whitemocha

Hi,
I'm checking out the new e class sedan and would like to visit the dealer soon.
Regarding the price, last time when I bought the c coupe, I bargained and got the price down to invoice price. I tried to bargain more but the dealer assured me that no dealers would sell the car below invoice.
However, I looked around the forum and seemd like many people got discounts more than 7% (I was told the invoice is at 7%)
Is it true that discount can't be more than 7% and is there such a thing as a loyalty discount?
Thanks

ghstudio

I have just been offered 10% off MSRP on a 2014 e550 by a local dealer which is below invoice. That's before any additional MB club or other discounts. MB has a big holdback and some dealers are willing to give some of that up.

BenzBee

How did you manage to do that? That is an awesome price!

ghstudio

Sort of blind luck....they aren't in our city....they are in the next, larger, city about 50 miles away and they would like the business. If I decide to go with them, we'll see if the deal stands when I walk in. I've been dealing through the internet so far.

whitemocha

ya, that seems like a great deal.
Do you mind telling me which city is that haha.

K-A

%7 percent discount is bollocks on an E Class. I got 15% off on my last one and people get better than I did pretty regularly.

Check out forums like "Townhall Talk" and search up what people here paid. The deals are out there you just have to find the right dealers and of course go at the right time (which is any time as long as you find the right participants.

CEB

What's the current discount on a 5 series now that sales are dropping like a rock?

K-A

How so? 5 Series current discounts at their best still won't match the worst you'll see from the E Class. The E just launched its very outward facelift and still isn't pulling many sales over from the 5, who has many buyers waiting in the wings for the LCI that's barely made its way into showrooms (so no sales accounted in the recent months unlike the E facelift.

So the E has a facelift, and much bigger discounts (both with equal MSRP's will always have the E selling for much less once negotiations have factored in), and when you look at U.S figures the 5 Sedan is very well still probably outselling the E Sedan after you factor out E Coupe and Wagon sales (and of course the maybe 4 5 GT's BMW sells).

Worldwide, the 5 Series sales lead is dramatic over the E Class.

Just looked at the numbers:

The E Class facelift hasn't really even made a notable jump in E sales yet, and the waiting for LCI hasn't really hurt the 5 sales much at all.

CEB

GoodCarBadCar shows the 5 series July sales as 5700 in 2012 and 4857 in 2013.

The MB E class, on the other hand, sold 5089 in 2012 and 5605 in 2013.

K-A

That's what I mean, the E just had a MAJOR facelift, and those numbers are pretty standard fare for such a thing. The 5 on the other hand has an LCI (facelift) coming in Sept (first orders already taken) and in that sense that dropoff isn't so bad.

Still, in the context of that, and the fact that you can get a $60K E for $48K and on a 5 $55K if you're lucky, and the fact that the 5 sedan might still be outselling the E sedan when you factor out the E Coupe, it isn't necessarily a bad showing for either, especially not the 5.

With 15-20% discounts given out like clockwork on the W212, it makes a strong case to be considered the leading seller in its segment in the States. Worldwide however it's getting crushed in market share, which is precisely the reason that M-B did such an uncharacteristic facelift to it.

With E350's that MSRP for a little less than but comparable to 535i's MSRP Leasing in the $400's sometimes (I even got an ad for a 2014 facelift for $499) which is something you won't find a 535i even one of the remaining 2013 models on lots going near, at least not without significant downpayment, it is somewhat of an artificial sales pumper tactic by MBUSA (which has been happening since the launch of the W212 and is spread throughout the brand, namely the E, C, CLS and SL).

ghstudio

I'd sure like to find that 2014 $60K E for $48K....best I've been able to find is 10% off plus any MB Financial and MB club discounts. Give us the name of that dealer and I bet they sell alot of cars in the next week

K-A

The '14's are brand new so even 10% discount already is massive and then plus factory incentives and you've already got a blowout sale, yet not proportional to the ridiculously aggressive we're used to seeing and attaining on W212's. I don't think people are even getting that on leftover 2013 5 Series', or maybe at best getting just that, and those are "outgoing" model years.

Give it until Oct and you'll see the classic 20% W212 discounts applied I'm sure.

