I'm in the Pacific Northwest area and my wife's awesome 2017 GLS 450 got destroyed in an accident on January 2nd, so I'm finding myself in an urgent need for a replacement which brings out the worst in dealerships. My wife was protected very well by her GLS in a very bad crash, so she'd prefer to stick with the GLS for this replacement vehicle.

While I know deals are generally based on regional market conditions, it would be useful to get some feedback from existing buyers here so I can calibrate my expectations.

Given how well the base GLS 450 is equipped, there's no "must have" option for me so I could be happy with a base model but I'm also fine with whatever it comes with - as long as it's black or lunar blue exterior and black or machiatto interior. While I'd probably do things slightly different if I have the luxury of time and ordering, in this case I don't, so I'm definitely flexible with taking a car off the lot which I know helps.

After years of paying cash, I actually prefer 36/12k leases now so if you leased then knowing details on MSRP and your lease payment (with sales tax % number) then that would be useful. However, cash or finance buyers sharing roughly how much they got off MSRP is useful as well.

There seems to be plenty of inventory at Northwest dealerships in my preferred color, so I'm already seeing dealerships aren't acting like it's MSRP or or see you later (well except for Mercedes of Bellevue - but they are historically snobby which is why my last 8 Mercedes were purchased elsewhere).

 

I'll share my experience thus far.
I originally got $1k off MSRP for an ordered car (a little over $90k MSRP) from my local small town dealer. They said the $1k was courtesy since I was a repeat customer.
I'm in the Central coast CA area. I contacted dealers up and down the CA coast and most would not budge from MSRP, some would do $500 off if I would take one off their lot but no discount on an ordered car.
Since I planned to keep this one for a long time so I wanted to order it exactly how I want it equipped. (most cars on lots were pretty basic, between $74k and $82k).

Then I remembered our credit union has fleet discount with MB for members and also has an auto buying service so I contacted the credit union and they got in touch with a dealer about an hour from me. That dealer called me and gave me 8% off MSRP right over the phone. I was skeptical at first, so asked for something in writing. After a few back and forth with the sales manager, he sent me an email with my build, the MSRP, the agreed upon sales price and all Tax, title, fees so I know the total drive out price (to make sure they aren't adding any additional unnecessary fees). So total was $83.275 on MSRP of $90,520. This price supposedly does not include the $500 MB Fleet discount or the $500 MBCCA discount so in theory I should be able to get another $1k off making it $82,275 + TTL. If that happens then that's roughly 9.1% off MSRP or roughly covers the sales tax.
They didn't ask for a deposit and ordered it for me. Still waiting for it to be built. Currently scheduled for 2nd decade of January so it should be going into production sometime in the next week or two.
I asked my local dealer to match but they said they couldn't on such a new car. The best they could do is $1500 off.

Someone on a different thread said they easily got a bigger discount from MB of Bellevue. So I contacted MB of Bellevue, they would not budge from MSRP, so not sure how the other poster was able to get a big discount.

 

I changed my mind and didn’t go through with a purchase. But when negotiating I had two dealers... First one said MSRP only. Second knew I had been to the other and so offered $1K off. First dealer then matched it, and second dealer begrudgingly said ok bye. So I assumed that was as good as was available. This was all for fully custom orders with high spec in the $93K range

 

I was able to get $4,400 off MSRP on an 85k car.

 

Thanks - if you don't mind my asking - how was your 2020 GLS 450 equipped? I know when a new model is released they tend to have a lot come out configured the same way, so your configuration is probably one that is easier to negotiate with than other configs.

Interior and exterior color are appreciated too

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

 

My build attached. Polar White exterior, Black leather interior and a few other packages.

 

thanks - mind sharing what dealership or city?

 

ended up ordering from MB of Fremont CA which is about 1.5 hours from me.

 

I got $3,500K off of a $112K build, but that includes a $500 ABA discount. Ordered from a MB dealership in upstate NY. Some dealers are offering something off MSRP but most are not in this area.

 

you got a 450 optioned to 112k ? Why not just get a 580?
btw i used Costco auto program and got 4% off msrp on a 580. Apparently dealer said with costco discount you automatically get preset discount of $1500 over dealer invoice on any vehicle . Custom ordered or stock inventory.

