So now that I'm at work (where I do nothing all day) I can update you all on the purchase!
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Model: G70 3.3t Sport (duh)
Dealer: Allen Genesis of Laguna Niguel
MSRP: $50,690
Circle A Plan Price: $46,585.15
Conquest Discount: $1000
Money down: $1000 Deposit, $14k Cash/Credit card
Dealer add-ons: $500 (Negotiated) (Eck Bond & OEM All Weather
Floor Mats)
Financing at 1.9% = $617/mo (or something like that)
The smile on this young man's face as his family is surprised by every feature he tells them about: $Priceless
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For starters, I have been after my car in this color since day 1 and I had put $1k as a deposit on the vehicle a few weeks ago with full intent of purchasing it the minute it showed up. I was up front with the dealer that I was going to bring in a Circle-A Certificate (THANK YOU
@r_spec !!!) and they were fine with that. I worked directly with the GSM (Bessai Parmach) and he was helpful in explaining costs between lease options and financing.
So I found out the car was delivered Thursday (4/25) and went to go square everything away on Friday evening (4/26). We (dad, brother and I) drove up to the dealership and sat down to go over some of the money related details. As we spoke they brought the car out for us to take a peak. WOOOOW did that Adriatic Blue pop in the sunset light. I've always been a fan of the deep blue Mercedes-Benz has on their vehicles and this is even better IMO. The car still hadn't been washed, so we told them to go have it detailed because we intended on taking it home tonight and walked back in the office.
Some debates over buy/lease, mileage, and a quick conversation about "Eck Bond" later, we had some credit check forms signed and were almost ready to hit the finance office. After hearing about
@Slowerthanslow 's experience with dealer add-on "doo-dads" I went in weary that they may try to charge me for some Lo-Jack related product before we entered the lot. Lo and behold, they informed me that it was $995 for some anti-theft product that they had "already installed and couldn't take off the car." I told em I don't need it, especially because Genesis Connected Services has a car locator function on it. We then got called to go over the car (in the dark, ugh) to check for scratches or interior issues and the GSM told me he could swap the Eck Bond for the anti-theft charge if I want. I let him know that I may consider the Eck Bond at a later date, but I don't want the anti-theft and he's going to have to take it off. Before we headed to the finance office, my dad remarked how he felt weird/something was wrong because there was no negotiations and everything was running so smooth/quickly with the Circle-A certificate. I simply told him, he's gotta trust me. I did all my research.
A few minutes later we're in the finance office to get this all squared away and the GSM went home for the day. Sat down and they showed us 4 packages and the impact on monthly cost. In each package besides the "bronze" (aka no package), they were happy to remove the anti-theft device charge. I went over the plethora of reasons why I didn't feel the charge was justified and the finance manager (Alex Hemphill) told me they were only making about $300 on the car and he was already staying late to get this squared away so he wouldn't take the charge off. I (fibbed a bit and) let the Alex know that the GSM indicated we could proceed without the anti-theft, he called the GSM, came back and said he could swap the Eck Bond for the anti-theft, but there was no money coming off the table.
I had told my dad (who is largely funding this vehicle) before we entered the dealership that I was prepared to walk if they want to charge us for anti-theft, but little did I know that it would actually happen. Getting out of the chair and pulling the key that was already in my pocket out to return was painful, but we're a family of businessmen and you gotta know when to walk. Oddly enough, we left a charging cable in the G70 so we had to turn back and go get it. Caught Alex (also a new 3.3t Sport owner) just as he was leaving, got the cable and a remark saying "you gotta pay if you want luxury." Pissed me off a bit, but I remarked that every brand/dealer takes the Lo-Jack charge off.
Went home in a somber mood, but was assured by my dad/brother (who had a similar experience buying a Q50 3.0 Sport a year ago) that they would call me tomorrow and get it sorted out or we'd find another car anyways.
Fast forward to the next day (4/27), the three of us are hard at work and my sales rep (Mike) gives me a call and apologizes for the deal falling through and reiterates their justification for the charge. My dad (who always takes a guns blazing Rambo approach) had done the majority of the negotiation Friday night, so I took a softer approach as I've been in sales before (and based on
@Slowerthanslow 's posts). I let him know that I understand that they want to make money, but I also know they're making more than $300 on the car regardless. As my dad never toss an alternative deal, I did. I told him I will give them $500 if they provide Eck Bond and All Weather
floor mats (valued around $225). He said he'd talk to the GM (Cyrus, never spoke to him) and get back to me.
Call back #2: Mike says he spoke to Cyrus and the best they could do is $750 for Eck Bond alone, no mats, final offer. I went back to explaining why I didn't feel it was justified, yadda yadda, and my dad asked to take control of the conversation from there. Back to guns blazing and some yelling and the conversation ended with "keep the car then."
It might be worth noting that he asked to speak to the GM and was told that Cyrus doesn't speak to customers over the phone, but he would speak to him if my dad came to the dealership.
Again, the hopeful young man thought his dad's hardline approach might have put off the dealer and shot us in the foot.
Call back #3: Mike again saying we'll take your deal. Eckbond and
floor mats for $500. When can you come in? f$%k YEAAAH!
So went in and it was a quick process from there. No extra sales or anything, just signing papers and handing over some sheckles for our down payment. Went over the car before signing and found a small scratch inside the rear passenger side door handle. NBD, it's not too bad. Drove home with my brother, grinning from ear to ear until we parked for lunch. He noticed a rather large patch of scratches on the rear passenger side door. Got home and noticed some on the tail gate as well. Haven't gotten to discuss this with the dealer just yet as I've been out of town, but since they're applying Eck Bond paint protection, I'm assuming they'll take care of it.
I'll update with the results and if anyone wants to know more about Eck Bond, I'll start a new thread once it is applied to the car (in a few days).
Reactions to the car:
A friend of mine saw the tail end in the garage before our trip to Santa Barbara (in my old car) and goes "Holy shit! What is that?!"
My dad hadn't driven the car/test driven until last night. I know we're supposed to do the break in miles, but I let him ignore that (he didn't floor it anyways) and the man was grinning from ear to ear. He looked down at the speedometer and goes "woooooooow, that's 100mph already." He completely missed the HUD (idk how) until I pointed it out and my mom was already shouting from the back seat about how "we don't need more fast cars. You better make sure you're not speeding!" as she enjoyed the heated rear seats.
My brother: After daily driving his 2018 Q50 3.0t Sport (not RS) was lecturing me from the minute we sat in the car about how to treat it and going gaga over the features. Claimed it as his summer car so he could air out his butt in the heat. LOL he wishes.
Mine: I went home and 1.5 hours later I went into the garage and just stared at my car for like 5 minutes in disbelief and awe of how fortunate I am. I get a shit-eating grin on my face every time I see the car and just typing about it has me missing it (brought the Corolla to work because it was a bit wet out this morning @5:40am).
PS: Thank you to everyone in this forum that has provided helpful information and interesting conversations around this car! You guys/gals (except Mrs. Grumpy G90 owner) really helped me keep sane waiting for the car and made the decision to buy this over the S4 so much easier!
) or new to negotiating, I highly recommend a book called "How to Buy Your New Car for a Rock Bottom Price". Written for buyers by a former car salesperson.
