nhl1011

Hi All,
I am not quite sure where and who I should talk about the experience that I have been going through with local cooperate dealership. I am hoping to have some of your feed backs/suggestions/advice if you are in my shoes. Your input is very appreciated and hope no one has similar situation like me. So...here are my time lines.

Aug 2015: I put a deposit on GLS350 with an agreement on 4% off from MSRP.

Sometime in 2016: The my original sales person left the company, and the new guy assigned to my case called me and said, the maximum he can try is 2% which will be very difficult. I had to take 1hr drive for couple times to battle against and settled down to 3.5% with sales manager. From this point I refuse to deal with that sales person again, but they have never changed sales person that assigned to my case.

Aug 2016: I changed GLS350 to GLS550...my expected delivery time is at the end of Jan 2017/ Early Feb 2017. (Needed to make a lot of phone calls trying to talk to the sales manager, just to get to know more details like what is the production date etc etc)

Jan 2017: Called in to find out the sales manager I have been dealing with moved to another location and my car is already sitting in the lot. NOBODY TOLD ME ANYTHING/CALLED ME!!! I went through details with new sales manager through the phone and our delivery date is Jan 17th 2017. Everything is ready, Certified personal cheque? Done! Called Insurance? Done! Put AD on all different sites to sell my current car? Done!

Side Story:
I am paying in full (CAD $125,000) with certified personal cheque for those who are wondering...I needed to convert large amount of $US that I had to $CAD with a little bit higher rate than I would like to come up with such amount in a short period of time.


JAN 16 2017
Boom Shakalaka! Received an email from dealership telling me my car arrived with damage, and they cannot deliver the car tomorrow. (which is today in this case) They have no clue what is going on with the car, but will let me know once they have answer.

JAN 17 2017 After calling them couple times, they finally called me back around 4:00 PM and tole me they messed up with stock number, so my car actually delivered to different location and it was delivered to other customer. The car that they received is nowhere close to the one that I configured.

So here are the options:
1. I can get another car very similar to the one that I ordered, black on black with intellect package etc etc. the only difference is this one doesnt have night package and Brown Ash Wood Trim. instead it has Enhanced towing package. this car can be delivered by the end of this month. but I need to pay w/e difference is. They will honor 3.5% discount even nowadays maximum they can offer is 1%!!!
2. Take the Brown car that came under my order.
3. Reorder which will take another 3-4 months to come.
4. Should I wait for 2018 model? which will be late August/September.

I have been waiting for this car for over 18 months now, and really tired of dealing all these kind of things. The most frustrating part is, their staff keep changing, and I have to make at least 5 calls (or try 1hr) to have 1 short conversation with the person that in charge of my case.

Please suggest!!! Thank you.

rominl

they are the only / closest dealerships to you? do you have another choice?

sounds like you are in canada, gls supply is that low in your area?

as much as i want a car, i want to make sure i spend the money happily. i am in CA so maybe i have the luxury of having multiple dealerships of the same brand within reasonable driving distance so if i am not happy with one, i just go to another.

maybe you can talk to some other dealerships and have their cars delivered to you?

nhl1011

I live in Toronto, we have multiple Mercedes dealerships in my area.
I am kind of hestitate to switch dealership, due to following reasons.
1. I don't think anyone would offer 3.5% or higher based on current demand and supply tbh.
2. I wont be on the top of the waiting list if I switch to a new dealership.
3. Combination of 1 & 2 are very hard to achieve at the same time.

PS: I pre-ordered GLS in early August 2015, and that is why I had that deal at the first place imo.

baobay

sounds like the dealer is giving you the old run a round...Switch dealers...

jerhu

Which dealer did you go to?

I can try to point you to someone I know if you're interested. PM Me

Boston

Here is what is probably happening if your vehicle is a black on black GLS. These vehicles are being sold above sticker ONLY due to overseas demand for Black on black GLS's. Assuming you are not attempting to buy the car to ship it overseas & you have waited THAT long, I would contact Mercedes corporate directly! If you are ok with other colors, your discount percentage should be considerably higher than you quote in your post. Reach out to me if you want further insight.

rominl

looks like you have tied yourself up with the dealership so you are at their mercy to choose what they have on the lot, otherwise it's the same waiting game as any other dealerships

Kwando

Curious to know which dealer in the GTA this was so I can be sure to avoid them. I used Mercedes Benz Durham and it was a smooth process. Ordered January, delivered in May.

nhl1011

Hi all, just for your information, they decided to reimburse the difference ($1,500) by waving other service charges. (3 year maintainence wheel and lock fees)
So overall, it's like 4.5% discount and I will be getting the vehicle by the end of this month.
I am happy with the result and I guess case closed.
Thanks all for your kind words and advices.
Have a great weekend.

yavor

If I were you, I'd forget amout MB and switch to Audi Q7 with the big diesel engine. Yes, it looks like an ugly station wagon, but is cheaper and is at least as good as the GLS, just my opinion.
I waited for my GLE almost 5 months and was very close to canceling the order. Such cars are bought for pleasure, not only because you need a new SUV. After 18 months waiting for who-knows-what-and-when there is no pleasure in the whole issue, just a big price paid to the dealers.

nhl1011

happy wife, happy life...
my wife insists on getting this one...otherwise I would have just gone with a Toyota/Honda Van and save all those money for other uses...like literally for anything...but well...i would like to drive a nice car once and also she is gonna keep it for a long long time...

Number8

just curious, did you also order a gls350d at MBDurham? I ordered a gls350d in Nov 2015 and they couldn't deliver cuz of the EPA certification delay. So then we decided to switch to a gls450 in October 2016 and they said that it'll be over a year's wait. The sales manager and sales person told us that they can't do anything. We can either continue to wait or cancel completely. It's been so frustrating to wait for over 15 months still waiting. Would you be able to tell me who you dealt with at MBDurham?

jerhu

Well GLS350d might be coming back as 2018 models. You might as well wait it out and see if they are actually going to come back. And the wait time for GLS are huge so you're not the only one. Most people can't buy them outright anyways if buying from an MB Corp Store.

Kwando

We purchased a GLE350d because we couldn't wait for the GLS and didn't really need 7 seater (just nice to have). I dealt with Craig Little but unfortunately I don't think he's there anymore. Sorry I can't be of any more help.

Number8

Thanks for sharing! You made a good choice. Beats waiting for a gls350d indefinitely. But we need a 7 seater, sigh. Just hoping mb gets certification on this model within the next few months.

When it's ready for sale it may still be the 2017 model as that is the model year that mb has submitted for certification. Epa does certification for every new year model, so I read.

bonboon

im puzzled why you let that dealer defecate all over you time and again. don't let anyone disrespect the amount of money you are spending on a vehicle like that, imo.