No down and $647 a month sounds like one hell of a deal.

 

Right. Combined with the fact that nearly nobody understand leases (which is what the dealer is banking on) and everyone focuses on the monthly payments.

 

Indeed. When me and my wife spent less than $100 on or weekly food budget in college I looked at $100 differently. Now when I can spend $20k on a trip to Japan just to run a marathon, my 8 year old kid plays travel hockey where I drop $6k+ a year on equipment, league fees, ice time, hotels, not to mention buying a $70K+ vehicle because "we need the room to haul his stuff" I tend to look at $100 as a drop in a bucket. Maybe I shouldn't. But then again I'm fortunate and glad that on occasions I don't have to argue over $100 because it just isn't worth it.

 

I look at it differently. The dealer will always hit you with the highest price if you come in cold, and if you sign the dotted line, you're the sucker, and they're high five'ing each other.

It's your duty to research and know what's attainable on a car. The better the deal YOU get, the better you did for yourself. The dealer isn't your worry (as your financial benefit isn't theirs).

There are enough people who have reported 10, 12, 14, 16+K off of E350's for us to know that it's commonplace enough. What I have done is find the best REAL/tangible deal I can find by anyone (online offers, people online, etc.), call dealers and tell them "This is what I was quoted elsewhere, can you beat or at least match it". I found it works well, and it seemed some salesmen almost appreciated how upfront and frank that approach is. You're calling them as someone who knows the car, knows the market, knows what's attainable, and are ready to come in and sign the dotted line if with no haggling, etc. They would either tell me "sorry we can't do that" or they'd bite. Best time to do this is before the end of the year.

 

There are a couple of things to consider.

1) Location. While you can easily shop a dozen dealers on the east or west coast it is a lot harder to do in other places like Texas. The entire DFW metroplex has 4 dealers and the closest one to me is 30 miles the furthest one is 70. I'm sorry but I'm unwilling to drive excessive distances to squeeze another $100 out of a deal, my time worth more than that. I can also tell you that there is no dealer in DFW that will sell you a 2014 E-class for $10k off MSRP right now.

2) Supply and Demand. When you're looking to get a run of the mill E350 in a shade of silver with beige interior and burl walnut and you're not too picky on what options it comes with then you can go to any dealer and get a car this week. But if you're looking to get an E-wagon in Texas where the entire DFW metroplex has a total of 6 of them for sale on dealer lots and they're all diamond white with beige interior your odds of getting a deal go significantly down. While MBUSA is offering $5K rebate on sedans and coupes they aren't giving any trunk money on wagons. They just don't. The dealer also knows that if you're looking at an E-wagon you're not cross shopping an F10 or an Audi A6 either, the competition is pretty slim.

3) Order vs. drive off the lot. Again, when you're looking at a dime a dozen E350 sedan you can just drive one off the lot with the incentives that are available at the moment, go in on the last day of the month and get a smoking deal. But when you're ordering one then you're betting on a possible incentive in 2-3 months that may or may not materialize. I can guarantee you that there is no dealer that will offer $10K off a special order blindly without knowledge of what the incentives will be in 2 months time.

I'm sorry but there is no way I would get a car off the lot. I have ordered my last 4 cars and I'll keep doing that. I'm actually quite amazed that most people can't wait 2-3 months and compromise just to get a car right now. Having said that, I did offer my dealer to take a car from the boat with compromising on color if he could give me the promised $5k off. But he had to come clean and own up to the fact that the E-wagon does not qualify for the $5k rebate so I ordered one instead.

I've been reading with jealousy of all the huge discounts people have been getting on their E-class but the reality is that every situation is unique and different and you can't make categorical statements about $10k+ off an E-class being the norm. Just because a select few reported that level of discount on a message board does not make it commonplace. It is the exception rather than the norm. Maybe this is my way of coping with my cognitive dissonance and rationalizing what I ended up paying for an E-wagon.

 

Really? 16k off a brand new 2014 E350?

 

Not a 2014 (yet) but there was at least 1 member here who got a 2013 (or 2012) for that earlier this year or late last year. I believe it was like $60-62-ishK marked down to $44-46-ishK.

 

K. That makes more sense. It's a matter of time for the 2014 but as far as the current market goes 10,600 off is solid on 2014s which is what the OP leased.

 

Yeah true, for a '14 currently that's good. Once Oct/Nov kick in the deals on E's will start getting much more aggressive.

 

I sure hope! My contract with the dealer for the E-wagon was $750 over invoice less any applicable rebates at time of delivery.

 

Is the rebate amount 3k or 5k for Sep and can that be combined with the loyalty 2k on E class? (talking about sedan only)

 

Also keep in mind being a Wagon you probably have less negotiating power. The extra-extra insane deals historically attainable on the W212's generally tend to be specific to E350 Sedans.

 

Trust me, I'm fully aware of it. The only thing I'm hoping for is another $1,000-$1,500 conquest cash.

 

1. Mercedes sent a Bulletin to Dealer's on NetStar 3 weeks ago with the Base MSRP for your 2021 - so your "salesman" can clear that up and get that out-of-the-way..

Legitimately - on Lease Rate - your Dealer won't know that until the month-of-delivery.

A 2020 will be mucho "better" - with Mercedes "dealer support" can be used on the Dealer side to bring down the lease cost...

YES - 2021 Leases are going to scale "up"