[rrrichsmith]

I've learned a lot from this forum, now I'm ready to order a GLA45 for a daily driver. It will have to be a special order because I want a lot of comfort and electronic options but plain outside, no wing or blackout. And Kryptonite green which is delayed.

I haven't seen much here about pricing. A Florida dealer where I drove one wanted full list price because it's an AMG model. But has the GLA45's high price caused them to be a slow mover and deeply discounted in some regions? At 2015 prices mine would sticker for around $62k, the 2016 would probably be closer to $65k with the new options.

I'm in the Chicago area. Can anybody suggest what kind of discount to look for? Any insight or tips would be appreciated.

 

[SSBGLA45]

I ordered and took delivery on my GLA45 from the North Palm Beach MB dealership and certainly did NOT pay MSRP. PM me if you want info on the dealership and contact. I have been very pleased with them...

 

[AMGz]

That might be something to include in a bidding war when using a few dealerships. One might even give you more than just not paying MSRP... just to get your business

Keep us posted

 

[crabman]

My dealership is sticking with MSRP but more, what they think the highest number MSRP might be for some of the options which haven't been priced yet and the car itself which hasn't been priced yet. They allowed that they would go lower once full pricing was available. How much lower I'm not sure, my guess is not a whole lot. New generation or new facelifts years usually seem to get dealers looking to swing good deals with must have buyers and the better deals come later after they cull those off.

BTW If anyone has heard anything about full pricing being available I'd like to know about it, never really know when the dealership might be fibbing...

 

[rrrichsmith]

Thanks for the replies. I'm ready to start shopping and try to get an order in even though prices aren't available. I plan to try to negotiate an amount to subtract off the window sticker. Need to figure out what amount I could try for in my area.

 

[Juan Bermudez]

What they typically do is not to discount "custom ordered cars" as opposed to discounting what is on the lot. I was looking at a '15 that had everything I wanted and some things I do not (wing, red seat belts etc...) and they would discount that nicely. They told me that if I order what I want, then no discount.

I have not placed an order until I am sure on pricing.

J

 

[m-type]

What they typically do is not to discount "custom ordered cars" as opposed to discounting what is on the lot. I was looking at a '15 that had everything I wanted and some things I do not (wing, red seat belts etc...) and they would discount that nicely. They told me that if I order what I want, then no discount.

I have not placed an order until I am sure on pricing.

J

seriously though thats bs, you put a refundable deposit order what you want and eventually it becomes a "on the lot" car.

You are not obligated to take your ordered car and get your deposit back so theres no difference.

 

[AMGz]

In situations like that I take it as a red flag and take my money elsewhere, plus this wont be the first and only time you'll need a dealership, when it comes time for servicing and dealing with issues... i wouldn't want to know how they'll handle that.

 

[amgrowl]

What they typically do is not to discount "custom ordered cars" as opposed to discounting what is on the lot. I was looking at a '15 that had everything I wanted and some things I do not (wing, red seat belts etc...) and they would discount that nicely. They told me that if I order what I want, then no discount.

You are spot on with this.

A car on the lot loses money every day it sits there. When you decide you want it you need only figure out the pain-point of the dealer and then you drive away with a great deal.

A custom ordered car follows a different dynamic. Yes, you can negotiate and get less than list. The reason for this is that you are a "sure sale" and the lowest number that you will get the dealer to is their minimum profit point since that is all they have to work with. I'll admit that number can move based on dealer incentives offered by MB, but you won't be finding those numbers out.

The custom order car you buy will cost more than if you bought that same car off the lot with very, very few exceptions. Good luck finding them.

 

[crabman]

This one depends on the car. Corvettes for instance when ordered do not come out of the dealers allocation for Corvettes and it can be easier to get a deal when ordering, its found money with zero risks involved. Their only loss is if someone else sells it instead of them which turns found money into nothing. How desirable the car may be is also a factor. If the dealer knows he can move a car for decent money on the lot he doesn't have any incentive to use up an allocation for any less than he knows he can get on the lot. An example would be it's easy to get a deal on an ordered 5 series but not on an M5.

