MKW

Check out what's happening in SoCal :
www.imakenews.com/autospies/e_article000141977.cfm

Dema

And no navigation and way to retrofit it. Thank you, make it $5K below and it should happen soon, as only '04 can be ordered.

FInality

Autospies is the national rag of auto information. I remember when they posted the $799 for the 745iL leases but of course I have yet to find someone who got a deal at that price. Or anything below $1000 for that matter.

Tezta

$2K off invoice? Mark im coming for you baby!

infonaut

I personally got one of those 745's and I know a half dozen others who got them for that price.

You had to call a few dealers and haggle but those deals were there.

Just got off the phone with a dealer who said they would match the E-class deal and that everyone has too many in stock.

bfischer

I don't know about $2,000 off invoice, but I just leased a new E500 Sport last weekend. Despite being in relatively short supply (most dealers in my area had none in stock), I got it for about $500 below invoice. I would assume the non-Sports are going at a discount at least as large and probably larger as there are more around.


___________________________

E500 Pewter/Charcoal, E2, E3 (Sport), CD Changer, Launch

NavNut

Interesting... How does this affect negotiations if you are not buying off the lot and negotiating for a special order? I've always heard that orders (especially orders for European delivery) are a boon-doggle for the dealer because he sells a car before it even hits the lot... he has zero cost to cover on financing this ordered car in his inventory for the incredibly short time it is on his hands. Also, I have heard that Euro-Deliveries are well loved by dealerships because they count in their bonuses and help add to their future allocation but do not come out of their current allocation.

Do allocations work on a model by model basis, or are they just based on total sales volume (i.e. - does selling a bunch of extra E's get them more S's or CL's in their allocation the following year?) If it sticks with the model then there isn't much motivation to move a special ordered Euro-delivery E... if it's across classes, then they would still be super-motivated to do it since they would get more of the higher profit margin cars next year...

I don't know about any of this first hand since I've never been a dealer... anyone out there know?

I like the idea on the other thread about our setting up our own dealership... the collective knowledge and understanding of what people want in sales and service would make the place the best MB dealership in the country. I have yet to walk into a dealership where the sales guy knows more about the model he's selling than the car I want to buy. Great salesmanship and service is a thing of the past... Yup, this is like going to Vegas: after a while you find you don't want to pay at the tables, you want to be the house... I've discovered, I don't want an MB, I want an MB DEALERSHIP! Damn...

-NavNut

idworkin

Well, speaking from experience, it is pretty easy to get an E500 at $1000 below invoice. I just purchased an E500, and had multiple dealers agreeing to $1K under (there were also some dealers that wouldn't go less than $1K OVER!!). $2K under was a little more challenging, but at WI Simonson in Santa Monica they're willing to do it. (Last day of the month will help).

I wound up getting a demo - only because they couldn't find any cars that had the equipment I wanted (E1, HK Sound, Pano Roof, Heated Seats, Multi-contour seats, rear window shade) and I needed a car immediately (just sold my lexus).

I was surprised that they were pricing so aggressively at Simonson, but apparently they're trying to move up the food chain in terms of # of cars sold.

The saleswoman I was working with at Simonson was great -- she was very up-front about things, and I didn't have to talk to the manager once :-)

Ira

nyca

this always seems to be a southern california thing. no way this is happening in the NY metro area. if they have too many cars in so. cal, why don't they ship some to NY!

phiv

Would you recommend this salesperson? and what's her name?

Joseesq

I also got a great deal from Simonson in Santa Monica. You can also speak with Hamlet (fleet manager), that is the person I dealt with. Hamlet tells me that he moves about 55 cars per month!! Yes, the dealership does want to be recognized as a volume dealer so you can get a better deal individually and the dealer will make money on the volume of cars sold and not necessarily per car. I was actually just looking at various options and then I started speaking with Hamlet's assistant. Before I knew it I was signing the paper work in less than 30 minutes after I arrived. Tell Hamlet what you want and what you want to pay within reason and he'll do it for you with no BS. Good luck!

steph280

We were in Fletcher Jones Newport Beach today, and they had loads of E500 and E320. Inventory sheet showed over 4-5 pages of E320s.

Didn't try to negotiate price because I wasn't sure if the E-class is what I want yet. I was a bit disappointed by the interior...

-S.

Tezta

I know fletcher jones has boatloads of cars all the time..i had to wait 6 months for my SLK back in Oregon. When i went to Socal and visited Fletcher jones i was totally blown away by how many they had on the lot unspoken for.

Taurian

To bad I can't get an S class under invoice!

ajoe

That 2k below invoice sounds good until you realize that in a few short months you'll be taking a 10-15k hit in depreciated value. If you plan to hold on to the car for a least 4 years then it is a good deal.

Tezta

I bet if you searched hard enough, you might be able to find a 2002 S-class for under invoice...WAY under invoice. If you can find one.

nyca

when will the 2004 E come out? september?

no deals like this on the east coast, why are all these cars sent to CA to sit on dealer lots?

phiv

Dealers get allocations of cars based on their sales history/averages.

Just checked with a local dealer in CA:
- Plenty of E320 and E500,
- 2003 CLK coupes: 1-2 mths wait, waiting list has about 20 names, shorter wait for CLK320.
- 2003/4 CLK cabrio: who knows, may be 4-6 mths, 61 names on the waiting list

NavNut

Yes, but is the allocation based on number of a particular model sold, or is it on total sales dollar volume... and the dealer can then pick the models he wants...

i.e. - if he sells a boatload of E's one year, does that mean he gets a disproportionately larger number of E's the following year, or can he turn that huge number of E's into some requests for S's and CL's?

-NavNut

abhansali

I think MB makes a projection of the number of cars they will sell and how many in each region, and then they give allocations accordingly to the dealers in that area based on their sales history, customer surveys, service quality, etc. Bottom line is that MB projected they would sell more 2003 E's than they have actually been able to move, so the glut of cars. I had heard that they cut back production at the beginning of the year, and I would assume that they may lower production for 2004 also.

This would also explain the ability to "raise" prices for 2004, because since there will be lower supply, the laws of economics mean an increase in demand which can bear a higher price. Also, they will have to increase revenue and margins to make up for the revenue lost due to lower production. As an extreme example, take the extreme case, if they decided to only produce 1 2004 e-class, they would get a lot, lot, lot more than MSRP for the car, even with all the 2003s on dealership lots.

NavNut

That's good information... and exactly what I was trying to get at... basically, that the dealers should be motivated to sell across all models... and just because they have a glut in one model this year, does not necessarily mean that they won't want to make a good deal on a Euro-delivery, special ordered car of that particular model that isn't moving well...

If they only got "rewarded" by more of the same type of car the following year, they would have no motivation to sell extra units of that model car already jamming their lot... but if it cuts across models, as you say, and MBUSA decides what mix of models to bring in and in what proportions, then the dealers should be motivated to deal on any model type.

-NavNut

nyca

that may work for Ferrari: make 1000 cars when you know you can sell 1500, then charge what you want. But it won't work for a car that has competition in the segment from all other makes and models. Price increases on the 2004 E isn't the answer to slower sales, people will just look at other models. The new 5 series, the new Lexus GS, etc.

That said, if they try it, I may have to move on a 2003. No way is a 2004 E (without the 3.7L engine) worth $2K more absent additional standard equipment like xenons or E1.

pogotango

i don't like my car