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Old 05-03-2014, 10:27 AM   #1
Bondo
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Default Mercedes of Seattle

Hey there everybody--no I don't work in a body shop, my last name is actually Bondo. Derek Bondo. Have been working at Mercedes-Benz of Seattle for a little over two years. This is the only store I've worked at, and it's my first "real" job. I like it, a lot. It's a good fit for me, and I've always been nuts about cars, especially German ones.

Happy to be here and learn more of the ins and outs of how a dealership works, and how to build my own brand within the store and become a vortex of referrals and repeats. "The money's out there--you pick it up, it's yours. You don't, I got no sympathy for ya."
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Old 05-04-2014, 03:56 PM   #2
steve_biegler
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Welcome to the Forum! Lots of great people and advice here.
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Old 05-05-2014, 06:09 AM   #3
FixedOpsGuy
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I like your motto!

Welcome to the forum! You can learn much from the members on this site. At times things get dicey on here... as attitudes flare... usually due to another OEM forcing something down your throat.

As for myself, I've been off of this forum for a couple years due to nothing except career dedication and some personal challenges.

Glad to be back.
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Old 05-05-2014, 10:02 AM   #4
XDCX
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Bondo - Welcome to DealershipForum and thanks for creating an introduction thread.

Concerning Mercedes of Seattle, when I first saw the thread title I was trying to remember who owned that store - based on my memory I was almost sure it was either Lithia or AutoNation. After a little research on the Internet I determined I was wrong - it was neither.

Mercedes of Seattle is the new Mercedes store that can be seen from I-5 and it appears that it's owned by a private capital dealer group. I've only seen the facility from I-5 but it looks impressive.
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Old 05-05-2014, 11:52 AM   #5
Bondo
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The new owner, Al Monjazeb (Auto Centers NW), purchased the store from Phil Smart, Jr. about three years ago. He owns the Bellevue and Lynnwood Jaguar/Range Rover stores, as well as the Bentley, Lamborghini, and Rolls Royce store in Bellevue. Prior to that, he owned Bellevue BMW, which was then pruchased by Auto Nation.

We closed up the old Pike St. store on Capitol Hill and demolished our old pre-owned building on Airport Way S in the SODO district, and opened up our new store last September. Things have certainly picked up, but we are still waiting for all the cylinders to be firing at once. We'll get there--we're very close.
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Old 05-05-2014, 07:52 PM   #6
mryan55
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Welcome to the forum. I don't know if there's a ton of MBZ experience on the forum, but I spent about six months at my former group's MBZ store after our Jeep point was terminated in 2009.

Back in those days I was amazed at how strong the lease programs were relative to the Chrysler side I was familiar with.

However, the cards were stacked against us as there were many, many situations where someone had an E350W4 leased on an DCX employee pricing special for $399 sign and drive... at this point the 2010 E class was brand new, no more DCX employee pricing, and an advertised lease of $599 on an E350W with $5,200-ish due at signing. It was a tough sell.

We hobbled along to 20-ish new cars every month before I found my exit back to the Chrysler fold!
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Old 05-06-2014, 04:53 PM   #7
Bondo
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20 a month?! Holy cow--we're shooting for 90 this month. I definitely missed some of the more interesting times for MB (and the car business in general), where there was no negotiating and anywhere between 15-20% margin in new cars. One guy here has a Rolex the dealership gave him for selling an average of like 7 new cars a month for a year. Thankfully, however, I started right as the economy was picking back up and at the age of 25, I didn't really have any bills/built up my lifestyle. At any rate, I'm just happy to be in the position I am--this job has drastically transformed my life in just two years.
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Old 05-07-2014, 10:25 AM   #8
XDCX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bondo View Post
20 a month?! Holy cow--we're shooting for 90 this month. I definitely missed some of the more interesting times for MB (and the car business in general), where there was no negotiating and anywhere between 15-20% margin in new cars. One guy here has a Rolex the dealership gave him for selling an average of like 7 new cars a month for a year. Thankfully, however, I started right as the economy was picking back up and at the age of 25, I didn't really have any bills/built up my lifestyle. At any rate, I'm just happy to be in the position I am--this job has drastically transformed my life in just two years.
That's awesome. It's great to hear from someone who's new to the business and enjoys a job that has transformed their life.

