Just read this and I love it, hopefully all car makers have the direct to customer / set prices option.
No more bargaining with dealerships and easier to compare cars. Just wondering what people's thought are on this change? Will cars be more or less expensive?
https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/motoring/motor…
Can’t wait for the MERC10 code deals to be added
MERCMATS - free genuine floor mats 😉
TWATS20 is the ebay 20% off code.
Ooohhhh. When is the eBay code active? Been eyeing off an A series with AMG upgrades.
BLINKERFLUID for a free service upgrade.
not possible, should be PTWATS20
Watch out for Jack.
Watch out for Mingmole
This is a load of bullshit, because while they’re are copying the Tesla sales model, they are not following the Tesla pricing policy. Because of the import laws in Australia, Mercedes Australia is the sole importer and distributor of Mercedes cars in Australia, and they price fix at levels much above overseas prices. Dealers are forced to buy at these prices and pass the costs onto consumers. This, not taxes, are the reason why most German cars are ridiculously expensive in Australia compared to other markets (like the UK as an example). Tesla has an online sales policy, but their pricing is literally US price + import costs + taxes. No fat. Mercedes is German price + import costs + taxes + Mercedes tax for dumb Australians + dealer costs. The EQC may well be available online, but that dealer cost will just be transformed into a higher mark up for Mercedes Benz Australia. There are no savings to be seen here.
I actually think this way be a Mercedes Australia response to the aggressive discounting I’ve seen recently at Mercedes dealerships, which brings them much closer to overseas pricing. I’ve seen a new S class demo for $164k (albeit it’s an outgoing model), a new E450 for $119k (down from $171k) and an AMG GT roadster for $224k (down from more than $300k). Flagging sales are putting pressure on dealers and this might be a way that Mercedes Australia thinks they can artificially keep prices high.
I guess the caveat with any online car ordering setup is that the pricing is at least 'fair' like the Tesla model, or it'll never work. Consumers can generally see through obvious price gouging (aka the Australia tax) as you describe.
Most consumers don't though, and are happy to pay the ridiculous current prices. There are literally a handful of car importers in Australia who charge equivalent prices to the rest of the world. Audi, Mercedes, BMW and Porsche absolutely rort Australian consumers. Especially Porsche.
Consumers have the power in their hands to change behaviour and stop the rort. How? Stop buying the cars. No one needs a BMW/Mercedes/Porsche. It's not like only those manufacturers sell good cars and the rest are rubbish.
But as you say, the customers are happy to pay inflated prices so why change?
@Cluster: The reason they don’t change is that unjust legislation means that parallel importation is illegal. It protects the car companies, not the consumers. It’s not right. Prices would soon change if you could import your own cars.
not really true. Mercedes AUS has higher overheads than their German outlets that have a higher population density. Still Mercedes has taken huge sales away from BMW!
Personally the only German car I'd consider is a Skoda, really a Czech car.
‘Overheads’ or shiny dealerships, don’t make the cars cost twice as much.
Won't someone think of the Ming Moles? What are they going to do now that their job of selling paint protection for $2500 has been replaced by a web page?
I always think of the Ming Moles.
Hot mingmoles
They’ll need to become useful members of society, like Instagram influencers, personal shoppers or wardrobe organisers.
To answer your question it will probably be more expensive or the same price
the manufacturer will be selling cars are RRP with a VERY fat margin now they have cut out the middle man
Think of it this way
You can buy a phone from Apple and pay RRP or buy it anywhere else that sells apple products and get it cheaper or equal to the cost of the apple shop.
However if you are buying a Mercedes brand new you probably afford to pay whatever they are asking for
NOTE: i like haggling because im good at it and im happy to do the research and the work - people that dont deserve to pay a 'lazy tax' if you ask me
Based on a recent experience helping a friend buy a car, I can understand why customers might want to cut out the sales negotiation process.
The salesperson wouldn't even provide them with a detailed and transparent breakdown of the costs which added to the drive away total, said friend asked for this multiple times and were given many different 'obfuscated' versions of the figures but none of them provided the level of detail required. In any other industry this would be considered outright deceptive and would most likely be illegal.
We only got a full breakdown of the drive away price after I got involved, only to find that they were trying to charge $3000 for dealer delivery, needless to say they didn't get the business.
