Lurkerlisa

We are about to go in and do the deal for our June European delivery - YAY!

I'm wondering what discount, other than the 7% already given, we should try for or is 7% the most we could expect?

Thank you in advance for any advice!


Lisa

Alex Bel

I assume this is for gas version?
Last time my ordering CA dealer gave me additional 3% off MSRP and I was happy with the Total 10% off and no destination fee. This time I've figured out their commission structure and will try to negotiate more when time comes.
( I am only interested in diesel version, since there are many real competitors for GLC class in gasoline world, but that's another topic.)

The reason is that -
"The Dealer Commission is 10% of the total vehicle price - more than most showroom grosses. The 10% commission be calculated after the 7% discount." Plus they get " $40 learning and performance charge, gas guzzler; European Delivery vehicles are not charged against dealer’s allocation; Dealerships have the opportunity to order four cars per calendar year on an open Certificate of Origin in the dealership’s name, for promotional activities, during Quality by Design trip, or employee recognition."

Now you understand what they get, so I will try harder with this knowledge.

bayrischertyp

I am working with a tight timeline to try and get my GLC ordered so I can pick it up during an upcoming trip to Deutschland. One of the dealers I'm talking to is asking for a $1000 deposit to request info from the ED people at MB. Is this legit?

I talked to another dealer and he said that since I'll get 7% off MSRP because of ED, there's no wiggle room on price after that. He made it sound like because it is ED, the discounting is standard across all of MB. Surely there must be some negotiating room, right?

One other question. What should I come prepared with to negotiate the lease? Is it worth putting money down?

I wish there were a nonpartisan checklist to go into lease negotiations with MB so we can be on as equal terms as possible...

ted_jane

I negotiated an additional 5% off the EDP price. MB USA pays the dealer a flat 10% commission of the MSRP (including options) for EDP cars. So the dealer basically split the commission with me. The SA I was working with was relatively new and said he would not make such a deal again now that he knows how much paper work is involved with EDP cars.

Several people on the EDP forum here highly recommend Herbert Haemmer of MB Escondido, CA for EDP. They say he usually gives an additional 3-3.5% off the EDP price. You can google him to find his EDP web site.

You can purchase an EDP car from any MB dealer and have it delivered to a dealership near where you live.

You can read about the complete EDP process in the Dealer's Workbook here:
http://mercedes-benz-dealer.custhelp...kbook+2014.pdf

Alex Bel

Agreed 100% with all above.
Just wanted to add I've worked with Herbert and he gave me extra 3% off.

George in KG

I received 7% off MSRP when ordered for ED in Summer 2016. No additional discount from either dealer I asked. GLC were in demand then and likely still are, so no incentive for them to deal.

bayrischertyp

I'm working with Herb right now after meeting with my local dealer tonight. He told me he'd knock $500 off the price of the car to either offset picking it up in San Diego and driving it back home or to ship the car to me.

I finally have some deal numbers back from my local guy as well. I'm hoping Herb can beat the local offer. I'm getting the ED discount of 7% and I think there was some other kind of small incentive as well. Any other ideas on what I can ask for to sweeten the deal?

ted_jane

Some board members have stated that they negotiated full MB maintenance for 2 - 4 years and/or an extended warrantee.

I didn't try this but both list for a few thousand dollars, which, depending on the Dealer's markup may be a good deal for both you and the dealer. Just make sure you get the MB maintenance and/or extended warrantee that is good at any MB dealership in the US.

fabbrisd1

"Deal #'s" - I find that funny - to be earnest I would suggest stronger focus on two things -
timeline since that does NOT get confirmed until after dealer submits the EDP request - and your selection of the 2018 feature set/choices - #1 and #2 are more key to satisfaction -
and your time has value - like chewing the bone back-n-forth over "maybe" $1,000 "added discount.

The is ONE gal at MBUSA that coordinates all EDP - and factory lEDP leadtimes this year are in effect longer than ever before - EDP can be a blessed experience - if you havs spent more than 48hrs on the minor stuff - refocus to what's important.

Oh - the "expert's" so far have not clearly outlined - ED cars are not charged the $995 US destination charge - so that's $1,000 more you are "saving".

