Just Ordered My 350...Now the Wait
 

Well I had been going back and forth with the dealer on what options to get, even tried to order one last week with the 18 inch rims only to decide they weren't $1000 better than the AMG rims that come standard on the 350.

I finally decided and signed the order sheet.

C350 Sport
White Ext. \ Grey\Black Int.
P2 & Multimedia Packages

Now comes the waiting game on when it will get here. Dealer couldn't even give me a build date yet.

sweet... so u'll be gettin' LED tails... :y

Yep...saw some on an E-Class last week and decided I had to have them. I was torn between P2 and the 18's, then decided the Lighting Package in P2 alone was worth going with the standard 17" AMG's. The sudden delay in the 18's from the factory sealed the deal for me.

Good job on the order. Nice color combo :y

Congrat
 

Nice. I have a C350 with the 18" on the water ---

TEAShea
from Nebraska

Sure wish mine were on the water....who knows, maybe MB is shipping one over now that hasn't already been sold.

You know, with all this 'shipping' talk, I heard some place that it takes 4-5 weeks to get to the USA after its built. That is, through customs, and in your hands.

...soo... I got the evil twin to your car MBtex, (black with all the options) and they said it would be here October 1 or late september so, that would mean its leaving Germany now.

Just a thought.


Anyone know how long it takes to build a car? (given that all the parts and options are in stock?)

i know some cars could be bulit in less than a week or at least thats what i have been told

If you order a car from factory to be built, from order to delivery generally takes 3 months time.

Well I'd say time from order to delivery to you just depends on where you live and how quickly your dealer can get your order into MB. And, of course, how many other people around the world are ordering from the same MB plant. My dealer couldn't tell me anymore than mid to late Oct for Texas delivery, which would be 2-2.5 months.

In terms of actual build time, my salesman actually made it a point to tell me that it takes 60 hours to build your average MB (as opposed to 15 for your average American car). I guess it is supposed to demonstrate that your MB is not some assembly line car made entirely by machines. No clue if he is right or not.

I really liked the black as well, but it just isn't good in the summer for me. I had considered the Palladium Silver as a compromise (especially after seeing and loving the demo), but I decided that I would only really be happy in black or white for an MB. So my decision was pretty easy. I actually would've preferred the Tan interior of the 300 Luxury, but it wasn't offered in the 350 so I went with the Grey seats because they were the only option other than black.

Congrats man! Little saddened that you didn't go w/ the '18's, but ti's all about what makes you happy!

Thanks. Well I didn't want to wait and the staggered AMG 17's are a very close likeness in my opinion. Not quite as nice, but miles ahead of the standard 300 rims. And I loved the LED tail lights when I saw them.

I'll give it a year or two and see if I'm in a "new rim" kinda mood...they could end up on the car yet.

Led
 

Only the turn signal is LED in the rear housing assemble

We know...saw them and they looked very nice.

Just got back from the dealer....car being built on 9/25. With delivery about 5 weeks after.

Glad I ordered when I did.

Today is build day for mine....should be rolling out of the factory by Thursday and hopefully onto the boat by early next week....

hurray! Mr. C350 is getting its legs put on today. This sounds really juvenile but I wish I could go watch mine being put together :-P

Sounds like you're sticking with it then....

Dealer called to remind me that today was build day (as if I needed reminding). Said he'd let me know when it was on the water...

Wa....my sales guy on vacation :nix: wa....

Car was "supposedly" built almost 3 weeks ago...yet still no word on whether or not it is on the water.

Dealer has no clue other than to tell me it might be a parts problem with the MM system and he doesn't know when my car will get here....anyone have any firm build dates that are pushed back indefinately? Any MM orders that have been delayed?

It has been 2 months since I ordered and still have no clue where the car is, or even if it exists....might have to start thinking about Plan B.

This isn't MB specific, just what I know from Audi and BMW. Once you place your order, the actual build date is dependent on what open allocation slots your dealer has. If it's smaller, lower in the ranks, etc. that could be months out ... which looks like it was your case.

Once built, it's then sent off to wait for shipping. That can be immediate or that can be another few weeks depending on capacity.

Then, for east coasters, it's on the water for 2-3 weeks. BMW comes in into Raleigh and I think, don't quote me on this, Audi comes into NJ. Not sure where MB comes in. If you're west coast, things really suck because you have to wait for it to come through the panama canal, which adds another couple of weeks.

