JamE55

Yes sir! Maybe we can do a comparison run? Actually might be dropping by one of these days over there for my B service i think. Have you driven the car itself and if so what do you think? Also be hearing a lot of rave(good ole V8 muscle car sound) on the cars sound when it's on idle?

juicee63

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Merce...spagenameZWDVW

Seems there are other black series auctions

xlr8ion

To pay over sticker for one of these is so stupid.Its a mercedes.

CynCarvin32

Well I just did some checking on the availability on the BS cars. There was an availability of 110 cars right now including cars on the water and in production. Granted some are sold but not many show sold in the status.

38 BS CLK's are in the west coast region right now unsold. Some cars my have been ordered and pre-sold BUT since 38 are on the ground and not picked up that says something.

3 local dealerships to me have 2 or more in stock. All asking over sticker and not selling. One sold for a crazy price and I see the guy ripping around in it daily but that is the only one around that sold really.

So to pay ANYTHING over sticker let alone 40-50k is simply insane. No disrespect to the two guys here who are working to make a living selling cars but this car wont be special much longer so get rid of them. I know they dont make the rules and they don't set the pricing so of course they must do as the firm dictates.

I love the car but I am sitting back watching sales and thinking maybe the move to make is C63 BS in 9 months time is the way to go. Or just a plain Jane C63 P30 is the real deal of the day. A C63 Wagon P30 would make me smile. But that RS6 Advant is nice too.

38 cars in the west coat region unsold. Thats not something to bid 50k over sticker. Make a few calls and you will get one of these cars under sticker by the weekend.

spifffs

i agree i had 2 cars on order ORDER went into fletcher jones on the 25th test drove the car loved it and was ready to buy when they informed me that they would not sell me the car that i had put a deposit on in march for less that 10k over sticker...needless to say i said F#&k you and left. i have another on order that has a build day of october 1st and will arrive nov ish. my gut is telling me that by then i could get the car from the other dealer for UNDER sticker (seing as how these cars that have been here for about 2 weeks arent moving) and to be honest i loved this car when i drove it but thought it should be worth 110k sticker no more and i would gladly pay it but i am with you. unless i can pick that bs up for around 130 and get it under sticker in november there are better cars out there for the money.

Jim Brady

C63 Black??? Don't think so. If you want a dual purpose street and track, can't build one much cheaper with this kind of engineering. Window is fair, but the buzz has made stealers greddy. Some dealers declined deposts on cars believing that they can get more. Fletcher Jones can sell all they can get at window. I'm sure the rust blelt will have cars at or below window in December.

Jim Brady

Spifffs
Was the car you test drove the one you ordered or was it an allocation that became available? Normally, Fletcher doesn't sell over window on cars that you order. My car was at window and its a euro delivery with some additional perks.

CynCarvin32

I fully understand the costs that go into making a dual purpose car. I went through making a C32 that could with 996TT's with decent drivers and it took changing just about everything on the car. Was it logical no but its kind of fun having a 4 door that can play with heavy hitters at the track. I know given equal drivers etc the sports car could win but the lap times SMGC32 and my self ended up with were quite impressive. Just saying i well understand the stress racing puts on a car and what it takes to make the car function well in that environment.

The BS CLK is a great vehicle and I think I would enjoy it greatly but not at the current pricing. I just have a hunch that it will be a very cheap car to pick up 18 months from now. But I also understand you cant put a price on having a car that you love to drive daily so if the car fits your needs by all means go get one for sticker or a tad less and enjoy it every waking second.

With all that said I still think 138k is a tad (but right in the market for a track ready sports car) high and 40k over window is just plain wrong.

The president of AMG has said a C63 bs is on the was so I think we should expect that with in 1 year after the release of the normal C63. There is also a SL BS in the works as well.

fickleone

All these prognostications about value and future value may be nothing more than bench engineering and wishful thinking, and are useless. It's a car and not an Investment. Is the consumption of the pleasure (if you chose afford it) worth the price of admission?.

It would be nice if everyone who had an opinion or prediction about the future of the car would go drive one. It just might influence your opinion and maybe even open up a mind or two!

If there is any "slowness" to the sale of the car it is most likely due to a combination of a) Poor marketing by MB or b) Greed on the part of the Dealers.

Once performance oriented enthusiasts discover and experience the performance and capability of this car they will disappear quickly, especially since so few are being made. This car hits a lot of sweet spots on the road to automotive nirvana!

Don't hesitate to drive it, and come back to share the "informed" perspective and added insight, which might add some value for the readers.

Soon2bMB

i cant wait to see this car in person! it is going to be insane!!

hakaida442

If this car was priced at $110k it would move a lot quicker. $130k is near gt3rs pricing and the hardcore track guys will almost always go for that first.

spifffs

the car i ordered was and ORDERed allocation i was the 3rd on fletchers list, i am no billionaire and this was my first car over 100k that i have ever tried to buy. so when i went in to fletcher jones i HAD to finance the car i wanted to put 20-30% down, roughly about 40,000.00. when i spoke to the finance manager he said for any new cars sold between now and december that are over 100k they will need 50% down wether its a lease or finance... to say the least i was pissed and frustrated and asked why. their answer was "because of the real estate market and sub prime loans, fletcher jones has recieved 44 VOLUNTARY reposessions on cars over 100k where they could not afford the payments and handed the car back in, which he said was the HIGHEST IN THIER HISTORY) so that now all dealers are being very tight with thier car loans. well unlike the guy who wrote two messages below me or so that said "you should just buy the car if you love it not for the investment" or whatever i dont have 75k to put down on a car i am only 24!~ so i said what if i give you 50k they said DONE... so i was ready to cut them a check for 50,000.00 right there and they said o by the way even though you ordered this car and its our policy to never sell an ordered car over sticker....since you cant come up with 50% down we are charging you 10k over sticker. now maybe this was because of my age or lack of car buying experience but i most certainly got bent the fu#k over on this one, so i bailed on the car and have another one on order at laguna niguel with an oct 1 build date. F$%k FLETCHER JONES!

