wianno

Our lease is up on our Pacifica, wife wants a GL 450. Looked at Lexus and BMW, but she wants to fit the whole family (and the dog) in the car. The Lexus 3rd row seats were not as convenient as the GL, and the X5 3rd row seats are a joke. (NOTE: I am a BMW aficionado, currently have a 4.4, so really wanted it, but it just wont work).

Only problem, my wife commutes to work in Boston, and puts about 15k/year on a car, plus the cost of gas? Oh well.

I digress, how bad are sales out there? The dealer is trying to locate a car with my options (P1, heat, hitch) All their cars on the lot have DVD, which we do NOT want. I was thinking 1k over invoice, but do you think invoice is a real possibility in this market? I guess I am asking for a consensus on what I should hold out for.

Are there any manufacturer to dealer incentives/kickbacks? Those are good to know so you can use them as additional leverage. I used them when we leased the Pac and negotiated below invoice.

We do have dealer options, but we most likely will service at this one. I want to give them right of 1st refusal.

StevethePilot

While I disagree with the assessment when it comes to MB, Kent (lkchris) put up an article suggesting that SUV owners had some sort of "hangover" and sales were dipping. GM's reducing SUV production but limited demand is only a blip on the RADAR when it comes to "why." Still, people are moving to slightly more efficient cars.

I do enjoy the added efficiency with my 320, putting 635 miles on it for about 27.5 gallons of diesel. But then again that may show up as an increased demand by those who want both the SUV and increased efficiency, so you might find a better deal on the 450 because of that as well.

I don't know offhand of any added incentives by the manufacturer, kickbacks, anything like that. I think your best bet is to negotiate with the dealer. Hammer 'em.

STP

Newbie_2_MB

Whenever I buy a vehicle, I start off at carsdirect.com so I have a base price to deal on. I have found Carsdirect to usually be the lowest and best deal around. You can tell the dealer they can either match the price or you can go home and click a button on your computer and pay somebody else for the car. Usually, the dealer will match the price (at least they always have in my experience using them to buy 4 vehicles).

Brocktoon

I agree with STP, you should be able to get a good deal on a gas model, CDI?, not so much, but it depends where you are. I did not want DVD either, so wound up making an order.

On the other hand, the GL is not the typical SUV, and is pretty unique in terms of options, engine choices and ease of use. I think as soon as more of the market clues into this, GL demand could buck the trend, so strike while the iron is hot. Good Luck!

StevethePilot

I tend to agree about the GL not being the typical SUV (in the U.S., anyway) and therefore probably not as subject to the market fluctuations. As for the unwanted DVD player, I wonder if you could go with the argument, "I don't want that, so I'm not paying for it - either sell me the vehicle off the lot that's been costing you money without charging me for the DVD or I can order one that'll do nothing to relieve your burden of keeping that one on the lot, up to you" and get the dealer to basically throw the DVD in with the unit as a stop-loss for them?

Unless you're just absolutely opposed to having the DVD player in there.

STP

lkchris

The GL320CDI is certainly not "typical" but then maybe not as discounted as the 450 and 550.

love2skiutah

My wife's is for sale. 2007 Black on Black. Premium 2 package, heating package, skid plates, towing, rear entertainment. Paid 70K, under 13,000 miles, 22's, will dump it for $52,000.00

wianno

I'll look at carsdirect, but I also intend to have the invoice numbers from Edmunds. I do intend to allow them to sell me the car with DVD for "free" if they really want to. But its an expensive option for them to eat or force me to buy!

We cannot do diesel as MA adopted California emissions standards. It will take the Bluetech engine to conform, and I can't wait till October.

