Parallel Importers

[Guest angela]

I am interested to get the C200 from a parallel importer, anyone has any experience with Lay Auto at Toh Guan or other good lobang that you will like to share.

Thanks

[Guest eyke]

I am interested to get the C200 from a parallel importer, anyone has any experience with Lay Auto at Toh Guan or other good lobang that you will like to share.

some cons of buying/owning PI car you should know:

1) Factory warranty only 1yr (from date of overseas registration) or 1.5yrs from date of production

2) If want to goto C&C for anything (eg. warranty claim), must go Pandan Loop on only Thurs/Fri

and pay S$500 one-time registration

3) C&C can't do any work, eg. replace key, on PI key/Keyless Go system as it's based on non-IDA-approved freq

4) Must pay C&C upfront for full repair cost, to be reimbursed only upon successful warranty claim from Daimler

5) Little to no aftersales support

6) No chance of courtesy car

7) PI can close shop anytime, and there goes your deposit/warranty

8) Due to the above and if lower OMV of PI car, you will suffer lower resale value when you want to sell

9) C&C got 2.99% loan plan with 8% rebate (based on your loan amount) vs the industry standard of ~3.5%

[Guest 9339]

Getting from PI will sure have things which C&C can give, in compromising in diff in the selling price, it depend how much cheaper and which PI you are buying from. As wty issue, i do know all workshop can do the claim for you thrus C&C or C&D, it depend on the relation between you and the workshop, once the car had registed and deliver to you, you can forget about that PI from that point as only the service workshop can help you.

PRO & CON is depend on individual, if $ diff almost 20k, i would go for PI but must do lots of homework before signning.

Good kuck and see you soon in our GTG, Cheers

[Guest chertan]

I was in the same dilemma 3 mths agao,no doubt John from Lay Auto is a very nice guy, but the OMV is very low I find range from $35k to $37k whereas C&C OMV for C200 is $42k - $43k so actually there is not much saving afterall. I heard for warranty claim you need to folk out the cash first than after than C&C will submit for you which can take months. Also for normal repair and servicing C&C will charge you 20% higher, and after considering all these I decided to go to C&C. Unless the price difference is $20k and above, in my opinion it is not worth to take the risk for $10k difference especially when you are buying a $130k+ car and not forgetting when you sell later, the resale will be lower than C&C car. This is just my 2 cents worth.

[Guest Protoss]

I am interested to get the C200 from a parallel importer, anyone has any experience with Lay Auto at Toh Guan or other good lobang that you will like to share.

Thanks

Hi,

Welcome to the Club.

There are more reputable PIs out there, do more search and homework b4 signing.

For saloons, the diff will not be tat great between PI and AD.

Hope u get your car soon.

Cheers.

[Guest 9339]

Anyway just make a phone call to a PI which i know, price quoted is $18K diff from C&C 156K for C200 Avantgarde.Do your own homework pal.....

dont listen to hear say :dblfk: all B/S

[Guest eyke]

C&C 156K for C200 Avantgarde

C&C C200K normal price is S$154,888.

now got promo: 1-bid guaranteed COE at $151,000.

[Guest SgLaKsa]

I bought mine from a PI too. Warranty is actually by the workshop which maintains your car (Your PI should link you up with a workshop, not just sell car and say bye bye). My PI's appointed workshop for the maintenance of their customers' cars is Comfort Delgro but i've requested for MBM instead (Got to know about MBM's professionalism in their servicing of Mercedes thru this forum).

Just went for the 3rd servicing, all three times cost cheaper than my previous car which was a Civic 1.6. 1st servicing cost only $80+, 2nd was around $120 and the 3rd one was around $180... Very cheap ah :clap:

[Guest simonscleung]

Well.. all the best . I think it is very individual , if you want to get from PI or C&C.... but I think I will still prefer to get from C&C... sometime it is not just dollar and cents.....it is more like how much confident you're in the PI or C&C. At least I know C&C won't disappear suddenly..

[Guest angela]

The savings getting from a PI is about $15-$18K cheaper with higher specs but the main reason I consider not getting it from CnC is i will not be going back for servicing. Not only do they charge crazy money, their workmanship is also not so good either. Thus I see that there is no point to pay preimum to buy from CnC and goes out to service in MBM (third party workshop) and get the warranty void.

