Dema

It looks like MB is trying to sell E class aggressively, Internet advertisement changed from offering some mainstreamer like Toyota Camry to E class. New lease rates look really appealing. So end of December is the best time to get MB.

Pntblnk

2011 E350 Bluetec
Arctic White, P1, Split Rear Seat, rear spoiler
Sticker $56,815
Selling Price $49,715
Discount $7100
MB Finance 1.6% APR

Dealer said he was trying to reach his year end #s with MB and was basically giving me everything over invoice and 1/2 of the hold back. Not sure how true but felt good about the deal. Now seeing some other deep discounts and wondering if i could have done better.

Pntblnk

Anyone else get in on the December deals. Would like to see how I faired compared to other areas of the country.

Imsorry

2010 E550 p2, night vision, driver assist, spoiler, dynamic seats, sport pack
Msrp around 70,525. Negotiated to 60,500. Financed 4.38% 66 month.
Bought on X-mas eve day in the afternoon.

135 miles on the odo, but I know this car sat on the lot for more than 6 months because the dealer put on those ugly mb black rims. Had them swap it out for the 5 spoke 2011 18" rims.

Researched almost all dealers within the 100 mile radius and found the hungriest.

Key is the end of the year. That's when they get the most incentives from mbusa and all the sales guys want to bring a sale home before the holidays.

Stick Girl

You folks are good. I wish I could negotiate like that. What is the secret? :-)

Pntblnk

The Internet is your friend. Research the dealers around you and know what invoice is on the particular model you are interested in. Once you have that information in hand start calling the Internet sales managers within 250-500 miles.

1st round: Get numbers in email / writing from all dealers you talk to.
2nd Round: Take the best numbers you get back and go back to the other dealers to beat it.
3rd Round: pit the two most agressive SALES MANGERS against one another and let them know they are fighting for your business (make sure you get past the salesman to the sales manager for the 3rd round. He's the one that is going to make the best deal)
4th Round: work those two to see who is going to give you the best price and / or you feel most comfortable buying from. Balance price, fee's, interest rates if financig, service freebies tossed in the deal, etc...
Make your decision. At this point I have a pretty good idea of what's left on the table and what I'm willing to pay. I usually just tell the last two sales manages what my number is and whichever meets it gets the check.

I often remind them during the process that I'm writing a check to sonmeone this week and the deal is there's to win/ loose.
I'm sure there are others on this board that are MUCH better at this than I am, but that's my strategy and I typically feel pretty good about the deal when I'm done even if I do leave a little money on the table. Dealers have to make a living to!

alkam2

with the new engines due for both E350 n E550, do you think 20% off mSRP is do able for the e550. Thinking to grab the last V8s at a good price for a 11'

Stick Girl

Hi all. Got a quote from the dealer. I'm sure there is something better I can do, just need you "experts" to tell me. Thoughts, please? Thanks.

E350, P1
MSRP - $55,435
Selling Price - $50,358 (9.2% discount)
$4K down, $18K trade value ($5K neg eq)

Lease options: 48 mos @ $772 or 36 mos @860, 12k/year
Residual $29,934 (54%)

aeggroup

Run away from them...it's a terrible lease for P1 car.

K-A

Yeah, that's pretty high it seems for a base car. Although they discounted the car pretty nice. It seems that since the residual is set so low, you are getting higher monthly payments (that's the lowest residual I've ever heard of on an E for a 3+ year Lease.

Stick Girl

Those pmts were including tax, too (tax rate is 8.25%), and that residual was on the 48 mo. lease. Not sure what it was on the 36 mo. Using the Edmonds.com calculator, I can get about the same payment for 36 mo. with a much higher residual ($35k instead of $30K). Should this be my approach? Sorry to ask so many questions, but I know that this is a weird science sometimes...

Stick Girl

It's been about a week, but I wanted to report back to say the deal was finalized at $48,739 (not including neg eq or 3 year prepaid maintenance). Thanks to all for your advice! I luv this car!

Tjdehya

Did you end up going through with a lease or did you buy? If you did lease, how long and what is the residual?

Stick Girl

I did a lease - 42 mo. @$747. Residual is $32K.

K-A

Good price! P1 obviously?

