Bought a new Merc?

[NOMONEYBUTAMERC]

Seeing some of the recent threads from purchasers of new MBs I am beginning to consider myself fortunate in not being able to afford a new one. How many of you have,in the past 3 years , purchased a Mercedes as a personal , rather than business/company car?
And would you a) buy another new one ? and b) use the same dealer?

 

[NISFAN]

I have.....yes would buy again.....same dealer? Yes if the deal is right

 

[After Shock]

Very very nice dealership in Stratford upon Avon. Friendly and so on.

Can't afford my dream E63 AMG estate.

If I could I'd use them but not sure the £150 an hour servicing costs wouldn't still smart !!!!!!

Doesn't matter about free coffee. Leather sofas and so on.

 

[Mercy1]

In my view, you would be mad (or financially carefree) to buy any new Merc from any dealer. Showroom tax, highest depreciation, quality issues, blind buying, long waiting times, etc, etc. Why put up with it?
Huge choice of good cars less than a year old and less than 10,000 miles and FAR less money, sitting on forecourts. Let someone else run your car in for you, I say !!

 

[@MARK]

Wouldn't buy another one but would use the same dealer (if they sold anything other than Mercedes)

 

[MarriedBlonde]

yes I have and yes I am about to buy yet another one. Yes I will use my same dealer again if the deal is right (it normally is) In fact off for a test drive in a new car on saturday.

Personally I like new cars and I am happy to pay for it. Whats the point of working hard for a living if you dont get to enjoy it.

J.

 

[pipmk]

Yes I have and yes I would. Sometimes we need to remember that contributors to this forum are a small minority of MB owners and most only come here to complain usually rightly enough. If MBs were as bad as it seems from this forum then the company would be bust. Look what happened to Alfa when they got a reputation for rust.

MB need to up their game but name another maker who wouldn't want the same problems.

 

[This is Pete]

It would take a very good deal to get me to buy a brand new car. I was happy enough with my approved used.

 

[st4]

It would take a very good deal to get me to buy a brand new car. I was happy enough with my approved used.

Agreed. My old man bought a 6k miles S350 for under £45k. New list it's over £60k.

It's a bargain.

 

[mika]

There are bargains to be had
An E350 estate with delivery miles(97) for under 43k . New list its over 55k
not as keen as the S class deal but nice enough

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Yes, bought my Merc brand new for personal use. Of course it was far more expensive than buying used, but it was the only way to get exactly what I wanted. Since ordering my car last November I haven't seen a used one for sale with the same engine, let alone colour combination and options. I've always compromised in the past in order to pay less, but after well over 40 years of damn hard work I deserved to get exactly what I wanted.

Would I buy another new one? Yes, but have no intention of doing so for a very long time. This one is far too good.

Would I use the same dealer? Yes, if I'm still living in the same area when the time comes.

 

[bpsorrel]

I would not buy brand new, but pre-reg/ex-demo, definitely.

Depreciation hit on new is too big for my mean brain to cope with!

 

[bpsorrel]

Wouldn't buy another one but would use the same dealer (if they sold anything other than Mercedes)

Mark, why don't you change your link to your blog to "Read about how Listers solved the quality problem with my 2012 C320"

Would give them some credit

 

[TheDeadPrussian]

To answer the questions:

a) Yes I have bought a new car and I would do so again – I’m going to take a look at the new A-Class properly when demonstrators are available.

b) Yes I would use the same dealership as I have now built up a relationship with them – I know them and they know me. I initially got what I consider to be a good deal on my new car and at this point in the customer / dealership relationship that was all that mattered to me, but since the purchase they have looked after me appropriately and have continued to ensure that any issues I might have are dealt with quickly and effectively.

With regard to the purchase of new cars vs used cars, I always tend to buy new (unless what I want is no longer available – such as a BMW Z3M Coupe for instance).
I know I will take the largest depreciation hit and that I am effectively loosing money the moment I drive away, but to be honest I can afford it and I would rather own a car from new than worry about how it has been treated etc before I got it…
It hasn't always been this way; I spent many years driving secondhand cars, but when I had the means to afford a new car - a new car was what I wanted.

