Too Bad MB Continues Using Dealers vs On-Line Direct Buying

miles

New member
For anyone who can use the internet or with an IQ over 65, having to buy new vehicles thru dealers is just plain stupid - it costs consumers huge dealer markup fees ($40K s/b $25k) , wastes customer time to drive around and visit dealers, you're pressured to buy what's on the lot rather than what you want, it wastes time at dealers with "haggling" with "slick" sales techniques, and in short, gives the customer no real value added. So the MB guy gives me a brochure - like I didn't already knew all the specs from looking on-line - fact is, what can he tell me that isn't on-line (and frankly there's a lot more on this forum than most of them know) And test-drive ? Better to do that with someone you know that has one - or do that on an on-line driving simulator. And financing? Again better done thru banks or on-line. Now I'm sure dealers will be quick to respond about "the new way of selling ....yada,yada". Big deal, MB guys wear ties. But that is all BS - there is just no value added by dealers and a lot of negative value by forcing us to buy thru an unneeded middleman.

Compare this to buying a computer - we either order from Dell, where we get low prices, get exactly what we want get it within a couple of weeks, and delivered to our office. Or we buy from Apple - they have just a few models with all the great features we want included into set prices whether you choose to order direct or pick it up at the company store - no haggling, no games,no add-on bundled packages, no commission salespeople - just straight pricing for a great designed product. And when they discount old models, everyone sees the discounts (no secret holdbacks, incentives, ....) Hey, And No Bailouts Needed!

No one I know likes buying a vehicle thru a dealer, especially women because they know they get played as suckers. The last time I went car shopping a guy in a Larry Miller dealership ran over and gave me a snow shovel - if that's what I wanted I would have gone to Lowes:) Geez. I'd much rather buy a car on-line from Ebay Motors than deal with that level of stupidity. Okay, MB offers you bottled water or coffee but it's still the same stupid game of overpriced overhead and structure.

I hope IVECO or TATA or someone else is reading this and offers us buy direct on-line, lower priced, no haggle, built to order, simple but high quality hi-roof diesel vans - it's high time for a little disruption in the vehicle market.
 

sikwan

06 Tin Can
If I remember correctly, I thought there was a law that stated vehicle manufacturers are prohibited in selling vehicles in the USA without the middleman (dealer).

Probably why MB, BMW, etc., have a system in place where you could buy your vehicle in Germany, drive it around, and have it shipped to the USA. I don't think they have it set up for Sprinters yet.

You really don't need to go into the dealership these days except to sign papers or put in a deposit. I normally call around locally and deal with the fleet manager. If I find a price that is fair, I make the deal over the phone. Sometimes I don't even have to leave a deposit. Now if I wanted a purple Sprinter, then the dealer has a right to ask for a deposit. :smilewink:

I remember I was finalizing a deal on a Honda Civic for my brother-in-law. Before taking the keys, the gentleman tried to sell us a warrantee, some rust proofing, so forth and so on. I denied everything, had fun with it and the guy knew it. It was like two drunken friends having a big party inside the room with a lot of yelling and screaming. :smirk: This doesn't happen all the time because I don't act like this in front of ladies trying to sell me a warranty. It's just a game like anything else. Don't take it personally and just have fun with it.
 

HappyFamilyVan

Captain Ahab
I also basically found mine on-line also.....no loval passanger vans to be found....called up...they gave price...I countered with the max I was willing to pay - x% (did my homework and new deals were to be had)....they accepted...they put the vehicle on a truck and shipped accross country to me...I never even went in to sign...all done via fax...note: I was biting me nails the whole time till the vehicle arrived...I just made a multi-thousand dollar purchase, site unseen...I had a few issues with the pre-delievery not being performed....but over all...I am happy and it drives great...
 

mendonsy

Member
There is also the issue of service and warranty to consider. If the dealer is 200 or 2000 miles away they have no incentive to help you so you are basically on your own.
It is not that I think dealers go out of their way to be helpful, but at least there is someone there to yell at!!:2cents:
 

Mike Horton

New member
I made my last 2 deals over the phone. The last one only ended up 45 miles from my home. No one has to go to the dealer if they don't want to. Almost all dealers of every make and model have their own web site where you can do everything and even have the car delivered to your home. If thats what you want and the dealer won't do it....go else where. You may be surprised at what they will do to sell you a car or a Van for that matter.
 

Chandlerazman

Active member
Here is the one last thing we have in this country (salespeople) who are trying to make a living. Yes, I support these people and building a relationship with them is what can help when it comes time for servicing. I can't imagine buying a large item without the interaction of a human. I think China and India have enough of our buisiness.
 

gary 32

07 ncv3 pv
The last 5 vehicles I have purchased have all been negotiated over the phone.
Ebay has many great applications, but my best values always involve human contact.

