MLee

Well thankyou, it took an hour of negotiation but I started with the magic words......." i'm buying today if the price is right".
Then had to wait 5 months.

Bike Rider

Nice price indeed, mine was just south of $100k and I thought I did ok in the bargaining stakes.

Lucky for us, it was sitting on the showroom floor and delivery was taken within the week.

iankayem

I do not understand how you could suggest the ML250 & ML350 are about the same price.

According to my 2012 price list,
The ML250BT with EX1, DAP & CV1 is $112013 on road.
The ML350BT with SP1 & CV1 (nearest equivalent) is $119353 on road.

Of course both these prices can be negotiated, but the 350 would still be around 7k dearer.

Now the 2013 pricelist is out, all ML models have gone up by about $500 except the 350BT which has gone up about $2500. So now the equivalent 350BT is 9.5k dearer.


But pricing aside I am very happy with the 350BT, especially in Palladium.
(I do not have the SP1 as I opted to the Off road pack instead.)

Thimee

Ouch.....

In USD (which seems to be almost exactly 1-1 with AUD) the prices are:

ML63: $96,100

ML350: $47,270

ML250: $14,570

The "on-road" price would be dealer discounts and haggling (typically 4-6% of MSRP), which pretty much cancels out the sales tax based on the city/town (I have 4.2% sales tax where I live), and DMV ownership tax + road tax (mine was $1600 for $78K vehicle).

jellies

yeah don't remind us - overpriced imported goods are a national talking point at the moment.

The current meme - after apologists gave up arguing it was because of high import taxes on cars - is that the prices are double to triple US because the national average income is double US.

This doesn't hold water because when the aussie dollar was down at 60 cents during the GFC, the national average income was similar to the US, but not a single prestige car price was adjusted downwards if anything they went up because the argument was the weak australian dollar was now purchasing less imported car.

And if you really want the REAL comparison, look to the sedans, not the ML.

E63 AMG US version - sub $100k
E63 AMG Aus version - about $250k

The Audi and Mercedes and BMW SUVs are actually less of a rip off vs US than the sedans and wagons!

jellies

minor thing but actually it is more now, assuming a $2400 dealer delivery, the 350BT is $121k, because in Jan they pushed up the prices on the BTs, while keeping the petrols the same.

also I think that $112k 250 lacks xenons vs the 350. So you gotta add the lighting package as well

Bike Rider

Yeah that was the trigger for our sale, it came with full real leather, not the man made stuff which I was surprised about cause I really couldn't tell the difference look at the comparison they had in the showroom.

My dash though is that man made leather, still looks nice. Never had a car that has a leather dash.

The only thing we feel like we've missed out on is the xenon lights... MY SUBIE HAS XENON LIGHTS!!!! Argh.

Bike Rider

Quick question, still getting used to all the acronyms...

What does BT stand for?

I get EX1 (Exclusive) and CV1 (Convenience) but what is DAP?

Bike Rider

Excuse my ignorance... BT is BlueTEC.

DAP?

jellies

BT = blueTEC diesel
DAP = Driver Assistance package (radar cruise control, lane assist, parking assist, blind spot assist etc)

Bike Rider

Woah... lots of editing there matie

jellies

yeah I shouldn't post before coffee.

anyway, I got there in the end!

iankayem

Firstly I did not believe the ML250 was available in the US, and if it was I suspect a mistake on the price you quote.

But there are three reasons for our high price:

1. The Australian spec car is loaded with options, some not available in the US.

2. Our price to the dealer includes 10% GST, 25% Luxury car tax for the top part, state stamp duty, registration, plates & 3rd party insurance.

3. The big one is because they can!

Why sell a Merc at $47k when you pay more for a Hyundai?

And the stunner is - The Australian built Holden Commodore is now to be sold in the US as the Chevrolet SS. And you can buy this import from Australia for $10k less than we can locally.

Thimee

There's a dumb joke in the hyperlink, something along the lines of "teeny tiny engine" or somesuch

A similar situation exists in South Africa, somehow the prices end up much higher than the USA, the $47K ML350 costs R770K, which equates out to almost $90K at today's exchange rate.

The tax rate on SUV's in the USA is remarkably low. Passenger cars are not so lucky however, for example if you bought a SL you would have to pay several thousand in additional gas guzzler tax, as well as extra ownership tax at the DMV each year. Another SUV tax perk that a lot of people with businesses utilize is that a SUV is regarded as a commercial vehicle (truck) and is therefore tax deductible as a business expense.

Even 10 years later I am still amazed how cheap cars are in the USA, not only to purchase but also running costs such as fuel, insurance, tax etc. as much lower than the rest of the world. That "ML250" equivalent hyperlink can be leased for $99/month, that's less than my water or gas bill!