TEAShea

I have the most recent printout from MB for my car - it is "on the water." When I have ordered BMW's during the last few years, it is possible to track the progres of the car very specifically. In fact, with a BMW you can tell what ship it is on and can even track the progress of the ship across the ocean. Too bad that Mercedes does not have the same info available.

TEAShea
from Nebraska

zakklp

I wish I could get info like that from my dealer! It's like pulling teeth to get anything out of them. All I get is "we don't know".. Not like I'm asking for much, just a little info on how it's going.

MBTex

My dealer just told me that, once some # was assigned to your car by MB (which happens right before it is built), they can track it very precisely, including what ship it is on, etc. Heck, he even told me they can use the GPS in cars with MM in them to tell you exactly where on the ship it is.

themundy

My dealer hasn't given me much info either...."it's on the boat, you'll see it in a few weeks"....

What does on the boat mean....should I see it next week? or will it be 3-4 weeks away?

I find it hard to believe that my dealer does not have the EXACT date of delivery already.

RLE

<<Heck, he even told me they can use the GPS in cars with MM in them to tell you exactly where on the ship it is.>>

I'd call that a technical miracle. Lessee, five decks down surrounded by multiple levels of thick steel, Ignition key locked up someplace.

Do tell me more.

MBTex

<<I'd call that a technical miracle. Lessee, five decks down surrounded by multiple levels of thick steel, Ignition key locked up someplace.

Do tell me more.>>

Just reporting what was told to me. I don't testify to the veracity of it. Although if Onstar can locate my car in my underground parking garage and unlock the doors for me with my keys 30 floors up I'm sure the technology can find a car on a ship.

Regardless, it seems pretty simple though that they should be able to give you info like that simply from the VIN # (or whatever MB uses internally). All ships have a cargo manefest, and I'll bet their insurance carrier makes them identify each car specifically and indicate where it is located on the ship itself. Wouldn't be much of a stretch to see that list printed someplace in the NetStar system that a dealer can find for you.

alpinweiss

I have been told MB can track your car very precisely from production until it arrives at the port in the US. I think your dealer must access this information, though. When I ordered my car, they could not get a web address that I could access, but they were happy to get that information through the MB computer system.

While on the water, they can give you the GPS position of the ship (not your specific car), the name of the ship, and the space where your car is parked on the ship. The parking space is a bit meaningless to me, since I don't know how they are arranged on the ship. With the vast number of cars Mercedes puts on each ship, you can bet they are tracking it carefully.

After your car arrives at the US port, things are less precise. You are dealing with things outside the control of MB, such as customs, trucking companies, etc.

MBTex

Now that makes sense...

am2121

I ordered my C350 with mm, 18" wheels and leather seats on 7/25/07 and the only info I can get from my dealer is that it will be "pulled" in september and I get it in october and that a multimedia package has been assigned to it. Is this in line with what most people are experiencing? I can't get detailed info from them.

alpinweiss

My understanding is they will have detailed information starting on the date of production. Before that, your car is only an order form.

Once you have approved the final authorization (your dealer will probably call you), they should know within a day or two when production on your car will begin. They will assign it a serial number before it is actually built, and your car can be tracked with that number.

MBTex

I just ordered mine today and all I received was an order sheet. They can't tell you when it will be built because they just don't know. I'd bet you get a call from your dealer in the next couple of weeks telling you when it is scheduled to be built. From there you can pretty much figure your arrival date.

vistapoints

when i was in the dealer's office, they run this NetStar software that showed where/when the car will be built, with what option, etc

however, i am not sure how to track the car once it leaves the factory.

the one i ordered will be built in August 30 in Germany. I saw a couple other ones that will be built in South Africa. On a side note, i asked the rep whether he noticed the difference between German-made and SA-made ones from earlier models. He said the SA ones felt a bit quicker and had different AC layout (for a different model MB)

MBTex

Yea, my dealer showed me a screen with all of the cars "on the boat" that aren't spoken for. He says he may be able to find what I ordered in an earlier batch and then swap cars with that dealer while they are still in transit (another reason why MB has to be able to know exactly where the car is at all times). Apparently dealers swapping cars on the boat is very common.

We'll see, he says my ordered 350 would arrive probably late Oct, but he seemed confident that he could find me one quicker than that. Does anyone know if the new batch of cars (apparently arriving in a couple weeks) will have MM in them? That would be the hold up on mine according to the dealer.