MarcusBenz

Hey guys!! It has been a while since my last post and that is due to my new position at the dealership. I am quite a bit more busy however, I wanted to let everyone know that I am still here to assist with any questions or your buying process when I can do so. It may take me a little longer to respond, but I will do my best to get back in touch as soon as possible. Now, the other reason that I am posting this thread is to let everyone know that we have an available CL65 on the showroom floor in Flint Grey/Charcoal and it has Parktronic & Keyless go. The MSRP on this one is $183,360 & it can be yours at that price & no additional dealer premium. Please feel free to e-mail or call me if you are interested & nationwide shipping is available!!

ajf1

You are still selling them for MSRP? Thats no deal I know of at least two cars that can be had for at least $12,000 off msrp. Even SL 65's are $3,000-$4000 off MSRP. They are all good colors (silvers and blacks). Even the SLRs are going for $40-$50k over list now. By summer they will be had for sticker. I guess the southern california market is still tight for these cars.

MarcusBenz

Wow!! That much off sticker sounds like a great deal, but you won't even come close to that out West. In fact, we just sold an SL65 last night for about $8k over sticker.

Schiznick

CL65's for under MSRP yes, SL65's where? The only SL65 I have heard of for under MSRP is a Red one in Tampa and it still has not sold.

So, where are theses SL65's selling for 3 to 4K off MSRP?

And where can I get an SLR for less than 500K?

shoes

Every dealer here in the SF Bay area has at least one CL65 on their lots and some have three. You can buy them back of MSRP without breathing hard. The SL65 is a little more scarce, but there are at least one per dealer and MSRP is a no brainer, possibly a couple grand off. The SLR is still scarce.

CynCarvin32

People are trying to off - load all CL65 ASAP for the car goes out of production soon. The SL65 is over priced as is the SLR. Almost every so-cal dealership has an SLR in the window and NONE are selling. SL65 are going for sticker but there is no chance of a CL65 selling at sticker. If someone pays that much they dont know where to put thier money

Now everyone tell me... if there are 7 SLR's that I know of in California and NONE are selling is the asking price not = to market value? Something tells me the cars will all sell for sticker. If I walked into one of those dealerships with a check for sticker I bet I could drive the SLR home that day. 486k for that car is a bit much. Porsche GT's are 440k or less these days and its far more exotic and rare. They all wanted 200k over window for the first SLR's but they are all having trouble getting 50k over window. Sticker price is market value for the SLR. Sorry but thats the truth!

rguy

Am I the only one that thinks dealer markup on new cars is beneath the Mercedes brand? Seriously, dealers (especially mercedes dealers) are doing to car brands what the players did to major league baseball with the strike. The only thing I think of when I see that a car has dealer markup is what poor ethics the sales team or GM has and that they won't have to worry about me ever buying a car from them of any kind.

Marcusbenz, your team compromised their ethics to get a lousy eight grand over sticker on a 185K+ car? That is greedy indeed. You guys must be pretty hard up if you have to go ***** out for a lousy eight grand.

By the way, does MBUSA know what your dealership is doing? Last I heard, dealers were getting docked allocation for stunts like this...that is unless of course you guys sold it to a "friend" for a few miles and now claim it is a used car. Slimey tactics if you ask me.

The only people who are harming brands more than the unethical dealerships are the guys who pay over sticker for these cars and perpetuate the cycle. I am done preaching now, but something about this just turned my stomach.

victoryroad

I'm with CynCarvin32 and rguy on this. AMG has made so many cars that they are simply not exclusive. OK, the SLR will be exclusive, but the Carrera GT would be the far better value, especially at a lower MSRP. It would also be a lot more fun to drive. I am very impressed by my 03 CL55 in every repsect, but there are too many of them around. Looks like MB is pressing very hard given its laclluster financial performance and is, sadly, devaluing its brand.

MBZFAN55

Amen, and you are not the only one who thinks that way. I realize that "money talks" and that some MB dealers can't pass up the quick buck. I also realize that I have been buying Mercedes for over 20 years and that I buy during good and bad times, hot sellers and slow sellers. I hope that during the leaner times, these slick dealers get paid back.

mjr24

MSRP is just that, a suggested retail price. If you do not want to pay it, then do not pay it. I certainly don't think Marcus' dealer is greedy because they charged 8k over MSRP, someone still bought it, didn't they? I also don't think the guy who paid it cares much that he spent an extra 8k for a car that was already $180k, money is relative to people like that. What would the point of having a car dealer be if every car was sold at MSRP? People could just buy them online for the MSRP and be done.

rguy

People do buy them online for MSRP and be done with it. Some people buy them for less than MSRP online. Generally, only silly people buy cars for over MSRP anywhere.

And anybody who says that $8k doesn't mean anything and isn't real money, either doesn't have any money or soon won't. An empire gets built one dollar at a time, let alone 8k at a time.