My last transaction, I mass emailed every VW dealer within 200 miles with a price I was willing to pay, (2009 tdi sportswagon), on a Monday morning after a special order car had been returned with 22 miles logged, the salesman eager to recoup the sale sold a very high demand car @ a substantial discount to msrp. The dealer was 50 miles away but I used a local dealer for warranty work, they were excellent.

3 of these transactions were out of state, but I checked with the dmv, then local dealers prior to purchase regarding their willingness to perform service and warranty work.

The only recent vehicle I purchased and had serviced at the same dealer was my Sprinter. They offered me great front end value but could not service the vehicle properly.

My hope is for Mercedes to offer both great front end value and then support their vehicles. Sure sounds like some of these new dealers are ready to do just that.

I want to thank Mercedes and their new dealers, like Mark!
 
Thanks,

I am not even going to dignify the angry gentlemen with a response as much as some of you would like me too.

All I will say is that they are good dealers and bad dealers. I have chosen to be honest and upfront my whole life. I have been in the business for 23 years since I was 18. It has provided a great living for myself , my wife and my three great kids. I sleep well at night and have a clear conscious going to work. My repeat business is incredible and people enjoy dealing with us. I love servicing our clients and I do not believe in a mail order car buying experience. Some manufactuerers have tried this over the years and failed miserably. And last time I checked Mercedes did not get a bailout.

I guess I said I would not dignify this with a response, I just could not leave it alone. I will not spend anymore time though on negative subjects or negative people. 200,000 people died in an earthquake last week, I really don't think we have alot to complain about.

good positive people will continue to deal with good positive people and the world will go on.

Best,

Mark :thumbup::thumbup:
 

autostaretx

Erratic Member
When we were shopping for what eventually became a Sprinter (the "shopping" was done before we -discovered- Sprinters), my wife and i visited -many- dealers. What we -wanted- was something akin to a Nissan Caravan we'd rented in New Zealand.
But they're not imported to the US.
So, as a fall-back, we were looking for something on the order of a Dodge Grand Caravan, Honda Oddessy, etc. etc.
All were really too small for our needs. We'd taken to renting a 20' truck for local craft shows.
We look at GMC Sierras (or was it Sienna?), and other large vans, but they were too long, or too resticted, or didn't have sliding side doors, etc.etc. (and VERy thirsty)
We'd sit and -listen- in the dealers' showrooms, near by the service counter to hear how well they handled owners.

Then one day a DHL Dodge Sprinter passed in front of me...
After that, all non-Sprinter dealer visits were more of a resigned "yup, nothing fits like a Sprinter" (oh, my poor wallet).

We located the nearest dealers (Jack Carroll Dodge in Lynwood Wa was most helpful), went over, got shuffled off to the Fleet shed, found we had to return on a weekday (or pre-arrange keys) for a test drive. They did open up the office so that we could at least clamber through one.
We came back (i think we hit a weekday holiday where the Fleet crew were in), they gave us our pick of cargo vans on the lot to drive.
We went off (no 3rd seat, so no attending salesman) and played around on back streets and an empty parking lot.
(go ahead.. 'fess up: you started giggling at the absurdly tight turning radius, too, didn't you?)
The springs were really stiff (empty 118" cargo van, right?), and we -really- wanted a passenger van with two sliding doors.
(yeah, yeah... not available).
We surfed the web and downloaded the full option list from England and Germany. Plus the English prices.
My wife called and FAXed many dealers with our requested option list (two sliding doors, Window Kit IV, 2nd bench seat).
She talked to Dodge and Chrysler head offices on the east coast (we're in Seattle) chasing down options and where stock was located.
Some dealers would return price quotes that looked like they hadn't even -read- our list of "wants".
We figured we should really test drive the passenger van, too, in case there was a difference not made obvious in calls and price lists.
The nearest testable 118" passenger vans were 300 miles away in Portland, at (then) Portland Freightliner.
So we drove down (visiting friends along the way, and staying with one down there) and test drove a passenger van.
The difference in spring factors, plus the desire to have one in time to outfit it for our cargo within a month (versus waiting for 6 months for a custom order), plus the upcoming warranty shrinkage between the 2005 and 2006 model years led us to buy one "off the lot". That gave us a bunch of options we would -not- have ordered (and not our favorite color), but we have since appreciated their existence (except the seat heater... we haven't turned that on beyond the first day ((click)yep, it works (click)).

Freightliner dealers are not like "normal" car dealers... pretty much all of their customers are commercial buyers.
No fluff, no "i'll have to go ask my manager". A price was quoted at 10% above invoice (thus about 8% below "retail").
It met or beat the quotes we'd been getting by visits and FAXes.
Although it was an out-of-state dealer, they frequently sell into Washington and the paperwork was processed by them.
We took Amtrack down the next weekend to pick up the van.

