PaulMBZ

I ordered an '04 MB E500 about a month ago in California, the agreed upon price was Dealer Invoice cost + dealer Markup. Yesterday he advised me that there was a $400 additional charge called an IRG (Dealer advertising cost that varies by region) that I would have to pay. I was not told about this when I placed the order.

Are there any other forum members that negotiated a price from Dealer Invoice who have paid this dealer advertising fee or any other hidden charges ?

Thanks for your help.

weinschela

Even if you pay an extra $400, I am jealous. The dealers in the New York area are selling cars at sticker or maybe 500 or 1000 off, so your deal even plus 400 is terrific. Did the dealer tell you its invoice cost (an exact number) or was it conceptually "invoice" -- and if the advertising charge appears on his invoice, that sound like it is part of your deal. All depends on exactly what you negotiated -- both of you should be willing to stick to the deal that was made.

konigstiger

IRG is a legitimate cost that is included in every sale. You can try negotiating but I doubt you’ll be successful. It does vary by region here in AZ it is $600. As I understand it various by region due to the number of dealers contributing – higher number of dealer, less cost.

bmms8

i would not pay because first of all that IRG thing or whatever is bogus. i didnt pay it, and others didnt either. you were told a price, so i would tell them you wouldnt pay, and tell them other MB owners didnt pay, what dealer was it btw? if you dont want it out in public, plz PM me it, thanks, GL

jim256

Those dealer ad group fees are common among all manufacturers. They appear as a line item on the invoice for the car (varying by region) and they are not optional for the dealer. It typically changes each year, driven by ad plans for the local region (i.e., Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, etc.). If the dealer quoted you invoice +, I would say it was in good faith and the fee is beyond his control. If there's a non-invoice added sticker or things like etched windows, paint protection, or other dealer items, those are in his control and can be dropped.

indus

I believe carsdirect.com even includes the advertising charge in the invoice price. It is a legitimate part of invoice cost.

weinschela, i dont know about E500 pricing, but E320 is heavily discounted now in NY/NJ areas. I just got an E320 for $600 under invoice (picked it up yesterday). One caveat is 4Matic, which I believe are not being discounted for the most part.

weinschela

I have gotten quotes from four or five dealers in Metro NY for an E320 4matic wagon for February delivery and there was virually no discounting from anyone. I've got an order in with my regular dealer, who has treated me well over the years but could not or would not move very much from sticker. I am also going to be getting an E500 (not 4matic) sedan in Sept when a lease is up (hopefully an 05) and I hope I can do better on price then. I think even the 4Matics are being discounted elsewhere. Of course with maybe 20 inches of snow since yesterday, I wouldn't blame dealers for not discounting the 4m's.

nyca

what dealer did you get your E320 from at that price?

indus

i will PM you with their info

indus

looks like i cannot PM you. I can send it over email if you'd like (i would need your address)

nyca

I enabled my PM, sorry about that, I had never used it.

pat a.

I also negotiated an "invoice" deal with my dealer and ended up paying the advertising fee of $400. I do believe it is legitimate, but they some how fail to mention it until you go to pick up your car.

woodie

The last two new cars I bought (2001 and 2003) had the additional fee on the invoice and I doubt the dealer had any say in it since it was regional. If your deal was invoice + then that fee is part of his invoice cost.

RedBaron

It is a legitimate fee, but that, like any other expense, should come out of the profit form your car. It is just an easy way to weasle another $400 out of you. Don't forget, they get 3% holdback from MB once the car is sold. If you can emotionally do it, walk if they won't back down on this.

abhansali

I just picked up my E500 from SoCal 2 weeks ago and and had an invoice deal and I paid IRG also, but it was $600 not $400. Interested to know which dealership and what area you are purchasing from...looks legit.

mallard

I did not see this fee anywhere in my paperwork, nor was it ever mentioned by the dealership. Perhaps another benefit of European Delivery?

abhansali

I think this is something that shows up on the dealer invoice. For those of us who did "Dealer invoice + $X" deals this item is being added in by the dealers since it is on their invoice. Mallard, since you did Euro delivery this is just a discount from MSRP, so you never see this fee. Also this IRG fee is something only added to the dealer invoice in major mkts like LA, NYC, etc., since MBUSA does more advertising in this area and then they amoritize the costs onto all the cars those dealers get.

jim256

abhansali: I think you'd find that every dealer in the US is part of some region, and the advertising assessments are common across that region. The invoice that arrives via the dealer's computer shows the assessment, he's charged that amount for the car in his dealer account, and the funds are managed by the regional sales and marketing folks. Some permit him to submit bills for payment of his own co-op ads he has placed in local media for his own dealership or community service advertising.