Did you put anything down (Fee's, reg, etc.)?

And how long is the Lease period for?

wickedrsr

I just got mine last night.
2011 E350 Sport. Black with P1 package. with nav

I got a 2 year lease from Mercedes, 2k down (includes drive off and 1st month lease payment), 580 out the door (all taxes included). 10k miles a yr.

I dont care about residual, as i will give it back to them after the 24 month period.

They also threw in Flat badge emblem and all weather floor mats.

I thought it was a pretty good deal.

vinrun

$580 a month for two years is very good. Enjoy your new car.

wmkwmk

2011 E350 sport Almond on Black
w/ P1 pkg
msrp $54,275
purch cash $ 48,803
but, also bought the extd svc agmt for $5934 (total 7 yr/100K miles)
(fully refundable/transferrable and/or prorated if sell car before end of esa)
out the door $60K (our sales tax over 9%)

Tjdehya

That depends on if you get $5934 worth of maintenance in 7yrs/100k mile.
But the purchase price is pretty good. 9% sales tax... ouch... what state is that?

K-A

Probably Cali.

Great deal, so congrats. Although I would have never payed that on Maintenance. Just too much money upfront for something that will take 7 years to draw out.

wmkwmk

Thx for the posts. California. Sales tax is between 9.25-9.75% here depending on where you live.

bimgroup

I have spent the last couple of weeks test driving multiple mid sized luxury cars and today, I thought that I had finally made the right decision to buy the E550 Luxury Sedan. The posts on this site have been extremely helpful and I thank you for that!!

After driving the E350 and E550 today I could not get over how much better the 550 felt vs the 350. Now here is where I get confused. I plan on buying the car outright, and the MSRP with options is $64,865. Dealer is quoting me $58,154,which is a little over a 10% discount,and based on my research, $2000 back of invoice. Sounds fair and I have emailed a couple other dealers to be sure. I saw on ZAG where MB was offering 1.9% financing. Has anyone else seen this?

Also, I've seen where many of the posters believe that the 550 will depreciate faster,and more,than the 350. My only problem is that those saying this have already purchassed the 350 and as such, sound as if they're justifying the lower cost purchase.

I'm not trying to be a smart ***, but I really would appreciate some insight on this. Everytime I buy a new car I say to myself that I will own this car for the next 10 years. Well so far, I have'nt made it to 4 so I guess resale value does mean something!!

Thanks for your input.

K-A

That's not the case. Just look at resale of E350's VS E550's, or older E350's VS E500's. When I bought my W211, the Dealers all were offering me E500's at practically similar costs, as the V8's were harder to move. Hard times for Gas Prices is a huge playing factor in this as well.

It isn't a catastrophic difference, and the V8's should always sell for more, but if we're talking a % difference (from regular MSRP), the V8's will drop more. This isn't exclusive to M-B, just a general rule, aside from Performance/Sports cars. Also, being someone who's had quite a few different types of cars for sale in the Used Market in the last couple of years, you'll find a lot more people interested in buying the lower engine/higher MPG models.

Tjdehya

I too have trouble keeping a car long term. I have never made it to 4 yrs with a car though.
My advice is... Buy the car you want!!! Is the V8 and the airmatic worth the extra $5k and lower gas mileage?
For me the answer was YES!!!
The E550 depreciates more than the E350 long term but short term the E550 holds its value much better than the E350 by FAR!
Here is a resale project for you. I won’t tell you the results because I want you to see this for yourself... Go to KBB.com and check resale prices for a comparable E350 and E550. Keep in mind that the initial new purchase price difference between the two is $5k MSRP. You are a 4yr guy so check the 2008 and up.
You will see why a Mercedes E-class is the right car for a 1-2yr guy like me.
But like KA said... Times change and I don’t think there will be a strong market for our thirsty V8s if gas prices keep rising.
More fuel efficient V8s are coming to Mercedes and there is a strong chance that the 2012 E will have the more powerful and fuel efficient V8s.

K-A

The best way to see it is that resale on Luxury Cars suck in general. What's some thousands here or there extra, when it comes to your pleasure. To me, since I was shopping New, my chosen budget, and for what I desire out of a car, the V6 was more than right for me, however, if I was shopping Used, I might have gone E550.