BK64

Hi !

I am planning to buy SLK-350 manual. Can someone help me with following :

1. How much over the invoice is the fair price to pay ?
2. Is there any promotion from MB that one could use while buying car ?
3. The dealer says mine would be a custom ordered car (Manual, Trim pkg, Premium pkg, sports susp., color) so it would take 6-8 weeks. Is it a realistic timeframe ?

Thanks for your help.

BK.

evanichka

1. by invoice do you mean MSRP? i wouldn't pay a cent above MSRP... and if you do have to pay msrp, i would try to get something extra

2. as far as i know, mb never had any promotional deals on new (and used?) roadsters... ever

3. 6-8 weeks? 8 weeks sounds doable to me but i have no experience with that... i would think 6 weeks is being pretty optimistic

BK64

Thanks for the reply ...

1. Invoice is NOT MSRP, I meant, the price that dealer would pay MB. I know even at that price dealer would make profit out of hold back money and any other promotion from MB.

2. I was told that there are some coupons from MB that you could use on top of any deal.

Regards,

BK.

redvettx2

MSRP is pretty much the norm because of the high demand, but on an order you might do a bit better.

There are no promotions on these cars because of the demand and they do not need it to sell these cars.

From what I was told 8 weeks would be very fast. I was told more like 12 to 16 weeks. Some countries are not taking orders for 05's anymore. I had dealers tell me the same thing (ones sales men told me 2 weeks, I hung up) he called back and said 8 to 10 weeks. The dealer I purchased from said more like 12+. Some will tell you anything to get the order and your deposit.
As the nice weather is fading away you will still be waiting for your car. That why I choose to buy a car that was on the lot and available. I was very lucky to get it. It had just came in and only my salesmen knew it was available. Most are always pre-sold. Even when I came to pick it up there was confusion to if that car was already sold or not. I think I just got lucky.
There were 2 more black ones available but both did not have the heated seats or air scarf so that was a deal breaker for me. One was loaded for 60K and the other was stripped for 50K. Mine was 55K and had most of things I had to have. Good luck.

P.S. Most of the dealers have been getting extra cars from MB. They ahve no control of the options that they get. ie no heated seats in seattle. All the cars I looked at were from the extra allotments which are not spoken for. I would call every dealer with what you want and something close may come in.
I feel lucky I got the car a wanted now and did not have to wait.

KarlS

I ordered mine on January 27th (because I was specific on color and options), and it came in March 25th. The day I placed the order, the dealer said my deposit was for a slot they already had in the mfg queue for a build date the first week of February. Don't know if that helped or not. I had to pay MSRP for mine, which was typical at the time for the four area dealers I visited around metro DC. The base price went up $750 after placing the order, but my price was locked. I also was able to negotiate $500 off MSRP for the extended warranty. Big whup.

To put things in grand perspective, though, the SLK350 is the entry-level MB. Maybe there's more headroom in the more-expensive MB classes?

NeilC123

HI have to say I find it remarkable that people pay over the odds for the slk - after all it is just another car in what is becoming a very crowded market and with a few very nice cars on the horizon it will become very crowded indeed. Mercedes may be having fun at the moment - but the need to watch out. I think if you are buying a car don't forget you are the consumer and the seller wants to sell it and you would be surprised what they would do to shift a car there and then - I managed to get £10k off a new SLK 350 with all AMG options which was being sold for £40k purely because i bartered. In the end i didn't take it because i don't really see what all the fuss is about the car to be frank - but don't be disheartened with talk of over the price odds - just go in and play hard ball!

omagagi

You should check out www.classicautosales.com. They are located in Omaha and have a silver/black fullt loaded with 7000 miles priced at $49900. Why wait?

feelix171

The typical wait for cars that need to be ordered is 90 days. Actually I mean '90 friggin days'. I ordered mine a month ago (because I couldnt get the beige interior on a black car) and I was recently told that the production of these cars pretty much stopped in March and would resume in April.
So yeah, its a real pain to wait 3 (in my case 4) months but I just cant make concessions when I am paying this much for a car.

KarlS

You may be right.

In my case, though, I'm someone who's had 14 new vehicles in his adult life, and all have been plain vanilla Ford, GM, or VW sedans, ragtops, SUVs, and trucks...

So from my perspective, my new 350SLK is a sweet ride, and in our area where I couldn't negotiate anything off MSRP from any of the four MB dealers in my metro area... I paid the going price to get this ride.

And so far I love the car!

...Karl

NeilC123

Don't get me wrong - if you try to get some off and it doesn't work - it doesn't work. I am just saying - a car is a car and I travel distances to try to see if i can get a decent deal - after all - why pay over the odds for a piece of metal which in a year or so time will be yesterday's style....roll on the maseratti folding hard top roadster, the jaguar coupe, the new porsche 987, the aston martin V8 etc etc etc etc....

SLK350Magnum

Yessss! At last I can post!...We have (as I have been told several times,) the #1 in sales MB dealership in the US. Yes, Naples Florida where the wonderful bluehairs and snowbirds clog the streets like a old mans prostate blocks the flow of urine....There is no such thing as a fast lane in this county (Collier.) At any rate to get back to the subject..At MB of Naples there are several SLK 350's and one of those crazy$430,000 MClareans (sp?)...They are happy to deal on the price, they like to move 'em out and will work with a real qualified buyer. I checked out a couple of reds, obsidian blacks and then the wife plugged into an arctic white W/ Beige leather , automatic and a couple of other options...I prefer the Firemist red w/beige..but I think she wins on this one, I'll go with it. I couldn't have ordered it any better... and there it set in the back of the lot still in cardboard and saran wrap...untouched, fresh off the transport. To make a long tale short, if you think you have to pay MSRP, call around and work these dealerships...Air fare is still cheap.. you can fly down and drive back and still save a few bucks.

Nick
Arctic White 350 SLK on the way
'05 Infernal Red Hemi Magnum RT
'71 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ-40 350 Chevota, (Toyolet)
'38 Chev 2 Dr Sedan 427 CI Chev Street Rod under construction

bmwnomore

I got $ 1,000 off MSRP and the MB windscreen thrown in. It was pretty tough to get that back in September when I ordered. It might be easier now. I have heard of people in forums like these saying they are getting $ 1500.00 to $ 2,000.00 off MSRP now. I guess a lot has to do with where you are. But my guess is as the weather gets nicer, the deals will get tougher.

bigciti

We ordered our SLK in Nov. '04 and took delivery 7 weeks later on Xmas Eve.
The cost was $2000 UNDER MSRP. If you're a good negotiator you should do as well or better. Don't be conned by the dealer...they're anxious to sell cars..and are NOT selling as many as they lead you to believe. Be armed with all prices, which can be obtained on the internet at several sites. I use: www.edmunds.com