I got this like 2 months ago. Again, once 2014's start really flooding, expect a lower drive off and $499 (again this was when 2014's JUST popped up). That's just astonishing for a $55-$60K car and probably competitive to less than what you'd see a basic spec 528i Lease for. You simply can't beat the value of the W212. M-B are literally making sure it takes home the sales crown (even with by combining the "E" Coupe in with its sales), no matter what they have to do to get it.

ImInPA

The truth of the matter is that 5 series discount are pretty huge in my area. Especially on the 4 cylinder 528s. Like it or not, the available discounts depend on the dealer
s inventory, floor planning, etc. "On any given Sunday", a better discount can be had on any brand. This is just silly banter. Anyone who has been buying cars as long as I have knows this to be true. I can tell you that CPO 5's can be had at a better price than a CPO E in my area. The 5 is a fine car. The E is a fine car. Audi's A6 has finally become a fine car (IMO). Flip a coin, buy the one that floats your boat, and drive the crap out if. Its hard to believe that anyone that feels the need to defend their purchases with such vigor is truly happy with their purchase.

threeMBs

Discounts depend on area you live in (how many dealers are there) and the dealer. I.E.: I was offered 9% off on 2014 E350 (which is a great discount in my area), but when I asked for the same discount on 2014 E550 (which aren't that many of and they have currently only one), they said they'll get back to me. I'm still waiting.

CEB

While I don't understand BMW's strategy in the US, the 5 isn't vastly outselling the E in the rest of the world either. In Germany, the 5 is at rank 18 in the second quarter 13 (up from 20) while the E is at number 19 (up from 23). In the 2nd quarter of 2013, the 5 sold 112 more cars than the E - statistically pretty insignificant.

As far as facelifts are concerned, most customers in this segment don't know or care. The other statistically insignificant group is those customers (BMW and MB) that frequent forums and know anything about upcoming new models.

El Cid

Lots of pricing services on the internet. Consumer Reports has one that is very accurate, but you have to pay for it. I have raised this with CR, but interestingly when they do a car report, they show MSRP as equipped, but not what CR paid for it.
Regardless, invoice is a mythical number created by the manufacturers to bolster dealer prices. Invoice is what dealer should have paid for car, but not what did. Dealer holdbacks, incentives, etc. factor into it.
Also, how hungry the sales rep, sales manager, general manager and owner are at the time.
Theoretically best time to purchase is late in day, end of month or quarter when dealer and sales rep are trying to make their quotas. Also, dealerships make their highest profits off service, so many will sell cars more cheaply to get you as a service customer.
Discounts might be available through some insurance companies and credit unions.
Good luck, but take your time.

K-A

It actually is a pretty big deal because the E had ALWAYS outsold the 5 in Germany and the F10 has reversed that which is a huge miss for MB especially since E's get volume pumped by the massive taxi services.

Worldwide the 5 does have a relatively dramatic lead last time I checked. Notable especially because the E ALWAYS had that "crown" not to mention the help of being a commonly used taxi worldwide, yet the F10 singlehandedly reversed that to for the first time ever, I believe, outselling its competing E worldwide.

The E facelift is being modeled as an "all new" car basically, hence the insanely changeup facelift for the very reason to get sales pumped, and again it isn't doing "that" much against a 5er who's sales are just moderately suffering while it awaits it's own facelift (which opposite to the E is being preserved so well you can barely spot any changes). Magazines literally refer to it as "W213" and a brand new design.

Fact is, walk into an MB dealer Willing to get aggressive and you'll ALWAYS get a much lower discount than the 535i when equal years and equal MSRP's. You simply won't find these crazy 20+% discounts on 5's. Even 10% is a big stretch if it isn't clearance time in a 5er, and that's considered a bad discount on an E.

Like I've said. I got the BEST deal on my 5 that anyone has reported on forums and it STILL isn't as aggressive as what I had on my E Class. Craziest part is that I got my 5 the day before NYE when discounts are most aggressive and my E in mid summer. Many people report better deals now after my 2011 acquired E to draw more perspective. I said it when I was the W212's biggest fan and say now, they literally give away these cars.

