Just got a call from the dealer letting me know that my silver GL550 has arrived. I'll be going over in the morning to finalize the deal.

From everything I've read on these boards, I'm expecting to pay full MSRP, but I wanted to do a quick sanity check before I go to battle. Is MSRP pretty much the going rate on these vehicles? Any one finding any wiggle room?

Thanks much,
Voy

Voy - being in SoCal, I wouldn't pay MSRP just on principle 550 is a hot car right now so I would start "the battle" at invoice and take it up from there. Good luck. Hope you do get it tomorrow.

Thanks Oknish. To confirm your data from another thread- invoice is about $76k?

Appreciate the feedback,
Voy

I am not sure what your invoice will be since we don't know what options you are getting. 76K was approx invoice for an 82K car. Whatever MSRP is on yours multiply it by .93 and round down to nearest thousand to get your invoice, is my formula

All the best. Remember, Fletcher Jones is not the only dealer around. And, use those claims of being the biggest volume dealer to your advantage That is if you are going to them.

Can you explain your situation more. It sounds like you ordered at GL550 that has arrived. I always thought the deal was negotiated before the car arrived when it was ordered?? Or did you just ask them to call you when a silver GL550 arrived?

Great info, thank you Oknish. Yes, FJ is the place. I'll do my best and report back.

Voy

We ordered a specific color and options before MSRP was set. We put down a fully refundable deposit with no obligation to buy. Now we'll go see if we can get the deal we want.

- Voy

In SoCal, it is common practice to put down a refundable deposit without negotiating a price. Dealer and buyer understand that it is not a binding commitment on either side.

I've heard of putting deposits down on upcoming new models but I'd have a tough time going through the excitement of ordering a car exactly as I want it and waiting all that time without knowing what the final deal is going to be on it. I guess the dealer is banking on the buyer not easily walking away from a deal on a car perfectly optioned to their needs. If I had found a pewter GL450 with black full leather, premium I, illuminated door sills, off-road appearance and rear seat entertainment, I would had a hard time walking away if they only gave a small discount.

Back to the original question. When we got our GL450 at the end of August here in the bay area, the dealer had a GL550 in the showroom with a markup of about $6k above MSRP. The dealer up north listed an upcoming GL550 online with the MRSP crossed out.

My local dealer in Va. is offering me any GL550 for 1,000 over invoice via the costco auto buying program.

I am buying mine in SoCal for $1000 over invoice. My total before tax and license will be around $75k.

I definitely agree. Voy2k, you are in an area with more Mercedes dealers than anywhere in the United States. Use it to your advantage........

Don't go much beyond $1000 over invoice which seems to be standard for many dealers.

At least in the southeast, demand for the GL550 has proven to be so high that deep discounts are very difficult to find anymore.

OK, here's what went down...

Dealer was indeed suggesting full MSRP. We went round and round for a long time and I almost walked out. Bottom line, without divulging exact numbers, I did get it for below MSRP, but closer to MSRP than to invoice.

A few details:

- I'm admittedly not a great negotiator. I definitely wanted the vehicle and they knew that. If you're hard-core and you're truly willing to walk, I'm sure you can do better.

- The invoice price that the dealer was giving me was quite a bit higher than the invoice price I calculated based on what I've seen on these boards. Not sure what 'true' invoice was, but probably closer to what I've seen here. If I go by the invoice price the dealer was giving me, I got the vehicle for right between MSRP and invoice.

Anyway, this is a great vehicle. The reality is, for most of the folks in the market for the GL550, the difference between MSRP and a more actively negotiated price probably isn't impactful. If you want/like to negotiate, you can definitely knock the price down, but if not, just go pick up your car and enjoy it.

Did find one issue after I got the car home- control switch for passenger side front seat was broken. It's back at the dealer today getting fixed and getting another complete check to make sure everything is in order.

Thanks all for the input,
Voy

Good for you voy2k! The fact you got anything off MSRP means you're a good negotiator. You should feel great.

Enjoy the ride!

In the end, it doesn't really matter a whole lot what your deal was as long as you are happy with it.

You've got a great vehicle, the hottest thing going, so enjoy your ride and don't worry about the deal.

We're all lucky to be able to afford such nice and expensive trucks. Let's not forget that. After all, an a**hole from Iran spoke today at Columbia University, and he will speak tomorrow at the United Nations. It's safe to say the Iranian people don't worry if they got a good deal on the GL.

Thank God we live in America.

+1. As long as you're happy with the vehicle, that's what counts. May you have many happy miles in it.

Where are the pictures???

CONGRATS, Voy. And as others have said, a few bucks this way or that don't matter as long as you are happy with the car. Enjoy and post some pics ASAP.