Wolfman

This is the time of year when the 2014 should come down before the 15 models are rolling in. I really like the Coupe but am being enticed by a $10k discount on a nicely equipped sedan, so I am wondering where these cars land price-wise until September when the Coupe is launched.

What have you guys seen/heard? Was anyone offered any substantial discounts yet?

Wolfman

No replies? Really?

Is nobody looking at buying a new S-Class from the dealer lot? Is everyone just ordering custom (much preferred unless there is a killer deal)?

I think this will be interesting over the next month or two as the 2015 models were introduced much earlier than dealers expected and they might be too well stocked with '14 models...

AppleFan1

The fact that the 2015 models are coming out so soon has been disturbing to me the past couple months. When does MB usually bring out the next year's model? I always thought that it would be around September like most other auto makers.

hyperion667

I got only 2K off.....but I did configure it, so that's usually how it goes for me

XxLHCxX

The thing is they never even made enough 2014s to begin with. Many of those who ordered 2014s are being pushed back to 2015 models and as such, the ones that are on dealer lots are probably those who cancelled their orders or demos. I don't think you can still receive much discount as the car is still very high in demand.

Wolfman

I have already been offered one at $10k discount. $130k MSRP...

MTrauman

That sounds like a great deal to me if the equipment is right based on what you want.

skrontz

For all intents and purposes, any MY2014 S Class is already a year old model. As such, standard depreciation rules of about 20% off MSRP apply. The bottom line is that no one will pick up a 2014 model now that 2015 is available, unless there is a significant discount involved.

Wolfman

I think you are dreaming if you think you could find one at 20% off, even though that would be nice. The percentage of custom-ordered S classes is around 20-25% now, and less moving forward. Past the initial demand and some that want to get exactly what they have in mind, people will walk into the dealer and buy what's on the lot (or at other dealers), just like with the W221's. Also, the only visible changes in the '15 model is a $200 touchpad and the HUD which most people don't yet really know about..Small stuff.

Also, it's my guess that most customers don't expect '15 models to be out before July...

Interestingly when I look at the cars in stock I find very few sport packages (unlike the W221's before) and virtually no exclusive Nappa interiors. The majority here is in the $107k to $114k range in 4matic, so not very heavily upgraded.

skrontz

The depreciation has nothing to do with the "minor" changes or how many custom orders there are (even though you are pulling the numbers out of thin air). It is simply a year old car that the dealers need to move off the lots. This happened with W221 and it will happen with W222. Besides, many buyers want to skip the transitional model year due to the expected "burn-in" quality issues.

If the demand for MY2014 was so overwhelming, there would be nothing left on the lots. No one would expect to pay the same price for MY2014 and MY2015 W222 when they are sitting side by side at the dealer.

Wolfman

I don't disagree with you on the basics of depreciation, I am just not seeing it. Nor have I seen anyone else on the forum experience it; hence the purpose of this thread...

Not looking for speculation, but actual offers/deals. As stated, 20% would be greatly appreciated and a quick decision maker.

Btw, I am not pulling the customization numbers out of thin air but it is the local info from the dealers I know. This may vary locally of course. In the long run I do expect custom builds to go down to very low percentages in time...
If you have different info, please let us know.

I see good inventory of 2014 models here at the moment.

lsantora

In Southern California it appears that the dealers are loaded with 2014s and may give $5000 off. I can order a 2015 and have it mid July with $1000 off sticker. Despite every dealer claiming they are selling everyone they can, I have only seen one on the road this year, and that includes all the high end areas like Newport Beach, Pelican Hill , Laguna Beach. My experience with my the 10 Mercedes i purchased through the years is that they drop more than 20% in the first year and will look for a low milage 2014 in July. I think the s 550 2014 is overpriced when you get it with the usual options like premium 1 , sport pkg and reclining rear seats to make it comparable to an Audi or BMW

skrontz

I was openly offered $10K off the MSRP on a reasonably loaded model, and it seems like you had a similar experience. If the dealer is openly talking about these kinds of discounts, they can definitely be pushed further. They know full well that the prices are going to drop lower when MY2015 cars hit the lot, and you would have a lot more negotiation power in a month or so. I would never personally buy the first year model, but to each their own. In my mind, the first year model warrants an even higher discount since you are assuming a lot of quality risks.

