Hello everyone. My G63 is due in within the next week. My wife and I will be applying for a loan through the dealer, I think specifically MB financial services. I am looking for input from anyone here who has used MBFS to finance their G63 over the past year.

Is it any more difficult to finances a $180k MB vs a $70k MB with MB financial services?

Will there be additional requirements we will have to meet due to the selling price? Required down payment of a certain percentage?

Additionally, one of us has a credit score around 820, while the other is 700. Should this be an issue? Thank you in advance.

 

IMO, you should have been loan shopping for the past couple months. Others on this forum have found incredibly low rates on big $$ loans at off the radar credit unions. MBFS is not likely to have the best rate even for FICO 800+ buyers.

 

The loan approval will be based on income to loan ratio, so as long as you make enough or pay enough down, then the loan amount doesn't really affect things. If possible I would have the 820 person be the primary (or maybe even only) loan applicant to get the best rate, and if needed the 700 person can be a co-signer if their income is needed to make the underwriters happy.

Probably the only place that will finance the entire vehicle is MBFS but they will almost certainly have one of the if not the worst rate for a G63. This may sound crass, but honestly from my research (I looked up over 50 credit unions in my search), it seems like most credit unions are familiar with financing used Corollas to people with credit scores in the 500s. Most don't finance over $100k but some do.

I found a credit union in Michigan (American 1 CU) that will let anybody join, and you can probably get approval in less than a week. You can apply for a loan online and they help you with membership if it's approved. The rates have increased from December when I searched and purchased, but it's currently 1.99% for up to 72 months. They will loan above $100k but not $180k.

Bottom line is if you don't want to put anything down probably MBFS is your best bet but rates will not be good. If you want a better rate you'll have to pay down the loan some.

 

I applied through the dealer when I bought mine back in August. I ended up getting 100% financing through Citadel. Happy to provide more details if that would be helpful.

 

I would check #1 Bank-Of-America directly - in December they had heck-of-a-low low rates for "jumbo" auto loans - December Chase was #2 and TD Financial was #3.

"Most" MB Dealer's are BofA and Chase agents - when your Dealer is a agent for that same lender - you Get your Lender Approval Code - and give that Dealer the same Financial Info you gave to the Lender for Approval.

That is the Lender's Requirement to help prevent Identity Theft - the Dealer submits your Financial Info and Approval # to THAT SPECIFIC LENDER - and the Lender approves the Dealer to go ahead with the Doc's.

Specifically request the Dealer NOT to submit that Financial Info to other Lender's - you shopped/secured the Best Finance Deal with that Lener Directly - and you Do NOt Want your Financial Info fanned out to other Lendors.

Keep the beat !

 

That is great everyone. I appreciate all of your responses!

 

There have been some "Slow Down's" at Port/VPC to get G's "Ready To Ship" - for many recent G's they get held at VPC/Port under either "Processing" or held up in the new Black Hole called "Ready" which is NOT the Ready-To-Ship needed.

There is a 3-4 Day Process a Dealer can use to get a rig released if held in one of these two Black Hole's - and Most Dealer's don't know how to do this - Sad but True:

Day #1 they call Mercedes Distribution - "hey, this rig has been slow, you don't see any info from VPC - can you put this G on the VPC Hot List?"

Day #3-#4 they call Mercedes Distribution Again -" hey, this was put on the Hot List and there has been no Update in the past 3/4 days - this is a Very-Very Important customer to our Dealership - can you please Upscale this to your Supervisor?? Pretty please it's important.

To Upscale - Distro Person is alos required to take the Dealer Contact direct email and the Dealer Contact Direct Cell Phone too.

Once this is Upscaled by email to Distro Management - Distro Management emails VPC Management - and "Boom" that rig gets updated to "Ready-To-Ship" in about 3hrs - "Wham - Bam"

Can't Upscale without being put on Hot List 1st - but 4/5 day release is God's Gift when stuck - stuck in today's environment cab be a Long Time - where Nobody Knows Nothing.

If you go to your Dealer on this - don't mention this Forum or my name with your Dealer - this "Upscale Process" this is one of the "Insider Secret's" that I am NOT supposed to Tell !

AZ-MB-Sales-Guy - hope you get to read this one - you're are working to be helpful here on the Forum - and that's a good thing !

 

I was planning on paying cash, but ended up keeping a car that I was planning on selling.

Anyway, my local credit union was offering 2.25%. I told the dealer this and they said they could try to beat it....

They offered me 1.79% for up to 48mnths, as long as I put down at least 50%. No early pay off fees or other fees/expenses wrapped in it.

I assumed it was through Mercedes Financial, turns out it is through Suntrust, regardless I am happy.

Havent had a car loan in quite some time, but at that rate, I will be making minimum payments.

This was for a G550 with a price of about 150k, I bought it about a month ago. My credit score was on the loan docs and it indicated 855.

 

If you wouldn't mind sharing the details, I would appreciate it.

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My G is currently in Baltimore at the VPC waiting to be released to my dealer. So I'm trying to sort out my options to see what's the smartest move.

