Kirkster

Well gang it's now only about 30 days until my trip to trip to Germany to pick up my E550 coupe. There seems to be an limited amount of info on MB euro delivery as compared to BMW, so my plan is to gather as much info to share as possible, so that others can be informed. I plan to video as much of the entire process as I can after I get to the delivery center so I can share it. I know cameras aren't allowed on the tour, but everything in between will get video taped. The folks at the euro delivery office have been great. There is a fair amount of coordination that goes on to make sure your delivery date coincides with when the delivery center is opn and factory tours are available. Also, you have to coordinate your drop off location when planning your trip because thier open and close times and dates are all over the map as well.
The one thing that's all over the map is how longs it take for your car to get back to you after you drop it off. i am planning to drop my car off in Zurich on 4/3. Keeping that in mind I was told I can expect delivery around mid-June. I know other have have much shorter delivery windows, so I am really curious as to how long it will take.
I have been planning for this a really long time and after getting my Euro Delivery package in the mail two weeks ago, its finally beginning to feel real.
If anyone has something in particular they want to see or know more about, let me know and I will do my best to make it happen.

Kirk

pdjv

I did a series of articles on my 2004 European Delivery for the local section's newsletter - still have a copy of the Word document somewhere. The process was very smooth and the Black Forest Rally package well worth the cost. Another member of MBCA's Greater Washington Section did a similar delivery in 2008 - very little had changed.

We turned our car (an E500) in at the Harms location in Stuttgart and picked it up at our local dealer right at five weeks after we dropped it off, but then the Stuttgart Harms facility gets a lot of traffic so cars tend to get to the port quickly, and the Baltimore VPC is almost local for us.

Kirkster

6 days to go!

Kirkster

Trip was awesome...The MB delivery center folks were great. Eveyone i met along the way was on thier a game. Car turned our better than I imagined. now the hard part is waiting for it to get back here. Stay tuned for pictures.

Strafzettel

I think even harder will be not to get into trouble for speeding having driven the new car on the German Autobahn!

pdjv

Much harder to stick to the break-in restrictions (no WOT, no top speed...) 120mph is under top speed - right?

Strafzettel

I think these days engines don't need much break-in anymore as long as you let them warm up first which you should anyways. Top speed should be limited to 150mph unless US versions are different.

Kirkster

I drove mine at 120 for a stretch while on the autobahn. I was blown away by how fast people drive on there. I was doing over 100 and someone in a BMW was coming up fast so I move over and this guys just blew by me. had to be doing 160+. The roads are amazing there. Funny thing was being told to use the lowest grade premium gas. Car was built for US standards so don't waste the money. The tech at the delivery center said german are proud of the fact they have the highest octane premium in Europ if not the world.

Kirkster

This wait is going to kill me. typciall how long after you drop the car off before you hear something? I dropped mine on 4/3.

Kirk

pamiboy

Congratulations on your new car, but one question Kirk, How does it fare financially? Did you have to pay more for Euro delivery or less. You'd still have to fork out money for the air tickets and hotel stay ..right? I understand they will ship the car back to you at no cost. Thanks.

Kirkster

I think I broke even..maybe saveed a few hundred. I was able to negociate a good deal on the purchase, over the 7% MB offers and we really wanted to visit Europe. Having a car to help us see a lot of it in a short period of time was a bonus. Renting a car would have cost us $$$ so..factoring everything in we paobably saved a little bit. Yes, MB pays for the shipping back and that was a really easy process. I dropped my car in Zurich on 4/3 and when I checked yesterday the car is at the port in Germany waiting to get on the boat, which should be leaving for the states tomorrow or Thursday. The whole delivery center experience was top notch and visiting the museum was fantastic. The whole process was amazing. My wife was the hard sell, she's just not into cars, but after she toured the museum and the factory, she is now a Mercedes fan. I think that is exactly the companies goal offering the Euro Delivery program. New customers for life. it worked for us..

pamiboy

Thanks, I still don't get how did end up saving money. So you saved more on price negotiation with the dealer, correct? You still have to pay taxes right... And the destination fee ( is it included? ) How did you recoup the fares for airline and hotel?
Yes you didn't have to rent a car which is awesome.
If you were able to negotiate the same deal with a car on the lot, how would it be different? You'd still save the travel expenses, isn't it?
I understand that you wanted to visit Germany and you clubbed it into this opportunity. That's great.
I really hope you will get your car back safely and quickly. Good luck.