Every time a new S Class comes out, dealers start behaving like they are doing potential customers a huge favor by just unlocking the doors. They claim that buyers are lining up outside the dealership at night with cash in hand, but ultimately they would still have to settle for whoever offers the best price. I feel that they are still in the denial mode about the imminent price drops, but this attitude will change very soon. Being patient and cool-minded are the most important virtues when talking to the car dealer. $100K is a lot of money to spend on a car, so it is best to leave the emotions at home and be ready to walk out and play the wait game.

skrontz

I cannot agree more. I know I am in the minority with this opinion, but what's with the new plastic buttons for the window switches and around the center console? It is an absolute puzzle to me why MB decided to step down from the all-aluminum W221 switches to this cheap looking mix. I started to seriously consider replacing my S550 with an Jaguar XJ based on the interior design alone.

MTrauman

While I may agree with many of your thoughts, cars are an "emotional buy". You are also speaking in a crowd that some people might have a net worth of say $40 million while others maybe worth less than a million. When one has a net worth of $40 million, the type of discounts and strategy you are talking about may make no difference considering cars are an emotional buy and it may not make a bit of a difference if one pays MSRP, $2,000 off sticker or $10,000 of the sticker. Sure everyone wants to get a "good deal" but in reality each person comes to the table with different thoughts and also has a different financial picture.


On top of what I already stated, all of us are losing money in this S550 discussion. This is true whether you buy a new 2014 S550 4matic like I did, or you buy a 2015 S Class or a one, two or three year old S class. These are ALL depreciating assets. We are just trying to limit the amount of loss we will endure by our own strategies based on our own emotions and net worth/income streams. So one way is not right or wrong--it just has to fit your own circumstances.

Wolfman

Very true. I didn't want to get into philosophical discussions about value and depreciation. The forum is full of that anyway.

Until recently, all discounts I heard of or read about in the forum were negligible other than the usual ED discounts.
So the $10K discount made me ponder; my wife however is pretty clear that we don't need a 4 door (no kids, dogs and we rarely have guests in the back).

I think the next few months will be very interesting in terms of discounts, incentives and money factor on leases (those show how much MBUSA wants to move cars vs the dealer). Please keep it coming!

MTrauman

I agree that the discounts should be interesting over the next couple of months.


Although I did not post my discount in a past post, my dealer gave me a 5.6% discount off MSRP in early December on my '14 S550 4Matic. Some dealers were given a special allotment of EDP cars that the dealers had to go and pick up in Stuttgart and take it to the shipping point 1 mile from the manufacturing facility. I believe they initially offered 3% to their "frequent customers" like me but I told them I would wait until the inventory was much higher into later in 2015 so I could get a deeper discount. I was in no hurry since my '08 S550 4matic was running great. This dealer at the time was hungry to sell me a new '14 S and I believe I received a fair deal at the time. I had purchased a number of new S Class cars from this dealer. So the dealer got what they wanted and I got what I wanted--a win-win in this situation. By the way--I have an absolutely excellent local dealer as I have dealt with a number of other MB dealers that are "nicht so gut".

nyca

The two closest dealers to me - one has 35 2014s in stock, the other 20. That's alot of $100K+ hardware sitting around.

MTrauman

Not sure what those dealers "normal" S Class inventory is like. A CA dealer had 120 S550s 1 month ago. They now have 58. They must be moving the S class cars. I am in Pittsburgh. The dealers here initially had no inventory of S Class cars until about early February (they were all custom ordered). Now one dealer has 6 S550s, one has 8, one has 4, and the other has no inventory. I know of atleast one person from Pittsburgh who bought from one of the New Jersey dealers (I think Ray Catena) because of lack of inventory in Pittsburgh. Ray Catena and a few other dealers in the NE seem to have adequate inventory. I think CA and NY, NJ have the most of the inventory but many places in the US have no inventory. All based on allocations since most of the 2014 S Class cars were initially shipped to China causing the US to have a lack of inventory.

nyca

Yes, those inventory levels might be normal - but when 2015s are rolling in in a couple of weeks, its harder to move those cars without a discount. Why would I walk in and buy a 2014 for essentially the same price as a 2015?

MTrauman

I agree!


It will be upto MBUSA and local dealers to manage inventory levels in the US. This is one of the "fun" parts for manufactures. Manage the inventory so they keep the margins higher.