This month’s MB numbers look decent. I’m not seeing any rebates on the C250 on Edmunds this month, but the lease rates look better than usual. The average discount on TrueCar for the SoCal region is about 5% off MSRP, which isn’t all that great. However, you can get 7% off MSRP if you opt for the European Delivery program. This might be a good option if you’ve been itching for an European vacation and couldn’t find an excuse, until now.
The following information about the European Delivery option was taken from Edmunds.com:
Mercedes-Benz European Delivery Program is availables to customers who take delivery of a new vehicle in Germany. European Delivery Program includes 7% discount off total vehicle MSRP (excluding AMG models), One night’s hotel accommodations in one of 14 luxurious hotels, MBUSA personal travel concierge service for hotel and airline reservations, breakfast or lunch at the Sindelfingen Delivery Center restaurant, two taxi coupons for ride from airport or main railroad station to the Delivery Center or hotel, Sindelfingen factory tour, Two tickets to Mercedes-Benz Museum, Full tank of fuel, 15 days European road insurance, vehicle destination and delivery charge is waived, Conveyance from 12 European drop-off points to port of shipment, Marine insurance, Return shipment to U.S. port, VPC processing, transportation to selling/delivering dealer, 10% dealer commission.
Here is a sample calculation based on TrueCar’s Southern California sale price and do not include local taxes. Please note that your dealer calculations may vary due to local fees/taxes.
Euro Delivery Option
2012 Mercedes C250 Sport 4dr Sedan
MSRP – $35,675
Sale Price – $33,178 (7% off MSRP)
Monthly – $402+ tax
RWG Rating – 88.8
Without Euro Delivery Option
2012 Mercedes C250 Sport 4dr Sedan
MSRP – $35,675
Sale Price – $33,999 (5% off MSRP)
Monthly – $426+ tax
RWG Rating – 85.3
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TrueCar.com
2012 Mercedes C300 4matic Sport 4dr Sedan
36 Month – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00142 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes C250 Sport 4dr Sedan
36 Month – Residual 61% of MSRP – .00154 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes C250 2dr Coupe
36 Month – Residual 66% of MSRP – .00225 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes CL550 4matic 2dr Coupe
36 Month – Residual 48% of MSRP – .00225 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes CLS550 4matic 4dr Sedan
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00195 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes E350 Sport 4matic 4dr Sedan
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00146 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes E350 2dr Coupe
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00162 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes E350 2dr Convertible
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00167 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes GL450 4matic
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00131 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes GLK350 4matic
36 Month – Residual 56% of MSRP – .00135 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes R350 4matic
36 Month – Residual 52% of MSRP – .00195 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes S550 4matic
36 Month – Residual 52% of MSRP – .00112 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes SL550 Convertible
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00225 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes SLK350 Convertible
36 Month – Residual 53% of MSRP – .00154 Base Rate
G:
I’m interested in ordering a new C250 Coupe build to spec for delivery/leasing in Feb 2012. What’s the best way to get multiple dealers in my area to compete for my business and give me the best possible sale price without wasting time visiting dealer by dealer?
I live in the snow belt and may need C250 Coupe with 4Matic AWD but it’s not available until Q1 2012. How should I negotiate the sale price with the dealer when there’s not much information on the car? It takes about 8-12 weeks to build and ship. So I need to do something soon for delivery around Feb. Any advice?
Thanks!
I’m not sure how you can effectively negotiate something like this. From what I am reading, some dealers are saying Dec order, Feb delivery. I can’t seem to find much info on that however.
I wouldn’t approach this any different than usual. Email all of them. Ask for the current 5% discount that C250s seem to be getting and see which one is willing to do it. Do temper your expectations though. This is a car you are ordering, not to mention the fact that it’s a brand new model.
There really isn’t a shortcut to the car buying process in my opinion. A lot of it is hit-and-miss because some dealers are just more of a pain to deal with. You could try paying a broker to negotiate for you if you really want to take a more “hands-off” approach.
G:
Should I mention the 5% discount upfront or don’t say anything and let the dealer show his hand first? Do you think there’s more room for negotiation since there’s the 3% MB dealer holdback?
Is it bad etiquette to say I want to cash buy when ultimately what I want to do is lease? I want to negotiate the best sale price without letting the lease numbers get in the way. I hate to get those “$399 a month, $2k down BS quotes” that dealers like to give out when you mention leasing upfront.
Thanks!
I would say 7% off the bat and go no lower than 5%. Also check what the market price is for a C250 during December before offering that. I’m not 100% sure, but I don’t think the holdback will matter since the car has a buyer (you) even before it hits the lot.
Either way, I would negotiate the sale price first, then ask about 60 month financing and lease rates. Then calculate payments on your own.
What about the 2012 C350 coupe? Do you have those numbers?
Any idea of how much the residual drops if you do a “one-pay” lease? Does it differ per vehicle?
@lisa. what is posted is what I have.
@4matic. The residual shouldn’t drop on the “one-pay” leases but you could get a discount on the money factor. Speak with your dealer about that since I don’t have any info on how much of a discount you can get.
G –
Re: the residuals you list, how many miles per year for what’s listed? I see the note to add 2% for 12k and 3% for 10k leases. Are you saying that an E350 convertible for 36 mos. would have a 59% residual for 12k/yr and 60% residual for 10k/yr. Thanks!
@CB. 15k, 36-mo term. Yes, 12k will be 59% and 60% for 10k.
G:
I called around and the dealer is only willing to give me 5% discount on the C250 Coupe 2-door. He said the markup on this car is only 6%. What exactly does this markup mean? Has the dealer cost from TrueCar already included this 6%? What’s the difference between dealer cost and factory invoice?
Thanks!
@supercharger.The dealer cost is approximately 8% less than the MSRP. So there’s more like a 8% markup, not 6%. That is why, when you order a car and opt for the European delivery, MB will discount you 8% off the MSRP. Very little dealer profit there.
I think the Factory Invoice was created to deceive buyers into thinking that’s how much dealers pay for their cars. But this is just my personal opinion. Dealers are generally very quick to bust out the factory invoice when they want to make you feel bad about asking for too much money off…you get the usual “we wont make any money if we go below the invoice price…” blah blah blah. I’ve heard this many times.
G – I know you put residual/MF’s on your site when you can, and you don’t take requests – so I hate to ask, but this is slightly different…
If a GLK350 with 4Matic has a 36 month residual of 56% of MSRP (15k mi/yr) and a .00135 base rate, what residual and money factor values would you expect a non-4Matic GLJK350 to have? I see this as a generic 4WD vs. RWD lease question, so I hope you don’t mind answering. Thanks G.
@PMC. 2% less. You can look at my March 2011 MB posts. That one was a complete list. You can see a 2% difference between the 4matic and the non-4matic version.