spitze

My M-B dealer, when asked if I could test drive a 2003 SL model, laughed and said that all SL vehicles in the U.S. are presold for at least two years and that none of the presold cars owners have driven the car. I find it amazing that people are willing to spend $100,000.00 on a vehicle they have never driven. Granted it is the best looking M-B of all time, but ordering one without driving one is a stretch for me.

Spitze

2002 X5 3.0 Sport
2000 540iA Sport

blueSL

Strange but true... the car is in such short supply that you have to take it on trust that it will be fine.

bobafett

Is it really that hard to believe? How many people don't bother to drive a car and just order it (raises hand wildly).

Think about it - order it, and if you don't like it, get a refund or if it's in short supply sell it for a small premium. It's a no-lose situation.

--Dan

SL Boy

I told my dealer I'd willingly go to Mercedes UK in Milton Keynes to test drive an SL55. They said there were none available in the UK. I said I'd fly to Stuttgart and the sort of reaction I received suggested I might be mad.

So I'll be reducing the size of my bank account by 90,000 hard earned UK pounds sometime early next year. If I dont like it MB world forum will be the first to hear.

LOL Paul

blueSL

In transit in London yesterday, I bought a paper called the Sunday Times and there's at least 20 SL55s listed, for premiums of £8k - £20k with a company called Bramley selling one for £120k which is more than $180k.

Looks like Mercedes are mostly feeding straight into the hands of the speculators instead of the people who want to keep the car and enjoy it.

spitze

Dan,

Not so hard to believe I guess but amazing nevertheless. Must be a lot of speculators in the bunch. I personally would not purchase a vehicle that I have never driven. As a case in point, I was amazed at how "ordinary" a 2000 M-B E430 was to me when I compared it to a BMW 540i. Based on the comparative drives, I readily bought the 540i. Perhaps the SL 500 would be "ordinary" in handling and performance compared to the new Maserati. It is a comparison I would wish to make before buying one or the other.

spitze

bobafett

Spitze,

There is a problem, like SL Boy is saying, in that you don't have the opportunity.

And when people order it, they're most likely putting down non-committal orders. So then when the car comes in, if in fact they really don't like it, they can sell it or simply see if the dealership will take it back for the refund on you deposit or whatever was necessary to secure the car.

So the risk is relatively minimal. You're not out-and-out spending that money up front - if that were the case, I can absolutely guarantee that 90% of the buyers wouldn't be so.

But I agree on the need to drive it - I'm not saying you can buy it w/o. I was *very* fortunate in th M5 because I simply ordered it and had even payed for it before delivery (I know, I know, foolish me). Luckily I absolutely LOVE the car, but I'm sure it's a rare case.

So all in all, the risks are relatively low, whereas potentially you could have a fantastic car, and hopefully w/o a markup.

--Dan

Mr. Xristo

Yup.. I had my deposit over a year ago, but luckily my dealer specifically wrote on my contract "Will be sold at MSRP at time of delivery"

Funny thing.. My dealer only has 2 in the NetStar computer. One of them arrived at the Orlando vehicle place on Aug. 30.. That will be all that they receive this year, and this dealer is a huge one...

henry42

What's so hard to understand about putting a deposit and ordering a 100K car that you never test drive. The automotive press drove the car and hailed it as car of the year. You should have some idea of what the previous SL's were driving like, so if experts tell you a car is much more refined, has innovative technologies, do you really think a five minute drive makes a difference. That's why you missed the boat and have to wait 2 years.

spitze

Where I come from, executive class buyers don't take five minute test drives. We usually get the car for an afternoon or at least an hour.

Spitze

AMGFREAK

I have been to several dealers in California and they have NEW SL'S on the lot that are not sold as well as demos. I dont think that they are that hard to get. As a matter of fact my local dealer has 2 new SL's and 2 demos at this moment that are avaliable. I guess that you just have to be in the right area to ge these cars.
So I am not real sure how true the "SOLD" out for 2 years is. However I can see where the SL55 could be that way.

northbenz

Are the new SL's being offered at MSRP? If not, what premium are they commanding in Sacramento?

henry42

First of all I was being sarcastic in saying a five minute test drive, but you prove the dealers point by saying you want to test drive a SL 500 or 55 for an hour or a half day. If the dealers don't have test vehicles laying around because any delivered cars are for customers what are they supposed to do, let you drive a customer car before they deliver it. Do you want your 100K car delivered with more than a few delivery miles.

AMGFREAK

I know that in Sacramento they have/had a used one for 129K and 2 new ones for 100K. And the reason why the new is cheaper than the used is because they cant mark up the new cars because mercedes dosent like them to and they track what new cars are sold for. And they can sell used for what ever they want because mercedes does not track what used cars are sold for. And when the new cars are sold, which happens fairly quick because I would buy new before used, people are stuck buying the used that are marked up. I hope that this clears things up.

KrispyK

Hmmm, so maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to put down deposits for upcoming new exclusive models, buy them, and flip it around for a profit, eh?

AndrewEclipse

SL55 at my dealership for 179K and some change. SO.....yeah....id say there is a markup alright.

bobafett

Which is exactly what car brokers do.

--Dan

davidegai

As I have posted mny times on this forum, in Switzerland you can get an SL 500 or SL 55 at or below list price in a day.

bobafett

And they will take 2 months to get into the US, after spending almost $20k, and you still won't be covered under warranty, nor will you be able to maintain resale value.

--Dan

FrankW

well, i didn't test drive one before i ordered my car

a good friend, who's also my sales told me that Mercedes-Benz USA does not allow dealers to charge buyers over the MSRP IF they had ordered the car in advance.

Richard

I didnt test drive my SL55 before I took delivery ...

Im not mad, I just knew that
(a) it would be awesome (and it is)
(b) I could sell it straight away for a profit (and I wont)

The MB dealers in the UK are *meant* to be running one SL demo vehicle (I assume a SL500) in their group (most dealers have 4-5 showrooms after the MB UK re-org last year) - I was told that I could test drive that since I was high on the list - I never got around to it. I was also told that the boss of the group uses it as his car - unsuprisingly !