Delivery Charge on New C Class W204 - Please explain.

[Rory]

...and spotted this when going through the quotation in detail.

OK, but is the bottom line price the same as you agreed? We still haven't established this.

The only reason to go through the order form in detail is to make sure they haven't missed anything off. The pricing detail doesn't matter as long as the final price is correct.

 

[Goldfish11]

Also when I got a finance quote, they added in another £500 for paint protection that I had not asked for and tried to hide it in the figures! You really need to check everything very carefully to make sure that you are not being ripped off.

I agree, they seem desperate!

You mean this stuff which you can buy for £22 and if you do it yourself at least you know you have done the job properly. Or pay our local hand car wash team £50 to apply it. Only thing you don't get is the insurance which just covers a quick polish if a bird c***ps on the car and you leave it for a week.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SUPAGUARD-pro..._CarParts_SM&hash=item2310af37fe#ht_862wt_689

They also tried to sell me 3 year gap insurance for £830, a quick search of the Internet and I find I can get the same cover (upto £25K to new car price) for £280.

They had a line on my quote called "Customer care pack" for £1222.46 that covered gap insurance and paint protection.

I got this taken off!

 

[Goldfish11]

OK, but is the bottom line price the same as you agreed? We still haven't established this.

The only reason to go through the order form in detail is to make sure they haven't missed anything off. The pricing detail doesn't matter as long as the final price is correct.

I think they are charging me £113 to much with the newly specified vehicle with Comand taking into account the extra fuel and the mats I need. With Comand I will have to pay about £750 more than the original price agreed. If I could get this for about £600 more then I would be happy and realised if they used the standard specified delivery terms on the MB site this could be achieved. At the end of the day I would think delivery charge is something which the dealer has to pay direct to MB not something they profit from.

 

[Rory]

Also when I got a finance quote, they added in another £500 for paint protection that I had not asked for and tried to hide it in the figures!

Took about 3 hours to buy a VW Golf (at an Inchcape owned dealership) for my daughter a couple of mths ago and about 2.5 hours of that was 3 levels of people trying to sell us various insurances and protection packages.

I actually might have gone for the subsidised PCP deal as it also included 3yrs servicing which made it pretty zero cost but with numbers flying everywhere it just became ridiculously difficult to figure out what was going on - which is obviously the idea. Eventually the sales manager stepped in and we did a cash deal in about 5mins. Dealership was very quiet though - I'm sure we were the only buyers that day (first Sunday of the new registration period).

 

[Rory]

I think they are charging me £113 to much with the newly specified vehicle with Comand taking into account the extra fuel and the mats I need. With Comand I will have to pay about £750 more than the original price agreed. If I could get this for about £600 more then I would be happy and realised if they used the standard specified delivery terms on the MB site this could be achieved. At the end of the day I would think delivery charge is something which the dealer has to pay direct to MB not something they profit from.

There's probably some tax reason why they've meddled with the cost.

I'm not sure I'd have been happy to stump up for COMAND in such circumstances - was that price subsidised?

Maybe you could go back to the dealer and say it's all getting a bit much, times are hard, you're not sure if you should stay with the deal etc etc?

 

[Goldfish11]

There's probably some tax reason why they've meddled with the cost.

I'm not sure I'd have been happy to stump up for COMAND in such circumstances - was that price subsidised?

Maybe you could go back to the dealer and say it's all getting a bit much, times are hard, you're not sure if you should stay with the deal etc etc?

Subsidised by Becker deal I.e £495 off. Agree, Going to dealer in 20 minutes for new slk and c class coupe launch they invited me! If it is not sorted in next few hours I am walking away. Thats it I am probably paying for the wife's champagne tonight.

 

[Jules335]

Subsidised by Becker deal I.e £495 off. Agree, Going to dealer in 20 minutes for new slk and c class coupe launch they invited me! If it is not sorted in next few hours I am walking away. Thats it I am probably paying for the wife's champagne tonight.

