larkave

The new MBZ dealership in San Jose, CA (Beshoff) has a new E55 for which they are asking $10,000 over MSRP. How does that compare to other MBZ dealers?

mbprince

from what I've seen, that's just about standard on a new E55.

reb13

I don't know anymore. Maybe its still like that in CA. But I heard ("friend of a friend" kind of thing) that there was some new MB dealer in Atlanta that, because it was new, got a large allocation of cars including a few E55s and, as a result, you could get them either from that dealer or others in the area for MSRP or maybe even slightly under. While I was waiting for delivery of mine I had two dealers call with people who had backed out of their orders and one was asking $2500 over and one $5000 over but I don't know whether they ultimately got that. Frankly, given that MB clearly is going to make more of these that intially published, I don't think they command a premium anymore and I expect that they quickly will be sold for less than MSRP. But again, CA still may be different.

amg55

I would expect most dealers to at least cast the line out with a fat price attached for a few days to see if they can catch anyone who is price-blind, then drop the price down staedily toward MSRP.

Tell you what...if that car still has a +$10,000 tag on it after 2 weeks and you walk in with a check for $5000 over MSRP they'll likely take it. And the longer it sits the more flexible they'll be.

Just depends on level of interest in E55's in your local market.

NewBlack55

The Atlanta dealer is Mercedes of Buckhead. The advertised E55's, Cl55's and S55's in the paper last weekend. They are NOT selling them for under MSRP. Most we gone when a friend of mine called, he was offered an E55 for 10K over and passed. You can order them and buy it for MSRP. Even in ATL I have heard of 5 to 10K over for the cars people are passing on. Trade in market here is real bad and causing people to pass on cars quite a bit.

Has anyone heard of an E55 going below MSRP?????? I would be really suprised really suprised. But if so I have a friend looking and it would make himm very happy to find a deal like that....

reb13

Well, again, it was a guy who was talking to a dealer in central Illinois who also has some kind of an outlet in the Atlanta area and he was saying that, with the new MB dealership, the E55s had "flooded the market" and, accordingly, they were no longer commanding a premium there. But no one I know actually got one for less than MSRP (or even for MSRP unless it was ordered in advance). It was just something I heard. Still I think the days of a premium are either over or very limited.

Rave E55

WOW!! Crazy stuff. I paid msrp for mine.

sf49ers79

larkave... as far as i know.. there are a lot of people who paid MSRP... try another dealer!!! like autobahn the one in belmont!!

TheBeaver's

I live in Northern California and one of the Sacramento MB dealers has an 03 E55 on the showroom floor. The thing is they have a "market value adjustment" of $20,000 added in the price, boosting it up to $120K. Is this a normal practice? or is it probably cause they don't sell many of the AMG's here in the northern part of the state? With all the changes coming up, I'm waiting for late 04 or 05 before I purchase and will probably go through a So. Cali dealer for the car.

The Beaver's

KenE55

MB of San Diego recently had an 03 E55 for MSRP. I can't believe anyone would pay above MSRP for an E55. I read somewhere the US allocation of E55's will be about 1500 per year, or triple the allocation of 2002 E55's. The new E55 will be plentiful very soon!

fiftyfive4me

Some people have paid MSRP (mostly pre-ordered ones); and for those who wanted to have the car "right now" have paid over MSRP (up to 20K over).

D-5

There is no point of paying over msrp for any car. I got mine E55 for msrp(waited for 2 months, arriving on tuesday) Cars will depreciate. For some cars like amg, Mpower, Ferrari will hold its value for a while, but it's just a matter of time. Never rush, look around first, if you're not able to find the car you want at the right price, there are always other chioces (new M5) At the end, the money is still in your pocket.

alz

Never paid over sticker for any of my AMG cars.

E55AMG99

Don't pay a dime over MSRP for the 55. MB wants the guys at Beschoff to be successful against Smythe who has dominated the south bay for years. They are getting a lot of factory help.

AMG will only hold it's value in the first year or so of the new model run. The 320 has the highest residual after 3-4 years according to the MB finance people. I think the official residual calculations were posted here abot 6 months ago.

sf49ers79

I agree with E55amg99 don't pay MB more than the MSRP

ralt12

You would think, with the new corporate 7-speed transmission coming in the fall, (see MB news release 5/14/03; July CAR magazine says it goes into all AMG models because of its greater torque capabilitiy) that looking for a significant premium over MSRP would be asking for trouble. What happens to resale whan a 5-speed gets compared to a 7-speed that is supposedly faster and gets better mileage?

mbprince

re: July CAR magazine - I would love to see that article because I don't think the 2004 AMGs will get that 7 speed. That probably won't happen until MY 2005.

amg55

There is virtually no chance that the 2004 E55 will have any changes in engine/transmission/brakes etc.
The car's only been in production less than a year in Europe.
The '04 will have navi system and very little else which is different from the '03.
Major changes are ahead, but they should be 2005 model at the earliest.

ralt12

Well, you folks are probably right. But DCX (at http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/index_e.htm look for the 5/14/03 news on the 7-speed) has indicated that most of the standard big horsepower cars will get this gearbox, like the E500 and the SL500. They've told the magazines that all the AMG cars will get this, and to a degree, it makes some sense, as why would you put your flagship (halo) cars out there with fewer doo-dads than what you can get in the standard model? Certainly there will be production ramp-up timing differences, but I think it would be surprising if DCX waited a year for this. Regardless of the immediate timing, though, the point is--the 5-speed models should'nt be selling for this kind of premium when they will certainly be at a performance disadvantage as soon as this changeover takes place. And that diminishes resale.

TheBeaver's

Is it going to be the case of buyer beware, not very smart in the customer loyalty area, but if you walk in off the street and drop the cash do you think ANY sale associate is going to stop you? A just my .02 post.

The Beaver's

mbprince

the DC article says this -
'The new 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission will be a standard feature of the E 500, S 430, S 500, CL 500 and SL 500 models from autumn 2003, replacing the five-speed automatic version currently fitted.'

It makes no mention of AMG. In other articles I've read it was stated that this new 7G can handle (I'm going from memory) 700n/m of torque (5.5liter SC engines are near this limit) and that a 1200n/m version is being developed for the higher HP/Torque output cars (AMG and S600).


Quote from another thread and one of our super moderators -

'My sources inside AMG still unofficially tell me *no* 7G transmissions for any AMG's for 2004.'

Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure - the 7G 'is' coming as well as more horsepower!!!

mbprince

check out this for a fairly complete article on AMG engines and transmissions for the future -

http://forums.thecarfanatics.com/ind...?showtopic=352

krispykrme

go talk to beshoff again. Because i only paid $500 over MSRP on the 04 E55 ordered last night. The car will arrive in 3 month. I was told by beschoff, they hae factory backing and can get car much sooner than any dealer in the bay area.

larkave

Krispykrme,
Thank you for the info. If I can ask, what did you order and whatis the MSRP? Also, how did it end up at $500 over MSRP? Thanks!

krispykrme

I do not know my exact MSRP yet. The contract stated $500+MSRP+$1500 special order charge ( i asked MB to give me a slight different interior, and minor trim change on the outside as well).

I will finalize my option list tomorrow and will have full MSRP by that time (i hope).