Depending on model - dealer's receive their "normal" profit for that model - invoice + holdback - since that % varies by model - so you know % "profit" on a GLC is quite tighter than it is let's say % "profit" on a C-E-S.

The "expert's here" must not have seen you mention you plan to "lease" - which means you won't have need to ask about Extended Warranty - right ? And on a lease plan Ppd Maintenance can be residualized just like your vehicle - so 30K Ppd maintenance "cost's" you less on the lease than it costs the dealer to "give "it to you.

Good luck with your ED - frankly - GLC great value - Great ED experience - just get it done without the the brain drain buddy !

ted_jane

Because your post appears to be in response to my post I would like to reply directly, and also ask you some questions.

Seems like good advice.

Negotiating a deal is a two way street, so this statement can be turned around by asking, why do some dealers spend their time as a business practice trying to squeeze every last penny of profit out of a deal?

The answer would seem obvious, because some dealers feel the market supports such a practice.

In response to such practices, it does not seem unreasonable that some customers try to get the best discount possible. Even if it does take some of their time.
Thanks for mentioning the "ONE gal", I believe you are referring to AnneDoris. I exchanged email with her during my EDP process. She was very responsive and extremely helpful. She deservers every EDer's thanks for working quietly behind the scene so "EDP can be a blessed experience".

"minor stuff" is a subjective term, what may be minor to you may not be so minor to others. Hence the many pricing questions on this board. But your point is well taken.

I never presented myself as an expert and I don't appreciate the implication that I did. I try to post from my direct experience or what I have read else where on this board, with qualification on the accuracy of the information. As I believe I provided in my reply to a question when I wrote, "Some board members have stated". This is just another way of saying "for what it is worth".

I believe most readers on this board are sophisticated enough to know the posts they read here are other layperson's option and experience and should not be taken as expert knowledge. But may be not everyone here is as sophisticated as I thought.

Question, Is this statement true for EDP orders?

Or, is the statement from the European Delivery Dealer Work Book correct:

"The Dealer Commission is 10% of the total vehicle price. (European Road Insurance, Black Forest Alps Package, Gas Guzzler tax are not subject to commission.) Dealers are paid 10% commission off the total price of their order less additional insurance, BFA and gas guzzler add ons. Therefore, for example, if the bill to the customer was $43,562 but $354 of that was additional insurance, their commission would have been paid on $43,208 ($43,562 - $354)."

This is a sincere question that I hope as an expert you will answer .
Again, the mischaracterization, I was responding to the general question on ways to sweeten a deal and not the specific case. The audience for these forums is more than just one person or one deal.

It needs to be noted that negotiate is not synonoumus with "give". I understand that some dealerships, and their employees feel that a penny off the asking price is "giving" someone something. Where customer's often believe it is their hard earned money they are spending so they want to negotiate the best deal they can.

In addition, even though it costs the dealer to provide Ppd maintenance, the cost to the dealer most likely is less then say an addition 2 or 3% off the MSRP. Yet the customer may get 2% in value from the Ppd maintenance, even on a lease. In this example, both the customer and dealer benefit. The dealer benefits because the negotiated deal takes less from their bottom line, and the customer benefits because they receive something of equal value to a straight % off MSRP.

The basic point I was making is, there are many ways to negotiate a deal where both parties are satisfied with the end results. But if your position is that the dealer is "giving" the customer something, rather than negotiating, then all customers should pay full MSRP and be happy the dealer "gave" them a car. Please let me know if I am mischaracterizing your position .

Good advice, I fully agree.

Bottom line, according to the board FAQ:

"A bulletin board is an online discussion site. It's sometimes also called a 'board' or 'forums'. It may contain several categories, consisting of forums, threads and individual posts."

I would hope that individuals are free to post, without the post being misrepresented.

fabbrisd1

Sure - with all "this and that" - again - for a ED you save the $995 destination charge - for a GLC price point substantive - and unfortunately despite the extensive "sharing" - a $1000 that everyone benefits from got missed.

On the rest - ED is quite straightforward - and ED experience is awesome - I guess some people just need to make a sunrise experience a ultra-complex mandala...

zhenyaf

agree 100% with the above statement

I worked with Herbert and he got me 7% plus 2% without any negotiation and then another 1% for the inconveniences that I ran into with the paperwork

He is excellent and I cannot recommend him enough!