I mean people have gotten E350's in the $400's!! I have ads given to me to show for that as well. You have to admit that's ridiculous for a car with an "MSRP" of what these have.

instantfob

K-A: Wait until you roll into your next BMW and you'll see how much BMW spends to buy your "loyalty".

When I picked up the AH5 for the wife, BMW threw in the following trunk cash before ECO credit and Build Cash.

1.) $1000 Graduate Cash (grad school)

2.) $750 loyalty (wife had 530i)
3.) BMW Club cash $1000 mail in rebate

MB on the other hand cuts the MBCA loyalty cash from $1000 to $500 in 2013
Only thing that MB has BMW beat on loyalty is their generous pull-ahead program up to 6 months early.

My divided garage will benefit whenever BMW and MB start having sales war.
I am waiting for the sweet conquest cash to come back

K-A

Haha, well played, sir. Let the kitties battle it out an you reap the rewards. With M-B I think there's gotta be something they're doing with their dealers or something. The factory incentives are comparable to BMW but it's when you actually deal with dealers that you get people (seriously and literally) getting E350's for Lease prices of what a 3 Series goes for.

instantfob

BMW put their incentive programs on their website for the customer figure out what they qualify ask their CA's to apply them.

MBZ will issue their dealers limited number of certificates during programs like "winter sales event" and it's up to the dealers' discretion to offer it for their customers to sweeten the deal. Smaller dealers will run out of certs much sooner than the bigger dealer groups, so don't wait until the last day to take advantage of those sales events. (some dealers also trade these certs like they trade cars)

Happy hunting folks

fintail

Maybe the cheap screamer offers lure people in and get them to spend more than they wanted?

I'll admit a cheapo lease deal caught my eye and led to my most recent car. I was bored on a Sunday, browsing in a showroom, and there was a moderately equipped E350BT on the floor with a 479/lease offer on the windshield. That seemed pretty amazing, so I thought about it as I was thinking about changing cars, and came back. A week or two later, I had my car at what I thought was a good price.

Recently I have seen a banner ad from my local BMW dealer for a 439/month 528i lease, and I see TV ads all the time for 299 on a 3er. Even more amusing is the G37, which is perpetually being advertised around here for 299. All these are before negotiation, pretty crazy - might show how steep the profit margins really are, they can blow them out in the name of sales and still stay alive.

PGT

USAA members get $2k below invoice on the E350 and $2500 below on the E550. I worked up pricing on a few today with my dealer....still a pricey car but nice to get a decent price.

MB-JIM

I checked the USAA cash on a 2014 E350 and it has been raised to $3,500.

phalen302

BMW dealers in my area are trying to move the F10 M5 for invoice but still no luck. The 528i is going for 15-18% below MRSP (comparable to E350) and 535 sport are doing an average of 12-15% below MRSP. Which is very similar to MB offers (MB slightly higher dis, 1-2%).

BMW is trying very hard to maintain their sales. I see the discount getting steeper as the year comes to an end.

I was at my local BMW dealer for service in june; and my sales associate offered me 13 550i sticker of $71K for out the door (tax 3%, title, tags etc..) for 60K even. He is still calling me to sell that car because they haven't sold it yet.

All in all BMW has lost its essence in my mind. They are now big bloated cars with tiny 4 bangers working really hard but with big wheels . BMW of now is not the same as the BMW of old times....handling, power delivery, overall package etc...

K-A

Both brands are morphing. I think that M-B has lost its comfort and luxury crown with rougher riding vehicles and harder interiors, ironically ceding that now to BMW. All in all both brands in their quest for domination keep moving closer and closer to each other.

Those discounts on 5ers are for remaining 2013 models which is a whole different ballgame (2013 leftover E's had significantly higher discounts) and they still are equivalent or less than freshly facelifted 2014 E discounts. The E still has gotten double the discounts you listed on the 535, as again, getting 20-25% off on a new W212 E Class has been pretty common during its history, at least where I am, and you'll be lucky to get 10% off a 535i (again pertaining to brand new MY's, not leftover MY's that have ceased production).

Keep in mind that the 535i is a more expensive car than the E350 and still has been normally dramatically less discounted, which paints an even more telling picture as to how large the continuous fire-sales on the E350's have been.