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Dealerships with allocations of the Metris Passenger Van? OVER MSRP markup?

8K views 40 replies 18 participants last post by  TwoPups 
#1 ·
I'm actively looking to order a 2022 Metris Passenger Van from MB. Would appreciate recommendations if you know a dealership that might have an allocation soon. It seems only the larger dealerships are getting the PV allocations.

I must have called 40 dealerships this week. Most say they are waiting for their March allocations or their allocations are sold. One place said they had an allocation I could order from but it would be a $10k markup OVER MSRP.

Is that really the price these days? $55k for a $45k MSRP van? Surely there must be more reasonable dealerships out there.

I'm on the West Coast, but am happy to order anywhere nationwide and have an adventure driving it home.

Thanks in advance for any tips!
 
#2 ·
I don't know about the west coast, but in my personal search for a cargo van in Northern New England; I landed at Viti MB, a couple states away due to price and features. Now that would be a very long distance transaction for you, but they were very straightforward, do a lot of out of state transactions, and wanted my business, at a reasonable price. The same could not be said from other dealers closer to me. Might be worth an email or call.
 
#3 ·
I can't answer your question regarding finding a new PV, but in December we were looking for a new SUV for my wife and we were surprised at the "market rate" add on prices. We went to Ford, Toyota, Honda and Kia and every one had a $5000 over MSRP additional cost. Only Nissan had a zero mark up. We ended up getting a 2022 Nissan Pathfinder that had to be delivered from a dealership 200 miles away to get the features we wanted. They would not budge on MSRP, but gave us a good trade in on the old SUV. Good luck in your search. I bought my 2017 Metris Cargo from Alfanos in San Luis Obispo, CA and have had all my service work done there. Very pleased with the dealership on the sale and service. When I was there picking up new side and ceiling panels a few weeks ago, they did not have a single Metris, but several Sprinters. Love my Metris!
 
#8 ·
I remember when dealers had a tough time moving passenger Metris vans. The times we live in lol.
 
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#10 ·
And that was on the window! With some negotiating skills you could get it for less. At least my dealer would.
 
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#13 ·
Used vehicle prices are plummeting. New cars will shortly follow.
 
#15 ·
Jim Cramer “When everybody was freaking out about the 8.5% consumer price index number – that is a hot number – you might’ve noticed that used car and truck prices were down 3.8% from the previous month,” he said. 3.8% month over month is big.
 
#16 ·
Not sure I would call that plummeting. Used car prices will come down before new car inventory recovers, but it will be a while. We've seen record prices for the last 18 months. We've hit the price fatigue point.

Disclosure: My salary is paid by used and new car sales along with products like pricing, dealer management and transport.
 
#17 ·
I hear you, and I don't work in the field so I have no personal knowledge (and I didn't intend to be obnoxious!). But 3.8% per month is over 45% annualized. That's a big drop, hence my use of the slightly inflammatory "plummet." I've also noticed price weakening on kbb.com for my van, which peaked in value around November. I think the impact on new car sales remains to be seen. I am having a hard time understanding the "chip shortage" as other than a transient problem, so I expect the supply of new vehicles to increase soon enough. Fair guess or not?
 
#19 ·
I'm actively looking to order a 2022 Metris Passenger Van from MB. Would appreciate recommendations if you know a dealership that might have an allocation soon. It seems only the larger dealerships are getting the PV allocations.

I must have called 40 dealerships this week. Most say they are waiting for their March allocations or their allocations are sold. One place said they had an allocation I could order from but it would be a $10k markup OVER MSRP.

Is that really the price these days? $55k for a $45k MSRP van? Surely there must be more reasonable dealerships out there.

I'm on the West Coast, but am happy to order anywhere nationwide and have an adventure driving it home.

Thanks in advance for any tips!
Did you find any dealerships that are willing to work with you? I am a fleet manager and buy a lot of cars. My experience is that the largest dealerships will work with you and smallest ones will not. Having a car shipped is $1,000 - $2,000 so buying a new van half way across the country is still less than paying price gouging dealerships that want $10k over MSRP. I bought a new Ford van summer 2020 at the peak of COVID and I paid invoice minus rebates. The marketplace is difficult for everyone. Not all car salesmen are price gouging swindlers.
 
#20 ·
I think you are right. Since the pandemic started, our small local dealership has said that all MB are built to order. The factory produces n vehicles per week or month. There's a schedule with slots, vans get produced in order they're received / allocated. Unless there are unsold vans coming off the line, ... or there is some idea that they anythinb that is currently produced is only coming later in the year with ones to be produced months from now??

Years ago, I went through a bad dealership experience on a custom order. Vehicle came in. Dealer sold it to his wife. Another dealership gave us one of their upcoming dealer build slots ... and it was three or four months to get it from Germany.

I would absolutely talk to other dealers, if the one that dropped the ball is not going out of its way to help you.
 
#21 ·
I have been told today, by a reliable source that purchases and has significant current orders with MB for Metris Passenger Vans, that their orders for passenger vans have been canceled. MB has said that, going forward, MB will not be making PVs for the US market. In addition, this same source has said that all 4X4 Sprinter orders (including their numerous orders) have been canceled by MB and will be replaced by All Wheel Drive Sprinters - something that, apparently, the van market in the US has no interest in. It was also stated that MB is in chaos about the US market and does not understand the the dynamic currently taking place. Bottom line: if you can find a Metris PV, buy it as it may be one of the very last available in the US. We all know that the Metris PV is the superior base van to build a camper from. Peace Vans reluctantly moved to the cargo van for their builds this year specifically because off this shift away from Metris PVs by MB. If you see a PV available it would be a good idea to seriously consider buying it for a camper upfit. It was also stated that MB is so confused that all of this current posture could change tomorrow... who knows, but certainly dealers will be attempting to take advantage of the situation... as any businessperson would (not that I aim defending or endorsing any such activity).
 
#24 ·
I took delivery of my cargo van yesterday. The sales manager stated that because of supply chain issues that MB is not taking orders. He did not mention any models being cancelled, just that he does not know when he can order more vans. He mentioned this because ours was the last van he was allocated. He has not been able to order a Metris in 6 months. Supply chain and demand.
 
#25 ·
Good to hear @BabushkaBike . Congrats on the new van!

Suspending the order system, is a more likely scenario; particularly knowing that MB still has the big order from USPS to keep them busy for a while. Two years ago, our small dealer said that every vehicle was built to customer order, no dealer spec'd models. If one follows the automotive news a little bit here and there, we hear about supply chain issues with most manufacturers, where vehicles may be manufactured without certain parts, options may get removed, certain parts may get reserved for higher profile / bigger profit margin vehicles, etc. So, in that regard, pausing retail orders for the passenger Metris, while focusing on USPS cargo and maybe some passengers for Getaway conversion ... does not seem out of the realm of possibilities. But that is quite something different from saying MB is discontinuing passenger vans in NA.
 
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#37 ·
Nice! Is that standard, premium or metallic blue?
 
#40 ·
Update: End of March, I ended up ordering a 2022 PV from a dealership with an allocation for August at a $1k markup. Mid-May, another dealership called with a 2021 PV that a customer had canceled - but they refused to budge on the $5k markup. So I decided to wait. Right now, I have a PO# and an August 20 build date. Fingers crossed!
 
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