Then once it's docked it takes a day to unload, but then it'll sit at the VPC center to get the cosmoline cleaned off (not sure if MB uses it, either that or my dealer's detail dept was a lot better than the BMW and Audi detailers at removing all traces from the door jambs) sometimes some accessories to be added any shipping damage repaired and to go through US Customs.

That can be 72hrs to a week depending on backup.

Then it gets on a truck and dropped at the dealer, who then has to go through their prep. I've seen some cars come off the transporter showroom ready, and I've seen some come off (all covered carriers mind) looking like they just cleared a sanded mountain pass.

Then it's ready for you.

Usually 2-3 months all told. And it's the reason I'll never ever ever order a car again. I'll buy one that's already on a ship as long as it's just a week or two out. But I refuse to wait 3mo for a car ever again.

BTW, BMW is the only manufacturer I know that has an easy system to track and order. Audi's is awful, it can be done but the dealer has to really do some digging. I suspect MB's is the same.

Hi All. This is my first post, although I've been reading the board intently for over one month. I ordered my car on Aug. 13 in So. Cal:

- C350, Palladium Silver, P2, MM, 18" AMG, Leather, IPOD, TeleAid

And it's now on the water! It's scheduled to dock on Oct. 23 and the dealer said I shoud be driving it by the end of the month! I had read here that MM,18" and leather were each holding up production, so I must say I was ELATED to get the call that it had shipped! Let's just hope that yours is next MBTex.

-Mike

Yes, oblu, the system is similar and I did receive a batch and build date from the dealer. I was first in their Sept. allotment and it is a larger dealer. Build was scheduled for 9/25 (my dealer even called to remind me) with the car rolling out by 9/27. Then he was supposed to let me know when the car was on the boat. Still no word.

Dealer originally told me 10-11 weeks and he has been right about everything so far.

However the fact that he can't track it has me worried. Says it is still #1 car for that dealership, but who the heck really knows anything with these cars.

OK now this one does it....I ordered the same car minus 18's and leather 3 days later. So there are no parts delays with MM or P2. When was yours built Benz?

Congrats on having your car on the water by the way...if only....

Well, keep your hopes up! I ordered C300 w/ P2, MM & pano and was given the run around for a while. But just today, out of the blue, I got a call from the dealer telling me the car is scheduled to dock on the 18th, and eta is 5 days from that, so next Tuesday! You can imagine how happy that made me :)

I visited the BMW factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina. To speed up production, body shells are made all the time, base coated and then stored. When an order comes in, the body is taken off the shelve and put onto the assembly line. They attach a computer chip, where the BMW badge goes on, after production. That badge has encoded the customers name and his specific order. The dealership can give you the badge number and then you can go on the Internet and watch your very own car being build. I thought this was amazing.

MB took my order, gave me a production date and today I was told the car arrived at the East Coast, Halifax, for Canada. The car had a "rush" shipping instruction, it means the car is sold and the customer is waiting. So the car will be shipped directly, in an enclosed container to my dealership and I should see it in 2 weeks. So I know that they have precise information where your car is at any given time.

What could delay someone's order is the unexpected demand for the new C-Class. The very same issue when I ordered the new S-Class with the Night Vision and Back-up Cameras. They had more orders that they could supply and many cars were shipped without the cameras. First you are happy you got one of the first cars, then you miss the options that you ordered. I told them I accept the car only as ordered and got one.

So Mercedes-Benz does try very hard to get the car to you as fast as possible. I think the wait is half the fun.

Jorg:zoom::zoom::zoom:

Jorg,

You are one masochistic dude. The waiting is killing me! I ordered about a month ago. I have a build date of Oct. 25 and an estimated delivery date of November 16.

Atiqa,

I love your signature pic.

Well that gives me some home.....we'll see. I'm not going to wait indefinately as I already have a deal in place for a G35 that is being "honored" until Nov. 1.

I have no doubt that they want to get me the car right away because I don't pay them until they do. The problem is that they don't know when they can get me the car.

Waiting would be ok so long as I knew how long the wait was, as I thought I had until 2 days ago. Waiting indefinately is not acceptable, especially when it should be very easy to track the car from the time the order is accepted by the factory until it arrives at the dealer. We should never hear "It may be a part problem, but we can't tell you any more than that."

