Bipolar S-Class mkt?
02-28-2008, 03:10 PM
#1
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Bipolar S-Class mkt?
Colleague recently ordered new S65 (needs a kid-hauler; currently drives '07 SL65)....shared a few datapoints learned while chatting w/our usual salesman on SF Peninsula...
Mkt on SF Peninsula for S550/600/63 is apparently fairly soft, but new S65s are in tight supply/demand....w/solid demand from (largely) repeat custs....
Have often observed how popular '07-'08 S65s are in SiliconValley....but had no idea they still have tight availability some ?20mos post-US launch....(and interestingly new '08 CL65s have tepid demand on Peninsula; CL63 030 was more popular, and many of those CL63 guys have ordered the first SL63 030s, not '09 SL65)...
Was even more perplexed by anecdotal data that, locally, some ?60% of S550s are (tax-advantaged) business leases....but 90%+ of 65s are $0-down, 2yr-leased, and vast majority of leased 65s are personal leases (no tax deduc)....
Perhaps confounding and/or regionally-specific datapoints....generally agree that overall US high-end economy (esp $100K+ cars) is slowing, but find anomalous datapoints interesting....
Curious...are other new S-Class mkts in US similarly bipolar?....tight new S65 mkt, but soft new 550/600/63 mkts?
Mkt on SF Peninsula for S550/600/63 is apparently fairly soft, but new S65s are in tight supply/demand....w/solid demand from (largely) repeat custs....
Have often observed how popular '07-'08 S65s are in SiliconValley....but had no idea they still have tight availability some ?20mos post-US launch....(and interestingly new '08 CL65s have tepid demand on Peninsula; CL63 030 was more popular, and many of those CL63 guys have ordered the first SL63 030s, not '09 SL65)...
Was even more perplexed by anecdotal data that, locally, some ?60% of S550s are (tax-advantaged) business leases....but 90%+ of 65s are $0-down, 2yr-leased, and vast majority of leased 65s are personal leases (no tax deduc)....
Perhaps confounding and/or regionally-specific datapoints....generally agree that overall US high-end economy (esp $100K+ cars) is slowing, but find anomalous datapoints interesting....
Curious...are other new S-Class mkts in US similarly bipolar?....tight new S65 mkt, but soft new 550/600/63 mkts?
02-28-2008, 11:03 PM
#3
I really don't know how to answer your question directly other than to say that here in Alabama at the main dealership within 200 miles, you will never see more than one S/CL 65 on the lot of my dealership and I have not seen another S600 since I bought mine 15 months ago. We have about 8 S550s available , one CL 65 and one S63. 2 or 3 CL550s are available and the usual 20 E classes, 20 SUVs, etc.
However, 200 miles east of here, Atlanta probably has 5 times more of each model than we have. So I think the answer to your question is it is bipolar. Location, location, location.
Of course, we have a lot of M and G classes around here because I live only 40 minutes away from the Mercedes plant in Vance, Alabama.
However, 200 miles east of here, Atlanta probably has 5 times more of each model than we have. So I think the answer to your question is it is bipolar. Location, location, location.
Of course, we have a lot of M and G classes around here because I live only 40 minutes away from the Mercedes plant in Vance, Alabama.
Last edited by trumpet1; 02-28-2008 at 11:05 PM.
02-28-2008, 11:39 PM
#4
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SF Peninsula/SiliconValley is rather "different" vs rest of SF region's economy....and the car nuts in either City of SF or suburban Woodside/Atherton/PaloAlto tend to get their MBs at one of two dealers on Peninsula (Autobahn/Smythe)....
Just asked a pal in BevHills about new S65 sales dynamics, and his dealer (BH) says new S65 is also a tight mkt in BH (just like SiliconValley, BH is clearly addicted to new S65s)....again, seems like many repeat buyers in BH won't shop for any car outside BH corridor....
Have always been fascinated by which models are favored in which regions...and how most guys in various regions are unlikely to travel to other parts of an urban region to get any car.....perhaps a realization that one risks being a second-class citizen if any svc/lemon issues arise, as one's local/most convenient dealer has no incentive to be supportive if it's not a car they leased to a profitable customer....