So: our dealer experience was not too onerous... we -sometimes- met (at the "car" dealers) typical examples of sleaze, but they were surprisingly rare. And they served for amusement value.
We knew what we wanted to look at, and it was far enough out of the usual range that they'd rarely have vehicles that would fit it. (i'm not sure how the Cadillac dealer took to us bursting out in laughter at the Escalade).
Sprinter dealers we talked to all knew they didn't have to "sell" the vehicle if the customer arrived knowing (a) that's what they wanted and (b) had a fair idea of what options they wanted, too.

I wouldn't have minded a free snow shovel, but it wouldn't have affected the choice or search.

But we weren't "commercial" buyers, to whom time was money. We used the hunt as an offbeat way to spend a few weekends.
If we'd -known- about Sprinters before we'd started (hint: ADVERTISE!), we'd have saved a couple of months of looking.
The Lynwood dealer was out of our usual dealer-search radius, and no local Dodge dealer suggested a Sprinter as an alternative.

I hope that Mercedes educates their *non*-Sprinter dealers of the "new kid in the clan" so that they'll send customers like us in that direction (yes, we -visited- MB dealers (mostly to look at their used car lots), so we'd have been snagged by such marketing).

--dick
 
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MrEWorm

New member
Yes, vehicles should not be sold at dealers.
Whenever someone needs a plumber, they should call Home Depot. Why have a local yokel high profit nose in the toilet guy do the work when you can just order plumbing from the Internet.
Forget about all those local carpenter rip off artists. Walmart.com should be able to supply just about any goods or service that a person can use.
And local catering companies, who needs them? Everything can be bought from a centralized point nationwide company.

I guess my point is that most of the Sprinters I see are driven by small businessmen. I run a successful local company that has doubled it's sales each of the the last 5 years. My clients could purchase very similar products from web sites and yet, we are thriving. We provide top notch customer service and earn our living each and every day.

We earn a profit because we take care of our clients. Allow your local dealer to earn your business. If his work is good, he should earn a fair profit. I have found that by paying employees and vendors a fair amount, that I get great service from them.
 
Yes, vehicles should not be sold at dealers.
Whenever someone needs a plumber, they should call Home Depot. Why have a local yokel high profit nose in the toilet guy do the work when you can just order plumbing from the Internet.
Forget about all those local carpenter rip off artists. Walmart.com should be able to supply just about any goods or service that a person can use.
And local catering companies, who needs them? Everything can be bought from a centralized point nationwide company.

I guess my point is that most of the Sprinters I see are driven by small businessmen. I run a successful local company that has doubled it's sales each of the the last 5 years. My clients could purchase very similar products from web sites and yet, we are thriving. We provide top notch customer service and earn our living each and every day.

We earn a profit because we take care of our clients. Allow your local dealer to earn your business. If his work is good, he should earn a fair profit. I have found that by paying employees and vendors a fair amount, that I get great service from them.

Well said! Our country is built on the independent business people that deliver a high grade service and succeed because of that. We all deal with bad service and good service. I do business where I get good service and everyone else should. For some reason my business has and still has too many poor service dealers. Good job security for me. That's why they go out of business. And that's why companies like our are building new facilities and buying dealerships while others are closing. It's service. Our company was founded by Herb Chambers who go his start selling copy machines door to door. Straight hard honest work pays off.

Hat's off to everyone that get's up early , goes home late , goes the extra mile and succeeds because of it!

Mark

:thumbup:
 

ZED

Sprinter Newbie
...
We went off (no 3rd seat, so no attending salesman) and played around on back streets and an empty parking lot.
(go ahead.. 'fess up: you started giggling at the absurdly tight turning radius, too, didn't you?)
The springs were really stiff (empty 118" cargo van, right?)...
Yup. That's exactly what it was like. :lol: We test drove a 2009 170" high roof first, then the used 2005 118" standard. The difference was amazing. The new one was nice bit the little one sure was fun by comparison and could fit what we needed.


As for the concept of not having dealers; We didn't enjoy our interaction with either dealer. The one was a Dodge dealer that knew less about the sprinter than we did. The other was a Ford dealer that really didn't want the used sprinter on their lot. We had suspected for a while that a sprinter would be our next Four wheeled vehicle, but if it wasn't for dealers it would have been pretty hard to try one out first which I think is important.

Now would it have been better if we had been able to go to an MB dealer? That will depend upon the dealer. Hopefully they will do it right and have knowledgeable sprinter staff. The sprinter is our third MB. One is a smart car. One of the dealers really couldn't be bothered to stand and tell us about it. The other discussed order options at length. Guess where we bought the smart. I see one of the new sprinter MB dealers has a 2010 shorty front and center on their display. That's a good sign. Hopefully they have the attitude and staff to back it up.
 
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