Just about to sign the documents to get the GL550
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Joined: Jan 2006
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You are good and you are absolutely right: in order to be successful in an industry/business that is close to fully commoditized, you have to negotiate and CANNOT believe the type of BS sometimes people will give you that "you need to establish a relationship" with the seller by paying them more. Your relationship will be just fine whether you negotiate hard or not. The main prerequisite is that you should have your underlying cost assumptions and data on "price discovery" so that you go in with an offer that makes sense.
Regarding the ones who buys 2, 3 or 4 150k cars above MSRP or at MSRP, those people will always exist. However, they are the rare outliers for companies like MB or BMW. On a Ferrari or RR or Bentley or McLaren, they might be more prevalent but not on the MBs of the world. Of the more than 250,000 cars MB will sell in the US this year, I would be shocked if those types of deals constitute even 1% of their sales.
Regarding the ones who buys 2, 3 or 4 150k cars above MSRP or at MSRP, those people will always exist. However, they are the rare outliers for companies like MB or BMW. On a Ferrari or RR or Bentley or McLaren, they might be more prevalent but not on the MBs of the world. Of the more than 250,000 cars MB will sell in the US this year, I would be shocked if those types of deals constitute even 1% of their sales.
For those who don't know, the sales team, sales manager, finance manager and who ever gets involved in your buying process has been professionally trained on how to put on a show so that they can try to make the most money from you.
The moment they ask you if you want coffee, or tea or what not, that cup of joe is now the $100K cup of joe. It is meant for you to feel reciprocal for you to give something in return like buying a nice car from them. You should bring a pack of gum with you and say would you like one so that you don't feel subconsciously owning something to them.
The rose they give your wife in the end is another aspect of saying you should come back for repeat business.
These are just some of the small details that most people subconsciously miss but are felt.
The moment they ask you if you want coffee, or tea or what not, that cup of joe is now the $100K cup of joe. It is meant for you to feel reciprocal for you to give something in return like buying a nice car from them. You should bring a pack of gum with you and say would you like one so that you don't feel subconsciously owning something to them.
The rose they give your wife in the end is another aspect of saying you should come back for repeat business.
These are just some of the small details that most people subconsciously miss but are felt.
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 814
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15 GL550
I have followed these forums for over 5 years now. I assure you the number of people that post on these forums that have multiple MB products and replace frequently is much higher than 1%. Usually it is the enthusiast that reads/posts on these forums. For the general population though, you are probably correct.