But paying for a transport truck and removing a bunch of stickers and seals is really expensive…. $3k is a bargain! /s
What car brand / dealer?
Why people vote for "Don't care, don't buy new cars"
Having a brand new car = peace of mind.
Good negotiation power.
Brought 2016 Lexus with 13000 discount + free services for 4 years (corporate plan) + warranty 4 years
Sold in 2019 over half the price or RRP (lost less than 12000)
If I have old car
$1000/year (in a longer term average cost of service + tyre + breaks + other maintenance)
$2000/year (decline in value…. say $30000 car last for 15 years)
$3000/year * 3 years = $9000
Paid bit over for brand new Lexus.
D E P R E C I A T I O N.
Used cars are a lot cheaper to run in total costs because the depreciation is so much lower
The key is to buy older and less than $30k.
What about the opportunity cost of having $60k+ cash tied up in a car? Or if financing, what about interest costs?
Even without those considerations your example shows you still paid ~25% more.
Do I still get a free coffee of I buy online? And does the website keep telling me to wait here for a moment when I am buying?
Any cashback from Shopaback or Cashrewards ?
How much should i pay for a 2019 or 2020 GLC350d coupe?
Asking for a family member. I've already told them it's a stupid looking car that is totally impractical in the back seat and boot space is a bit lacking.
If you're serious, go on Whirlpool and look at recent deals which people have posted. Even though the GLC is being facelifted to bring some modern tech (eg MBUX) it's still based on a very old car/platform now. I was close to buying a GLC250d back when it launched because it felt fresh then and had a nice interior (relative to the peers) but 5 years later, with a new C class around the corner, Mercedes launching totally new GLA/GLB models soon and the GLE/GLS just came out, the GLC is literally on it's last legs so I'd avoid it unless there's a stupidly good deal.
GLE/GLS are too big.
GLB is too compact.
Ok then let them buy a GLC Coupe then.
Normally aim for at least 10% off if it's not a new model. Facelifts don't really count.
When I see these coupe SUVs I can’t help but be reminded of Doug’s critique of the GLE coupe.
Gimme a timestamp. 19 mins long
2 min mark to 4 mins.
I would say that the "dealers hate him" angle this article is going for is an invention of an ignorant journalist.
This will increase the profits of both Mercedes and the dealers. The only losers are the customers.
Typical fake news
This could be a good wake up calls for dealers to re-invent themselves.
Buying a new car should be fun, but that fun quickly disappears when you are put into adversarial negotiation with the dealer. You can't help but feel you are being had when they roll out all their sales tricks and tactics. If the dealers can't change their old tricks then they are doomed for a big shake-up.
At any rate, there will always be a big market for 2nd hand cars so they may need to change their focus to stay relevant if a big shakeup occurs.
a big market for 2nd hand cars
Where you can do the haggling process all over again ;)
I don't understand all the people seeing it as a benefit to be paying the sticker price rather than negotiating with a dealer.
A brand like Merc might not drop their prices often or at all, so they aren't a good case for the benefit.
But if all car manufacturers did this model, the cheaper cars would be priced appropriate compared to their competition so the theory is the sticker price will be lower than what it currently is. Add on the cost of not having to pay the dealer for sales.
Think grocery wars and the discounting that occurs but with cars.
the cheaper cars would be priced appropriate
Cars under $50k don't have huge margins, think 10% tops.
Cost of production is still the same, still have a basic cost price. It's not like you'll see massive discounts between equivalent manufacturers (think Toyota vs Mazda). If that was the case, you'd see it now.
Is that 10% margin to the cost from the importer? Or 10% to the factory cost? Big difference. The first one essentially means that the profit margin is engineered.
Yes agreed the margins are small per car
but how much does it cost to run dealership? Obviously they turn a profit and as a result the cost of that profit is added to the cost of the car (variably on each sale).
