[RamaGLA]

I have noticed a major price hike on MB AMG vehicles, particularly the 45 models, that I have never seen before. One well-optioned CLA45 was for sale at my local dealer for nearly $100K and didn't sell for a few months. It's not listed anymore so they must have sold it, but that was the most expensive one in the country for a long time. Clearly they have no trouble selling the cars with these markups because people are buying them. for $100K, you could buy a GLC43 coupe or for $87K, a GLC43 SUV demo. at the same dealer as the $100K CLA45!! Who in their right mind is buying these??

I remember seeing a new 2019 GLA45 for sale for $69K in 2020 and thinking "that's so expensive". Looking back, that was cheap compared to today. I would never spend that sort of money on a CLA or GLA and whoever is is out of their minds.

 

[AMGowner]

You have the 🇨🇦 so I’m going to assume all prices are in CAD, but you should specify the market you’re talking about because every sector has different pricing, option availability, package availability, etc. Have a look at like the UK vs German configurator for a CLA 45s and see the options difference.

Maybe the CLA you’re talking about was an edition 55? That package alone is like 13k USD and I saw a build sheet for one without markup and it was 85k USD. Either way though, a high spec GLA/CLA45 for the US market is over 70k USD, so the prices you’re talking aren’t really that out of question, but they’ve more or less stayed consistent too.

I have a 2017 GLA45 with a build sheet of over 73k USD. Everything was checked expect for the Pano roof for 1.5k and the Carbon dash for $950.. so in Nov. ‘16 someone was willing to pay $100k CAD for a brand new GLA45.. and could’ve pushed the build sheet even more if they added the two options above plus magno paint for another 2k+… That’s getting into the same price as a brand new c63 with an option or two so I get what you’re saying, but at the end of the day it all comes down to personal preference and individual situations.. like for example I wouldn’t even look twice at a GLC43 and think my GLA is worth the MSRP/build sheet, so hey, I’m the guy out of his mind buying these things hahaha and btw I’m looking at c118 CLA 45 as a potential next car, and the high spec ones have build sheets again that are over 70k USD (pretty much requiring the Dynamic+ Pack & Recaro’s).

A big thing that changed for a couple years was the used car market shot up, making the resale not hurt as much as it once did.. no one wants to be told their 6 or 7 year old AMG is now worth 30-40% (or worse) of the build sheet, so when you could squeeze an extra few thousand out of resales and/or even have dealer markups of thousands to 10’s of thousands during the pandemic then people got it in their head that now every car is inflated.. when in reality MB cars are down like 8% YoY, and the used car market is down around 10% overall, signs the bubble is rippling at least…

 

[RamaGLA]

Yes, CAD$. Maybe I was too harsh, I’m sure people are buying them for a reason. I just don’t understand it. Even if not a GLC, a C43 will likely be slightly less and a higher end car overall. Plus you get the BT V6. Better material and build quality and a better value for money IMO.

I supposed the 43 isn’t available with the same kind of track spec options as a C/GLA 45, but for the day to day, I’d take a 43, especially since the w206 will be a 4 cyl too.

Every Car has its purpose so a CLA will be better at some stuff than a C but I think the pricing model is still very odd right now.