And I think almost everyone will agree that at 180k the car is already overpriced and pushing what is appropriate.

mjr24

I did not say $8k did not mean something. To people who make millions of dollars a year though, no, $8k does not mean anything on a car that is already $180k. That is 5%. Some people have 2 Ferraris, a couple Benzes and a Range as their junker. They aren't going to wait because of $8k.

rguy

I beg to differ and I maintain my previous statements. But, I will concede that there are silly people at all income levels. However, for you to maintain that, as a whole, people who make millions of dollars a year don't care about eight thousand dollars is absurd and foolish.

By the way, why are you defending this practice? Do you like paying more than Mercedes intended for you to pay?

If you aren't paying over sticker for your cars now, trust me, by supporting this practice you soon will be. For the record though, Mercedes Benz frowns upon this heavily, and I think they know more about the psychology of multi-millionaires and other demographics than you do.

mjr24

I am into free enterprise, if you can get it, go for it. Selling a car over MSRP is certainly not an act of the devil in my book. At the same time, I hate stupid people and they annoy me more than anything in the world. If people are stupid enough to pay it, then jeez, let them, it doesn't effect the normal buyer. Hell, I think anyone who buys a car over $50k brand new is stupid, they depreciate WAY too much. Besides, I don't think you see the real fraud.....if you dislike the over MSRP practice, how about the fact that the MSRP is probably 10x what the car cost to be built, as with every car....now, which is the REAL IMMORAL act? MB is probably already making $25k profit on a $50k car if you bought it at MSRP.

Kar don

Flagship mercedes-benz in Lynnfield, MA is selling their CL65 for 10k off MSRP! It was in today's paper.

rguy

There is no way in hell that mercedes is making 25k on a 50k car. Their R and D is extremely expensive, they crash test more extensively than anyone else in the world that I can think of right now, they use expensive materials and expensive labor, and they have one of the best warranties around. Try taking in a honda civic and telling them a foglight burnt out prematurely. They won't cover it, they will just laugh at you. They will invest well over a billion to bring a car to market. Their profit margin is adequate, but it isn't equal to the cost of manufacture. I appreciate that you have taken the leap to owning a mercedes, but I think you would find joy and satisfaction in learning more about your vehicle's history and birth.

rguy

AlBoston,

All I have to say is: exactly.

amdeutsch

I believe that this point is at the heart of everything. The reality of this is that it will affect even downstream buyers. The good old trickledown theory. On a $ amount it will not equal; but on a % amount it will most definitely have a chance. In addition to this not everyone has the luxury of having multiple stealerships within a reasonable driving distance. A few states that come to mind are: SD, ND, OK, AK, etc. I even believe that WIS and the boondocks of ILL fit that bill. (j/k)

05CL55

I still remember in 2001 MBZ "55's" were selling for 20K over MSRP. The differnce between now an then is that. "SELLING". They were selling them the same day they PDI'd them. Now they still expet that, but everyone has said to themselves, "they got us then, they're not getting us now." Especially since they see waaaaay more 55's now, then back then. And the cars are not selling for over MSRP. I was a premium payer....they got me. But back then, you paid premium, or the guy breathing down your neck from behind you would, and you would not get a car until you did. At least that's how it was here in Silicon Valley.

mjr24

I may have been extreme in my 25k estimation, but it was to prove a point. They make alot of money off these cars. The point is dealers would not mark these prices up if people quit buying over MSRP, but that will never happen.

rguy

Now that is an extremely sensible answer. My only point was that instead of having dealers brag about overcharging to try to screw anyone who wants to buy product, and the people who let them do it, maybe we should take a stand and just say no. A large portion of the MB community and certainly of the high dollar MB community posts or views here.

As to 05CL55, don't worry....you are still in the screw me once, shame on them phase. Just try not to do it again.

I think the biggest key to not paying over MSRP is ordering from the factory. Most dealers mark up cars on the lot. I order my cars a couple of years ahead of time. That way I don't get panicky when I want to switch cars and I can take my time making the decision and not pay over MSRP.

Nice to see you back on our side.

05CL55

Just got info that Beshoff MBZ of San Jose, CA just sold a silver CLS55 for 25K over MSRP....

hhhmmmmmm

victoryroad

That is amazing about the CLS. A dealer in Boston is advertising a new CL65 for $13,000 off MSRP. I believe that it is Flint Grey.
In the meantime, the aftermarket for AMG's apears to be very soft. I assume that MB built too many AMG's because the Audi RS6, which had a brief production run, is hard to find and prices are full.

rguy

I think they can get the prices all day long. There is a sucker born every minute, present company excluded. I just think it is BS that people pay them.

cracker123

mjr24, Meredes does not make 25k profit on a 50k car, but it easily makes (25k-?) on cars it sells over 100k and profit is relative to the price, on more expensive cars, I would say the profit is probably a exponential curve.

Now lets analyze these R&D costs, Also Mercedes's money spent on R&D is divided on all the cars, becuase they use they use similar techonology on different models, When they make the new S class lot of money spent on new technologies and design will be shared with other cars, I mean they dont need to reinvent the laser crusie control for E,CLK,SL,CL,CLS.