Fleetrates.com is advertising some interesting prices on new Mercedes, up to 3% below invoice. Has anyone had dealings with them or any other Internet discount brokers for new Mercedes?
- posted
17 years ago
Fleetrates.com is advertising some interesting prices on new Mercedes, up to 3% below invoice. Has anyone had dealings with them or any other Internet discount brokers for new Mercedes?
This is really confusing.
Could you explain to a non-American what "below invoice" means. There are one or two other (to me) strange references in price and discount discussions among North Americans.
There is a posted selling price and the buyer tries to reduce it as far as possible.
What else is there?
Thx for any enlightenment.
DAS
For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling
In the USA, cars have an MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) which is higher than the "invoice" price, or the cost to the dealer. However there's lots of under the table financing between dealers and manufacturers involving rebates, holdbacks and other things I don't completely understand. Suffice it to say the if you bought at invoice (or below) the dealer is not taking a loss. There not in the charity business, and can make money at or below invoice.
Thanks for the definitions. This is clear now. How do you know what the "invoice" price is? Isn't it supposed to be confidential? Or is it leaked as a marketing tool? ::-)
(I take it that the MRSP is the posted price or what I have heard called the "sticker" price in the US.)
Although I am not sure we know what the dealer's theoretical buying price is in the UK, there are similar 'hidden' arrangements (e.g. sales bonuses from the manufacturer) that explain selling prices that appear to be below a 'profitable' level.
DAS
For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling
The "invoice" price and often be found through info on the Web, and is sometimes released by the dealers as a marketing tool. You can rest assured they are not losing money when selling a car below invoice price.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.