Concerning the number of Mercedes members on the forum, myryan55 make a valid point that there hasn't been too much activity from other people who work at a Mercedes store. That said, Google indexes this site everyday and the more content that's here the more people it will attract.

I just added a thread to the Mercedes section concerning their Unlimited Mileage Certified Program. It sounds like an awesome program from a sales perspective. If you get a chance it would be great if you'd add to that thread and share your experience of how customers respond to the program and whether the Unlimited Mileage offer is increasing traffic/sales.
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Old 05-07-2014, 10:32 AM   #9
XDCX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FixedOpsGuy View Post
As for myself, I've been off of this forum for a couple years due to nothing except career dedication and some personal challenges.

Glad to be back.
Good to see you again - thanks for posting and providing an update.
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Old 05-09-2014, 12:36 PM   #10
Bondo
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I'll post here and copy in the thread.

I haven't yet really seen a serious uptick in sales from what I perceive to be a direct correlation to the Unlimited Mileage Program, but then again, it's pretty new. Perhaps it could be a way to bite into the companies that offer maintenance on a new car (albeit the UMP is for CPO cars). I figured every real estate agent in town would be beating down our doors, but again it's still fairly new.

What I think is a better program is the 2 payment credit and two years complimentaty maintenance for CPO cars the Mercedes rolls out about once a quarter. Some customers come in knowing about it already, but if they don't it is a very powerful closing tool--I love breaking the news to people, it's the sweetest icing on the cake.

On another note, since Feb. 2012 when I started, the lowest CPO rates were always 1.99%--they've just this month jumped to 2.99%. Economy recovering?
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Old 05-14-2014, 07:00 PM   #11
mryan55
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What are your thoughts on the CLA? From price point and equipment it seems not too far off from the high-end of the new Chrysler 200, so I have been looking at is a bit of a left-field competitor for the "quirky" fancy small car market.

What are your thoughts?
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Old 05-16-2014, 12:41 PM   #12
Bondo
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Mixed feelings on the CLA. Firstly, it makes my C250 feel like an S class in comparison (much more classic Mercedes feel). The CLA is definitely a little more rigid, and people have complained about rattling cup holders, etc. The 4matic version definitely rides more solid, and I'm sure the factory worked out a few bugs along the way.

BUT, the car looks unlike anything else on the road, and they've been selling at basically MSRP, or very close to it. The cool thing about it is that is has equal-length half shafts, so torque steer is pretty much non-existent. And with a DCT, it can actually be a fun car to drive, and it has 260 lb-ft of torque, so it moves pretty good.

My favorite is the CLA45 AMG, of course. AWD, DCT, and 355 HP from a 2.0L 4-banger pushing 26 pounds of boost. Now that's the business.
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Old 05-19-2014, 10:52 AM   #13
XDCX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bondo View Post
Mixed feelings on the CLA. Firstly, it makes my C250 feel like an S class in comparison (much more classic Mercedes feel). The CLA is definitely a little more rigid, and people have complained about rattling cup holders, etc. The 4matic version definitely rides more solid, and I'm sure the factory worked out a few bugs along the way.

BUT, the car looks unlike anything else on the road, and they've been selling at basically MSRP, or very close to it. The cool thing about it is that is has equal-length half shafts, so torque steer is pretty much non-existent. And with a DCT, it can actually be a fun car to drive, and it has 260 lb-ft of torque, so it moves pretty good.

My favorite is the CLA45 AMG, of course. AWD, DCT, and 355 HP from a 2.0L 4-banger pushing 26 pounds of boost. Now that's the business.
Thanks for the information - I really like the styling of the CLA and definitely see quite a few of them on the road.

Concerning the CLA, is there any backlash from potential customers because the vehicle is front wheel drive?
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Old 05-19-2014, 04:41 PM   #14
Bondo
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I mean, some people still bash on FWD, but truth be told, Mercedes has made FWD in Europe for quite some time. I haven't had anybody dismiss the car over it.
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Old 05-20-2014, 11:13 AM   #15
XDCX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bondo View Post
I mean, some people still bash on FWD, but truth be told, Mercedes has made FWD in Europe for quite some time. I haven't had anybody dismiss the car over it.
Thanks for the information - that fits with what I was guessing would be the reaction from most buyers. I don't think the whole RWD vs FWD debate is that big of a deal with the vast majority of car buyers.
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