Kirkster

I guess you can say I saved money on the trip. Had i just bought a car off the lot or ordered one and stayed home, it would have been cheaper. No travel expenses. Yes, I still have to pay sales tax but I don't have to pay any destination charge. Paying for the Euro delivery experience was worth every penny.

pamiboy

Sure, I'm glad you enjoyed the trip. So basically what you really save on is the destination fee. For that amount you have a trip to Germany and so on.
Too bad I didn't know about this until a few months ago and now I'll have to wait for my next car purchase to decide on this type of delivery ( whenever that may be).
Enjoy.

Kirkster

You basically get 7% off of the price of the car including options. I was able to get an additional 3% plus MB waves the destination charge. Shipping the car back to you is incldued, plus a bunch of other perks that are detailed on their web site.
The wife has always wanted to go to Europe and i have always wanted a Benz, so why not have both? Being able to drive my own car around was really a treat. We were able to tour places on our own schedule. MB fully insures the car for everything, so there are no worries. i stumbled on the whole thing by accident and spent the better part of a year planning and waiting for the big day. When the big day finally came it was like a dream. Seeing my new car for the first time as i spec'd it was pretty special. The folks at the delivery center were just fantastic. Hard to put into words. The whole trip was a blast. i have the videos to relive the event..

pdjv

See http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/european_delivery_program - 7% off MSRP and the Destination Charge is waived. 7% off the cost of an E class can cover a lot of your travel expenses - for a 2014 E class with an MSRP of $53K you're looking at a $3710 discount. You still have to pay taxes in the U.S. I paid taxes on my car when I went to the DMV to get the car titled and registered. Sales tax was based on my cost, so the 7% discount helped again.

EDP cars are shipped to the US via the same transports used for cars shipped to dealers (you can even track your car's progress). From your chosen drop-off point, the car is trucked to the port where it is loaded onto a boat with other cars destined for the VPC closest to your selling dealer. From the VPC your car goes directly to the dealer on the same truck as other new cars destined for the dealer.

pamiboy

Thanks gentlemen. I got the part about the value offered in this program. Now is there any room for price negotiation at all or they just go straight MSRP with 7% off? If yes who do you deal with? The dealer or MBUSA over the phone?
OK I'll check the website soon. Thanks again.

pdjv

All European Delivery sales must go through an authorized dealer. The 7% MSRP discount is an MBUSA incentive that is passed through to the dealer. Any additional discount you can negotiate with the dealer would be over and above the 7%.

Kirkster

i was able to get an additional 3% off in addition to the 7%, so..that was a plus. Another really important thing to consider is when the dealer wants you to pay for the car. They are all different. My local dealers wanted my to get everything financed two to four months before I left for Europe. that really can erase the savings pretty quick. i used Herbert at MB of Escondido and i didn't need to settle up until a couple of weeks before I left and since I financed thru MB. My first payment is due two months after i signed the finance papers. If everything times out right I should have the car in my driveway a couple of weeks after I make my first payment. Some dealers know the Euro delivery process better than others, so go with someone who does them a lot. you can't go wrong with Herbert. No..he didn't pay me to say that. On a side note...my car was loaded on the boat today In Bremerhaven Germany. It's due to arrive in Baltimore on 5/5.

Kirkster

How do you go about tracking the cars shipping progress after it gets off the boat? Does the selling dealer have access to that info?

pdjv

After it's off the boat, the dealer should know when to expect the car from the VPC.

Alex Bel

The same with me. Last August I've ordered my car with Herbert Haemmer and can confirm - he is great!
3% off MSRP on the top of MB 7% and car payment 10 days before the actual trip to Germany. So all together more than 11% off MSRP without playing a game with local dealer. I hope to deal with him again next year. Very simple process with all options I want plus nice vacation in Europe.
Also he was ordering dealer in CA and I've got my car in MI.

Zodiac665

Alex,where in Michigan did you pick your vehicle at when you ordered from Herbert. Going to do a euro delivery and if I can get an additional 3% from Herbert that's an even better deal

Alex Bel

I had not a pleasant experience with Mercedes of Novi. They requested from CA dealer (Herbert ) $1500 !!!! just to release a vehicle, with doing nothing at all.
Normally it would be $200-$300 for releasing a car. Somehow CA dealer make a deal with them, maybe by paying this crazy amount because of "The best or nothing". Anyways they will not see myself as a customer, but that's a different story.

Contact Herbert, he will ( you can for sure mention Alex from Michigan) explain you everything and arrange proper delivery. For me this was good experience and I will not hesitate contact him again about upcoming 2016 GLC ( if the car is good and we will decide to repeate ED route).

Zodiac665

Thanks Alex. I would be having the car shipped to Mercedes of Rochester. Let's hope it's there not as bad as novi. Sent an email to Herbert, so hopefully it all works out. Thanks