In case it might help anyone else, I thought I would post a report from the Mercedes Benz dealership today. I made a deal on a Certified Pre-Owned 2016 GLE350 4Matic.
First, I negotiated $2,000 off their asking price for the vehicle. I looked around the state to find out what other Mercedes dealers were asking for similar vehicles. I also ran the vehicle through Edmunds and CarGurus market value estimators so that I knew what the car was worth before I went to the dealership.
I'm in northern California, and MB pulled my TU FICO Auto 8 score. In fact, they pulled it twice despite the fact that I specifically told them they were allowed only one HP! First, the dealership itself pulled my TU score to verify that it was high enough to forward the deal to MBFS. Then MBFS pulled my TU score again to lock in financing. Bah Humbug: This was the only negative part of the experience and I complained about two separate HPs for the same transaction!
Interestingly, the dealership paperwork said my TU FICO Auto 8 score was 741. However, myFICO shows my TU FICO Auto 8 score as 697. That's a pretty big discrepancy! But since it worked in my favor, I didn't complain. Anyone venture to guess the reason for this magnitude difference??
With that score, which MBFS considers A or A+, I was able to lock in their promotional rate of 1.9% APR for 48 months on a CPO vehicle. That made my day; I can't remember when I've had a better rate on a used car. It also helped that my income is relatively high and that I had an existing loan with MBFS, albeit at a higher APR. Incidentally, I also asked to take advantage of Mercedes Benz deal with United Airlines, and the dealer agreed. They offer 25,000 United MileagePlus miles for the purchase of a CPO vehicle--I believe it's 50,000 miles on a new Mercedes! (That's enough miles for a domestic round-trip air ticket on United).
Of course, the dealer also offered to sell me a bunch of additional things, including extended warranty, pre-paid maintenance, exterior paint treatment, insurance against window and minor body damage, etc. I turned them all down except for one: the MB extended warranty. I was able to negotiate an extention of the MB CPO warranty to cover the car for an additional two years with unlimited mileage. That's in addition to whatever remains of the new car warranty plus the CPO warranty. So I'm covered for almost four years from today with unlimited mileage.
For that extended warranty coverage, the MSRP was $3,495. But I knew the dealership only pays $2,270 for that coverage, so the MSRP includes a whopping 54% dealer markup! I told them I didn't want to pay MSRP for the warranty and offered $2,800 instead, which they accepted. That's still a 23% markup for the dealer, which is more than enough!
Finally, the dealer gave me a generous trade-in allowance on my 2012 Mercedes (which I also bought CPO several years ago), so I agreed to the deal.
The lessons from today's experience:
- Do your homework and know what the dealer is paying for everything before you walk in.
- Know what your trade-in, if any, is worth and ask the dealer to match that price.
- Know your credit scores going in, which bureau the dealership likely pulls, and demand the best financing available.
- Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate!
- Don't pay MSRP for anything, including the sales price, extended warranty, etc.
- Don't succumb to a sales pitch and pay for things you don't need.
Of course, each state and dealership is different and YMMV!
Excellent work and congratulations on your new vehicle. I am also looking to do the same thing and I'm looking to trade in my 2014 C250. I, too, live in NCAL. Would you mind sharing the MB dealership you worked with? I'm in the East Bay. Thank you. Happy New Year!
@CountryLad wrote:
Excellent work and congratulations on your new vehicle. I am also looking to do the same thing and I'm looking to trade in my 2014 C250. I, too, live in NCAL. Would you mind sharing the MB dealership you worked with? I'm in the East Bay. Thank you. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! It's a great time of month and year to make a good deal at car dealerships! I worked with Mercedes Benz of Monterey, with which I've had a relationship for a while. They do far less volume than MB dealerships in the Bay Area or Los Angeles, where there are a larger number of customers.
As a result, I found MB of Monterey less flexible on price than the dealerships I've dealt with in the Bay Area. They just don't have the deal volume in Monterey to allow as much flexibility. Interestingly, the salesman (who has worked in the business for 40 years, many of them at the old Smythe European--now MB of Stevens Creek) said they no longer get paid a commission unless they do a certain number of deals each month. So, they're all really anxious to make deals at the end of the month to "make their numbers".
I assume all the dealers in NorCal will pull TU FICO Auto 8 scores like they did here. I'm still a bit puzzled why my TU Auto 8 score they pulled yesterday was so much higher than the score reported by myFICO? In fact, myFICO has yet to report the two HPs on my TU. I got an alert within minutes from Capital One's CreditWise, which showed the two HPs. But they report FAKO scores, so who knows! I'm guessing myFICO will report the TU HPs sometime today or later this week.
Keep us posted on your experience!
@seattlecredit08 wrote:
@ridgebackpilot, congrats on the new MB!!
Quick question - did MB ask for POI at any point or anything else besides a good credit score?
My TU Auto FICO is in the same range so I am curious with regard to any other approval requirements that MB FS stipulates.
Thanks!!
The dealer asked me about my income during the application for financing. But they never required any form of POI. Even if you're applying for financing by yourself, you can still count total household income.
I've had a loan with MBFS for the past three years, which might have helped me get approved and bypass any POI or other verification.
Good luck!
@Anonymous wrote:As far as counting household income on the application, this will probably be a region to region thing and not a general consensus. In my state, you aren't able to include household income on an application for auto/mortgage credit without the other individual being listed on the application as a joint applicant.
Interesting point. Here in California, we can include "other sources" of income in our applications for credit. Those sources can include spousal income, without DW or DH being a joint applicant. My DW credit scores are significantly lower than mine, so I didn't want her as a joint applicant. But Chase, MBFS, and Ford Motor Credit didn't object to my listing her salary as part of my total household income. As you say, however, YMMV since this is largely governed by state laws and lending regulations.
@marmaladepie wrote:
Do you think I can retroactively get the United Miles for a recent purchase?
Also just purchased 2018 CPO two days ago and just seeing this thread now.
You'll need to download the form with a control number from the United/Truecar website: https://unitedpremier.truecar.com/mercedes-landing/
Give the form to the dealership to file along with your other paperwork. Since the incentive eligibility changes each month (or more often), the sooner you do this, the better. Having the dealership submit the form you send them is a vital part of the process.
They offer miles for the purchase of both new and CPO Mercedes-Benz. This is my second experience with the United/Mercedes incentive. I have to say that in both cases, I had to go to a lot of trouble to ensure the miles were actually deposited in my United account. You'll need to ensure the dealership files the paperwork in a timely manner and call Truecar (the number on your form) to follow up. I get the distinct sense that not many people take advantage of this incentive and thus neither United nor Truecar are particularly diligent in their follow up.
Good luck!