I was told by my dealer, when I submitted the build spec six months ago, that MBFS is at 4.99% on a G. The interest rate is very high, imo. Supposedly they are more 'flexible' and better understand the G market. They'll also supposedly even take into consideration your household income, unlike most banks who only count the applicant's income.

They also told me they would work with Chase or Bank of America to secure me the best rate, I just have a hard time trusting them. I'd assume they're going to tack on some to the interest rate. So if I can shop around myself and secure the financing, it's probably the smartest move.

My plan with this particular purchase was to get it approved on my wife's credit. She has very strong tier 1 credit (830+ FICO) and extensive car loan history with an older payment being $1500+ a month, but just concerned about her income. I was told banks vary, but most look for a 30-40% gross debt:income ratio. There's no debt on her credit, so if the debt:income ratio is accurate, her income will support a 0% down payment monthly note. I was hoping to not have to put down more than $50k.

Any advice or past experience that can be shared would be appreciated!

 

Others have already stated it, but MBFS is most likely to approve assuming strong enough credit profile. They will also loan the full amount (including taxes), so if you want to do a no money down scenario they are probably your best bet. If the income of the higher credit person supports it you might consider only having that person apply. Alternatively, if you can get the lower credit person on the loan and you pay on it for a couple of years you might help improve that person's credit. Take a look at why the one score is 700, and see if you can take steps to improve it (over time, since it won't improve enough and fast enough for financing now).

BoA has decent rates, but when you get north of $100K they escalate the file to management. Not an issue if you have supporting docs for income, but know that they will require them. I can't recall for sure, but pretty sure they will loan to 110% of what they determine the value of the car is. It's tough sometimes when they pull the VIN and it doesn't tell them exactly what model it is. For instance, a Porsche GT3RS VIN just shows up as a 911. It's hard for them to get the value of a $200K+ car when other cars in that model (911) start at half that price, but with a little research on their end they usually get close.

Shopping your own rate isn't a bad idea so you know what competitive rates are for your scenario. Then offer to let the dealer try and match it, or at least get close to it. They obviously make money on financing, so don't begrudge them that if they can get competitive to what you have found for yourself. Consider it a little good will that helps establish the relationship. If you are concerned about gettting approved, then that is even more reason to go with the dealership finance options. Their finance people know what the lenders are looking for, and it is obviously in the dealer's best interest to get you approved, so they can sometimes make sure they are presenting the right borrowing profile to get the best chances for approval.

 

Understood and good to know on the $100k plus loans going to management. Income verification isn't an issue, so no worries there.

I just want to get this particular loan on her credit only. Trying to avoid having to co-sign myself, so it's not on both our credit reports affecting our debt:income ratio. I'd like to get into another exotic soon and don't want it affecting me down the line.
It's nothing personal with the dealer, so I won't let my emotions get in the way.

If the dealer is able to match or get very close to what I am able to secure, I will gladly go with them. My goal is simply to be prepared to ensure I don't get taken advantage of.

 

The biggest problem for a dealer writing up 5% financing on a vehicle he's already marked up $25k over MSRP will be keeping a straight face while you're signing all the paperwork. BTW, are lenders OK with loaning 120% of MSRP? How do insurance companies deal with this?

 

I was able to get it at MSRP - $177k. I would NEVER pay ADM on any car unless it's guaranteed to never depreciate (aka Enzo, LaFerrari, etc). Just a matter of principle with me.

 

Might be a dumb question, but if you have a trade in, how do you go thru a 3rd party without the dealer evaluating the trade in so you know the exact loan amount?

 

Have the dealer appraise your trade. Apply for financing based on the difference and add a bit of margin. If you end up with a bank check that's more than you need, the dealer will write you a check. Then you can send the excess back to the bank with your first monthly payment, or put it toward a decent set of tires.

 

A few weeks before delivery, I gave my dealer my VIN number and mileage and they gave me a trade-in number sight unseen. They said of course if the vehicle comes in significantly worse shape than expected they would change the offer, but it was fine.

I was ready to put down a certain amount and if the trade-in ended up being lower I was going to add whatever was needed to offset so my loan amount would stay the same.

 

So, is it better to go directly to the local credit union or the dealer? Is it possible to buy the car from a dealer and then go to the credit union and refinance it to get better rates?
I want to buy my first car now, and it turns out it’s rather difficult to do because there are so many nuances that I need to consider. Maybe it’s even better to take a car loan from a non-bank organization like Car Loans 411 or a similar one. The article on https://www.greedyrates.ca/blog/how-...ve-bad-credit/ I read suggests it can be a better idea, and I can get a loan even with not so good credit score.

 

Yes to all of your questions.

 

Financing a $180k G63 through MBFS isn’t inherently more difficult than a $70k Mercedes, but higher-priced vehicles may benefit from a larger down payment to reduce monthly payments. With one credit score at 820 and the other at 700, you should qualify easily, though the 700 score might result in slightly higher interest than the 820. MBFS typically recommends a 10–20% down payment, full insurance coverage, and standard loan requirements. Overall, your credit profiles are strong, and financing should be straightforward through the dealer.