You might want to check that Comand is actually available as well, as I have been told that it isn't. (On the E coupe)

 

[Simon_M]

If you have 10% then you probably have enough of a discount. If you push too far you will either sour the deal or lose the deal. Don't be greedy. £600 for business class flights, hotel, taxi and factory tour is not a bad price to pay.

The invoice for my C Class had loads of odd things on it and a shocking finance rate of almost 10% but the total I paid now and over 3 years did not change. Let them play with the figures to maximise their profit but keep your eye well and truly on the total price.

S

 

[Goldfish11]

Just been to dealer all staff in DJs and ladies in evening and cocktail dresses. String quartet and expensive art exhibition. New slk and c class coupe. Anyway, had good chat with staff, it turns out the diamond White paint factory was washed away in Japan. If you want an E class all vehicles are being shipped with Audio 50 which is an extra £1k. Chatted with sales chap and he said I was the first to spot this, he seems to be on my side as he had called his previous MB dealer who charges £645 plus Vat. (rather than £675 plus vat). Even so I pointed out this is still more than what is quoted in the brochure i.e. £645 including Vat. I said I wanted it sorted by close of play tomorrow or I was going to cancel the order he said he was sure something could be done. We will wait and see the result.

So it seems each dealer can charge what they like and hope we don't notice.

 

[Rory]

..it turns out the diamond White paint factory was washed away in Japan.

Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration. It was fixed ahead of schedule last month and was due to restart shipments from 1st June - although I haven't seen confirmation that that's happened. Electricity supply is still a big issue in Northern Japan.

 

[Stratman]

Just been to dealer all staff in DJs and ladies in evening and cocktail dresses. String quartet and expensive art exhibition. New slk and c class coupe. Anyway, had good chat with staff, it turns out the diamond White paint factory was washed away in Japan. If you want an E class all vehicles are being shipped with Audio 50 which is an extra £1k. Chatted with sales chap and he said I was the first to spot this, he seems to be on my side as he had called his previous MB dealer who charges £645 plus Vat. (rather than £675 plus vat). Even so I pointed out this is still more than what is quoted in the brochure i.e. £645 including Vat. I said I wanted it sorted by close of play tomorrow or I was going to cancel the order he said he was sure something could be done. We will wait and see the result.

So it seems each dealer can charge what they like and hope we don't notice.

There's your extra 'delivery charge'.

 

[Goldfish11]

There's your extra 'delivery charge'.

Thinking about it, the extra is probably for all the coffee I have drank in that place. 3 visits per year x 2 cups coffee x 8 years .....48 cups must equal £220 ;-)

 

[hawk20]

Of course they can - price fixing is highly illegal.

Sorry but you are wrong on this. For an individual manufacturer to advertise in their literature what their price is, is perfectly legal. Agreeing with other firms to all charge similar prices is illegal. Letting your dealers offer discounts is also legal. BUT MB would not approve of a dealer charging more for delivery than the price in the brochure. Ask Customer service. I'll bet they get on to the dealer and tell him not to exceed the price in the price list.

 

[hawk20]

Thinking about it, the extra is probably for all the coffee I have drank in that place. 3 visits per year x 2 cups coffee x 8 years .....48 cups must equal £220 ;-)

Have you tried reporting to MB Customer Service?

I did on something recently and they got straight onto the Dealer Principal.

 

[MD5]

Sorry but you are wrong on this. For an individual manufacturer to advertise in their literature what their price is, is perfectly legal. Agreeing with other firms to all charge similar prices is illegal. Letting your dealers offer discounts is also legal. BUT MB would not approve of a dealer charging more for delivery than the price in the brochure. Ask Customer service. I'll bet they get on to the dealer and tell him not to exceed the price in the price list.

So would Trading Standards!

 

[219]

I am just having an interesting debate with my local dealership. I am trying to buy a new C Class.

The new C Class price list brochure states in the small print on page 5.

