kmrjohnson

OK, I've set myself up by using the word "typical". There is no "typical" mark-up because every case is a little different of course. So let me rephrase: What percent below the CPO asking price can I safely open with as an offer without being looked upon as not serious, or not prepared?

The particular outcome, i.e. the answer to my question minus the word "typical", will depend on the position the dealer finds himself in.
But since there is in general no way for me to know how anxious he is to sell, I'd like to start low and work my way up. I'll find out what he is willing to do soon enough.

Is there for example an accessible database somewhere showing what these cars are actually seeling for, other than the Kelley, NADA, KBB books or are they good enough? How do I use them to figure out the answer to my question for a particular car?

All the cars I am looking at are 2007 E350s.

sosh

If you can get hold of a dealer auction result sheet that is published after each weekly auction you will be able to determine what is being paid by dealers. Remember that to CPO a car costs the dealers money and a fee to MB which should be accounted for in your calculations.

kmrjohnson

One angle that has occurred to me would be to compare the spread between the "good" (or should it be "excellent"?) trade-in price from Kelley/NADA/KBB to the CPO asking price and figure a decent profit in there to decide where to start the bid.

Does this sound like the way to go?

(I don't have access to auction data.)

shardul

iTrader: (1)

mark up on CPO mb's are about 3k to 4k

sosh

All of the value books and info are to a point inaccurate. The dealer trade allowance is not a good number to start at. This is due to the fact that you do not know at what number the dealer has booked his trade in. It could be for less than the allowance as some dealers take some of the paper profit on a trade deal and put it against the trade. The dealers do know what every car will sell for and in many cases the asking price is close to that number. There is probobly a 3 to 5 thousand dollar profit on a used late model MB. Dealers usually earn more proft on used than new, in fact new cars for a dealer are usually a break even at best.

kmrjohnson

So for example, using the NADA site, a 2007 E350 4matic sedan with 32000 miles in good trade-in condition would cost the dealer roughly $27,700 to which he will add a $3500 profit to give a selling price (actual) of $31,200, but not counting costs of CPO, let's say $1500, result $32,700.

A more extreme example: same car, mileage only 7000, and excellent trade-in condition (rather than good) costs dealer $34,650, add $3500, gives selling price = $38,150.
Costs of CPO probably negligible in this case.

Am I on the right track here?

kmrjohnson

I was composing that last comment before I saw yours - are you saying that dealers' asking price is very close to the actual selling price?
I thought there was substantial room in many cases, no? If close, how close ?

sosh

I do not believe that you can purchased a used MB that is CPOed from an MB dealer for less than maybe 2 to 3% off of the asking price, if that. Keep in mind also that the CPO costs them more thasn 1500 bucks which is not insignificant. This is usually added on to what they would get if it was sold not CPOed, it is not deducted from the gross profit that they expected.

mcleantmw

Keep in mind, too, that when you buy a CPO vehicle from a MB Dealer, you also are given a one year CPO warranty beyond whatever time is remaining on the original manufacturer warranty............at least that was the case when I bought my CPO vehicle in 2005. And, you also are given the opportunity to buy a one or two year Extended CPO Warranty. These opportunities are not available if a used MB is bought from a non-MB Dealer or private party which obviously adds to the cost of the CPO vehicle purchase price.

gaazmon

The CPO warranty paid for itself in my case when my tranny became contaminated due to glycol. So, I was really glad I bought a CPO car.