With this particular car the dealer was willing to work on a spot he had right before the door closed on 15s, they were already starting to languish on the lots of course. Now that same dealer doesn't want to touch that same pricing with a 16, he figures he can do better on the lot.

Most of this is common sense, right now we are in a poor position to negotiate and if we want to play we are going to have to pay, there is no getting around it. With 15s sitting for extended periods on lots by the latter half of the year I'm guessing we can probable work better dealers not too far down the road because that implies the market was small and quickly saturated. Not surprising really, unlike the 250 where you can make a business case against various competitors the 45 as its more a toy and a tougher sell when its price point is bumping up against the M3, C63 AMG, C7, a whole bunch of other desirable toys.

 

[m-type]

This one depends on the car. Corvettes for instance when ordered do not come out of the dealers allocation for Corvettes and it can be easier to get a deal when ordering, its found money with zero risks involved. Their only loss is if someone else sells it instead of them which turns found money into nothing. How desirable the car may be is also a factor. If the dealer knows he can move a car for decent money on the lot he doesn't have any incentive to use up an allocation for any less than he knows he can get on the lot. An example would be it's easy to get a deal on an ordered 5 series but not on an M5.

With this particular car the dealer was willing to work on a spot he had right before the door closed on 15s, they were already starting to languish on the lots of course. Now that same dealer doesn't want to touch that same pricing with a 16, he figures he can do better on the lot.

Most of this is common sense, right now we are in a poor position to negotiate and if we want to play we are going to have to pay, there is no getting around it. With 15s sitting for extended periods on lots by the latter half of the year I'm guessing we can probable work better dealers not too far down the road because that implies the market was small and quickly saturated. Not surprising really, unlike the 250 where you can make a business case against various competitors the 45 as its more a toy and a tougher sell when its price point is bumping up against the M3, C63 AMG, C7, a whole bunch of other desirable toys.

Checked yesterday, there are a total of 203 GLA45s listed for sale in the US. People are gonna get good deals for a 2015, especially in one-two months

 

[crabman]

Those cars will represent drag on the 16s or so I hope but I've been wrong before. I'm getting fair irritated with not having a car on order but I know I'll regret getting a 15 no matter how much they discount it, already taught myself that the hard way. Meanwhile I'm trying to remain patient. I''m in contact with most of the dealers in WA and I'll likely add in some up and down the west coast next week and see where that gets me. All I need is one nut to crack...

 

[ericl1975]

My dealer wanted to keep me local and in doing so, we spec'd out 2016 GLA and (in writing) gave me 2015 pricing. Even though some of the options are repackaged, we pretended that they wren't. In addition he took off $4000 off of MSRP just to make sure I wouldn't go anywhere. One other dealer said they would match that but wouldn't go any lower. 2 other dealers I spoke with wouldn't touch that deal at all and strongly recommended I stick with what my local dealer gave me. So I'm thrilled about the deal. So, I gave them a very small deposit, and the car order is sitting in their queue waiting for the manufacturer to pick it up and begin build (I heard end of August, but not sure if that is true). The only wild card is that I added the AMG Dynamic Plus package to my order (which of course wasn't available for 2015) and none of us know how much that piece will be. But I expect to pay MSRP for that one option.
Hope that helps somewhat....

 

[k2jer]

I did the same thing with my dealer. Modified one of there incoming 2016 models. Was giving a quote with 2015 pricing and got 4% off MSRP.

My dealer wanted to keep me local and in doing so, we spec'd out 2016 GLA and (in writing) gave me 2015 pricing. Even though some of the options are repackaged, we pretended that they wren't. In addition he took off $4000 off of MSRP just to make sure I wouldn't go anywhere. One other dealer said they would match that but wouldn't go any lower. 2 other dealers I spoke with wouldn't touch that deal at all and strongly recommended I stick with what my local dealer gave me. So I'm thrilled about the deal. So, I gave them a very small deposit, and the car order is sitting in their queue waiting for the manufacturer to pick it up and begin build (I heard end of August, but not sure if that is true). The only wild card is that I added the AMG Dynamic Plus package to my order (which of course wasn't available for 2015) and none of us know how much that piece will be. But I expect to pay MSRP for that one option.
Hope that helps somewhat....