Does anyone know sales info? There is a BMW forum where a member publishes the month to month sales (or used too). That was good info to have. I am not sure I agree that a 60k SUV from MB is any less prone to sales pressue than a GM in the current market.

wianno

Source

GL Month to Month off 14%

Sales -- March 2008

Model March '08 March '07 Monthly % YTD 2008 YTD 2007 Yearly %

C-CLASS 6,713 4,486 49.6% 17,141 12,282 39.6%

E-CLASS 3,039 4,019 -24.4% 8,566 10,447 -18.0%

S-CLASS 1,622 2,440 -33.5% 4,796 6,646 -27.8%

CL-CLASS 297 295 0.7% 798 784 1.8%

SL-CLASS 379 670 -43.4% 1,133 1,395 -18.8%

CLK-CLASS 1,218 1,752 -30.5% 3,424 4,034 -15.1%

SLK-CLASS 561 908 -38.2% 1,545 1,690 -8.6%

CLS-CLASS 935 803 16.4% 1,972 2,043 -3.5%

GL-CLASS 1,908 2,221 -14.1% 5,681 5,972 -4.9%
R-CLASS 874 1,225 -28.7% 2,807 2,938 -4.5%

M-CLASS 3,189 2,619 21.8% 9,507 7,401 28.5%

G-CLASS 73 174 -58.0% 277 353 -21.5%

GRAND TOTAL 20,808 21,612 -3.7% 57,647 55,985 3.0%

Source: Mercedes-Benz USA

wianno

April numbers should be out in the next day or two based on previous sales reports release dates.

source
MERCEDES-BENZ USA
Sales -- February 2008

February February Monthly YTD YTD Yearly
Model '08 '07 % 2008 2007 %

C-CLASS 5,781 3,868 49.5% 10,428 7,796 33.8%
E-CLASS 2,547 3,053 -16.6% 5,527 6,428 -14.0%
S-CLASS 1,533 2,128 -28.0% 3,174 4,206 -24.5%
CL-CLASS 248 231 7.4% 501 489 2.5%
SL-CLASS 365 356 2.5% 754 725 4.0%
CLK-CLASS 983 1,255 -21.7% 2,206 2,282 -3.3%
SLK-CLASS 504 386 30.6% 984 782 25.8%
CLS-CLASS 542 613 -11.6% 1,037 1,240 -16.4%
R-CLASS 928 875 6.1% 1,933 1,713 12.8%
M-CLASS 3,081 2,431 26.7% 6,318 4,782 32.1%
GL-CLASS 1,958 1,936 1.1% 3,773 3,751 0.6%
G-CLASS 94 172 -45.3% 204 179 14.0%

GRAND TOTAL 18,564 17,304 7.3% 36,839 34,373 7.2%

Source: Mercedes-Benz USA

Brocktoon

don't forget that sales numbers also reflect the availability of inventory, so something that exceedes expectation earlier in the year, for example can show a decline, simply because there are less units hanging about to sell...

wianno

Stats are out, GL sales up 3.9% from last April, the M is up 8.4%. Impressive!

What Gas crisis?

Anyway, I am a GL owner now. Purchased this weekend. As much as I like to think I am a good negotiator, fact is, I stink. I got somewhere between TMV (edmunds) and carsdirect.com. Good, but not great.

Dealer told me they use TMV for selling price, I dropped a several hundred off that. Pick it up in a few weeks.

Brocktoon

what did you get?

StevethePilot

Ultimately, I've learned that no matter what you get you'll find someone who's done better. What it comes down to is this; did you get the vehicle you wanted? Did you pay less than retail? Yes on both and you did well.

I moved to Mercedes from Lexus. At my Lexus dealer, there was no negotiating. By that I mean they said, "Well, this is what it costs. Cash or check?" Now the last vehicle I bought from Lexus was in 1999 (my wife's car was a lease in 2003, I think it was?) and I've learned an awful lot since then. The first thing I learned was I was a moron. The second was, I still got my money's worth, even at retail, 'cause I put over 200,000 miles on the vehicle.

You did well, just by what you got. Anything else you were able to do was gravy.

STP

wianno

GL450, P1, Heating package (heated steering wheel USED to be a luxury), and hitch. Also came with Ipod, and 19" wheels. Black on Black. Almost had running boards too but that was sold before I could lock it up. Take delivery in a few weeks. It was not on the dealers lot.

Brocktoon

Sounds real nice! Enjoy!

We'll see who get theirs first, me or you.

amacasa

Hi there.
I live in Oregon and would like to know more about this vehicle?
How about first and foremost the financing options?
How about delivery options?
And some history? clear title with no problems or accidents? thanks again