It’s really not a lot of hoops.
Time wise, it’s a math problem. How much per hour are you willing to pay yourself to drive/fly?
Yes he probably does. Can’t imagine out of state dealers having any TX tax credits.
Yes, broadening your search almost always helps.
If 8% is the best discount you can get you may want to consider flying to SoCal and buying one at ~17-18 off and driving it back… 10% is a pretty sizeable difference in price.
Thats not a good deal.
UPDATE- the salesman and his manager said they thought I was local so they are passing on this deal, after I told him I am in TX and need it shipped. I asked why- he said it’s -3500 deals for an out of state deal .(??) I will try the dealer that has the car next.
I have been reading about out of state leases and shipping in other posts. Any major heads up to watch out for? Will they not make as many concessions in price and MF bc its out of state?
I have one I am working on now in SoCal. It has everything I want and then some, and we are at (first pass)
MSRP $49,050.
$43,125 sales price
36 months
12k miles- $560 or 10k miles- $546
Residual Value $29670
Waiting on MF from salesman
This one is a trade so I could also work directly with the dealer if that helps save me money. Said 15% off is -4,500 below invoice. Won’t pay partial shipping or tint for me because there is no “profit” in the deal (his words).
I heard other ppl get 15%-18% off 2018s in SoCal. I need a great deal to help offset shipping IMO. Thoughts or recommendations on next steps? Not hurting for a car, thankfully. I have extended my lease for a month post- Harvey.
UPDATE- the salesman and his manager said they thought I was local so they are passing on this deal, after I told him I am in TX and need it shipped. I asked why- he said it’s -3500 deals for an out of state deal .(??) I will try the dealer that has the car next.
I have been reading about out of state leases and shipping in other posts. Any major heads up to watch out for? Will they not make as many concessions in price and MF bc its out of state?
I have one I am working on now in SoCal. It has everything I want and then some, and we are at (first pass)
MSRP $49,050.
$43,125 sales price
36 months
12k miles- $560 or 10k miles- $546
Residual Value $29670
Waiting on MF from salesman
This one is a trade so I could also work directly with the dealer if that helps save me money. Said 15% off is -4,500 below invoice. Won’t pay partial shipping or tint for me because there is no “profit” in the deal (his words).
I heard other ppl get 15%-18% off 2018s in SoCal. I need a great deal to help offset shipping IMO. Thoughts or recommendations on next steps? Not hurting for a car, thankfully. I have extended my lease for a month post- Harvey.
Where are you?
Can’t you go pick it up?
I am in Houston and it is in SoCal. I have never purchased or leased a car out of state so trying to learn how to do that if that’s my best option. Or the dealer with the car that is 2 hours away drops their price/ gives me a better deal at month (and quarter) end. Crosses fingers.
I told the dealers up front (after confirming the car and availability) that I was in TX. Do you recommend I make sure they are willing to ship the vehicle to TX first?
Do you really need to go out of state to lease a C class for 560 a month?
Sounds way too expensive to me for that car. But, for what it’s worth, if you actually can get a good price, the out of state dealer is not going to have tax credits. The tax credits are HUGE for a Texas lease. The socal deal is going to leave you on the hook for full tax on the MSRP.
That’s a good point on the tax credits. I keep going back to those, plus the extra hoops to get it here, etc.
The dealer in TX, who has to trade for the car I want, told me the deal I first posted was it. I wasn’t sold, then asked if he took $10 more dollars off a month, did we have a deal? Negative. I told him I need the sales price to be $42k. He said that won’t happen. The dealer they are getting the car from is blowing me off once I told her I wanted MF and she didn’t want to disclose it. Maybe end of qtr/ month will bring all the boys to the yard? So here I am 
I have found 15% off in MD and 13% in Cali. Maybe I am just maxed out? What should my next step be to get one of the dealers in TX to make me the best deal? Is a payment of ~$450/ month realistic for this car in TX?
And now they may refuse the trade since there is interest in that particular car and they decide to hold on to it.
Thanks, Randy. I really want the CarPlay hence being hell bent on 2018. That’s a great deal, though!
True. Fun times. Maybe I can try my hand at C43s instead…walks over to C43 forum 
Walks back…this pesky CarPlay issue keeps me anchored to 2018s. Is there any way short of a miracle or Steve Jobs to get CarPlay on a 2017?
I am not sure we see too many lease deals from TX due to their awesome taxes
If not hurting for a car, might be best to avoid shopping now along with the 500k people who are shopping for one now.
On the other hand, the number of people looking for a C300 after Armageddon is pretty small - I am sure everybody is looking for a raised/lifted hulking truck instead.
C300 for 560 is not a screaming deal but in Texas for a brand new 2018, it might be good. Could you get a demo E300 in South Cali for 380? Possibly. But you are not in Cali, you are not shopping the E300, so I think you are getting it as good as you can … Maybe last gambit is to say $30 off and I sign right now
Thanks for the advice! I feel like I have hit a wall with this car. Waiting is an option, not my favorite but doable. I wouldn’t think the majority of people were in the Benz market post- Harvey ether, but who knows? Any insight on the luxury car market right now in Houston,@Randy_Haddox1 ?
Zero. Unless you consider Cadillac lux🤠
I do. How is it generally speaking?
How about a 3LT loaded Equinox? is that Lux?
Many SoCal dealers are very arrogant. I had a Mercedes dealer tell me that he could not discount >$2500 because I might not know but “we have people 20 minutes away who live in $3 million homes.” LOL - I live next to a community with similar homes here in NorCal. I just had a Maserati dealer tell me he has vehicles that he will sell for $20k below MSRP but that “we won’t participate in a bidding war and we only sell to people from surrounding communities.” Yeah, right - so I should send my father in law who lives 10 minutes away with a check?
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