And, I suspect I'm like most OCD car nuts in that I wouldn't want any new S65 (or any car) that's been sitting at a dealer anyway...have zero interest in figuring out if car has been lovingly raped during various joy-rides...or had minor dings/paintwork during its tenure at some dealer....would rather just order a new copy be built...or have dealer switch allocations for a copy that's en-route to US.....
02-29-2008, 02:26 AM
#5
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Agree...suspect dynamics even vary within a given urban region....
SF Peninsula/SiliconValley is rather "different" vs rest of SF region's economy....and the car nuts in either City of SF or suburban Woodside/Atherton/PaloAlto tend to get their MBs at one of two dealers on Peninsula (Autobahn/Smythe)....
Just asked a pal in BevHills about new S65 sales dynamics, and his dealer (BH) says new S65 is also a tight mkt in BH (just like SiliconValley, BH is clearly addicted to new S65s)....again, seems like many repeat buyers in BH won't shop for any car outside BH corridor....
Have always been fascinated by which models are favored in which regions...and how most guys in various regions are unlikely to travel to other parts of an urban region to get any car.....perhaps a realization that one risks being a second-class citizen if any svc/lemon issues arise, as one's local/most convenient dealer has no incentive to be supportive if it's not a car they leased to a profitable customer....
And, I suspect I'm like most OCD car nuts in that I wouldn't want any new S65 (or any car) that's been sitting at a dealer anyway...have zero interest in figuring out if car has been lovingly raped during various joy-rides...or had minor dings/paintwork during its tenure at some dealer....would rather just order a new copy be built...or have dealer switch allocations for a copy that's en-route to US.....
SF Peninsula/SiliconValley is rather "different" vs rest of SF region's economy....and the car nuts in either City of SF or suburban Woodside/Atherton/PaloAlto tend to get their MBs at one of two dealers on Peninsula (Autobahn/Smythe)....
Just asked a pal in BevHills about new S65 sales dynamics, and his dealer (BH) says new S65 is also a tight mkt in BH (just like SiliconValley, BH is clearly addicted to new S65s)....again, seems like many repeat buyers in BH won't shop for any car outside BH corridor....
Have always been fascinated by which models are favored in which regions...and how most guys in various regions are unlikely to travel to other parts of an urban region to get any car.....perhaps a realization that one risks being a second-class citizen if any svc/lemon issues arise, as one's local/most convenient dealer has no incentive to be supportive if it's not a car they leased to a profitable customer....
And, I suspect I'm like most OCD car nuts in that I wouldn't want any new S65 (or any car) that's been sitting at a dealer anyway...have zero interest in figuring out if car has been lovingly raped during various joy-rides...or had minor dings/paintwork during its tenure at some dealer....would rather just order a new copy be built...or have dealer switch allocations for a copy that's en-route to US.....
02-29-2008, 10:03 PM
#6
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Absent, thx for interesting perspectives re: Chic's focus on S65 as well....
Was recently chatting w/a Manhattan colleague and it sounds like new S65 is still a favored kid-hauler in Manhattan/Greenwich.....and it's still a tight mkt to get a new copy at the favored NYC region dealers....
Unless Chic has markedly changed recently, my guess is most guys who live on GoldCoast/LincPk or Winnetka/LkForest still are regulars at the same 2-3 MB dealers (all major urban regions are essentially small towns when deconstructed in terms of high-end live/work/consumption corridors)
......have a good friend/colleague who recently relocated from AstorSt to BevHills, and he still gets his new MBs from his favored Chic dealer/salesman, even though he knows MB BH takes great care of their many local (and wkend-house-owning) regulars....gotta love loyalty....
Was recently chatting w/a Manhattan colleague and it sounds like new S65 is still a favored kid-hauler in Manhattan/Greenwich.....and it's still a tight mkt to get a new copy at the favored NYC region dealers....
Unless Chic has markedly changed recently, my guess is most guys who live on GoldCoast/LincPk or Winnetka/LkForest still are regulars at the same 2-3 MB dealers (all major urban regions are essentially small towns when deconstructed in terms of high-end live/work/consumption corridors)
......have a good friend/colleague who recently relocated from AstorSt to BevHills, and he still gets his new MBs from his favored Chic dealer/salesman, even though he knows MB BH takes great care of their many local (and wkend-house-owning) regulars....gotta love loyalty....
