I think it is very odd. All the salesman had me do is to sign the options build sheet and date it and then required a 1000 dollar deposit. Also he told me I’d probably have the car by the end of October . Well turns out I spoke with another salesman at the dealer who gave me the order number and then told me the build date is suppose to be the end of November.

With shipping and all if that’s the case I probably won’t have the car until after Christmas. It all just seems like a really messed up ordering process. When I called the other day to confront the salesman of the info I’d learned on this order he said “What do you want now?” He said it was late in the day and he wanted to go home. It’s all so strange.

It’s not like I’m buying a dozen donuts here. So I called again today with the intention of talking to the new car sales manager. Who answered the phone for sales? You guessed it the salesman who I was working with. I just hung up. This guy is fairly new and said he was moved there from another dealer about 1000 miles away.

I dunno it seems like MB is slipping. If the order is much beyond November I dunno if I’ll wait and may just request my deposit back and buy a in stock car at that point. Seems to me you have much more control of things and more leverage for pricing with a in stock car. This salesman would not even discuss discounts or pricing with me up front. He wouldnt discuss My trade in either. I even told him the car I plan on trading in does have aftermarket wheels on it which look just like Mercedes wheels and asked if I should put back on the oem wheels. It is not gonna be easy doing so as the oem wheels are 1400 miles away from where the car is located now and when I drive back to Florida I don’t have much storage in my S class sedan to transport the wheels back to Florida.

Everything is so vague and so many unanswered questions. Maybe it’s time to switch to Audi or some other brand at this point.

 

Based on your description of your buying experience I think it is time to switch dealers and not the brand. My experience with my dealer and the staff is completely the opposite. Based on your indicated location there are many alternatives for MB dealers. No, you are not purchasing a dozen donuts. Run fast and far from this dealer and establish a relationship with a dealer who respects customer service. Good luck and Happy Motoring.

 

If I remember correctly you have written that they are few dealers where you live. Here on Long Island we have about 8 dealers within a 50 mile range and one is even a Costco dealership - no haggel . This would never happen here.

What I have done in the past is email the sales and/or internet manager with the specifications for my car and advise me the best lease price - I lease but you can do the same asking for the best purchase price. Each dealer has gotten back to me within 24 hours. That narrows down my search. If my closet dealer is not the lowest I give him a chance to beat the lowest price. I then go to the dealer with the lowest price, sign the purchase order and give a deposit.

I only make two trips to the dealer: one to sign the order and the other to pick up the car. In between I never bother to ask for updates on build schedule, VIN or vessel. When the car arrives it arrives. The dealer wants to make a sale and I want to purchase.

With regard to discounting: Again in our area over the years I have found the best discounts are on ordered cars vs. in stock: with an ordered car the dealer knows he has a sale. In and done.

Trade in: here I agree with the dealer. He cannot give you a firm price now - only a range. Used car prices vary from week to week and month to month. After market options almost always reduce the value of a trade in. Whenever I see aftermarket wheels or other things the first thing I think of is: this car has been driven hard. I want the car driven by a grandmother.

To sum up: I agree with Pdeacon: I would go to another dealer or I would start over with your dealer: You have started off on the "wrong foot": When buying a car I want a business transaction. If you are dealing with the same dealer over and over again, the dealer often takes you for granted rather than work for your business. You are correct: you are not buying a dozen donuts and people willing to spend upwards of $75,000 for a car are not lining up at the dealer's front door. I want the dealer to appreciate my business - not do me a favor by selling me a car.

 

I’m willing to bet a lot of the salesman try to get away with lying when the build date is and that’s why so many people end up waiting 6 to 12 months to get their ordered cars. The whole process is really bad. I figure this problem with the salesman I’ve been dealing with will be self correcting. He will either get fired or the dealer will make it tough for him and he will move on to a more easy job. I’m not really worried. If the waiting goes on too long I will just pull the plug on the deal. I signed nothing that said my deposit was non refundable.

 

By Federal law all deposits for cars are refundable.

Waiting 6 to 12 months for a Mercedes? Not since Covid. Check out threads on this forum and the W213 forum. Mercedes is back with normal production which is 8 to 10 weeks from taking an order to delivery. If your dealer says it is longer, find another dealer.

 

I’m actually buying the car in the Tampa bay Fl area and there are about 5 dealers within a 50 mile radius. I’ve found this dealer to be by far the best in service in all of Florida. I dunno maybe I’m expecting too much.

 

Sounds like you really need to switch dealers or possibly the salesman.

The production delays are probably MB's fault, I placed an order for my W214 E450 sedan in December of 2023 and my salesman was great. They didn't even have allocations to put my name on at that point but he kept in contact and updated my build date and build sheet whenever I wanted it. I was originally scheduled to take delivery in April but the E450 production was delayed to May and I took delivery in July. My salesman then moved to a different dealership before I could take delivery so I was handed off to a different person.

As for discounts, I paid MSRP for my order. I tried asking for a small discount cause of all the delays but I wasn't particularly pushy about it. My understanding was that custom orders are not often discounted but at the same time, they are generally sold at MSRP without "price adjustments".

Truth be told, I feel the current dealership model of buying vehicles is often too removed from the idea and image of the brand itself. It leads to situations where you as the buyer are expecting a more premium experience for your luxury purchase but the 'delivery experience' is nothing particularly special. Kudos where it's due to my dealership for streamlining my delivery, I was in and out really fast but I wouldn't have minded if they threw in some flair or red carpet treatment when I'm buying a ~90k car. Heck, even a couple of goodies like a T-Shirt or something would've been nice. I'm in my late twenties, this was my first ever MB and the first ever car I bought new, I would have loved more memorabilia. Both my wife and I felt that if we still had our old salesman, he would've made it the experience much better. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we are basically rolling the dice on the dealership and the salesman at a chance to get the experience you think you deserve.

That's why I would prefer if I could deal directly with MB or whoever the manufacturer may be and purchase directly from them, that way they are in complete control of the brand and 'purchasing experience' if they choose to market that angle. I think the EV makers like Lucid and even Tesla with the direct to consumer model could tap into these things.

Ultimately, these are emotional purchases, the memory and experience has more power in creating brand loyalty than we as consumers like to believe. At least that's my two cents.

 

I deal with Lokey Motors ( MB of Clearwater) and have always gotten a discount from MSRP. OTOH I'm a long term customer (> 40 years).