mbwestminster

We have 3 S600's on the ground and are offering $7500 off the MSRP on these particular units. No Dealer trades, we need to sell these cars from stock.

197 Obsidian/Black Leather R36 18" Wheels MSRP $143,675

775 Iridium Silver/Black Leather R36 18" Wheels MSRP $143,675

040 Black/Black Leather Demo unit, R36 Wheels MSRP $142,900 sold on title as used.

Incoming this month-VPC on 11/18/06

040 Black/Black Leather R47 19" Multi-spoke Wheels, MSRP $144,875

197 Obsidian/Black Leather R47 19" Multi-spoke Wheels, i-Pod integration kit from factory MSRP $145,300

We do have a dealer fee of $489.70 that is added to price, net discount from sticker is $7010.30 WOW!

These are real cars on the ground, we can help arrange shipping however shipping is not included in the price.

Please send me an email directly to gweiler@mbwestminster.com or call me at 303.410.7820 as I am not always on the forum to see new PM's.

Doctodd33

this is $2000 better than your ebay ad......thank you...i wanted to let you know that we appreciate AND NOTICE the better offer. If i lived anywhere near Colorado and the car looked like the s550 with amg, id be interested in one. But the shipping negates the discount for me.

T

JLP

Why does Glauser discount MB's so much?
Thanks to Dealers like Glauser they have turned what was once a highly desirable and exclusive product into a commodity and diminished the brand overall.
Do people walk into Prada/ Chanel/ Rolex/ etc and see sale or discount signs??
Next time someone complains about the resale value of their MB, keep in mind who discounted the cars so much to begin with and perpetuated this downward spiral.

Doctodd33

id agree if it wasnt a 100K car. Do you think a couple thousand dollars is what dminishes the resale value? Have you checked ebay for LV, Prada, etc? And since when has the resale value of MB's been bad? I think you might be wrong. All cars have bad resale value unless they are antiques, classics, or unique cars.

T

JLP

Sorry but during the 80's and 90's there were little to no discounts when buying a Mercedes Benz and the cars had tremendous resale value due to the fact that if you wanted one you had to pay the same as everyone else.

Try getting a $7000 discount on a Porsche 997/ Cayman or any Ferrari for that matter. (Porsche is currently the most profitable car company in the world) Albeit Cayennes are discounted but not their sports cars.

Unfortunately due to certain dealers huge discounts it seems as though Mercedes Benz has definitely lost a good portion of its mystique that took a 120 years to earn..............and all because of some short sighted and flawed business plan. It has and will continue to turn what was once a revered elite brand into a simple commodity.....too bad really!

Doctodd33

im sure this could be a discussion that could be debated for a very long time....a couple of things you mentioned id like to point out....there was no ebay/internet in the 80's and early 90's. Also, i dont know what everyone else paid back then...but it is a long stretch for me to believe that absolutley noone got a discount. I think that would have to be answered by someone who worked at a dealership back then. Also, i dont know for sure, but i think Porsche does discount their cars since they are mass produced. I would agree that Ferrari probably doesnt discount much if at all.

Im no economics professor, but i think this all has to do with the market. And i think the market has changed tremendously since the 80's and early 90's with the internet.

T

whoover

In the 80's, MSRPs rose every year as the dollar fell. This constant increase in the price of the cars cushioned depreciation somewhat.

Nowadays, MB just decontents and keeps the price the same. The number of features dropped on the W220 between my 2001 and 2006 is huge. Plus, competition from Japan has made them eat many price increases that they would have imposed if the market would have borne them. This means older models depreciate faster. Add the high cost of repairs on complex cars with a few well-publicized faults, and a couple of years of warranty becomes a very valuable asset (or liability for the older model).

Competitive dealers have nothing to do with it.

stardoc

Jeesh,
Even the "exclusive" Gallardo is sold on ebay with massive discounts...possibly making it affordable for some peasants.
Prices are set as a result of supply and demand. When an upgraded engine demands a $50k premium on a mass produced vehicle, you betcha there'll be a discount on it.

pmb600

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here, but Prada, Rolex, and pretty much every designer and high end department store has sales and discounts and even outlet stores. The only one that does not is Louis Vuitton, they never have sales and maintain no outlets. They would rather trash perfectly good merchandise that supposedly some "craftsman" in Paris labored over for hours rather than sell it to someone who might love and enjoy it for less than MSRP. Now I find that deplorable.

Nevada Jack

My first MB was a 1977 280E Sedan and it was discounted $1000 (about $16000 list as I remember)...added a 1979 450SL and it was also discounted. Every MB I have purchased since then has been discounted. Regardless of the discount MB is still a elite product in high demand and will remain so as long as they continue to build quality automobiles.

MBZFAN55

In the early 90's (....and any dealer can correct me on the details), the margin on MB was in the 13-15% range. I think in 1995 the margins were reduced to 8%, with a corresponding reduction in list price. The thought was to make the cars more saleable with a lower price and the dealer wouldn't have to discount, ala Saturn. Obviously the laws of supply & demand once again have overtaken the best marketing plans and discounts are available on most models. For the most part MB products are mass produced vehicles and are subject to market conditions like any other commodity.

waboehler

margin is now 7%

okc329

M-B has been de-contenting and decreasing component quality simultaneously to stay somewhat competitive. The big reason is pressure from the Japanese auto industry. Easy to see why if you compare Japanese wages/benefits with those of a German worker.