CasemLuke

Hi Folks,

Few items here:

I wanted to share my overall experience and my deal. Before I bought mine, I browsed through this form and many of you helped me out, so here's my contribution back.

Loved the EU Delivery program. A few notes that you should know if you’re considering.
1) My dealer was very inexperienced with ED and it was certainly a learning process for them, ask how often yours orders ED, may make your life easier.
2) Yes, they do require a deposit. I paid $2000. And I ordered mine in late February, picked up May 18. I needed to have an exact, precise pick-up date as I knew I was traveling there for work, so I wanted to combine work/holiday. So, on that note: The sales associate “replaced” one of their already schedule/ordered GLC which they were expecting to be built in that time frame with MY custom order. Otherwise, I would have to go to the end of the Dealer GLC list (which I’ve seen mentioned on this site).
3) They require the full-payment for the remainder of the car 30 days before pick-up. If you finance, this can be tricky as banks usually want the title 30 days after fund disbursement and of course by nature of the ED, you would have to be about 90-120 days out / and a VIN is unusually not yet assigned. Instead of paying cash, I went ahead and asked USAA who seemingly had no problem with the delay in the title/lean being delivered. Plus I got like ridic low rate.
4) the Paperwork. In hindsight – this looks WAY more intimidating than it actually was. It was insane how many pages they sent you, but really it boiled down to 4-5 documents; not too bad.
5) DE Pick-Up: This was flawless. MB Museum was really cool & factory tour. Drove it through Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, S. France, then dropped off in Paris – 15 days.

For my deal:
-Standard 7%
-Standard waived delivery ($~950)
-1% off from Dealer (next time will shoot for 3%!)
-$1000 AmEx MB Certificate
-Rubber Mats, dealer included
-Rear Rubber Cardo mat, dealer included

--All in all, I think I came up to about 9-10% off MSRP of $50,000. Not too shabby. But most importantly – I got everything I wanted – colors, with only the features I cared about and it will hopefully last me the next 10 years + plus a unique experience in Europe.

Additionally, I Purchased separately (from another dealer). My dealer said these are “controlled by MB and cannot negotiated …. (?) Meanwhile, I called MB of Austin and got a great deal. I think?
-7/75 extended warranty for $1700
-4 pre-paid maintenance $1275
-Wheel protection (I have the 20” AMG multi-spoke): $950 (5 years). This was probably an unnecessary splurge, but gave me piece of mind.

Now, to my questions:

1) From another posting, I saw someone say they used their USAA discount with the 7% EU delivery. Is this true/possible? My dealer said she tried and the system didn’t accept it.
2) ED aside, when you picked up your GLC from the dealership, what did you get (besides two keys)? I don’t have an owner’s manual (even though I left it in the car in Paris), or a window sticker (thought this would be a nice to have if I ever sell it one day, momento?). Besides those things, did you receive anything else? Instructions for the SOS system, MBme app, XM Radio certificate? Anything? I literally showed up and drove away – they gave me nothing.


My next steps:
-I’ve added window tint. Looks sweet!
-I’m removing the GLC 300 & 4 Matic from the rear and replacing them with “Turbo 4 Matic” emblems to the side of the car (like the AMG has)…. AMG says “bi-turbo” whereas mine will say only “turbo 4Matic” I like the uncluttered look from the back. While in Europe, I noticed the EU GLCs didn’t have all of the numbers – it was a very clean look.
-Thinking about roof-rails for skis / bikes. Not sure how much they obstruct the view from that sweet Pano roof!

I’ll leave you with this tip/feature which I just found out about---if you leave the sunroof open while the car is off and the car detects rain (I assume via the windshield wiper sensors, but I don’t have an owners manual so what do I know), it will automatically close it! How cool is that?!

Ciao.

mvarner5

Can't answer the 1st question regarding the USAA discount, although I read that fleet discounts cannot be applied to EDP vehicles. I left my owner's manual in the car when I dropped it off in Frankfurt. The owner's manual was still in the car in a plastic bag with a U.S. spec first aid kit when I picked the car up at the local dealer. The VPC is required to print the Monroney sticker...it should have been in the vehicle when you picked it up at the dealer State-side. Hope this helps.

ted_jane

Casemluke, Great write up.

