Went into a Mercedes Dealer the other day to look at a loaner GLB, came in without going over the current lease terms.
I’m pretty sure I was the only customer in the store. Looked at the car, but it unfortunately had a deposit on it, and really was looking forward to test drive one.
I go back to the sales person’s desk. To consider other cars that are coming off the loaner fleet soon.
I mistakenly tell him the range I was looking for without knowing what these things go for nowadays.
I offered to give MSDs but he said it wasn’t worth it unless the car was over $100k?
($450 with $2500 DAS, 48/10) on a $44k MSRP
He seemed very taken back and then told me the payment was going to be around $725 p/mo 48/10 with $2500 DAS, and probably a little more since it was a loaner with 6.7k miles.
I was then told that “I couldn’t even get a Honda Civic for $450” which I did laugh to and then explain to them how to get one for almost half, which they seemed very dumbfounded about, more about how much I knew about the terms off the top of my head.
Before I left I was also told “rumor has it Mercedes Benz is looking to become more exclusive again and they don’t want everybody to be able to get into their cars”
As someone who just bought a compact car, I can confirm this. I have 10+ Honda dealerships within 30 miles and I couldn’t get a Civic for less than MSRP. These cars don’t lease particularly well in normal times, never mind with no discount, or god for bid, a market adjustment.
In order to keep comparisons apples to apples, we normally look at leases with zero money down since you can lease any care for any payment if you are willing to put enough money down.
That said, I’d be surprised if any broker on here still had a Civic for, effectively, about 300 bucks a month after tax, even a bare bones LX model. Things have gotten worse on the supply front in the past month. If they did, it would be a very compelling option for an affordable newly redesigned “smallish” car.
Many of the respected brokers on here have been saying for months if you see a deal you like take it because the supply situation isn’t improving. They haven’t been wrong yet.
Yea I totally understand how we generally compare leases, but in the context of my conversation, we were talking about a lease with the expectation of $2500 DAS. Still, it was just a little point of reference in my conversation because, frankly, they thought I was some naive teenager who doesn’t know a lick about leasing. They were really trying to convince me that it was perfectly normal to lease a basic GLB for effective payment of almost $800
More condescending bullshit that serves no one, especially not the manufacturer eager to push metal. This is a fully broken sales model which time and efficiency cannot replace soon enough.
You really sound like someone who haven’t been shopping for a car recently. Everyone sells all they have and a lot of what they have not. What competition?
So, you’re saying this temp blip in supply/demand justifies OP’s snide sales punk harming his own brand, in an era when a company like Tesla is foraging for any meat on any bone (online for cars) in multiple industries? Perhaps I’ve been watching too many Sandy Munro vids*, but the feeling I get is resting on laurels gets you extinct pretty quick. I don’t think Sandy nor Elon will come right out and say it, but people (mainly idiots) are the problem, and this sales critter is a prime example, and aptly represents an opportunity for someone else.
