In addition to mess with 4k discount (on another thread), sales guy surprised me with request to pay for the car that is still on the ship/not even at the port.... so they can close the books before EOY. And car may get to dealer in early January


Anybody heard of request like this?

No. Leave that store now. They've tried to screw you over for months.
Do you pay for dinner before made? Groceries before shopped?
Eff them, their end of year (They going to start your warranty early?)

LEAVE. NOW. Let us know what store this is. If only nearby dealer, buy something else.

YES. It locks in the discounts that may expire after 1 Jan. I will most likely be doing it as well. MBZ also wants to close out for competing sales with BMW. If I do it I'll ask for another 1K. Right now I'm at USAA discount of 4K and dealer of 3K. Hoping to lock in for a total of 8K off. My car's production date was delayed from 1 Dec to the 11th. So car will be on the boat unless Mercedes landbridges it to the west coast. My dealer only mentioned the early close when I expressed my dismay of it missing the Christmas promotions. Legit offer.

So what is it? You buying from these morons, or elsewhere? People have told you to walk in at least 2 threads I've seen. It's 12/7. EoY is 24 days away. Who is this dealer, and why are you staying with a salesman/mgr that lies?
Warranty starts when deal closed/booked AFAIK, insurance issues, all of it. Thing falls off transporter, you pre-paid, at this store they'd make you eat it I'm sure.

Cannot switch in zero time: morons have my deposit, so I need to find another e63 and lock in the price before burning the bridge. And then get refund for deposit.

Found similar car elsewhere, but they can only sell in their area.... So it gets complicated now...

Are you leasing / financing with little down? If so what do you care?

This is a good opportunity to get some extras like dealer installed clear bra, free first service etc.

Internet sales, "their area" means nothing.
Who is dealer that is screwing you around?

It's your deposit, and they're trying to book a sale on a car they haven't paid for. Not theirs to sell until leaves VPC and is invoiced.

This whole deal smells. Get deposit back. Find another car out of 97 listed on Cars.com
Deals always there.

What do you think they'll do if car comes in and they have your deposit? Courier it over to you?? NFW.

Wouldn't go thru this crap buying a Yugo. But, YMMV.

fWIW I bought my c63 New Year's Eve 2010 and got a great deal for many of the same reasons discussed here. Told them I'd pay for it, but since I was abroad and had another car to unload I didn't want to take delivery that day. Sales guy I dealt with (gm's son who has now sold me 4 cars and sent me to two track days including Vegas) said I needed to take the car within 30 days of signing for them to get what they needed out of MB Canada. So I don't buy what your dealer is telling you either.

I'd say no, you've already placed a deposit and the deal is balance for the car. If they chirp you tell them about the other 97 cars and start talking like you are going to walk. You'll get things your way.

I had to deal with that "protected territory" bullcrap a couple of MBs ago. My closest dealer is by far the smallest in the area (and only a cpl of yrs old), and there's zero chance I'm interested in working them. We got around it, but it only made me more certain to avoid the dealer that is crying to MBUSA about their footprint.

On the E63 purchase, I had no issues purchasing out of state.

As for executing a sales contract on a vapor car.... No thanks. Too many potential issues, and I see no sweeteners for you the buyer, other than locking in the incentives. And that's got nothing to do with the dealer.


The refundability of your deposit will be determined by the language on the document you signed and the law in your state. It either is refundable or it isn't. Should be very simple to determine.

Thanks to all that replied: really good suggestions. Here is Sunday morning update:

I caught sales guy in contradiction with his explanation of which discounts apply, so he promised to get clarification from MBUSA. If he does not came back with acceptable solution, getting refund should not be an issue in CA since I paid deposit even before the car was built:

Vehicle Code 11713 states: Noholder of any license issued under this article shall do any of the following: (p) Accepta purchase deposit relative to the sale of a vehicle,
unless the vehicle is present atthe premises of the dealer or available to the dealer directly from themanufacturer or distributor of the vehicle at the time the dealer accepts the deposit. ...


Working alternative at the same time: Remote dealer still states they can sell the car only if I have "verification of the address in their area"....

That's called a lie when it involves your money. Acceptable solution is to ask for deposit immediately followed by a FYYFF.

If remote dealer has internet manager, great. If not, find a car that doesn't need this BS. MBUSA dealer agreements have nothing like that. If I decide to buy car on vacation, walk in, they going to say no?
Ask for GM, tell him you are going to buy a car, got screwed around elsewhere, and does he like to sell from stock.
Meanwhile look on Cars.com and be a bit flexible. Also ask what inbound cars are available.

Again. RUN. DO NOT WALK. You've been lied to, screwed with, on a 100k deal. Place sounds like a dirt-lot used-'em-up dealer. Bet service after sale is awesome.

The irony of situation with remote dealer is internet manager is asking about address verification....

Nevermind. Keep looking, you've got to find someone that's not a putz eventually. It's the internet. People buy out of zone all the time. Ask him what is point, and does he want to sell car or not? Ebay, etc doesn't care, and like I said, if you walked in store on vacation, and pulled trigger, who cares?
Dear god, narrow down where these 2 stores are so the rest of us don't get hosed anyway.

Is that dealership located in Newport Beach? If so I heard the same BS. Referred to the E63S as a "special edition" car they would only sell to their devoted local clientele...OK sure