blazinginder

I've been offered a new 2008 ML350 Edition 10 Obsidian Black / Macadamia-Black Leather interior with MSRP:52,705 for $46,631 which is a little more then $6000 off MSRP. What do you guys think about the deal ?

My MAIN concern is that the dealer is 90mins away and if I were to take it to my local dealer (who's THEE best for service) I would not be able to get loaners etc. as easily as I would having purchased from them. Would it possible to have a dealer swap/trade arranged with the local dealer ? and would that have a drastic effect on the purchase price ?


here's what it has:
ML350 $43,650
197 Obsidian Black
254 Macadamia/Black Leather
E10 E10: Edition 10 Package: Birch Trim, Gra $3,370
H02 : Trim
P38 : Edition 10
20R : 19" 6-spoke wheel
600 : Headlamp Washing System
615 : Bi-Xenon Curve Illum. Head Lamps
619 : Corner Illum. Fr. Fog Lamps
876 : Interior ambient light package
P01 P01: Premium I: Rearview Camera, Rain Se $3,750
218 : Rearview Camera
345 : Rain Sensor Wipers
389 : Hands-free Communication System
519 : Rear Audio Controls
530 : DVD Navigation
536 : SIRIUS Satellite Radio
810 : Harman/Kardon Sound System
890 : Power Liftgate
324 324 Sunroof Package: Glass Sunroof
414 : Glass Sunroof
819 6-Disc CD Changer $450
873 Heated Front Seats $710
SUBTOTAL $51,930
DESTINATION & DELIVERY $775
TOTAL $52,705

Papaya

Dude, Go for the ML 550. The 382 horses are great and the Ed. 10 is not that great looking, except for the interior. Good luck!

vinceching

gotta agree with papaya... the edition 10 is not really worth it.

most of the smoked tail lights, headlights and chrome shadow grill can be done inexpensively yourself.

blazinginder

That's true but the MSRP on the Edition 10 is 1k lower then a normal ML350 with the same options. So that along with the 6k discount is actually 7k less then the MSRP of an equally equipped normal ML350.

Only thing is it only comes in P1 so its either I get this with leather and P1 + Edition 10pkg (wheels, bi-xenons, tails, and the other stuff) and dont get the power folding mirrors and power adjustable steering which I'd get with the P2 but the P2 with all the same options would be a good 2k more at MSRP of 54k

srknutson

6K off sticker? That's 2k under invoice! And why haven't you bought this ML yet? Go for it, you will never get a 550 for that much off. And I don't know if the 10th edition is available in the 550. Someone know if the 10th edition is or not on the 550?

Papaya

I paid $4k off the sticker for my 550 and I was told by another dealer he could get me up to $5,500 of one, but it was too late since I bought it already.

ams_sim

ml's pretty much always sell below invoice if you are in a competitive market like here in california.
recently 07's were selling for $9000 off msrp.

08 will not have such steep discount for a while though.

blazinginder

The dealer is 90mins away, not my local dealer whos 30mins away who I usually get my Benz's from and provides unbeatable service. So if I bought a car from the dealer 90mins away it wouldn't be a BIG issue, just that "my dealer" wouldn't be as lenient with loaners etc.

vinceching

thats a bad business practice on their end and you shouldn't worry about it.

if they don't make the sale, the next best thing is to make money on service and dealerships do charge mercedes a good amount for their work.

so go and buy the car from the other dealer and take it in for service where you like. if they give you crap saying.., "we could have treated you even better if you bought the car from us" tell them to **** off and that they would be stupid for turning away money.

blazinginder

I agree but knowing them I'm sure they won't hold a grudge or anything of that sort.

It's the question of getting loaners, right now I get loaners for every service that calls for it but I think that if I buy this car and bring it there, I may not get loaners unless the service is over a certain amount of hours OR would be 2nd priority in loaners to those who purchased from them.

sosh

Why not go to your local dealer, tell him that you wish to do business there providing they can meet the deal you have. All cars cost the same to each dealer so if they are so inclined they may just meet your deal and then you have the convience and service you are looking for. Take any supporting documentation with you. Be polite and give them the impression that you are there as you have some feelings for them.

blazinginder

That's what I intend on doing this coming weekend, I've known my salesman there since 1997 when I bought my original ML320 and again in 05 when I got the SL. I'm just assuming they won't be willing to do such a huge discount of $6000 because they don't need to discount cars that much to make sales but I guess we'll see when I make my way there.

blazinginder

I went to my local dealer today and they're only willing to sell the car for invoice at $49,474 and are sticking to it saying it's their "cost" and that the dealer that quoted me $46,631 is probably going to jerk my around (which could be true) by charging me bogus fees etc. bringing the price closer to invoice etc.

