BigHat

Pretty slow segment of mbworld so let me ask my question here vs starting a new thread.

What are people seeing in terms of pricing. My dealer's opening position was 96.4% of the sticker. That doesn't seem jaw dropping to me, as an M6 (other car under consideration) is easily procured at 94% w/o a peep. I realize this is a new model year, etc. but I'd be interested in any real world deals out there people would wish to share.

I was also told by a different dealer that the SL63/65 are really tough sells. Expensive to "floor" also and that a invoice or below price isn't hard to get once you work past the BS. Not so with the SL550 he states.

Daytona-flyer

I paid the sticker price. However, I bought mine last April when they first came out.

BigHat

Thanks Daytona. And at that time you should be happy you didn't have to pay a mark up.

I'm just hearing of some interesting prices and wondered if the market had evolved some. Not expecting to "steal it," that's for sure. Personally, I would have grossly overpaid for an SL63 should that have been under consideration.

jpeardm

$7,550 off sticker here

mikey94025

That's a very good deal, especially given that the dealer's invoice cost is approx. 7% below sticker (right?).

jpeardm

not really sure on the invoice but there was a trade involved and I have purchased 5 vehicles from them in 4 years so they've done fine by me overall, lol

California John

I just bought mine in Southern California. The sticker was $123,XXX and the invoice was $115,277. I bought it for invoice, but negotiated about $1,200 worth of "freebies" at the same time (car cover, DuPont paint sealing, 3 complete detailings in the next three years. Actually mine was bought via Costco and the dealer must show and honor the Costco price, etc. The official Costco price for it was $100 under invoice. Also, mine was a special order as I wanted the Obsidian Black paint (love it - it's the standard "black" on the SLS).

BigHat

John,
Good scoop on the Costco angle. Never would have thought it that strong a program. Pretty nice discount.

California John

Something else to add on the Costco purchase, I just got a $200 coupon from Costco to use at the dealer for parts, service, etc. That's another $200 off the price I guess you could say. There is one restriction though that it has to be used up in 6 months and it has to be used all at once. But hey, $200 is $200.

BigHat

Thanks John.

red308

I got mine at invoice plus 1 %. Not that great, but ok. I ordered the car rather than take one off the lot. That cost me some leverage. Probably could have gotten it at invoice if taken out of their inventory. Just did not like the colors available.

I checked out Costco and other brokers. They can be very good with price and lease rates. But my dealer service dept. won't allow the dealer service dept. perks if you buy it through someone else. For example, I get a free Mercedes loaner car any time I bring the car in for any reason. My time is too valuable to waste time either waiting for the car or waiting for the van to get a ride home. So this is important to me. And, yes, the car goes in for issues more often than I would like to think.

Remember, that the dealers have at least 3% dealer holdback. And they make a ton of money on the lease. Just something to think about, but they get really ornery if you start messing with the holdback.

If you are a Mercedes Benz Club of America member, it will save you another $1000 after your best negotiated deal.

Just some ideas.

California John

Thanks Mark. I think there is some misunderstanding as to what Costco does. They are not a broker or agent. All they do is give you a referral to a dealer in your area (if there is one) who will sell you the car you want at a preset, no BS price. And the price is on a sheet from Costco that they must show you and abide by. That doesn't mean that some other dealer can't or won't do better - but it does usually mean that it's damn good. It also doesn't mean that you can't negotiate some other things along with the deal.

Costco gives you a referral sales person at the dealership who is trained to deal with Costco customers. He or she is regular salesperson and gets their regular commission and it goes though the dealership in the normal fashion as far as sales go. You still deal with the F&I person, etc.

Plus, I have a loaner car whenever I want. All of the normal perks of dealing with a high quality dealership apply. This has been true with Costco for the last few cars I've purchased using their service. Since you didn't buy it through someone else (you bought it from the dealer itself) there is no restriction whatsoever with service perks. Plus I leased mine through MB - like Mark says - they get a nice piece of that.

I also ordered mine. I wanted Obsidian Black and some other things that no dealer on the west coast had. It took about 6 weeks altogether.

I'm loving the SL550.

red308

Yes, you are right about Costco. I should not have lumped Costco in with the broker category. Costco has a really good program but for me there was a showstopper with them.

The only MB dealer that participated with the Costco program is 55 miles about 90 minutes(traffic) from where I live. The dealer I normally work with is only 8 miles/15 minutes away.

