calvinlgoh

Do you guys know where i can find a dealer that will install a cd changer if i buy it from autoclass.net. i called MBlagunaNiguel and they said that they will only install it if i bought it from a MB dealer. thank you.....

calvinlgoh

one more thing....for those that have bought their changers from autoclass...if i buy the changer, how long do you think it will take to reach me....thanks again..
calvin

DrMike

calvin:
here is my data to date (dealing with the same issues, 230 coupe is at the dealer, waiting for me to pick up).

autoclass said radio would arrive 3/4 days after order (business days)

their price with the install kit/bracket/etc is dealers and found all of them willing to install for about $200 in labor.

I am still negotiationg with dealer to see if they can come a little closer to autoclass + install price. It they get within $50, the certainly got my deal.

DrMike

corrected:

calvin:
here is my data to date (dealing with the same issues, 230
coupe is at the dealer, waiting for me to pick up).

autoclass said radio would arrive 3/4 days after order (business
days)

their price with the install kit/bracket/etc is $464 + shipping of about $15. I called 3 dealers and found all
of them willing to install for about $200 in labor.

I am still negotiationg with dealer to see if they can come a little
closer to autoclass + install price. It they get within $50, the
certainly got my deal.

young

mine took a reasonable time to get to me (less than a week via ups?). my dealership didn't have any issues w/ the parts being purchased somewhere else. i think they're in florida so it may take upto 7 business days to get to la.

i got some variance w/ the install time from 1 hour to 2.5 hours so it pays to call around. it took like 2 hours but my quote was honored.

calvinlgoh

..........

Buellwinkle

MB of Laguna Niguel installed mine for an overpriced $123. Actually my salesman recommends it after I told them about it. Ask for Steve Bundy, service advisor.

As far as autoclass.net, Gaston shipped it out blue label for about $10 more and I got it two days later.

RedC230K

Having installed one (from autoclass), I'd say $123 is fair. It's NOT an easy job and not for the faint of heart. But I got it done withoout any damage/scratches and it works great.

pixmation

I bought my C230K from MBlagunaNiguel along with the CD changer.
It took them an hour to install the CD changer, it was afternoon Christmas Eve.

Steven N

I spoke to autoclass.net yesterday, and if you are lucky enough to live in South Florida, they will install if free with purchase. I'm cancelling my purchase from the dealer. That will be a nice $450 savings I wasn't counting on.

Now if I can only wait the next 6 weeks for the car to arrive!

Lynn

Considering that my stealer wants $1200 for the damn thing, I could drive to South Florida and still save money.

young

it looks like roadtrip time! jacksonville to see randy and renntech, orlando to flash mickey, key west to drive on the highway. and not sure exactly where autoclass is but maybe they have free installs on the oem hids too???

Steven N

How do the deals get away with charging $1000 to $1,200 for the CD changer when it listed on their own web site for $775? My dealer was selling it to me for $850 and I thought they where marking it down $150 when they where only decreasing their premium.

Pete

Steven N,

The $1000-$1200, for the CD changer includes installation, which (unfortunately) varies from dealer to dealer. This "installation" price also includes the fiber optic cable (mine was $20 from autoclass.net) and the mounting bracket (mine was $25 from autoclass.net); I have no idea what MB "charges" for these items (as opposed to labor), in the calculation of the installation price. The price ($775) listed on the MB web page is for the changer alone.

Steven N

Thanks Pete, I feel much better about my dealer in that case. However the web-site should definately indicated installation was not included.

Pete

Steven N,

I thought that I remebered it mentioned on the web page somewhere, so I checked it out. Since it took me almost a minute to find it, and I was specifically looking for it, I agree that it should be more easily noticeable.

This is what it says, on the "Choose Your Accessories" page, where it has all of the accessories listed:

> About Accessory Pricing
>
> Actual prices vary by dealer
> and do not include labor,
> installation charges or local
> taxes.
>
> Wheel pricing reflects all four
> wheels. Tires sold separately.

Pete

Steven N,

I thought that I remebered it mentioned on the web page somewhere, so I checked it out. Since it took me almost a minute to find it, and I was specifically looking for it, I agree that it should be more easily noticeable. There should be an asterik or something next to each item (or each price), particularly the CD changer, which requires extra hardware (not just labor).