Of cos like wat most bros here suggested, I must do my homework and get a reputable PI.

[Guest angela]

Anyway just make a phone call to a PI which i know, price quoted is $18K diff from C&C 156K for C200 Avantgarde.Do your own homework pal.....

dont listen to hear say :dblfk: all B/S

Hi bro, is it ok if you PM me your PI's contact for me to use for reference.

[Guest chertan]

Where got $18k-$20k difference? PI (Lay Auto) selling at $139,888 whereas CnC selling at $151,000 go do your math is equal to $11k difference and not forgeting the OMV difference is $7k diff (Cnc=$43k, PI=$36) so net of is only $4k diff. At the end of the day don't just look at selling price diff, must also look at the OMV diff bec at the end of the day it is still your money.

[Guest 9339]

Just fyi, my PI C200 Avantgarde omv are $ 43,685.

Like i say, do your "home work" not mean only MATHEMATIC ISSUE

[Guest eyke]

Just fyi, my PI C200 Avantgarde omv are $ 43,685.

may i know does your C200 come with the same specs as the C&C ones

and how much did you buy it for?

OMV varies with spec-level, so must look at what options

are included (or excluded) before comparing OMV & price,

else won't be apple-apple comparison.

[Guest chertan]

For my case I am comparing the same spec for Cnc and PI and the OMV is diff by $7k ($43 for Cnc and $36 for PI). I think you are referring to the one with sunroof or paranomic roof.

[Guest 9339]

I got mine at a steal of 138 on Dec when the other are selling at 156,888, spec are same except mine dont have parking assist.

[Guest angela]

How i see this is that it's not just the price difference. Like what some said here that the price difference of 10k is not too much compared to what you are paying for the car. Look at it this way, 10k on 156k is only 6.4% and 20k is only 12.8%. You will never know, but any problems in the future might not justify the savings.

Been driving cars from PI for the longest time... jap cars. This merc I got is the first car i bought from an authorised dealer. Conti and Jap cars are different. Jap cars are easy to maintain, not as much electronics as conti cars. So simple that you can DIY or get anyone to service/ repair a Jap car, you wouldn't need the support of the authorised dealer/ workshop. It is the service support that you are getting from C&C. Just take the premium that you are paying as club membership... haha

[Guest angela]

I think it all depends on what are you looking for. Most will be more than willing to pay the extra to get the piece of mind but seriously speaking, how often do the car "breaks" during the warranty period unless you got yourself a lemon.

Also, speaking of workshop outside CnC, I believe there are some that can handle most normal jobs. In fact, there is one PI that bring in a lot of the higher end sports model too and they have to have a competent workshop to make people sign for quater mil.

My 2 cents

[Guest SgLaKsa]

Here's my case, I got my SLK200 from a parallel importer at $22k cheaper than C&C and thats not all, the OMV is much higher (almost $52k VS $40kplus) and it comes with much higher specs too (That's why my OMV is much higher because the cost of my SLK is higher as it comes with higher specs).

These are the higher specs which i got:-

Electronic seats both sides, steering wheel and folding mirrors. Thus, memory settings for all three mentioned. (Manual seats from C&C)

17" Mercedes Sport rims with 5 spokes. (Not the original one from C&C which is like a wheel cover)

Original Parktronic (Front and rear parking sensors with proximity lightings showing front and rear distances from objects, not locally installed type).

Steering wheel shift paddles. (Sporty gear shifting at steering wheel)

Remote control for the operation of Vario roof.

Draught-stop fabric.

International Warranty honoured by C&C. (Any major claim will be thru C&C too)

My PI told me that they can even arrange C&C to be my workshop for servicing and maintenance of my car. (I chosed not to because Paiseh to bring a PI car to C&C lah right???

Thus my SLK is more than $30k cheaper if i include the cost of all those extra specs (All Original Mercedes parts).

Maintenance and warranty by MBM. I think they are Professional, reliable and affordable.