So, regrettably, I decided to trade off the Costco discount so I could continue to work with my local MB dealer.

mitviet

I took my 'new' '06 SL500 to dealership for oil change and the salesman was asking me if I ma interested in getting the only in stock SL550 they have in the lot. List price 123K+ black on black beast. He offered me 50K for mine if I get it at listed (I paid 40K for my car 3 weeks ago which only have 5K miles on it). Man, I am tempted !

Daytona-flyer

Do it!

California John

Mine's black on black as well. Nasty looking thing. When I pull out of the garage it's like a gorgeous snake or scorpion coming out of its whole. Very nice ride also. At 123K does yours have the ABC suspension like mine or the Magic Sky Roof (which I don't have)?

BigHat

John,
What are your thoughts on the ABC suspension?

It's pretty funny that people can almost cite the options the car has based purely on the sticker price.

Thanks,
Matt

California John

Yeah, I shopped around a lot and knew the invoice and MSRP of all the options. I finally ordered mine. Took about 6 weeks. Anyway, I like the ABC suspension. The sport setting tightens things up somewhat but not to a cranky level. I haven't had mine long enough to take it on long trips or windy mountain roads where I could see what the ABC does in that environment. If you are on a normal city street that needs new pavement - tar strips, small potholes, etc. then you can go back and forth and you'll notice the normal setting is definitely smoother. However, the question comes, "If I didn't have it would I really miss it?" I don't know.

I can tell you that the car is a nicer ride than my last car, a 2010 BMW 335i convertible. That car passed through more suspension unpleasantness - plus I cracked a couple of wheels over the three year lease. The SL550 is smoother and more forgiving but is not in any way cushy. I think it's a nice compromise. The car magazines have skidpad numbers of .94 - which is damn good.

Pus I'm an old racer - used to race in SCCA open wheel cars - so I really value the suspension and handling a bit more than most.

Keep the questions coming...

Gunther

I have ABC on my current 2004 SL500 and I love it. Turned it on the day I got the car and have only turned it off a couple of times since.....once it was off, I hated how the car rode.

I am getting a 2014 SL63 and am very happy that it will come with ABC; had I gone with the 550 I'd have added the ABC without a second thought.

So, in response to California John's question "would i miss it?" Yes, a thousand times yes.

ajm0623

hey, bighat -- just to provide a balanced view, i thought i would offer this (and you may already know this from your research) - whilst abc is a great feature and benzo has been running it for years, it is prone to mechanical issues big time and is very costly to fix. it is a costly option on the buy side and costly to maintain outside of warranty. something to consider if you are planning on keeping the car outside of the 4 yr warranty period. run a search on abc issues, and you will see what i am talking about if you are unfamiliar with the technology.

jpeardm

yeah, good point on the warranty. A lot of the systems on these cars are crazy expensive to repair outside of warranty. The ABC is costly up front like the B&O sound system but still nice to have as upgraded features.

BigHat

You know I was thinking the same thing. Our company cars are S550 4-matics here in DC. While they usually get turned over pretty quickly, we had one go past the warranty and the driver told me we paid over 3,000 to repair an ABC failure. Was planning of skipping the B&O due to the money, but if I drop ABC I might be able to swing it.

Thanks very much to all for your input!!

California John

In regards to the ABC system on the new SL550 - I have to wonder to what extent past problems with it, vis-a-vis repairs, durability, longevity, are fixed by now. Typically, advanced systems with a lot of mechanical inputs like ABC are much more repair prone in earlier iterations - and get more stable and bug-free as the technology and materials improve - not to mention the software improvements.

My car is a three year lease so any problems won't be an issue for me - but what is MB's history with improving the reliability of trick unusual systems over time with newer versions? I don't know. I would expect them to take care of business - but I am new to MB. Anyone want to chime in on this?

BigHat

That's an excellent point John. Lots of time to get it right. Not like the Eco start system. :-)

Off to the dealership at 1 today to spec a car and get pricing.

ajm0623

i have owned these cars for more years (and dollars) than i care to admit (however, never outside of the warranty period). off the top of my head, these few issues seem to stick with me as the long-term maintenance albatrosses of benzo owners that remain unimproved: abc, airmatic suspension, massaging seats with air bladders (which benzo won't cover outside of the standard warranty period - even with a cpo certification because they need to cut into the leather of the sets to fix/replace the air bladder! ugh.) and cd player issues. there may be more - but i think these are the major issues that cut across all models that benzo has been usinig for years. i did not address specific model issues like wiring harness and coil packs and the like that do not plague all models. systems like eco and all the new whiz-bang technology that will debut on the new s class shortly are, of course, untested.

have fun today at 1p, bighat. researching these cars is 1/2 the fun! great thing to do on a friday afternoon! yay.