Pics...
 

Hey congrats on the purchase. I would really like for anyone out there with a white on grey 'C' to post a couple of clear exterior pics that show the grey interior:crazy: Call me crazy...but i like that view of a car....I only wish that the c350 came in biege leather.

a Big +1 for that.

I'd post pics of white with grey interior if the car would ever get here....

I ordered a C350 Sport with P2 and MM and 18 inch wheels from a Large Dealer and i still dont have the Build date my order was placed on August 26th :-(

I'm not sure when my build date was. My salesman told me on Aug. 13 that the car would take 2-3 months to come in and that he would try to get one that was already in the production line-up that was allocated to his dealer. He then called me on Sept. 28 to tell me it was going to be shipped the following day. :y I confirmed it had all of the options that I ordered since I had read about holdups. So far my dealer has been right on target. Hopefully it won't be a wrestling match over pricing! :smash:

Well congrats on having the car on the way. I'm hoping that is the trend rather than the exception..

Well...finally got an update from the dealer on this yesterday.

Looks like Nov. 9 for delivery....we'll see.

I have an order in to be built in November and delivered mid December. As mentioned above, it all depends on how many build slots your dealership has. My dealership is very high volume, so they have and get a lot of build spots. It also depends on what you ordered as well, if you go with something simple as a car with just P1 or P2 you will get it quicker cause chances are its built already sitting in a holding lot. If you order nav or the AMG wheels, which both seem to be on backorder from suppliers, then your wait will be longer. When I ordered my ML it came from Alabama and they gave me a build and delivery time of 4 weeks, but due to a service bulletin that all cars had to have performed before they left the factory lots, mine sat in a holding lot at the factory for two more weeks so they could fix it.

high volume dealer with many build slots and August order....things are just a couple weeks behind due to the MM...

got the call, mine will be here on Wednesday from Bremen, Germany... I'll probably wait till Sat to pick it up...

this is about 20 days ahead of schedule...:)

Yeah most have gotten theirs in a bit early...mine just got delayed a bit I guess. Dealer said 10-12 weeks when I ordered so the 9th will have it at exactly 11 weeks...right on I guess.

Wow, you're going to wait a whole 3 days to pick it up? I couldn't do that, just knowing that its there would drive me crazy, lol.
I'm actually skipping all of my evening classes to pick it up tomorrow :zoom:

MBTex,

I just heard from my dealer that my build date has slipped by 16 days. He is supposed to find out why this Friday. I guess it is some consolation that we are in this together. :mercy:

The wait is absolutely killing me. :smash:

Atiqa,

Make sure you post pics for those of us poor souls that are still waiting.

:bow:

Sorry to hear that....but welcome to my world. It must be the MM.

To be fair to my dealer he is still within what he told me..but he did think it would arrive in Oct. when I ordered, especially without the 18" rims.

I just found out that I'm going to be out of town Nov. 7-10 so it may show up and sit there for a few days....

Just got a call from my dealer.....turns out Nov. 9th is sooner than I thought because they said it has left the VPC and is on its way here...should be arriving "any day now"

Congrats MBTex!!! Hopefully I will get some good news soon.

Well it was unexpected. I'm planning on heading in to make my final deal probably tomorrow. Who knows, it may be waiting for me....

Did you find out the status of yours yet?

Nope, my sales guy is off today. I hope he has some news tomorrow.

Well just in time for Halloween...I just learned that my 350 is at the dealership!

Probably won't be able to pick it up until tomorrow, but I may stop by to visit it (and finalize the deal) this evening....

The Benzo is in....stopped by last night to visit it and finalize everything. It was quick and painless. Dealer is prepping the car today and it will be ready for pick up this afternoon....

Will post pics when I have a chance.

Hey congrats MBTex. Enjoy your new car and drive carefully! We will be waiting for your photos. :y

Thanks. It was a Halloween miracle....

Pics are on the way, I'll try to get them in this weekend.

Congrats!

Can't wait to see the interior with white exterior, because I am debating between black or grey for a white C.

I'll see if I can get you some good pics with the door open so you can see the contrast. Although tan was my first choice (and not available in the 350), I really like the two-toned interior. Not crazy about the black headliner in Texas, but it looks nice and the car will be garaged both at home and at the office so it should hold up well.