 

Costco discount seems to vary from dealer to dealer. When my local dealer used to participate in costco auto program, they said the program automatically discounts to invoice plus any other current incentives.
Another dealer I checked with said their costco discount is $500 over invoice.
So it seems to not be a fixed discount across dealers.

 

i get that but in this case i was lucky to even get 4% discount on my 580 since they are new/rare and most dealers only give 1k off at most without costco program (btw if you buy a car through costco you also get a certificate for 50% off any service/merchandise/parts up to $200 total discount)Nice treat

 

Yeah that's a nice little bonus. It changes from time to time. Sometimes it's a $200 or $250 gift card, sometimes it's 50% off like what you are seeing. One time I got a $1k gift card from Costco. It's a nice little bonus that changes from time to time. Too bad for me all of my local dealers seems to be exiting the costco auto program. Only dealer that's still in it is the local BMW dealer. No MB dealers within 100 miles are left in the costo program.

You can also get 15% off parts/service at anytime as well. So might want to weigh that in to the calculation of whether pre-paid maintenance is worth it. (for those that buy pre-paid).

 

The dealer told us it would take many more months to get a 580 which is what we ultimately wanted but at the time we were ordering (August 2019) we were ordering from the Dealer Ordering Guide with only with little info available. We needed a car ASAP. So we went with the 450 but loaded it up with nearly every option except rear seat monitors that the dealer ordering guide showed then. Ironically both the 450 and 580 are available now, but as to the 580 there is still a build lag for a custom order. I’m not a member of Costco but it could be worth joining. Everything varies by market and your willingness to take something from a dealer’s allocation without customization. But in the NY market some people are paying over MSRP in order to grab one. So we’re getting a 450 but the next will be a 580 or equivalent. We’re planting own it for 3 years.

 

i see.Dealers will always tell you bs. I would back out of the deal if you still didnt take delivery and grab a 580 out state or different dealer.They are starting to pop up everywhere and you may get lucky and find one optioned just like u want.
imho amg appearance package makes 580 pop compared to 450

 

I looked all over the region for 580 inventories, and there was only one 580 optioned like ours in the area comprising several states. I could have lived w/the color (Selenium Gray) but not the interior (macchiato tan leather--too light) so I'm sticking with the 450 I ordered but still scouring inventories each day. Ours is due to be delivered in a couple of days.

 

So I'll answer my own question and say that I had 4 dealers in the Pacific Northwest who were able to do 9 - 10% off MSRP with some effort.

On my final drive out deal for a 36mo/12k mo lease (with 57% residual and .00176 money factor), I managed to get 9.6% off ($8401.92) and pre-paid service ($2060+tax) included ($10,581 off total) as I was fortunate enough to have all the dealers pushing hard to land the deal. I honestly asked for pre-paid as a way to make competing dealers go away, but I lucked out and they threw it in.I wasn't expecting such a good deal, so I guess the moral of the story is there's no harm in asking for what you really want.

I will say there wasn't much dealing to be done on GLE 450's & GLS 580.

Here's my brand spanking new - with 8 miles at delivery - 2020 GLS 450 that I picked up on Jan 26, 2020:


Awesome front end of the 2020 GLS 450 with the driver assist package

2020 GLS 450

2020 GLS 450 Leather interior with the comfort headrest (included with leather)

2020 GLS with leather package had a MBTex stitched dash included without adding the MB Tex stitched dash option

2020 GLS - 6 seat option was well received by the kids and makes it much easier to get to the third row

 

Congrats! wheel arches actually look good on black car.

 

Funny you should mention that. I honestly never noticed them until we took delivery and my wife immediately pointed them out and hated it. That said, I'm glad we chose black (vs Lunar Blue which was my preference) as it does blend in much better.

 

Did you buy one off the lot or were you able to do a custom order and get that 9-10% discount?

 

it was on the lot and had a Dec 10, 2019 production date fan Vance, Alabama

 

Great price. I contacted several dealers in WA, non were willing to budge from MSRP.

 

Yeah, you have to go to Oregon.