"Recommended on-the-road price: these prices reflect the Road Fund Licence applicable to the standard model plus £645.00 additional costs necessary to put your car on the road. Included are a standard UK delivery charge (£515.00 incl. VAT), new vehicle registration fee (£55.00), number plates (£25.00 incl. VAT) and fuel (£50.00 incl. VAT). VAT is calculated at the standard rate of 20%”

My dealer wants to charge:
£675 plus VAT = £810 plus the Registration fee of £55 = £865. Instead of the £645 which the price list states, this is an additional £220.

I have queried this and received this explanation.

"Good afternoon Mr XXXXX
Please see attached quote for your C Class, I have factored in everything that we have discussed. The delivery charge will remain at £675.00 which will give you a full tank of fuel and a set of mats, it also covers all on the road costs.
Please let me know how you wish to proceed? <<...>> "


According to my calculation

The tank capacity on the C class is 59 litres so the total cost of fuel at diesel of £140.9 is £83.13 including VAT (if the tank was completely empty on delivery). Therefore an additional £33.13 over what they state in the brochure of £50 of fuel.

Matts are on the Inchcape site at £73.02 including VAT. ( Ribbed Floor Mat Set Black Automatic - C Class 2007-On (204) SALON Accessories Protection and C - Mercedes-Benz Parts, Inchcape )

So the total additional cost is £33.13 + £73.13 = £106.06.

So we are paying an additional = £113.94

Can anywone tell me what this is for? Can dealerships charge what ever they like for delivery or should they stick to the prices quoted in the MB UK brochure?

I have managed to negotiate them right down on price (a 10% discount) but the sales chap keeps telling me one thing then a few weeks later I find something else. If he just said I want to charge you an extra £113.94 so we make some money that would be fine, but I don't understand where this comes from as I suspect this is just paid directly to MB.

So far I have been told that because they gave me a discount they will only put in £25 of fuel, they now say it is full tank. They told me there was no problems with the Audio 20 delivery, now I am having to put comand in. They also told me an additional person on personal collection was £40 they now tell me it is £350 so this niggle is just yet an other issue.

Of course I payed my £1000 deposit before they told me all these problems. I guess the good news is I can get this back as they can not supply the original vehicle.

The service team at the dealership are excellent but sales are driving me mad

Why not opt for personal collection ?

M-B will fly you out to Germany and put you up in a nice hotel ; in the morning , you will be given a tour of the factory , have a chance to see round the museum and will be presented with your new car , on transit plates to cover your journey back to the UK . Mercedes pay for the fuel and the ferry .

Many on here have done this and have said what a wonderful experience it is . Lots of people won't buy a new MB any other way .

 

[Rory]

Sorry but you are wrong on this. For an individual manufacturer to advertise in their literature what their price is, is perfectly legal. Agreeing with other firms to all charge similar prices is illegal. Letting your dealers offer discounts is also legal. BUT MB would not approve of a dealer charging more for delivery than the price in the brochure. Ask Customer service. I'll bet they get on to the dealer and tell him not to exceed the price in the price list.

It would be interesting to know what MB said. I think they cannot legally enforce any resale pricing on the retailer. Of course they may huff & puff about it, and that might extend to taking the franchise off the dealer, the threat of which would no doubt encourage the dealer to comply.

I don't think the price list is an advertisement, and it clearly says the prices are "recommended..." . However if those price did appear in an advertisement then that's a different kettle of fish.

Also...there actually are EU rules which allow the setting of maximum prices, but they're really framed for utility companies.

 

[Stratman]

I suppose if the dealer is directly responsible for the delivery costs then they can charge what they like.
If MB arrange delivery then they must be able to dictate the cost to the recipient?

 

[akmal17]

Do you have more details on all E classes coming with audio 50? I have and E class arriving in June, will that have audi 50? thanks

 

[Jules335]

Do you have more details on all E classes coming with audio 50? I have and E class arriving in June, will that have audi 50? thanks

I have an E350 Coupe order on hold due to issues with paint and Comand. The CD changer with Comand is definitely not available. Depends on who you speak to as to whether Comand is available at all or not. If you asked for it and your car cannot have it, then your dealer should have informed you.

I believe that Audio 20 is also unavailable and so they may be fitting Audio 50 in lieu of this?