MondayQB

I am planning to purchase a S550 with P3, Panorama roof, AMG Sport Pkg (almost fully loaded). $5000 off MSRP is a reasonable offer?

Now is December ... so, I guess that the price is still negotiable. Please, give me some advice.

Thank you.

sosh

Buy it, enjoy it and stop worrying that they made a few bucks on you. Also do not believe all you hear about deals on this and other MB sites.

trumpet1

Hell yeah, that's not bad at all. What color?
Merry Christmas

trumpet1

Great post!!!!

MondayQB

Iridium Silver.

dadesidon

The S550 is a big step up from the C300 -- Congrats!! I wish you the best of luck in your car search and remember to post pics once you get your new baby!!

MondayQB

Actually, I am looking for S550 for my dad. I am just kind of his agent. It is not my big step but my dad's big step. He is worth it. I hope to get a good car with good price. Thanks anyway and I will post pics certainly.

z_mac

I always try to negotiate up from invoice rather than down from MSRP. Seems to work in my favor.

WSH

Agree...discts mean very little....no one needs a $100K+ car anyway....get the car w/options/colors you want from a good dealer and salesguy (ideally a dealer convenient to your home/office...and a salesguy who has a deep base of repeat customers....ask nearby MB owners if they'd recommend anyone)

In my expce, having a good relationship w/a competent salesguy at a well-run MB dealer pays for itself over and over.....much better priority given for any svc appts; more fair trade-in values; more straight-shooting negotiation of any disct/lease terms, etc etc.....a few nominal dollars "saved" by price-shopping endlessly is often lost in any macro-analysis of ownership costs/expce/wasted time....

Sure you want S550 in WashDC region, as opposed to S550 4Matic?....Perf tires of S550 w/Sport look are not safely useable about 4-5 mos/yr in Northeast Corridor, so need to get winter tires....whereas 4Matic has all-season tires that will prob work OK in mild WashDC winters.

If S550, would strongly advise ABC option....markedly improves handling/chassis balance. Would reconsider Pano roof.....adds weight, poss rattles, prob reduced roof strength vs rollovers...and interior profile of Pano roof appears less elegant to some w/its "cross-bars" and such.....

Z356

WSH: Sadly, the former world of gentleman's agreement regarding dealers & customers is going away. It is not like the one I used to have with my clothier Paul Stuart in NYC back in the seventies! Today, the manufacturer is not relying on your ability to establish 'goodwill' with the dealer in order for you to get good service on the car the manufacturer has built and you bought. Most of us will experience the harsh realities of our 'special relationship' with our dealer when it comes time to sell or trade-in your car. Then, you will hear words like 'two back from Manheim' and the like. You will not feel very special then, I can assure you. And if the lease deal customers get any special preferences for service, you could complain directly to MB about 'discriminatory' practices at the dealership. So, I doubt they can actually treat you much better by paying full retail. Today the manufacturers have a more sophisticated system in place to assure you get good (the aim is 'excellent') after-sales care and proper attention at their dealerships, regardless how easy (or not) you were with your salesman when you negotiated the lease or the purchase of your car. It is called 'customer satisfaction index' or CSI, and it involves those often inopportune evening calls you get after a sale and/or service at your dealer from J.D. Power or a Mercedes follow-up agent. Via these 'CSI scores', the manufacturer rewards your dealer for treating you well, courteously, efficiently and on time, etc. Some of the rewards involve money (e.g. holdbacks). Others involve extra allocation of desirable & hard-to-get-models, etc. But both are based on the quality of the service they gave their customers after-the-sale, as per the actual feedback you give them. So, my advice to all is to negotiate the best price you can at time of purchase. When a car is 'hot', you will have to pay full boat and/or a premium. After its introduction has passed and the "I want to be first in the club to own one' crowd gets theirs, you can do yourself a big favor by doing your homework and negotiating hard. You need to know invoice info, residuals, state of general economy and the like. Then, you need to 'time' your negotiation & offers (end of month, end of year, winter slow times vs spring/summer 'good driving' weather, etc) to give yourself the best chance to get the best possible deal. This will be the only time in your auto ownership experience you will be in 'full command'. Psychologically, most people will tell you that they have 'enjoyed' a particular car more when they knew they got a pretty good deal on it. It's human nature. My two cents. Z356

MondayQB

I appreciate your concern and advice. Do you anybody have recommendation for a salesperson or dealership in DC area? Thank you.