@arkie0: Dealerships generally dont make much on the sale of the car, its parts/service that prop them up
@spackbace: They don't but it is still a cost added on top, price paid for a new car = cost & profit of car by manufacturer + cost & profit of dealer. This eliminates the dealer cost, yes MB will make a bigger profit but eventually if all manufacturers follow suit they will have to reprice their product
@spackbace: The Drive Away price shows quite a nice earning for the dealership. After all they do basically nothing with the car … money for nothing …
Needing to haggle indicates to me the seller can do a better price but is happy to rip some people off. It just leaves a bad taste on a purchase. And I’m talking cars or smaller items in some stores.
I get why it needs to happen on 1 off items (houses or vintage furniture), but mass produced I just wish they’d meet the market with their prices.
Incomplete poll. I'd have picked the option that says "couldn't care about this dud brand".
That's just dumb. Mercedes make excellent cars. As an all around brand, they are probably the best car manufacturer in the world.
"couldn't care about this dud brand".
"Couldn't care about this dud brand … I should know, I own a car dealership, hate competition and in particular well made cars that last forever and ever full of tech and comfort".
Dealers won't be happy…
We’d already be here if it worked. There is no organised conspiracy keeping dealerships open. If manufacturers they could do without them, they would.
Well that's what the article is about, Merc is now doing without them. Telsa never used them and sold direct from the start. Time will tell if the move is successful for Merc and whether prices go up or down.
It’s too simplistic.
Unlike Tesla, Mercedes being an established manufacturer, need to move large volumes of cars to stay viable. They cannot achieve this outside the dealership model.
If anything, as (or if) Tesla gets bigger as a car manufacturer they will be more likely to utilise the dealership model to start moving bigger volumes of vehicles and getting them out of warehouses.
It’s just how the car industry has evolved over the best part of a century and it’s unlikely to change. Dealerships may change as a business but they will still exist, as it’s the only sure fire way to keep turning over cars.
I don't think just because things have been done one way that it's the best or only way.
People always thought you would need a storefront in retail, now we have online sites.
The mental win of negotiating a price from 180k down to 160k is a win
a 160k fixed price is meh
News.com and you believed it?
Are you serious?
lol paid ad for Merc? Yes very likely.
Since you believe news corp puts out real news Car advice ok?
https://www.caradvice.com.au/811385/mercedes-benz-launches-d…
Unless nine also outs fake news
Genesis Motors currently follow this online model - not a lot of customers mind you. Mainly because what they sell (Hyundai tech, just nicer and more refined) and their singular showroom in Sydney for the entire country.
If all fails, one could switch off their brain and fall in love with j. Cadogan. Now I am running very fast…
Telsa has been doing this since inception.
When I bought my Subaru the dealer mentioned that some people just order online and have the car home-delivered. I asked if many people do that and they said yes, and those people pay RRP. I guess it's much less stressful, but it's gonna cost you thousands of dollars compared with the icky car sales haggling process.
We just bought a new Toyota, so hoping things change for the better in 10-20 years when a new car is due :)
Nothing wrong with this as long as it's just the EQ line to be sold directly to the end-users. Subaru's doing that already with the BRZ, Toyota is doing that with the Supra and Tesla been doing this since day dot.
Besides, the effect this will have on the dealers should be minimal given its price.
Yes for now but it's starting to be a trend
Supra has been switched to being sold by dealers.
Is the BRZ still definitely online only? It was to start with, but that was a few years back
Love it. The cars sell themself not the sales person. Cut out the middle man and give us a lower price. Eventually if a manufacturer sell direct to customers, price would be a lot more competitive and transparent.
Eventually if a manufacturer sell direct to customers
THAT'S THE ONE !!!!
Unfortunately dealerships will never allow that to occur.
As it is to import your own cars directly.
Something to do with monopoly.
And it is not the game Monopoly but the fraudulent way to fix (higher) prices.
I don't plan to buy a Mercedes, but I like this direction they're heading.
As long as I can put it on Afterpay/Zippay. ;)
Dont care, buy a new car like every 10 years…
Didn't the Mercedes Benz Smart try to sell that way?
It will only work if prices are competitive.
dont care about Mercedes
happy with buying a new cheap jap car every 10 years
ozbargain spirit aside
happy with the whole moving to online fixed price model, absolutely hated the negotiation process with dealers
as long as the online fixed price is on par with the rest of the world then happy to with it
otherwise the whole online price drama will fail sooner or later
Plenty of sales are actually made in store at Apple