Mercedes online prices correct, and discount worth it???

[wongl]

I am currently looking for a new battery for our A-Class which we are selling. This morning our local MB dealer quoted me a price of £95 + VAT (part number A000982310826). I asked for a discount stating that if the battery was replaced at the last service I would have received an automatic 10% discount as the car is over 4 years old. Without so much as a thought, the dealership agreed and requoted me £85.50 + VAT for the battery after a 10% discount. They confirmed that this is an original MB battery and comes with a 2-year MB warrantee.

A quick price check on one of the Mercedes online parts that is frequently mentioned in this forum revealed that the online price for this part is £111.63 + VAT and after a 10% discount comes to £100.46 + VAT. I think there is shipping charges ontop too, but this is not clear until the checkout page I presume.

So who's got the correct price? My dealership or the online dealer? Why the price discrepancy?

 

[GeorgeA]

Looks like you have negotiated a good deal from your local MB dealer. Get yourself down there quick before they change thier mind

 

[Will]

I wouldn't argue, if it's the right part take the local option

Other than that, you might find a decent battery elsewhere - eg Varta/Bosch etc from a local motor factor/ECP/GSF etc? Most batteries will come with warranty, quite a few more than 2 years these days as well

Will

 

[Will]

Also, to add, I don't see how they'll easily send a battery through the post? When I have ordered batteries in the past, they come empty of the acid and you need to fill them yourself?

Can't see Royal Mail etc being too happy carrying an item such as this?

Will

 

[BTB 500]

Yup as mentioned batteries are normally collection only. Apart from the fact that they're filled with acid they also weigh rather a lot!

 

[neelyweely]

Or you could buy a Bosch one from Costco for half the price

 

[TonyVianoAmbiente]

Or you could buy a Bosch one from Costco for half the price

When I compared MB and Costco for my E300 Diesel, their prices were within 15% of each other. Varta and Bosch are not cheap wherever you buy them.

The only way to get a half price battery is to select a half price brand.

 

[wongl]

When I compared MB and Costco for my E300 Diesel, their prices were within 15% of each other. Varta and Bosch are not cheap wherever you buy them.

The only way to get a half price battery is to select a half price brand.

Not looking for a half price battery, but just wondering if the online prices which supposedly includes a minimum 10% discount are accurate or just another rip-off?

It gets better; so I was picking up my E320CDI from dealership last night and took the opportunity to pickup the battery from said dealership. Here is the what the invoice looked like

MA000 982 31 08/26 Unit Price £85 Disc 10% Net Total £76.50

VAT £ 13.39
Total £89.89, not bad considering Hellfords wanted £99.98 for an own branded battery for the A-Class.

This morning I did a quick cross-check with a famous Mercedes online dealer offering minimum 10% off, the checkout invoice shows

A000982310826 Unit Price £111.63 Disc 10% Net Total £100.46

Total £100.46
Tax £14.96
Shipping £3.75

So the total without shipping including the 10% discount is £115.42 compared with my dealer price of £89.89. This means that the online price (excluding shipping) is some 28.8% more expensive than my dealer price!

So who is ripping who off?

 

[*chris*]

Not looking for a half price battery, but just wondering if the online prices which supposedly includes a minimum 10% discount are accurate or just another rip-off?

It gets better; so I was picking up my E320CDI from dealership last night and took the opportunity to pickup the battery from said dealership. Here is the what the invoice looked like

MA000 982 31 08/26 Unit Price £85 Disc 10% Net Total £76.50

VAT £ 13.39
Total £89.89, not bad considering Hellfords wanted £99.98 for an own branded battery for the A-Class.

This morning I did a quick cross-check with a famous Mercedes online dealer offering minimum 10% off, the checkout invoice shows

A000982310826 Unit Price £111.63 Disc 10% Net Total £100.46

Total £100.46
Tax £14.96
Shipping £3.75

So the total without shipping including the 10% discount is £115.42 compared with my dealer price of £89.89. This means that the online price (excluding shipping) is some 28.8% more expensive than my dealer price!

So who is ripping who off?

£95 plus vat (the list price your dealer originally quoted you) = £111.63

No one is getting ripped off.

The MB parts website quotes prices inc VAT, your dealer plus VAT.

 

[Rory]

If the prices were all the same everywhere then people would say there was a cartel operating.

Batteries are probably quite cometitively priced as you can pick them up anywhere, but generally there's huge margin in parts - I used to work for a car manufacturer and we got varying discounts depending on the class of part, but most were 30-50% and service items were less 62.5%.

My daughter picked up some spray paint I'd ordered for her car from a combined VW/SEAT dealer - she asked the parts woman for a discount and she knocked 20% straight off.

 

[wongl]

£95 plus vat (the list price your dealer originally quoted you) = £111.63

No one is getting ripped off.

The MB parts website quotes prices inc VAT, your dealer plus VAT.

But I paid the dealer £89.89 for the same battery against an online price of £111.63 which supposedly also included a 10% discount. I make it a difference of 28.8% from two Mercedes dealership. My point is that I don't understand why there is a price discrepency between dealerships. It is like my local train station selling the a travel card to London but charging a different price from another station in the same zone, no?

Cheers

 

[richard]

They may have figured that the Car part number is identical battery to one of the trucks (with a different part number) but a load cheaper. Is there a pert number on the battery itself ?

