Mercedes-Benz has Lexus in its sights and is close to toppling the perennial leader in terms of yearly sales, but the German luxury brand says it won't be doing anything "stupid" solely to become the top-selling luxury nameplate.

In the yearly sales estimates, Mercedes is actually outselling Lexus by approximately 1,000 vehicles. Yet Lexus has come on strong in recent months and executives believe that the competition to be the top-selling brand will come down to the wire.

When automakers are engaged in close sales races, they typically introduce a number of incentives to drive sales. Bloomberg reports that while Mercedes will definitely use this tactic, they won't be losing money on vehicles simply to outpace Lexus.

"December is a big month," Dietmar Exler, vice president of Mercedes-Benz Financial USA, told Bloomberg. "There will be some programs, but there will be nothing stupid just to be No. 1."

Buyers may see some deals on luxury cars for sale in the coming months, but they are unlikely to drop the total price of a luxury model into an affordable range for the average shopper. Those who still want to end up in a high-end vehicle may want to search the used car market for a deal instead, as there are sure to be some year-end deals there as well.