doctorG

Hello everyone...

Just wondering if anyone has an idea how much less (i.e., percent) than MSRP the invoice price is on a 2014 gl350?

Thanks!

doctorG

I'm also curious if anyone has been told what the Costco pricing is.

When I ordered my car and the 2013 pricing was available, they said $2500 over invoice. Unfortunately, who knows what the invoice price really is??

I was essentially told that on a built 2014 that cost about $85k, invoice was roughly $5k below MSRP. Does that sound right?

Thanks for the help! Can't wait for the car to show up, but want to make sure I have my numbers straight before I head to the dealer. . .

hotgl450

If you go into the Costco Auto program's website (www.costcoauto.com) you can build the vehicle and see the invoice price.

hotgl450

Also if you don't have a Costco account I can build one for you and post the info here. Depending on your options, invoice can range from $4500-$5500 off MSRP.

aas5

I have been told by multiple dealers that the invoice is 6% off MSRP. I have also been told by a leasing company that it is actually 7% off which is also confirmed by edmunds.com

aeggroup

Invoice is 7% off MSRP . It doesn't mean you can't negotiate, but 7% off is a good starting point of negotiation. When I was getting my car I started from invoice, negotiated the selling price and then applied my fleet and MBCA discounts at that time. Unfortunately we can't combine them anymore.

P.S. 7% off MSRP and after that you add destination charge.

aas5

That sounds right. The best deal I was offered was a 2% markup to an invoice that was represented to me to be 6% off MSRP and I could then reduce it further with a fleet discount.

OzFl

What does invoice mean? Who is invoicing who? I went to Costco and built my 350. The price is ~$6,000 lower. What does that mean? Does it mean that is the dealer cost (I doubt it)?

aas5

I think invoice is what the dealer is assumed to pay for the car. I think that's not always the case as there are additional incentives dealers may get, including volume discounts, etc,but it is generally assumed that getting a car at an invoice is a good deal or in the case of a GL a good deal is to get the car at a small premium to invoice.

fabbrisd1

What is a "good deal" is largely based on (1) production availability (2) existing inventory as compared to (3) consumer demand.

1) Production Availability - All dealers have received their allocated production #'s thru November - those total #'s are very-very tight/low - and those dealers I know have already pre-sold their production allocation - again this is for the dealer the dealers I know - also I have not seen any "upside" production allocation for the GL350 - as of right now the #'s are what they are - if your dealer has a open/available production GL350 or a open/changeable production order then you might be in business - if they don't there that's a hope and a prayer

3) Inventory is low-low nationwide - very-very few GL350's are open/available at Mercedes dealers nationwide

4) Demand is HIGH as compared to available #'s

5) Depending on dealer "invoice" can be either 6% or 7% off MSRP - and as correctly noted destination charge is flat charge from MB added to that.

Let me say this - in the next few days - GL350's will be close to a nationwide sell out for this calendar year.

Keep the beat !

doctorG

Thanks. I just did that and I guess I thought that "invoice" would be a lot lower than that. I have heard of many people getting about $3000 off MSRP and if you add the fleet discount of $2000, then you are getting close to invoice, but not quite there. I'm in a low demand market, so I feel like I should be able to negotiate quite a bit, but would be interested to hear what others have to say.

doctorG

This is very interesting. I didn't hear anything from the dealer about this when we ordered. What's very annoying though is we ordered in late June and have been told the build date is not until late October (we did order Designo though). Does this sound like a long time to others as well??

dj128

Just curious, but I placed a deposit down on a GL350 last month and have a build date in early October. The dealer took my CC number for the $1000 deposit, but my card was never charged. Also, I never met with the financing department to finalize the terms of the sale. Does that sound right to you?

Every other car I've bought and ordered (this is my first Mercedes), I had to sign a contract for financing. Could it be because I'm purchasing this through my business?

Dog hauler

Except for the "my card was never charged" part, it doesn't sound unusual to me. But you better have confirmation in writing as to what options you ordered and what price you agreed to pay. If it's not written down, you may be in for a nasty surprise when the car shows up.

JimBarnhart

Not too surprising to me either. I agree with Dog_Hauler, concentrate first and foremost on the build specifications, get the printout and make sure it's what you want. Consider obscure things like side impact airbags, easy entry seats, quarter panel open/close, that you seen on the forum. Second, agree on a price and get that in writing.

The card being charged gives them the ability to get $1,000 from you, not so much that the dealership needs the money. It wouldn't shock me that the don't charge you until the build has been confirmed at the factory. Financing I've always done at delivery, there isn't an ability to 'lock' rates on a car loan like you do on a mortgage.

fabbrisd1

A order from a dealer is not necessarily thew same as a confirmed order between the dealer and the factory.

If the factory has confirmed the order with the dealer - then that dealer will be able to give you the factory PO#.

If a dealer has taken a "order" from a customer - some dealers will not charge the depoist until they have a actual confirmed PO from the factory.

Yes - the fact that the credit card was not charged COULD indicate that that dealer does not have a confirmed PO from the factory for that MB.