This is what it says, on the "Choose Your Accessories" page, where it has all of the accessories listed:

> About Accessory Pricing
>
> Actual prices vary by dealer
> and do not include labor,
> installation charges or local
> taxes.
>
> Wheel pricing reflects all four
> wheels. Tires sold separately.

Steven N

Thanks again. I notice you have the almost identical car as the one I've ordered. The only difference is the C7 package which I decided to order after taking so much abuse by the guys on this board. I just wish it would get here soon.

Pete

Yeah, I would have ordered the C7 package, but it wasn't available, when I ordered my car. I ordered mine over a month before they (the car, that is, not the package) were available. I take consolation in the fact that I received mine, with leather, before the leather shortage/crisis. Some people waited quite a few (extra!) months to get theirs with leather, which they had initially ordered with leather.

Good luck with your car. I hope that you like it. Hopefully, it won't take long for you to receive it.

calvinlgoh

has been purchased from auto class.'
installed by Mb laguna Niguel for 123
and playing beautifully.
took them about one and a half hours but its worth the wait.....

thanks for all the help guys.....


calvin

pixmation

Saw the sticker for the CD changer @ MB Van Nuys, CA.

$1,995!

Maybe MB keeping the CD changer from the standard equipment for the dealerships to make profit.

Pete

Calvin,

That's a pretty nice price, on the installation, especially considering that anyone installing it themself would (allegedly) have to bring it in, to be "initialized."

I guess that I'll never know if the initialization was needed, on my car, because they did it for me (for free, without asking), when I brought in my car to have the AudioPilot disabled. I guess that the technician saw that there was an error (to the effect that there wasn't a changer in the car to begin with, but now there is), cleared it out, and added the changer to the fiber-optic ring.

It's too bad that they didn't successfully disable the AudioPilot, even after a couple tries. They're supposed to try again, this week. It's quite frustrating.

newMBz

Pete,

So you do have the stuck fault code came out after a period of time the CD changer installed.

That means if you don't use the MB dealer computer to initialized the CD changer, you will get the error code eventually. If that so, we should let the MB dealer to get the installation job done (just to buy the CD changer from Autoclass.com) . So Calvin you did get a good deal on it.

Pete

NewMBz,

Well, that's the thing. I don't really know if I would have had a problem with it.

I was told that, "after a few months," it'd stop working, by some people on this forum.

I was told, by a technician at my dealership, that it might stop working the next day, or it might work forever without a problem, which didn't make much sense to me. I figured that either it should stop working or it shouldn't; there really didn't seem to be a reason for a "maybe" about it. What type of engineers are designing these fiber-optic networks, anyway? I can say that, because I'm an engineer, as well.

In any case, I never received an external fault code. The changer worked, and never acted "funny."

I had intended to wait and see if anything happened (i.e. anything from erratic behavior to completely stop working), before paying to have it "initialized," which I still don't know the price of. I never received a straight answer, in my opinion, to the question, "Why do I need to do this?" I figured that there was no reason to pay for it, until I was sure that I needed it.

Anyway, it was "initialized" at the dealer (not by my request, but I guess that it's better to have it done than not). I was actually curious to see whether I'd have a problem or not; now, I'll never know. So, I don't know what would've happened if it hadn't been. I can say that it worked flawlessly for the month between the installation and when they "initialized" it... and, as I'd expect, it has continued to work flawlessly since.

My advice is: if you are mechanically-inclined enough and want to do it yourself, by all means do it yourself, and if the changer works, don't have it "initialized" by the dealer, unless it stops working. And if you do need the "initialization" process by the dealer, it should be relatively inexpensive (quite a bit cheaper than the whole installation of the changer) to simply change the setting in the car's computer.

And like I said, they did mine for free, when I had that annoying AudioPilot disabled, so maybe you can do the same. I think that it's quick and easy to change, once they have the computer already hooked up to the car.

All in all, though, $123 for the installation seems pretty reasonable to me (someone who has done the installation), so if you can get your dealer to do it for that price (with parts that you bought, from autoclass.net, for instance), it might be worth it to let them do it.

I hope that this convoluted mess of information has been helpful, in some way, shape, or form. Maybe that's a feeble hope, though...

newMBz

Pete,

Thanks for the detailed information. I thanks this issue (initializing CD Changer) has been came up so many time and now with this information you gave us here, it should be come to a stop or at least its more clear.

By the way, what kinds of engineer are you? Thanks again !!