This approach is not particularly rational and it certainly doesn’t make financial sense, but my cars are emotional purchases and in the grand scheme of things it keeps me happy and therefore it’s worth it to me.

 

[bpsorrel]

Sound reasoning, in fact the reason my Dad has always bought new. Depreciation doesn't worry him as he keeps his cars a long time, but for me, who likes changing cars every year or two, a few month old car makes a lot more sense than brand new!

I have bought new in the past, but don't think it's something I'll do again, except in Russia where there's no depreciation to speak off, but that's another story!

 

[Rashman]

...
b) Yes I would use the same dealership as I have now built up a relationship with them – I know them and they know me. I initially got what I consider to be a good deal on my new car and at this point in the customer / dealership relationship that was all that mattered to me, but since the purchase they have looked after me appropriately and have continued to ensure that any issues I might have are dealt with quickly and effectively.

Couldn't agree more.

Being able to take my car to a dealer who I know - and who, in turn, have grown to know me AND my car - is crucial to me.

Through the good times and the bad, I have got to know them - from the girls on reception (one's a little hottie!), to the guys in the workshop, to the guys in the parts department, to the service team managers to the service manager, to the sales team , right up to the dealer principle.

They all know me and my car and know what I am like. This means everything to me because I can be confident that they will treat my car as I want it to be.

I'd dread the thought of having to get to know another dealer because I would be a random stranger to them and it would mean starting all over again

So far, with the recent issue I have had with my encounter with The White Dog, they have been really good in trying to accomodate me and my OCD as much as possible. I really appreciate this and often means more to me than cost.

 

[bpsorrel]

Agreed. A good (or great) relationship with a dealer is absolute must for peace of mind. I've only known this when I've dealt with dealers who were clients and that's only because they saw me as "one of the team".

Other than clients I did have a good relationship with the Saab dealer that sold me my ex-demo Saab convertible. Sadly they went bust after Saab died. To be honest that was one of the reasons I part-ex'd the Saab in the end.

 

[Truffs]

I bought mine new and the next car will be new.

I know i could have possibly got a better car that was a couple of years old but not what i wanted.

The argument against dealer registrations doesn't always wash with me, I know of at least 2 times when the deal was so much better on a new one that was the way to go.

 

[Kingy68]

Changed the habit of a lifetime and bought a brand new Merc C220 Sport 125 last November. Usually buy 12-18 months old cars to avoid the first depreciation hit.

A year down the line and in answer to your questions:

1) Yes, I would buy another new Mercedes. It's been faultless and I smile every time I drive it. I'm very very impressed with it and in comparison to past cars (it replaced a BMW) it is on a par or better quality. This is based on my personal ownership and is not meant as a generalisation of BMW v Merc.
I can't believe I've had the car a year already and if it carries on this way I may have to re-consider how long I keep it.

2) I didn't buy direct from a dealer. I did visit one (Merc Stockport) and I tried to buy a C220 from them but they didn't follow it up despite me arranging a time/date to finalise the deal we had discussed in great detail. By comparison BMW (I also looked at the 3 series) were on the phone regularly until they conceded that they couldn't match the deal I was offered on the Merc. (Which was sourced after I'd given up on Merc Stockport).

I've taken a service contract out so I have fixed price servicing for the three years I intend to keep the car and I was asked which dealer I preferred to use for the services. I told them to pick whichever they wanted (the car is collected/serviced/returned to me) as I have no allegiance nor am I interested in developing one with any Merc dealer.

 

[NISFAN]

I used to buy used.....

I now find that the excitement and love affair that you get with a brand new car is so much stronger than when buying used. Makes the depreciation hit worth it

I believe this is something you need to experience to understand. Possibly why new car buyers tend to carry on buying new?!?!?!?