Does anyone know / have proof (document etc) that there is a dealer incentive/any type of cash back on the ML350's ?

vinceching

your preferred dealer isn't willing to work on price, so just go and buy it from the other dealer for $46,631. is this amount the out the door price?

just write an email like the following...

this is to confirm the car i will be purchasing from ________ dealer will be for the amount of __$46,631_____ with the vin # of __________________.

i understand this price is good for 2 weeks ( don't have to add a timeframe, but adding one lets them know you are movtivated to buy)

blazinginder

$46,631 is the MSRP not OTD price.

That's exactly what I did, I emailed the dealer this evening say the following:

"I'm ready to purchase this 2008 ML350 Edition 10 Obsidian Black /Macadamia-Black Leather interior for $46631 including destination and all other prep charges.

Please let me know what the Out-The-Door price is with a breakdown of all taxes, additional fees and/or charges.

I can be reached at (my #)"

I should hear from them on monday let's hope they pull through as well

vinceching

best of luck, hope you get it!

blazinginder

thanks, I'm really hoping they are legit and will sell for that price and not pull any fast ones.

At the end of the day I really want to buy my benz from the same salesman at my local dealer who I really like and have purchased my previous 2 benz's from

...BUT I think I'm willing sacrifice getting loaners and all that from my local dealer (if it be the case) if it saves me $3000 on the car...its a tough choice, is that convenience worth = 3k

Does anyone on the forum have any documentation etc. or know for SURE of what the true cost is to the dealer as it seems there's clearly money incentive to dealer as people are getting 5k off MSRP when invoice is just 3k off.

(Sorry in advance if I'm confusing etc.)

vinceching

edmunds.com is probably the closest. but you won't know the true price because dealers will get money for advertising, prep, and some other misc things from the manufactuer.

as for dealer cash, you can check out edmunds.com and click on "new cars" then you will see under it "incentives and rebates" click on it to see what they are offering. as of right now, nothing.

to get the best deal, you need to find one that is coming over that hasn't reached the docks yet. then you can negotiate more money down since the dealer would have no cost since it won't sit on their lot and they won't have to use their advertising fund.

i honestly think you should try and consider asking several other dealers within your state for the same car and see where they come up with pricing.

when i bought my car, i live in san jose and the dealer i bought from was in oakland. because of the commute, they gave me $250 for gas. =P

blazinginder

That's what I started doing after I got the invoice quote from my local guy, I've emailed about 10-20 dealers some that show they have the Edition 10 along with others in the area inquiring if they have one.

Basically I want to see how many of these dealers that have the Edition 10are willing to sell at or below invoice so I then have something more to go on and take to my local dealer to really negotiate.

My local dealer already has 3 Edition 10's in stock 1 black 2 white (one of which is sold) and has 11 more coming in (3 of which are black) so they can most certainly beat any price I get elsewhere but would probably only do it if it was a quote from another local dealer.

(hope I didn't confuse the hell out of you)

SEXYBEEST

have you tried http://www.costcoauto.com/enterzipco...r%2fprint.aspx

vinceching

to be honest with you, i really doubt they will price match for you. they will take the stance that the edition 10s are selling and therefore they don't need to give discounts. and if they are stupid enough, they will mark it up and then they will just sit there.

next best thing to do is call a dealer from outside your state that borders you and see if they are willing to do anything with discounts. if you go that route, be sure to let them know and remind them how far away you are so they know you are serious and you can also use it to your advantage on getting extras thrown in.

blazinginder

I told the dealer I'd take the car for their quoted price of $46,631 and got this response "I am sad to say that vehicle is sold. If you would consider a non 10th edition please let me know."

I honestly think the dealer was full of **** as my guy at my local dealer probably said was the case, on saturday.

In all actuality no one has been willing to even touch $48xxx let alone do 46 or 47k quote on the Edition 10. As of right now the lowest price I've got (from my local dealer) was around $49,000-$49470. I'll see if things change in the coming days with more emails coming in, most of which are quoting 50xxx if not high 49s.

Otherwise if I do decide to finally get it, I'll probably get it from my guy even if it's a couple hundred more.

vinceching

don't feel bad, same thing happend to me. i thought the salesperson was giving me crap and bs by telling me the car was sold just like in your situation.

turns out he wasn't lying and the car did sell before i could put a hold deposit.

you need to act quickly especially when cars haven't even reached the docks. because as i was told by the gm... those cars are usually first come first serve.

JonathanNY

Hi guys,
I totally understand what happened to you. I lived the same situation, twice...

I don't want to go off topic, but I am trying to buy a ML350 07 at a good price, and when I read your comments about 9K$ off MSRP or at least 7K. I just couldn't believe it. I mean, when I asked for some quotes on autos.yahoo.com, KBB.com etc... All the quotes were "46K", "47K".
Nothing around 40K.
Is it normal ? Do I need to "negociate" more ? Can you maybe give me some advice to get a good price ?

Thank you for your help, and good luck buying this edition 10 !

blazinginder

That just may so in my case as well, though I'm doubting, I'm going to find very soon, I'll let you know what I find out.