Best time to buy a new SL...

[isv]

I'm just about to pull the trigger on a new SL350 AMG Sport. The current 0% deal and discounts (approx £9k) seem reasonable especially as Merc have recently also reduced the price by including AMG etc. as standard. I've found a stock car that I could collect in September. However, I wonder if my deal is being influenced by the Summer silly season for convertibles and perhaps I'd get a better deal by staying away from the dealership until later in September?

Anyone know from experience if deals on SLs get even stronger once Autumn/Winter starts to loom on the horizon?

[Mosdef]

Hmmmm, tricky one. I know that there are a few cars that have been sat in the UK for the last few months and haven't been sold, despite dealers offering some attractive incentives. I think MB will be offering deals on these for some time yet but the question is how many brand new cars are still sitting in various dealers inventories waiting to be bought. You might get an even better deal if you can live without the AMG pack and get one that's already built and sitting somewhere in the UK? This probably doesn't help you but it seems supply and demand are quite far apart on the new SL...

[orbtar]

10k is not enough off a new SL. Mercedes can offer massive discounts across the range, you should be able to get 15-20k off but probably not with the 0 per cent deal.

[Mosdef]

^^^ this

MB were sending out discount vouchers in the post for something like £10k. On that basis £15-£20k is probably achievable.

[SFO]

Mosdef said:

^^^ this

MB were sending out discount vouchers in the post for something like £10k. On that basis £15-£20k is probably achievable.

are these vouchers still valid?

[Mosdef]

Not sure, they didn't send one to me but my father got one from his local dealership, after he'd already taken delivery of his SL500!

[ODRALLAG]

Also interested in new SL so will be checking this thread and see how you get on. I know it would be difficult but what would be the best possible discount with the 0% offer? Would around 12k be achievable?

[isv]

ODRALLAG said:

Also interested in new SL so will be checking this thread and see how you get on. I know it would be difficult but what would be the best possible discount with the 0% offer? Would around 12k be achievable?

I've gone around several dealers and everyone is coming in at around the same level. Basically discounting approx 9k on a car with RRP of around £72-73K.

There appears to be some indication that Mercedes will be offering a lot more support at the end of the quarter... dealer this morning told me that they haven't shifted as many SLs as they hoped and he showed me a screen which had a long list of 'stock' vehicles in their group but also in the Mercedes supply chain. He reckoned Mercedes would have to do something as new cars coming in to the UK at a quicker rate than being sold.

Anyone from a Merc dealer able to comment further?

[SFO]

isv said:

I've gone around several dealers and everyone is coming in at around the same level. Basically discounting approx 9k on a car with RRP of around £72-73K.

There appears to be some indication that Mercedes will be offering a lot more support at the end of the quarter... dealer this morning told me that they haven't shifted as many SLs as they hoped and he showed me a screen which had a long list of 'stock' vehicles in their group but also in the Mercedes supply chain. He reckoned Mercedes would have to do something as new cars coming in to the UK at a quicker rate than being sold.

Anyone from a Merc dealer able to comment further?

£9k discount in addition to the 0% finance offer is really quite good, especially as AMG Sport Pack, pano roof and parktronic now standard, along with a price cut of around £3k.

not surprised about there being lots of stock .. I have seen maybe 3 new SLs in London this year.

I bet there will be 'amazing' quarter end deals. Hold on!

[ODRALLAG]

Thanks for the replies. Yeah if there is lots of stock coming through then there should be some deals to be had come september.

Where did the 15/20k off come from?

[RBrown]

If you are not in a rush for the car, the very best time to walk into a dealer is the 23 or 24 December. As MB financial year end is 31 December, they are always giving good deals at this time. It has worked for me!

But I do appreciate that it is a while away.....but maybe worth considering.

[SFO]

RBrown said:

If you are not in a rush for the car, the very best time to walk into a dealer is the 23 or 24 December. As MB financial year end is 31 December, they are always giving good deals at this time. It has worked for me!

how well did it work?

[orbtar]

15-20k should be easy enough to get off and a lot more on a 500 or 63 AMG. The car is not selling well at all, must be partly down to the looks, it is not a good looking car unless you have the 63AMG in certain colours.
I will try my supplier tomorrow and see what they can offer at the moment.

[r129sl]

orbtar said:

...it is not a good looking car unless you have the 63AMG in certain colours...

From what I can see, it is not available in colour.

[RBrown]

SFO said:

how well did it work?

I get my cars through MB Agility Finance - so hard to quantify a total savings figure. However, I got a good trade in on my old car, and negotiated a heavily reduced finance package on a pre registered ML350. I also got extras such as free tyre and Alloy insurance, new mats and tank full of diesel.

Basically I replaced a 4 year old ML with a brand new one and the monthly charges reduced by about £80 a month.

It means you have to do the purchase over the Xmas period - but I think it's worth it. The salesman was very cooperative!

Hope this helps.

[ODRALLAG]

orbtar said:

15-20k should be easy enough to get off and a lot more on a 500 or 63 AMG. The car is not selling well at all, must be partly down to the looks, it is not a good looking car unless you have the 63AMG in certain colours.
I will try my supplier tomorrow and see what they can offer at the moment.

Did your dealer get back to you? Thanks

[orbtar]

ODRALLAG said:

Did your dealer get back to you? Thanks

Sorry, he has been off for the last couple of days. I had an e-mail from him today but it was regarding a CLS for someone at work. Think it is about 21-22 per cent off which is probably not quite enough.

[isv]

Having called several dealers during the course of the week, the best deals seem to be very similar. A SL 350 AMG Sport (based on new spec, lower base price etc.) with options that take the RRP to £73k is being offered to me for £63.5k. A slight improvement on Drive The Deal... but only somewhere around 12-13% discount overall.

In contrast a new £73k BMW 640D M-Sport is being offered at £57-58k. Both cars also have 0% finance available. SL has far higher residual value, meaning lower monthly payments... (but bigger balance to clear at the end)

[ODRALLAG]

orbtar said:

Sorry, he has been off for the last couple of days. I had an e-mail from him today but it was regarding a CLS for someone at work. Think it is about 21-22 per cent off which is probably not quite enough.

Okay cool, would be great if you could update once he does get back to you

ISV, funny as I have been looking at the exact same cars lol the SL and the 640D
but as you said the monthly's on the BMW are a lot higher but discount available a lot more!

[pavka007]

To OP:
If you buy a new car from a dealer always buy at the end of the month, the end of the quarter or the best is at the end of the year as RBrown have mentioned above.
A good friend got a new car for his wife, he walked into Mercedes Glasgow on Xmas eve at about 1PM, long story short. Window price was 28285; drive away papers signed 2 hours later......21250, this was 25% off, enough said