[firsttime]

Hi,

I believe I have found the 2014 S550 that I would like at a dealer in Florida. The dealer is claiming that although I want to pay cash (wire or cashier's check) for the car, that Florida regulations require anyone from out of state to finance at least half of the price of the car. They are saying that even Florida residents have to jump through alot of hoops to be able to pay cash.

This sounds absolutely crazy to me. Is this dealer simply trying to pick up a share of the financing charges, or has anyone actually heard of something like this? It's a deal breaker for me, because I don't finance my cars and don't want to start now.

If anyone can shed any light on whether or not this is a real thing, I would appreciate it.

 

[Noodles]

That dealer is lying. I purchased a car with a check at a dealer in Tampa in 2012.
It was about half the price of the new S550, but they never once told me about any financing rules.
The dealer's get a nice financial spiff from whoever floats the financing and they are trying to pad the profit by lying to you. You can call Florida DMV and report for those practices. They are actually outside of the laws with deceptive trade practices in your case.

 

[Jayare]

Not true. I've lived in FL for 17 yrs now and never heard of such a requirement. Find another dealer/car in inventory.

 

[firsttime]

That dealer is lying. I purchased a car with a check at a dealer in Tampa in 2012.
It was about half the price of the new S550, but they never once told me about any financing rules.
The dealer's get a nice financial spiff from whoever floats the financing and they are trying to pad the profit by lying to you. You can call Florida DMV and report for those practices. They are actually outside of the laws with deceptive trade practices in your case.

I figured as much. That seems absurd, and I was almost in shock when the salesman told me that. His exact quote was "I can't sell you the car cash because of exporting reasons. You would have to finance at least half. To pay cash you have to be a local resident and even they have to jump through hoops".

It's amazing to me that someone would pull this on a $130K transaction. This is my first Mercedes purchase, and so far my introduction to the world of Mercedes dealers isn't going well. I understand that they want to make as much profit as possible from the limited stock of the new S Class, but this isn't the way to do it. I had to look out of state because most of the S550's in inventory are not as well equipped as I would like. I guess I'll keep looking.

Anyway, thanks for confirming my suspicions.

 

[jon winship]

I have lived in Florida my entire life (50 years) and have purchased MANY new cars and paid cash for all of them. Florida has some screwed up laws to be sure. Even though I paid in cash, they still run a credit report every time. Positively rediculous since it is a cash transaction........................Jon

 

[flyboyike]

I figured as much. That seems absurd, and I was almost in shock when the salesman told me that. His exact quote was "I can't sell you the car cash because of exporting reasons. You would have to finance at least half. To pay cash you have to be a local resident and even they have to jump through hoops".

He may be new and/or just incompetent. MBUSA is, indeed, a little sensitive about exporting, but that's not only in Florida. In fact, I recall a document that prohibits exporting the vehicle for 90 days following the purchase (I haven't the foggiest how they would enforce that), but I've never heard of financing being "required".

 

[DeutscheFahrer]

What this dealer is trying to do is get a "kick-back" from the lending entity for originating a financing deal, a common but frequently overlooked revenue source for dealerships. Never look back as you walk away from that one and find someone who will appreciate your cash.

 

[dbamber]

When I worked for a Chrysler Corp dealer in the 70's. The trade paper Automotive News was always posting the average profits from the various departments in the dealerships. Generally, even going back almost 40+ years the F&I dept. was usually the highest grossing department. I would not expect anything different today!

 

[Peter Guenther]

I have purchsed a few MBs in Florida with cash, and have signed the non export form, but have heard nothing about a credit check unless the check is out of country or out of state.
I have also heard about a dealer who would not sell a car to a person who did buy cars and immediately re-sell them if the models were in demand in other parts of the state.
I would go to another dealer and tell them what car options etc and let them find it...