Fj mercedes was quite empty this week

T

tourbillon_IHB

New member
Just came back from a trip and parked my car at FJ mercedes for the last three days (Free parking and shuttle service to JW airport). It was really empty when I arrived at FJ around 10am. I drove my car directly into the service area. Just a year ago it was quite packed with long lines of people and cars waiting for service. In addition, I did not see any line for free car wash (don't know if FJ still offers them). Had sometime on my hand, so I walked around the used car area to see how many used SLs I can find. A whole line of used SLs were available, probably around 20 or so. Did not notice any G-wagen, which I had hoped to pick one up if it was relatively cheap. Spoke with a sales person, and I was told things were pretty bad. He did no give any number, but he did say that things had to improve soon. The same person also said his friends at Newport Lexus were having a hard time as well, more so than FJ. Apparently, most of the RE people are into Lexus.
 
<p>Maybe just maybe this has something to do with it...</p>

<p>MEW = Mortgage Equity Withdrawal</p>

<p><img alt="" src="http://www.itulip.com/images/MEW+Kennedy+Greenspan+Q107SM.gif" /></p>
 
hum, could be, the equity withdraw was all the rage back then. According to the guy, it was more of the people delaying their replacement cycle. Interestingly, most of the people I know who used equity to buy new car/pickup brought Toyota, Honda, and Ford, not MB.
 
<p>It is Labor Day Weekend. Wouldn't expect many folks at a car dealership when they are at the beach, on vacation, out of town, etc.</p>

<p>Car wash still open. Just limited hours of operation (10-2) certain days of the week. </p>
 
I was there on Tuesday though, the first day of the car wash. In any case, it was empty on Friday as well when I returned to LA. One would think people would want to have their checked out before the road trip though.
 
<p>I went to MBLN for the taste of Laguna Niguel last Friday night. Talked to several of the sales people. Its bad to very bad for sales and leasing of Mercedes cars. The high end is really taking it on the chin. Sales guy told me about people in Mortgage and RE just doing a self repo. Driving in and just handing them the keys back. As far as checking a Mercedes before a trip ?They dont work the same way as a normal car. Just make sure the tires are up to pressure and off you go. Most Mercedes go 10,000 miles between service visits. </p>
 
We bought a Honda mini van last Thursday. The place was packed and they were doing crazy business. I already negotiated a price, so all we needed to do was pay and handle the paperwork. There was a long queue to go through the financing part so we hung out with other buyers for a few hours while we waited our turn. They were all buying because of the 2007 model year discounts. I assume that Mercedes doesn't discount. With money harder to come by, I wonder if people are choosing Honda's because they supposedly last longer than Mercs.





We got the Van for 3k under invoice.
 
I would imagine they are buying Hondas because it is cheaper, and is closest thing to a "luxury" brand without actually being one. Mercedes does discount, and quite a bit selectively. MBLN has an annual event where they discount by the thousands on some of their slower moving models. We bought a C350 last year at $5000 off - 10-12% off which is significant for a car. The S500, an outgoing model, was discounted $10,000. Of course, that brought it down to something like $80,000...
 
"I would imagine they are buying Hondas because it is cheaper, and is closest thing to a "luxury" brand without actually being one."





I dunno, I think that title should go to Toyota, or perhaps Acura.





Every car manufacturer discounts (excepting, perhaps, Ferrari); just depends on your timing. When the new S-class was about to be introduced, I negotiated a $12,000 under invoice deal for my parents-in-law on a new (but older body) S430. Final price was in the mid $60k's.
 
<p>From RealMoney as far as domestic sales:</p>

<p><strong>"Sales of domestically-produced cars are running at a pace of close to 13.0 million, more than a million more than expected and the best pace since last September, with about 80% of manufacturers having reported thus far. Interestingly, GM said that it was not seeing evidence of tightening credit for automobile loans."</strong></p>

<p> </p>
 
<p>Why is it that dealerships have such varied service costs for the same maintenance?</p>

<p>I have to get a "major service" and checked at three Lexus service dealerships:</p>

<p>Newport Beach - $750+</p>

<p>Mission Viejo - $550+</p>

<p>Westminster - $470+</p>

<p>If it's a "factory recommended maintenance," shouldn't the prices be very similar? </p>

<p>Anyone know a worst city that I can try next?</p>

<p> </p>
 
<p>Doc, it's because the dealerships are taking liberties with that "factory recommended maintenance". Ask them what they do and then compare to your owner's manual. Brake line flush? Not needed. Power steering flush? Not needed. Transmission flush? Not needed.</p>

<p>If it's not in the owner's manual, it doesn't need to be performed as a maintenance item in order to preserve your warranty. Period. It's possible that some of this stuff should be done as part of a repair procedure on an affected system, but that's outside the scope of "periodic maintenance".</p>

<p>If you add up the book labor rate plus parts on a 30k service, performing only what's in the manual, it should generally cost $50-$200.</p>
 
Liang


That sounds quite expensive, no wonder Newport Lexus is so empty.


Eff: I don't think a Lexus can be maintained for that price at the dealership, I know my friend's camry V6 cost more than that at Longo Toyota, and Toyota charges lower labor cost than Lexus
 
<p>It depends on which service. 7500 mile or 90000 mile? The price sheet from my Infiniti dealer shows a $440 difference between the 2. Eff is right that you need to get a line-item list of what's included no matter where you go. I never go to the dealership. Notice how many things on the list say "Inspect xxx". You're paying them to find ways to bill you for even more stuff. And the margins are ridiculous. They charge $149.95 to replace the in-cabin air filter. The part costs $45 and takes less than 10 minutes to replace. Unreal.</p>
 
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