...

After calling / emailing lots of people over the past 4 days, I heard from the GM of Mercedes of Chicago that they're getting one more allocation. (I was under the impression all allocations were assigned already, but I didn't inquire further.)

After getting ready to drop down a deposit and send them my spec, I get this:

At least my interaction with them was pleasant and professional (they didn't promise me anything, then pull out the rug). But still, this has been extremely frustrating.

Still looking. *sigh*

CoolBDPhenom03

Money is money...what kind of rule is that? It's not LAW. Fly over there and drop your deposit in their lap...see what they say then.

GrnLantern

I agree. But this is coming from the General Manager himself, and with how my experience has been with MB dealers (as detailed in this entire thread), I'm not comfortable taking a day off work and burning a roundtrip ticket to Chicago only to be turned away by the guy who runs the entire dealership. Plus, I'm sure he knows that he can easily sell it to someone local. He, unfortunately, doesn't need my money... and it's clear that he doesn't care to build a relationship with me (it's hard for a random stranger to know how loyal I am with respect to dealerships).

CoolBDPhenom03

What about calling MB North America? I mean it's just one dealership that operates in a national organization, right? Selling a BS isn't like selling any old MB. If you want to buy it, and it's available for sale, then it should be yours if no one else is in line for it. I still don't see why it has to be more complicated than that.

GrnLantern

I couldn't agree more. I've already been in touch with MBUSA.

As MBUSA will tell you (and it's unfortunately true), because dealerships are independently owned, there's only so much MB Corporate can do. In theory, they can assert influence by reducing future allocations for infractions, but I don't think my situation qualifies for something that severe under their guidelines.

CoolBDPhenom03

Is the GM aware of your saga? I'm no legal expert, but can't you file for an injunction? There are no laws that say they can't sell it to you...maybe you just need to force their hand?

GrnLantern

The GM is who sent me that message above, unfortunately.

Technically, by law, no one has to sell me anything. All private businesses can refuse business to anyone. (In most states, anyway?)

CoolBDPhenom03

True, but you could prevent them from selling it to anyone else, right? I hope the GM understands how bad this may make him look, especially in this community.

GrnLantern

Yeah, perhaps. Unfortunately I don't know enough about consumer laws to navigate this myself. And I don't really wish to involve an attorney in this endeavor. I'd rather the purchase process be pleasant, despite all the pain I'm going through to get to that stage.

Vic55

Dealers will hold out on this car all day for the best price. Its just not that soft.... yet.

and being in this business for over 20 years, good luck at holding a dealer accountable for selling the car at a certain price... there is no law. Now the factory can be quite persuasive on selling cars at msrp but dealers will find ways to markup. I dont see the BS as being a factory msrp limited car...

GrnLantern

Indeed.

Extremely frustrating.

vmx128

Just curious - Why do you want a C63BS so bad? I know it's a very desirable car, but you are going through way too much stress for it. With quite a few amazing cars on the horizon, I am sure you can spend that money on something else that you will enjoy as much if not more.

How about the 2013 Viper instead? The BS cannot match the drama of this car, and with the highly upgraded Ferrari level interior, it may not be a bad option. I know I drool over it! If the Viper is not for you, how about buying something cheaper that will distract you till the next special car appears? The BS is hot right now, but it will cool down pretty fast as soon as the next hot AMG shows up.

In the end, I understand how easy it is to get obsessed with a car, but I'm not sure if it's worth the roller coaster you are going through. Someone who is in the market for a $120k at MSRP needs to be treated with a bit more respect.

GrnLantern

I'm inspired by the C63BS, I'm not inspired by the Viper (yet). That may change in the future, but for now, I want a C63BS. I'm a die hard AMG fan; not quite a die hard SRT / Viper fan yet.

It's only not just purely about performance (if it was, I'd simply get a GT-R -- an incredible beast, in its own right).

CoolBDPhenom03

Fine. But it sounds like the dealer doesn't want to sell the car outside of his region. I'm a sales guy, so I get it. You sell a car to your locals to build relationships and win repeat business. But this isn't a regular car. If a buyer is willing to pay the dealer price, then geography shouldn't be a factor.