[Guest Raskie]

different strokes for different folks ....

if u are stress intolerant, suggest only at AD (although AD not totally stress-free). You may pay premium but u get warranty honoured with proper diagnostic tools/eqpts and suitably trained mechanics ... any issue ala recall wld be dealt with.

if u are more adventurous and wants to save that difference to make that extra mod/improvement etc, then PI might not be a bad idea. Liek said, look for the more established ones ...

PI, for Merc only, we all know about MBM's abilities and know-hows and therefore having a good and reliable service workshop worry is already settled. For parts, Merc parts are also easily available too - no worries there.

So it's a matter of preference ... i know of people who must buy from C&C because they 'feel' that all others are not really Mercedes Benz - know what I mean ? But I believe these pple are from the "old-school" ...

With regards to OMV and selling price ... i mean if u buy low, do u really expect to sell high ?

To me, irregardless where u get the car, just enjoy the car of your choice and get poison by the folks here in this forum .... :tazzie:

[Guest SgLaKsa]

different strokes for different folks ....

if u are stress intolerant, suggest only at AD (although AD not totally stress-free). You may pay premium but u get warranty honoured with proper diagnostic tools/eqpts and suitably trained mechanics ... any issue ala recall wld be dealt with.

if u are more adventurous and wants to save that difference to make that extra mod/improvement etc, then PI might not be a bad idea. Liek said, look for the more established ones ...

PI, for Merc only, we all know about MBM's abilities and know-hows and therefore having a good and reliable service workshop worry is already settled. For parts, Merc parts are also easily available too - no worries there.

So it's a matter of preference ... i know of people who must buy from C&C because they 'feel' that all others are not really Mercedes Benz - know what I mean ? But I believe these pple are from the "old-school" ...

With regards to OMV and selling price ... i mean if u buy low, do u really expect to sell high ?

To me, irregardless where u get the car, just enjoy the car of your choice and get poison by the folks here in this forum .... :tazzie:

Well said bro, but with regards to warranty issues, actually cars from PI also have an International warranty honoured by C&C (Any major claims will be thru C&C too). As for reliability of workshop, my PI said that i can even choose C&C to be the appointed workshop for the servicing and maintenance of my Merc. (Except that PI cars will pay higher price compared to C&C cars)

[Guest Raskie]

I know abt the international warranty thingy and opting for C&C as service of choice ... but wat i am trying to say is that it does not make much commercial sense to C&C to treat PI Merc as "equal" to their own customers right ?

Put yourself in their shoes and you'll understand their reluctance ...

It's the same for Porsche, BMW and Audi .... (esp the Porker) ..

But if I had decided on the PI Merc route, all I will ask for is to have the service done at MBM :clap:

[Guest SgLaKsa]

I know abt the international warranty thingy and opting for C&C as service of choice ... but wat i am trying to say is that it does not make much commercial sense to C&C to treat PI Merc as "equal" to their own customers right ?

Put yourself in their shoes and you'll understand their reluctance ...

It's the same for Porsche, BMW and Audi .... (esp the Porker) ..

But if I had decided on the PI Merc route, all I will ask for is to have the service done at MBM :clap:

haha thats exactly what i asked for, prefer not to go to C&C workshop as i'll be a 2nd class citizen there. :la:

[Guest SgLaKsa]

I know abt the international warranty thingy and opting for C&C as service of choice ... but wat i am trying to say is that it does not make much commercial sense to C&C to treat PI Merc as "equal" to their own customers right ?

Put yourself in their shoes and you'll understand their reluctance ...

It's the same for Porsche, BMW and Audi .... (esp the Porker) ..

But if I had decided on the PI Merc route, all I will ask for is to have the service done at MBM :clap:

By the way bro,

How's your Boxster??? Enjoying the drive? I drove one which my colleague took for a free 2 days drive (some kinda credit card promo) 2 weeks ago. Floored the gas and people from the bus stop ahead heard the powerful sound approaching and took photos ah kekekekekekeke :2guns: :2guns: :2guns:

[Guest eyke]

with regards to warranty issues, actually cars from PI also have an International warranty honoured by C&C (Any major claims will be thru C&C too).

international warranty is shorter, ref my previous post...