mictheway

Hi everyone I am newbie here in MBworld.
I came back from dealer today after driving a arctic white and black leather. They gave me a price of $3000 off MSRP. The car has Premium 2 Launch Package and Appearance package.
I have a few question here and hopefully get some good advices from you..
1) Is the price good?
2) Do I need the tire/wheel insurance as I noticed that it has 18" tires.
3) The car has about 100 miles on the odo. Should I take it or ask them to find or build a new one?
4) Is there any major known issue on this car?
5) Anything else you would advice me to keep an eye on?

Thank you for your time and advices.

BenzMan369

Welcome to the forum.

Dealer pricing is highly variable, as is the quality of dealers themselves and their service depts. I'm fortunate in that I found a good one 12 years ago and won't go anywhere else.

Last June I ordered and received a 2012 E350C with - at the time - the new-to-the-U.S. red leather interior. It was the first car with this color combo to hit the U.S.

Despite all of this early, fleeting exclusivity I received a 7% discount from MSRP, plus destination charge, with very little negotiation. I was also given fair value on my trade, although that took a bit more haggling. The car was delivered in August as ordered, with no $$$ surprises.

-7% is the so-called Invoice Price. Some dealers will tell you it's -6%, but that actually includes a 1% charge for dealer marketing fees, etc. and is fully negotiable. I haven't been keeping up with market trends but, if it were me, I would at least try for -7%. If you're a skilled negotiator you can probably do even better, especially if you find a car in the dealer's current inventory that you like, rather than order one.

I am not a fan of special warranties, but after reading so many horror stories on these forums about the 18" wheels and tires vs. poor road conditions, I did take the warranty. If you never use it, then it's overpriced. If you live in my area and plan to keep the car for the full 4 year duration of the warranty, you're almost certain to need it eventually, especially after a bad winter. The roads here are often not well maintained. The MB tires-wheels warranty is liberal and very comprehensive.

I'm not aware of any major issues. Just the usual type of thing with Mercedes: the car has so much equipment and so many electronics and other systems that it is possible you will have more issues than with a simpler car. A good dealer who respects you and wants your business again, combined with the MB warranty and a top notch service department, will make life - and even issues - a pleasure for you. Mine sure does.

Some concern has been expressed about the longterm reliability of the new Direct Injection engines, given the quality of U.S. fuels, but I'm not concerned. The improvement in performance as compared to the 2011 and prior models is remarkable and makes the "risk," if any, more than worth it.

With the Appearance Package, you will have a noticably harder ride quality. On good roads it's serene. On poor roads, you'll be constantly reminded you bought the Appearance Package. But there's no way I could buy this car with the smaller wheels and tires from the standpoint of appearance. And the stiffened suspension does inspire great driver handling confidence, at least compared to my previous cars. Some have said changing out the tires from the Pirelli P Zero Nero OEM's can improve the ride. I haven't tried that - yet.

As to the mileage on the car you're looking at, I'm sure you've asked them why. Perhaps the car was driven there from another dealership? As long as it's in brand new condition and you're getting a new Title and full new car warranty, I wouldn't worry. Perhaps it could provide some justification for further $$$ negotiation, espcially if you tell them you'd rather order a fresh car from the factory.

Hopefully others here will provide additional perspective. We all have our own opinions.

Good luck and please keep us informed how things go.

mictheway

Thank you very much for the in depth and informative advice. I will certainly counteroffer -7% off MSRP.

How much would the tire/wheel insurance cost?

dsayed

I'd also look at the price curve on truecar.com

http://www.truecar.com/prices-new/me...class-pricing/

BenzMan369

Although it's from MB, dealers are apparently free to charge what they want. I paid $1,200.00. I'm told it's negotiable, but I didn't try.

On the face of it, that's way too much money. But if you live in an area like mine with an abundance of poor roads, a single incident can cost about as much as the insurance.

It covers both wheels and tires for four years, even if you accidentally cause the damage yourself, like banging into a curb, etc., and there's no stated limit on number of incidents. If a wheel cannot be restored to its original condition it's replaced with a new one.

CORRECTION: The policy duration is 60 months. My cost was $1,199.00.

mis3

I am curious. Since the dealership would send out the damaged wheel for repair, it would take days. Do they lend you a wheel/ tire to drive at the meantime?

dsayed

I imagine they'd have Sameday or a similar mobile PDR/wheel repair come out and patch it up if possible and if not order a new wheel.

mis3

For painted wheels, they can repaint it on site. For polished wheels, they have to bring it back to their shop. This may take days.

Keep in mind that I pay $120-150 to repaint a wheel.

BenzMan369

I asked my service advisor about this. He said they would either provide a substitute wheel and tire or a loaner car. He said that, depending on the type of damage, they can often have repairs made or replacements provided "quickly."

Note that this is the policy where I purchased the car. I have a long standing relationship with them and they really do bend over backwards providing customer service.

Were an incident to happen on the road away from home I guess you're at the mercy of the available dealership.

Skimming through the policy, I didn't notice any wording about this.

mis3

As I recall, my dealsership has a guy to go by the dealership to repair scratched wheels. I know the guy and he would come to my house for the repair.

For regular wheels, they would repair them on the spot and the process takes about an hour. For wheels with polish lips, they have to bring it back to their shop and return it the next day. If the wheels are bent, it would take even longer.

So, the policy is great only if the dealership offers loaner wheel!

Newbie_2_MB

I bought my E350 at the end of December and got a good deal at $6,300 off MSRP. I also bought the tire/wheel package as I, too, have the Appearance Package. I paid $1,400 for the tire/wheel insurance.

I also have P2 and love everything about the car! I have a little over 4K miles on it and no problems at all. My previous MB was a 2007 GL 450 and I had 70,000 trouble-free miles with that vehicle.

BenzMan369

Your picture shocked me for a split second. I have one somewhere (couldn't find it) of my E350C parked in almost the exact same setting, camera angle, distance, driveway type, lawnmower tracks (?) on the grass and all.

Sounds like you negotiated an excellent deal.

I too love the car and zero issues thus far. My kidneys are still angry with me for getting the sport suspension though. Some of the roads around here are terrible, despite an unusually mild winter.

Continued good luck and enjoyment with your car.