CLA45MYGOD

Just came from dealer, this CLA45 AMG has 54k MSRP. Over email the sales rep straight out said if I'd buy it for 50k... I went into see it in person.

I found out it has 1800 miles and dealer called it a brass hat car. There was a red CLA45 as well and it was also brass hat car. What is a brass hat car?

It looked mint. I feel like I can get an amazing price on this if he dropped price to 50k over email, I should offer 45k and settle in between.

Any thoughts, help? Thanks!

dtc100

Brass hat is a high ranking officer. Those are managers' demos.

J_Maher_AMG

You've already received the most logical advice from the same thread you posted on MercedesCLA.org. Why repost it here?? I can only assume that you are very seriously thinking about buying the car, and hoping to receive some form of 'approval' here that it is the correct decision to make.

Dude, you know that car has been driven hard early on; gone through it's fair share of racestarts and showing off to buying customers and other sales staff/buddies alike.

In my honest opinion it makes no sense to settle for this car when there are so many 45's sitting on dealer lots Brand New, with only delivery miles on them. Those cars you can also negotiate better than MSRP, and while you might not get to the same price as you stated, you also don't have to accept that risk that something may have been damaged or harmed to reduce long term reliability.

Not a smart idea. And don't believe a word they say if they say they never went WOT or performed any race starts.. They are salesmen and will tell you anything to seal the deal. End of the day, you are just a walking talking cheque book to them.

Edit: "Looking mint" doesn't tell you anything about the condition of the car. You can take any relatively new car and do a half *** detail job in a few hours to make it look 'mint'. It wouldn't be the paint I would be worried about, but rather how the mechanical parts like the transmission and engine and turbo were broken in and how harshly they were treated.

CLA45MYGOD

I made the threads at the same time. I went and test drove another cla. This one i liked bettee. It is 1k more msrp but has panaroma roof and isnt a brass hat. I will lease this car. So it being brass hat doesnt really matter, does it?
And by the time i decide that to keep it i will know if it has been abused or no...?

Though if the price gonna be 2-3k different, id get a brand new for sure. Im just gonna hassle and see if i can lease the brasshat at 45k.

Thanks!

P3T3

If you're having thoughts of keeping it in the end, no.

VividRacing

Maybe if you can get it this one 45k. I would prefer getting a new one. But ask yourself what is a couple thousand worth to you in the end.

Sue Esponte

First, the 45 is a horrible lease...unless something materially changed on MB's end. The numbers vs. financing make no sense. Any decent salesperson will tell you that. I've spoken to more than a few who agreed.

Second, "brass hat" is just a nice way of saying "*** hat." It's a car that's been beaten up. Get the car you want. If the *** hat car is the one you really want and you're committed to leasing then just make sure the term/mileage doesn't exceed the warranty period. If you're lucky enough not to have problems with it that might result from the abuse it received while driven by the prior owner then great. If you don't mind spending time behind the wheel of another car while you're dealer is handling those problems even better.

Best of luck with whatever you do!

-Eric

Sue Esponte

Just read further on...if you're thinking about keeping it then 1. Do not lease it and buy after -- that's a REALLY big mistake. 2. Avoid the *** hat car.

-Eric

PeterUbers

A Manager driven car is a great reason for me NOT to buy that car

At least someone who buys the car may take some care of it.... A salesman or manager has no reason to take care of anything but the cosmetics

CLA45MYGOD

Thanks for insight everyone.

I am not sure how much lease vs buying payments will differ.

My initial thought is to lease because I'd be paying somewhere between 100-200 less.

I am looking at a 59k MSRP model right now. If I can negotiate to 55k(everything included), I will put 5k down and buy it.

If I can't. there is a 55k msrp model. Which I plan to negotiate to 51k everything included, again put 5k down and buy it at 45k.


What would be my monthly estimates be? buy vs lease in each scenario?

kickR

What do you mean by everything included?
Why don't you just go to the dealer, get some figures, and ask here if they are any good?

CLA45MYGOD

i mean out the door price. I will be going on sunday.

kickR

I highly doubt you will get even close to your price expectations, but let us know how it went

fabbrisd1

Interesting thread - so you know "brass hat" means Mercedes factory plates/never registered - which means "really" it was a car used by Mercedes US for press purposes - has nothing to do with executives/personnel at the dealership... brass-hat is more often used as a West Coast term....

Expecting to "negotiate" $4K off MSRP for a "new" CLA45 might readjust their expectation.... if you can get $4K off a "brass hat" and "price" is your issue, then by all means go for it..

Cal

Cars used for press purposes, demo purposes, (and those provided to reviewers) are probably even worse. For the cars used for demo/display (like at auto shows), think about the thousands of times people have opened doors, sat in them, played with every single button, etc. The ones that are also provided to reviewers (or driving events) have also been abused while driving/testing. If you're buying (and not leasing), I would steer clear and FAR away from these cars, regardless of discount. They're even less desirable than the ones driven by GMs/execs for a few months.

CLA45MYGOD

Definitely not getting a brass hat, even though dealer called me and wanted to settle for even less than 50k for it. Now I want the moon roof, exhaust AND the color(white) i want for sure.

White shows so much more detail compared to black, its not even close.

I got the car I wanted to 54k from 58k(not out the door price). It was received by dealer less than a month ago.This literally has every cool gadget/color I want. 19 inch rims, performance exhaust and panorama roof.

I ended up walking away though, because I had a gut feeling that they are going call me and go even go lower. and give me an out the door price for 54k...It is a bit over the budget I had in mind. I was initially planning to make deal on 55k one but I cant find one with specs I want.