CynCarvin32

The dealership has no reason to charge extra due to the terms of the deal. Were the 44 cars taken back for people who could not get qualified or were the that were repo'd during the term of the lease of financing? I can understand that they are worried people wont qualify for financing once they shop the deal to banks but that should not in any way require 50% down.

No one should tell you how to finance the car and they are just being rude due to your age. To ask for 50% down on a lease is insane as you are just pre-paying your payments.

Take the car from laguna and be happy. Fletcher is being insane.

Banks set the regulations for these deals not the dealership. They just sell cars and then try to make something on the back side with financing. In the end they were just trying to make a ton of money financing the car to compensate for the lack of over sticker on the sale. You made the right move.

You could have a car this week financed to your terms if you made a few calls I bet. If you have good credit buying a car is a no brainer.

Soon2bMB

that is bs from Fletcher! wow i cant believe that happened man, sorry to hear about that.

bfnnrgn

There's a silver CLK BS sitting on the showroom at Ewing Autohaus in Plano, TX if anyone is interested. Didn't ask about price, not my cup of tea. It seems like these will be like the 65s where if you wait a year you can get one for $80k off sticker with only a few 1000 miles.

CynCarvin32

that is my exact feeling on the car. CL65 W215 pricing in 1.5 years

spifffs

thanks for the support guys, i will take your advice in stride and we will see what laguna niguel has to offer me in november. does anyone in this thread own or will own a black series???

spifffs

o and the 44 cars were voluntary repo's that the customers could not pay for so they turned in the cars, that was straight from the finance managers mouth and those wer 44 cars in 1 MONTH!!!!! this sub prime thing must have killed alot of orange county careers and budgets.

neilbo75

1.5 years? Try six months. The BS is a breakthrough car for MB but has limited market appeal. Keep in mind that MB ruled out importing the regular 63 Coupe because of thin sales ... even though it has essentially the same engine as the BS (the quicker acceleration of the BS is more a function of its different drive ratio), AND it adds a back seat AND it sells for far less. Moreover, the 63 BS is NOT a one shot deal. MB will keep building this car as long as there are orders. And, unlike the CL 65, the motor can and will be improved.

The new C63 has more or less the same front end suspension set up as the CLK 63 BS. It is getting rave reviews in the press. AMG has done it's homework well and it looks like this is way all AMGs are going to be set up in the future -- M-like handling, but more horsepower.

It's very good news...unless you were the chump who paid over sticker to get the first of the 21st century AMGs.

magwheel

I guess I qualify for that question! How can I be of help to you? Magwheel

fickleone

I do, and I think it is a fair value for the package. AMG by limiting the "Black Series" and providing a special package has already made it a success. When you think about it, they have to if they want to (and obviously they do) introduce other cars in the Black Series. If this one bombs (which it won't..it's too good) they have a failed strategy and they will have really tanked the AMG (non Black Series ) even further.. if that's possible!

I had a lot of negatives towards MB (heavy, lumbering, high torque, no handling, etc.) and the Black Series changed that perception and wowed me..big time. So for me, the car was good enough to turn negatives into positives despite it's price tag. I don't think I am particularly unique and many others will share the same feelings and joys about the car.

I will enjoy while I own it and already it is a fair value, so there is only upside!

Vic55

So how is it that you raced Red Mongoose in his jeep if you didnt take delivery of the car? Your post is today but Red Mongoose raced a Black on 09/04 that you claim was yours??? You have been called out on another thread by Husk323 and I hope you are not a poser cause we dont need that crap here:

Red Mongoose races a BS on 09/04

Jim Brady

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience at Fletcher, mine was just the opposite and they asked if I wanted to put the minimum down on a lease, however your plight is exactly what I experienced at two Porsche dealers when I tried to buy a GT3 RS. I was number one and two at seperate dealers. Car comes in, NOW its 40K over window.. That's when I decided to buy a CLK63 BS.

FWIW, I don't care about the resale, as I'm going to track the car. I've built enough do it yourself change everything cars for the track and know this is the real deal. I pick mine up at Affalterbach (AMG factory) on 10/4/07 then its to the Sachsenring Circuit to drive the p..s out of it. I also get the use of AMG techs for three days to set up the car.

Jimmy

CynCarvin32

I dont doubt cars are being given back but that does not affect the dealership after the financing is placed in the hand of the lender. Once the lender accepts the package the dealership is out of the question unless they were fraudulent in the data provided in the package.

So why would the 44 cars taken back have anything to do with new sales. Assuming the story is correct they are just trying to make more money in the deal by pulling the sheets over your head.

Fletcher sounds pretty dishonest assuming this is all true because the lender sets the rules not the dealership Now if these new regulations were lender imposed that would be a total different story but I know that is not the case.

Germancar1

I'm surprised some here think such a limited production car will drop 80K off MSRP in a year with a few miles. I can't see that with only 350 of them coming here, unless Mercedes gets greedy and greatly exceeds that number. I doubt there will even be a 2009 model. I think prices will hold on this particular AMG.

M