We must have been in Europe at the same time. I dropped my GLC off in Stuttgart on May 30th and I am still waiting on redelivery. But I am on the west coast so the car did not arrive in Long Beach until last week. Are you on the East coast?

I too left the manual in the car as instructed. If it is not there when I pick up the car I will be requesting another one.

If you sign up for Mercedes-me you can get access to the online version of the manuals.

As part of the discount I receive over the 7% standard (an additional 5%), I agreed that the dealer did not need to do any prep or extras, such as a free tank of gas (yes they actually said there would be no free tank of gas at the price I paid). I don't care about the extras, I just wanted the EDP experience and of course the car :-).

I did not need to put any money down, but paying 30 days prior to pickup in Europe is standard for EDP. BMW EDP has the same requirement

If you get roof rails you may want to consider third party rails. Several people on this forum have reported the pano. roof cannot be fully opened when the MB rails are installed. Search the forum for roof rails, there is a long discussion, including third party rail recommendations that do not block the pano roof.

ajmtbm

so for euro delivery you negotiate the price of the car as you normally would and save $1,000 because you don't pay destination charge. so at the end of the day it actually costs you less to buy the vehicle this way is that correct? (excluding the trip of course)

ted_jane

See here for what is included with EDP:

https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/europ...livery_program

See the Whats Included section for the standard EDP included items. Some highlights are:

• 7% off MSRP, you don't need to negotiate this discount. Note, some models are excluded or may have a lower discount.
  
• $995 destination charge waived
  
• 15 days of auto insurance while in Europe
  
• 1 night stay in 5 star Stuttgart Hotel

There are several other items included, this lists just a few of the biggies.

Many dealers will not negotiate a discount beyond the standard 7%. But there are some that will, see the European Delivery forum on this board for more information and dealer recommendations. Note, in many cases you can purchase an EDP car from any dealer in the US and have the car redelivered to a dealer near where you live.

CasemLuke

It can cost you less for a model that's newer in its life cycle/high demand, as dealer discounting can be minimal -- the 7% and Destination fee is automatic (no negotiations necessary).

My 3 benefits and priorities were:

The MB experience: Factory tour, Stuttgart, MB museum, walking to see what I built on the showroom floor; my smile was ear-to-ear. I've been wanting to do the EDP since I was a kid + a lot of my colleagues have done it.

Vacation: EDP is still an investment with your own $ (plane tickets/hotels) and time. So, I made the most of it and maximized the free insurance (15 days), drove around to obscure towns in Europe, avoiding the big cities -- camping, hiking, biking, boating, wineries. I happen to be in Europe for work, so picking up the car didn't cost me anything extra in terms of flights. Use caution: Having the suv for 15 days, sometimes you forget that everything you purchase along the way eventually has to flown back to the US! You are not allowed to leave anything in the car.

Exact Options: I'm a bit particular. After considering discounting/down payment, I didn't want an MSRP above $50K, so I needed craft my add-ons precisely. For example, I was completely fine with the Premium 1 package - If I don't know where I'm going, I use Google Maps so didn't' need the Nav and that dumb little track pad. Burmester, Sport+night, 20", Espresso interior, Black Wood, LED headlights, Pano, etc were a must! It would be nearly impossible to locate that exact combo and negotiating a better price than EDP would be unlikely. MSRP: $49,950.

So to your point, I wouldn't exactly paraphrase the EDP as a way to save money, if you incorporate it in a trip which you were expecting anyway, then yes, it can give you some no-hassle savings. Cheers.

CasemLuke

Ah, forgot to reply to this .. delivered to Texas.

ted_jane

When I picked my car up on Monday the manual was still in the car. Plus the US first aid kit and the Monroney sticker. Interestingly, the Monroney sticker included the cost for the extra 1 month Euro Road Insurance in the price of the car.

Also interesting was the trip computer had not been reset since I picked the car up in Stuttgart. The average gas usage for the 3461 European miles was 23.5mpg.