WSH

Z356,

Generally agree re: commoditization trend but, fortunately, there are a few key exceptions, even in era of corporate-owned dealer chains....

Relationships are a two-way dynamic...requires both well-managed dealers and economically reasonable, recession-resistant customers....

Smart dealers know how to tier their svc vs profitability of customer....socialist approaches vs customers make little sense, esp when many/most custs are one-off buyers of low-margin $35K cars....and a handful of custs casually, repeatedly buy $150K+ cars every 6-12mos (and potentially, if pleased, tend to refer similar pals to dealer)....

Typically obtain better svc and relationships by asking car nut colleagues to introduce one to best local dealer/GM of dealer/best salesman....

Interestingly, I get my MBs at a corporate-owned dealer from a superb salesman (mysteriously, many of my car nut pals in SF also feed their AMG addiction via same salesman)....and we all have experienced exemplary sales/svc from this dealer....and our salesman is our first call if we have any svc issues...he manages the rest of process.....had a similarly positive relationship w/my MB dealer back when I lived in Manhattan....and my colleagues in Beverly Hills tell me they have similar positive relationship w/MB BH....

Have similar positive relationships w/my local Porsche and Ferrari dealers.....common observation I've heard from good salesmen (and svc techs) is that not all customers are created equally.....and have heard many horror stories of unreasonable, one-off custs....and common obsvn that many major repeat custs are easiest guys w/whom to work....guys who value time over money; appreciate that any well-run business deserves a fair profit; understand nothing is perfect, but appreciate high quality cust svc....and guys who generally have "less to prove", esp over rounding-error amts of money....

akjunk

Just bought 2008 S 550 - American Service Center in Arlington - we've been taking our (very flawed) 2001 ML 320 for years. Hated the SUV but loved the service guys.

akjunk

i shopped around -- about $6000 from two dealers this month (dec 2007) but not AMG. P3, Pano, Rear Seat Option

Z356

Monday QB: You asked: "Do you anybody have recommendation for a salesperson or dealership in DC area?". Since you asked, I have two. First of all, I would recommend a MBWorld Forum sponsor named Greg Weiler, Mercedes-Benz of Westminster, Office: 303.410.7820, Cell: 303.618.8764. They are located in the Denver area but deal nationally. Greg has helped many of our Forum members with their MB purchases in the last two years. In my national search for a 'used' MY07 S or CL, he was of great assistance to me. In your specific area I recently had a very positive experience with Brian Fader, President (dealer principal), Mercedes Benz of Annapolis, 324 Sixth Street Annapolis, MD 21403; Office: (410) 268-2222; Cell: (410) 913-6111. He will know me as Ed from Carmel (CA) and we just purchased a '07 CL600 from him. Best of luck. Z356

LETO

just saw your PM and replied

jtimhall

I just took delivery of my P3 S550, and paid full price. I feel that the dealer should make money off of the sale, and I am loathe to 'bargain' on a purchase of such quality. While I know many may disagree, I am proud of my car, and hope that my dealership shares in my enthusiasm for the Mercedes brand.

JTH

delirium

Ah ha! youre the guy that my dealers keep talking about!! "people are willing to pay MSRP or over MSRP for these cars... "

RajwanyS550

:

AustinGuy

Uuummmm..... sure.

And in other news, Baghdad Bob just said that the Iraqi army has crushed the U.S. invaders and driven us back to the gates of hell.