Sprinter/Vito parts are priced much lower because the competition is different !

R

 

[wongl]

They may have figured that the Car part number is identical battery to one of the trucks (with a different part number) but a load cheaper. Is there a pert number on the battery itself ?

Sprinter/Vito parts are priced much lower because the competition is different !

R

Part number on receipt matched the part number on the sticker on battery. I haven't remove the sticker to check underneath. My local dealer does not do commercial, will have to go to the commercial dealer in an industrial park nearby. Last year when I checked, the commercial dealer quoted a higher price for a 100Ahr battery for my E-Class (same battery as one used in one of the vans) some thing like £120 + VAT vs £69 + VAT. Amazingly MB had a battery sale last year and their 100Ahr battery was significantly cheaper than 3rd party (e.g. Samson, ECP were quoting £100+ exc VAT). So I have no problems buying an original MB battery (the one in my C180 lasted over 10 years before it needed replacing which I rate is very good). But not sure why there is a price discrepancy across dealers and this experience means that I am very wary of buying MB parts online again without checking with my dealer first. No point paying more to get parts online if it is 28% cheaper down the road for the same part!

 

[LastMinute]

the dealership agreed and requoted me £85.50 + VAT for the battery

I paid the dealer £89.89

 

[wongl]

Quite so, and to avoid any doubt, I am not complaining about my dealership. Quite the opposite, having cross-check several items from recent service invoices for my A, C, and E-Class, every item before discount is cheaper than the online prices.

You can make up your own minds about where you should go to get original MB parts in future.

Cheers

 

[LastMinute]

I think you may have missed the point I was trying to make. *chris* also pointed this out earlier.

List price is £95.00 plus VAT. That's £111.63 - the list price you found online.
£95.00 less 10% is £85.50.
£85.50 plus VAT is £100.46 - the discounted price you found online.

There is no discrepancy.

The confusion is over how you managed to pay only 5.13% VAT...

 

[*chris*]

But I paid the dealer £89.89 for the same battery against an online price of £111.63 which supposedly also included a 10% discount. I make it a difference of 28.8% from two Mercedes dealership. My point is that I don't understand why there is a price discrepency between dealerships. It is like my local train station selling the a travel card to London but charging a different price from another station in the same zone, no?

Cheers

Because one discount is on the price before adding vat, and the other is a discount off the vat inclusive price.

 

[wongl]

I think you may have missed the point I was trying to make. *chris* also pointed this out earlier.

List price is £95.00 plus VAT. That's £111.63 - the list price you found online.
£95.00 less 10% is £85.50.
£85.50 plus VAT is £100.46 - the discounted price you found online.

There is no discrepancy.

The confusion is over how you managed to pay only 5.13% VAT...

I wasn't going to reply to this thread any more as it was my intension only to point out that I have potentially spotted some price discrepnancies and probably got a better deal from my local dealer than I could have from an online dealer. However this discussion seemed to have degenerated into a debate about how I compared "wrongly" the prices rather than simply comparing the bottom line of what I actually paid to walk out of the dealership with a new original MB battery for my A-Class.

It has also become apparent that the online prices do not include VAT (See their T&C which says "4.2 Prices for Goods on this website are shown in £ sterling (GBP) and are exclusive of UK VAT"), so the online price of £111.63 and discounted to £100.46 does not include VAT. With VAT, I make the total online discounted price as £118.04. This figure should be compared against the dealer quoted price of £95 + VAT, less 10% to £85.50 + VAT, a total of £100.46 inclusive of VAT. How I managed to pay only £89.89 including VAT when the invoice is printed is a different story and I take this additional discount as an added bonus for being a pretty face

Having crossed check the prices of some more items from my recent service bills against the online prices I now feel that I had probably paid higher prices for several online orders I have made, when my dealer would have probably charged me less. So it will not be my first choice to buy MB parts online anymore. This is a personal choice before any one have a go at this choice.

Like I said, I wasn't intending to prolong this discussion any more. My intentsion was to present some facts based on my personal experience on this matter over the last few days. You should make up your own minds where the best places are to purchase original MB parts based on your own experience. After all, price is but only part of the consideration and you may feel that the online service is much better than that provided by your local dealer.

Cheers

 

[LastMinute]

The Inchcape site has been discussed here [POST=436184]several[/POST] [POST=469331]times[/POST] before. Yes, the small print says that the prices quoted exclude VAT. However, the Ts & Cs are wrong. I have submitted a message to Inchcape to inform them of this.

I maintain that there is no discrepancy in the prices. I am only going to prolong that stance as long as you prolong your opposing stance.

Not all of us are blessed with a pretty face, so we end up [POST=500073]paying full whack[/POST] (including VAT at the standard rate) at our local dealer...

 

[wongl]

The Inchcape site has been discussed here [POST=436184]several[/POST] [POST=469331]times[/POST] before. Yes, the small print says that the prices quoted exclude VAT. However, the Ts & Cs are wrong. I have submitted a message to Inchcape to inform them of this.

I maintain that there is no discrepancy in the prices. I am only going to prolong that stance as long as you prolong your opposing stance.

Not all of us are blessed with a pretty face, so we end up [POST=500073]paying full whack[/POST] (including VAT at the standard rate) at our local dealer...

You are correct. Thanks.