BoughtaBenz

Is it possible to order an E500 from California (seems they are getting the best deals), and have it shipped to a dealer near me? The dealer that is near my home (Mercedes of Orland, in Orland Park, Il) is giving me a song and dance about the E500's. He says that it is hard to find a 2003 E500 now, and that they can't deal on them, because of supply and demand. They don't seem to be in short demand in California, where the deals are. I understand that they wo't give me a loaner car if I don't buy it there, but we have another car, so I don't care. I just want the best deal that I can get. Thanks, and sorry for the long post.

bmms8

i am pretty sure you can do that, but they might charge you a delivering fee, so it would probably end up being more expensive

BoughtaBenz

Thanks. When the people on this forum say that they got the car under invoice, do they mean dealer invoice, or MSRP invoice. If it's under dealer invoice, then WOW, did they get a deal.

mbprince

some lucky people have bought for under dealer invoice (which isn't the real cost) most pay somewhere between invoice and MSRP. Once you get a little more friendly with your dealership you may get a better deal. Remember, they will always try to make as much profit as the market will allow!! If you bought a car from CA you would definitely want to go there and see your car, drive it and of course you would have to sign papers. You would pay around 8% state sales tax unless you could convince them to ship the car out of state. You would have to pay for transportation to the destination of your choice. It seems that with every new car I've bought, the salesman always starts out with the 'we can't keep these in stock ..... we don't discount this model ...... bla bla bla ............'. I've learned to completely ignore those kind of statements and get to the heart of the matter which is 'do they want to sell me a car or not!!!' Good luck, this is a time of year to get a good deal on a 2003 as the 2004 MY will be out in 3-4 months. my $.02

BoughtaBenz

Thank You for the info. Would it be better to buy a new 2003, or order a 2004? I don't know what the difference in the cars is, but the 03 will be a year older, and will take a big depreciation hit.
With all of the decisions, this is what I feel like

nyca

You pay no sales tax to CA, because you are not registering the car there (no matter what the dealer tells you, you don't pay sales tax there). Of course, going to see the car or perhaps driving it back home is best, but you would be surprised how many people buy sight unseen. If you have the car delivered, it will come off the truck (covered transport is best, but it costs more) with a 20 day temporary license, and you would get the original certificate of origin for the car, you take that to DMV with your sales contract, pay your local sales taxes, register the car and get your plates. Then, you have to deal with having the car serviced at a dealer you didn't buy it from, that is the real big problem as I see it.

mbprince

I bought an '03 to hold me over 'till they get all the bugs (nav, voice command ...) worked out. Your right about the big hit on buying an 03 now unless you can get it under invoice. I would order an '04 and get the new 7 speed tranny (if your getting the E500). But, if you have money burning a hole in your pocket and can't wait, jump in at any time.

mbprince

nyca, I believe you regarding the sales tax in CA, but every dealer I've dealt with tells me, if I drive it off the lot or take posession in the state of CA, I pay sales tax ......... if I take one step into Neveda or Arizona and they deliver the car ...... no sales tax. How about buying the car in Oregon where there is no sales tax!!!

DKSNY

I live in NY, and have bought cars from dealers in PA, Ohio, and Texas. Had each car delivered to me sight unseen. Each transaction went well, as I had fully evaluated the cars/colors prior to purchase.
With that said, I saw several 2003 E-500's on my dealers lot on Thursday. My expectation is that you could reasonably expect to pay about 5% off MSRP plus delivery for the car, if the savings is about $3,000 and delivery is $1,000.... You can do the math.

Leasing can work the same, with tax calculated in your locality. You could probably get yourself an E500 in your driveway by next friday somewhere below MSRP, but above invoice.

nyca

so did you then pay sales tax again when you registered the car in your home state, or do they have some reciprocal agreement with CA? I've bought cars in NJ and PA, drove them home to NY, no sales tax paid until I got to NY DMV. Buying in Oregon is great only if you can register the car there.

abhansali

I live in TX and am ordering from CA. Right now my deal is $2100 off MSRP, which was negotiated in 11/02. But because of the Navi fiasco, I have never got the car and will get a 2004. I am talking to dealers again to get a better deal, which I expect to get at dealer invoice or lower including shipping. Auite a deal considering in TX deals are < $2K under MSRP.

On the taxes, I have done the research, and as said, you do not pay CA sales tax. But CA law requires the dealer to deliver the car out of state (either via a transport company, or by the dealership personel driving the car out of CA and delivering there). So you can not take delivery in CA and drive the car back to your state. When you get the VIN# of the car, take it to your local DMZ, pay your state's sales tax and registration fees and they will give you temp tags for your car. When your car is delivered, just put them on.

Also, about the service, it is quite common for people to buy cars at a dealer that is not local. For example, I bought my Honda mini-van in San Antonio, but I live in Austin. Never had a problem getting service, I would expect the same from MB. Most dealers service and sales are separated. If this wasn't the case, no one who bought an expensive car would feel comfortable about moving from one city to another...

mbprince

nyca, I live in CA so I just bite the bullet, buy here and pay the sales tax. If I where to buy in another state, pay the sales tax in that state (if any) I would have to pay sales tax again upon registering the car in CA (unless I register it in the state in which I bought it and don't bring it to CA for 6 months). I think CA does this to discourage going out of state (Oregon) for purchasing a car.
For something like a $200K to $400K motorhome, I would definitely buy in Oregon, register in that state, vacation for as long as pos and then bring it to CA after 6 months (thus not registering it as a new vehicle and no CA sales tax).

MarcusBenz

BoughtaBenz,

I would be more than happy to assist you with your purchase on the E500 and handle all of the shipping arrangements for you. I have sold a few cars to customers out of state and have a pretty good grasp on how to make it go smoothly. You can PM me if you want to discuss this further. BTW, the issue with sales tax has been explained correctly, if you physically take delivery in CA the dealer must charge you sales tax. If you have the car trucked to you in IL, you only pay sales tax & reg. in your home state.

nyca

So its a 6 month lead time for a sales tax free out of state title transfer from Oregon to CA? That's not too bad, do you know someone in Oregon where you could use an address to register the car?

That CA law is nuts, I know that NJ and PA do not have anything like that. Does CA honor reciprocity claims from other states? For example, I could have paid 6% NJ sales tax on my last car at the dealer, then paid an additional 2.5% NY difference when I registered it in NY, and brought paperwork showing I paid the NJ sales tax which NY would have then collected from them.

I would imagine covered transport from CA to NY is mucho $$$s, negating all the savings from the better CA deal. But if you live close to CA, it makes sense.

voudou58

The way to avoid paying california sales tax is to get a One Trip Permit. With this permit you must upon taking delivery of the car drive directly out of the state without any undue delay. In other words, you cannot drive on any local roads to visit or sight see etc. You must head to a destination beyond the state line. Hey, just go to Vegas. Of course with this permit you can also have the vehicle shipped out of state, truck or rail or sea. You would then have to abide by your states DMV regs and tax code.
Go to DMV.ORG for more info.