Doctodd33

im sure everyone(the regulars here at least) already knows the invoice prices, and that is my disclaimer to anyone who gets upset about me posting this. There are other areas of profit for the dealer besides this, but that being said...dealer cost is on the right

MSRP DEALER COST
Base MSRP $85,750 $79,748
Obsidian Black or Iridium Silver N/C N/C
Black Interior N/C N/C
P2A: Premium II
- (220) Parktronic
- (401) Active Ventilated Seats/Front
- (536) SIRIUS Satellite Radio (w/6-month subscription)
- (889) Keyless Go $2,850 $2,650
321 AMG Sport-Package
- (770) 19" AMG 5-Spoke Wheel
- (772) AMG Bodystyling $5,600 $5,208
Panorama Sunroof $1,000 $930
Dynamic Multicontour Front Seats $1,800 $1,674
Freight $775 $775
Gas Guzzler Tax $1,000 $1,000
Total $98,775 $91,985

bt1340

That may be true, but what do the back end, incentives etc. add to the dealers margin to make this a profitable venture in the end. Obviously it must add up or they would not discount 6% on a 7% margin.

MarcusBenz

It is truely sad that such a fantastic automobile has been reduced to the "discount rack" so quickly. Suppy & Demand, Mercedes has completely loss focus of this & their product ends up suffering. Also, not to bag on Glauser, but wasn't this the same dealer from Florida selling the new body 2003 SL500's for $50k over window? How times have changed.

MarcusBenz

Please remember that a well balanced dealership pays the bills through the Service & Parts dept. The profit from selling cars is truely that, "Profit"! To answser your question on backend incentive. The factory does give the dealers 5.25% hold back on every car, but is meant to assist with flooring costs of the inventory on the ground. Some cars sit for 1 day, some sit for 1 year!

Fikse

never seen "authorized rolex" sales or an outlet store...

whoover

My wife and I each wear a President. I assure you I got them new at considerable discounts. Look in the New York Times.

whoover

To what extent is "sell-to-break-even to get the allocation" a real factor? You hear that cited, especially in reference to the business model of a dealer who makes a lot of long-distance sales. I would think that parts and service would be less significant to a dealer that sells a lot of cars on the internet and ships them out of state.

Nevada Jack

I don't know the details of your post, but take a look at Glauser's (now Westminster MB) and it is a hometown MB dealer making the most of the internet marketing now so common with all dealers. I only had a quick tour but their layout for service and parts looks pretty significant to me.

pmb600

Yes, sorry for not being more presise--outlet stores was referring to Prada and the other high end clothing/accessories lines.

As for watches, you can get a discount on any watch you want. Go to Tourneau or Wempe in Manhattan, they will discount anything, and trust me both of these stores still have considerable prestige despite giving discounts.

Sorry for being

Fikse

yea, I was at Tourneau in Manhattan, they were willing to deal with regards to trading in my rolex on a new rolex..... the markup on them is huge....

mbwestminster

I wanted to just throw my two cents in. I don't set our prices/discounts, I am happy and proud to represent our store on this forum and enjoy Mercedes-Benz immensely.

We follow a business model here based on what the factory is doing at any particular time. One thing no one has mentioned is the growth of MBUSA volume, this is indicated below.


YR Units Source MBUSA.com
05 224,421
04 221,610
03 218,717
02 213,225
01 206,638
00 205,614
99 189,437
98 170,245
97 122,265
96 90,844
95 76,752
94 73,002
93 61,899

That's a lot of 3 pointed stars.

Incredible growth in such a short time. The 2006 objective is continues to move up. This is done with 320+ dealers.


We do try to capture opportunities when they arise. I think anyone in any business does that, for some reason when car dealers seize an oppurtunity it is wrong. Someone mentioned the SL's in 2003. That was simple supply and demand on the hottest convertible at that time. Every MB dealer in the country right now should be trying to figure out how to maximize the potential of cars that are going to be in high demand and alternatively, planning how to move merchandise that is not moving before their lot looks like the VPC. This is not exclusive to selling cars.

I live in Denver and our suburbs are overbuilt, you drive out there and see signs in the new neighborhoods with 4 residents and 200 $250K houses that say $80,000 in free upgrades. I doubt the developer had this mind when they started building.

Meanwhile..

I live in a middle of the road area where people are starting to buy 80 year old 900sf. bungalows with nice yards close to Denver for $325K,knock them down and charge two different people/familes $600K per side on their new 2400 sf Duplex with no yard. This is 20 minutes away from the house with $80,000 of free upgrades. Both my original neighbors took the money and ran and I am looking forward to meeting my 4 new neighbors soon. Sorry for going off topic but this is the beauty of business and free commerce in America. Back to Mercedes-Benz.



These same S600's in May and June were bringing 7-10K over sticker. 6 months of waiting and the market realized a 15K swing. We as a dealer have 15+ S600's on our radar in the next 90-120 days
and recognize that the market has changed. We respect our clients and know that they are very well educated. A buyer today has many tools available and we like to respect their time and make buying an MB a fun and memorable process without hours and days of back and forth. This educated client covers both ends of market pricing. They know when they can get a deal and they know when the market requires that they pay more than MSRP if they want to have something first. This can be said for houses,cars, watches and many other items, Mercedes-Benz or Glauser did not invent this concept.

No one could argue that there is a shortage of cars available from the factory with exception of the 65/600/63 cars at times. Or today a S550 4matic with a AMG Package is pretty terrific merchandise. Some dealers choose to try 10 people on at sticker assuming 2 of them will buy it, other dealers put a fair price for a terrific product and keep the inventory moving as well as earning new clients and possible referrals because they treat people right and with respect.

"you can replace the car, but you can't replace the customer" I can't take credit for that one but I heard it many years ago and see it every day.

People in America have many, many choices when it comes to buying a car or truck. I think everyone in this business would love to just take orders at MSRP with no trade-in. This is not reality and this business is competitive and the clients sometimes know more than we do. I appreciate every opportunity I get and am lucky to work for a store that feels the same way.

Greg Weiler
gweiler@mbwestminster.com

whoover

Thanks for the candor. Makes sense to me.