icebeam

Hello,

So the time has come and I'm getting ready to go in to put my deposit on a 2016 custom s550. The numbers are to my liking but the MF can't be agreed upon until the car arrives. The only thing the dealer has told me is that the deposit is non-refundable and I don't know the amount yet. What's the typical reasonable amount for this? The reason I ask is I don't want to lock myself in then the dealer jacks up the MF sky high when the car arrives.

What's the secret to ordering the car without one or getting it changed to refundable? I have seen some people on this forum get cars ordered from mutiple dealerships without a deposit

jenz

I've never placed a non-refundable deposit unless *everything* was agreed to in writing ahead of time ... most of my orders have a refundable deposit

Negotiate the MF like this - X points above the buy rate, etc ... or the actual buy rate itself if they are willing to give it to you at cost

If they won't agree to lock it in that way, I'd find another dealer

Wolfman

I never even placed a deposit on a Mercedes. Negotiate the MF as described by Jenz.

Good luck!

icebeam

My dealer said you put down 5k and there is no contract or anything just your "word" that you will buy and you get a receipt for the deposit. Which under AZ law anything over $500 dollars has to be written or it's not binding. So i'm not really worried about the deposit. I do like the advice about negotiating X over current MF and will try to do that. As they said I will sign a contract stating the agreed upon purchase price.

IMHO (In my humble opinion): Part of the problem may be I'm only 26 (and I look younger) and although I have not disclosed income yet I'm sure some assumptions might have been made regarding the affordability of this car in regards to me Hence the need for the deposit

Thanks,

MTrauman

Don't buy the car unless it is with the parameters you want such as a refundable deposit. In other words, demand it be refundable. If you have never purchased a car from a particular dealer, they may want you to do some type of deposit to show your good faith but for me it must be refundable or it is a deal breaker. Remember every dealer is different since they are all independent business people and make their own rules/decisions.


My factory ordered '14 S550 4matic I did a $2000 refundable deposit whereas for my factory ordered '16 S550 4matic (every option except 3D stereo and fridge) I did a refundable deposit of $1000. They would have done the deals without the deposits but for me I want to "lock down" the scenario such as negotiating the price at the time of order so the dealer does not do something at delivery that would show bad faith on the part of the dealer. By "inking the deal" at time of order with some type of deposit gives the buyer some type of leverage (ok maybe not a lot but something) but I also would not do a deal with a non-refundable deposit--period.

MTrauman

I learned long ago to never "judge a book by it's cover". In other words, I have clients that are in their 20s that are worth millions. So you may be right about the dealer "judging" you but I do not make that mistake in my business. And if you can truly afford the car with your income or assets, you have the upper hand anyway. So order that car and enjoy one of the best cars around.

Streamliner

Unless you are ordering something very unusual--like some crazy Designo color/interior combination, I would NEVER agree to a non-refundable deposit, especially one in the thousands of dollars. S Class buyers don't grow on trees, we are a fairly rare breed. In addition, with the new BMW 7 out now, the competition for an order like yours is even hotter. Tell them you are happy to give them a deposit, which shows your good faith, but they need to show good faith as well and forgetting the "non-refundable" business would be a good start.

dbtk

IB, if the quote sheet that you PM'd me is for this car / dealer I would think they are trying to pull something over on you. As we discussed over PM your monthly lease quote for 7,500 miles per year is more than $1,000 more per month than mine with 10K miles per year (despite that mine is a leftover 2015 vs. your 2016 and that your MSRP is $10K higher).

FYI, I placed a deposit on a special order CLA45 AMG when they first came out and I was able to get it back even after the car delivered to the San Francisco dealership.

kath00

I am getting my s550 2016 this weekend hopefully (just got off the ship in LA) and I did not place any sort of deposit when I ordered it about 3mo ago.

I don't think it's legal to ask for a nonrefundable deposit. Anywhere. You have to be able to say no once you get the actual item and test drive it...