Tr1t1um

Hi, I am new to the forum but thought you all would enjoy some pics from my European Delivery trip. We picked up our C350 sedan on Sept 5th and drove from Stuttgart to Zurich via Salzburg, the Interalpen Hotel in Telfs, San Leonardo in Passiria in Italy, Hohenems Austria, Neuschwanstein Castle, Munich and Liechtenstein.

Tr1t1um

Here is a second set of pictures. The mountains were a dream. We took about 1300 pics on the trip, with probably 800 mountain pictures (most from the car!) If anyone is doing a European Delivery, I strongly recommend the Interalpen Hotel in Telfs. It was definately the best hotel I have ever stayed in. FIVE STARS all the way!! The stay came with a 5 course gourmet dinner (for example, this included a spread of 40 cheeses) and a complimentary 5 star breakfast (including champagne). The accommodations were luxurious, HUGE, and high tech. Our balcony had breathtaking views of the mountains. The indoor/ outdoor heated pool was spectacular. (The Sauna village spa was a sight to see.)

We also stayed at the Steigenberger Graf Zeppelin in Stuttgart, and while nice, it was not up to the standards of the Interalpen Hotel. (More like a 4 star US hotel.)

We really enjoyed the factory tour and the museum...both should not be missed. The entire process was smooth like clockwork. We were treated very nicely by MB....beverages and breakfast foods in the morning while we waited for the car...complimentary, excellent lunch at the delivery center restaurant.

The car was a great ride both in the mountains and on the autobahn!! Got the car up to 135 mph and enjoyed driving over 100 mph so much that we regret having to bring the car back to the states where we have to drive the speed limit.

Highly recommend European Delivery and would do it again in a heartbeat!!!

Blazeitup123

VERY JEALOUS!

Samieee

Very very jealous

xolinlevh

Oh so green with envy right now.....

Tr1t1um

Here are a few more pictures of the great driving opportunities that come with European Delivery. I'd be happy to answer any European Delivery questions. Also, love to hear about other people's European Delivery experience.

PS- Anybody else who ordered recently find any inconsistencies with the pricing of the packages? (We purchased the car before the pricing was posted online, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that our MSRP for the multimedia package was under-priced...or so it appears when we build the car online.)

Also wanted to let everyone know that you don't have to finance with mb even though they tell you that you must. I got my bank to finance the car with full disclosure that it was for European delivery. Got a much much better rate.

Tr1t1um

Here are a few pics of the inside.

Doanster

This is the first C-Class European Delivery post I've read, I do believe. Good to hear that it was a great experience from an MB perspective (not the drives and the scenery, Mother Nature gets credit for that!). I read so many detailed posts about Bimmer Euro Deliveries and how the Welt and the entire process are "Bucket List" worthy.
We almost went this route before buying our XC90, but timing just didn't work out. A friend at work bought the same car via a Swedish trip and had a blast, which made me second guess myself. Will seriously consider this in ~3yrs time (or less if the economy turns around), when the Volvo needs to be replaced. X3/X5 or GLK/ML or Q5/Q7... good thing I have time to decide.

tanktube67

Very nice.
Congrats!

keith100

Smashing

nlpamg

I didn't even see your thread until now!

fantastic! very cool pics and write-up. the Interalpen has to be one of the best hotels I've ever been at in my life.

AdidasC230

Thats awesome and your 350 looks awesome. How fun that looks like it was. And how about that, your car is center stage on the floor. Very bad ***

jctevere

This might be a silly question, but I really have no idea how the European Delivery works...

How do you get the car back into the United States after taking delievery of the car in Europe? Do they figure this out for you, or do you have to worry about it yourself? Also, is that an added cost, or is it included with the delivery?

Lastly, how much does it cost to do European Delivery? People have said you save about 7% off the MSRP, but that doesn't make much sense to me... How could it be cheaper to do that (I assume shipping back to the U.S. is extra & costs a lot)?

Ben'sBenz

Incredible pictures! I have always wanted to do the Euro delivery program. Maybe next time...

Tr1t1um

The car gets shipped back by MB as part of the package, and it is included in the price. You were correctly quoted the discount as well. The 7% is off of the full price (including any options) and you don't pay the destination either. As far as we understood it, it is cheaper to do the European delivery because you are basically buying the car from Mercedes and not your locals dealer, even though they set up the deal. Thus, their cut is removed and you get the discount, though that is only what I read online somewhere so I may be wrong about that.

The only real downside is that you have to be VERY patient, as you need to give time ahead of your trip to order the car and then don't get the car for about 10 weeks after you get back. We still haven't got our car yet, and we got back in the middle of September.

Jim K

There is an excellent video describing the European Delivery Program on the mbusa website. We did this three years ago and it was the experience of a lifetime. Three weeks, 2100 miles in Europe in an SL550. Room for luggage for wife and me. Your dealer should be fully familiar with the process as it starts with them. Go for it!

venchka

ML? Euro delivery? Think about it.

Our GLK started out to be a Euro Delivery XC70 T6. Stuff happened. I didn't win the argument.

Wayne

Tr1t1um

We finally got our car last week.

DannyAves

I did the European Delivery for a C300 Luxury in June 2010. I stayed at the Schlosshotel Lisl just below the castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. I drove down to Rome and spent a few days and then drove back up to Frankfurt as the drop off point.

I would recommend it to everyone, very nice lunch at the factory and a great factory tour.

RLE

Having spent some time in Alabama, I found it to be not very European.

Glyn M Ruck

The new interior is stunning. Is your upholstery Pebble Beige or one of the slightly darker ones? Flash pics tend to lighten colours. Very nice!

Tr1t1um

Our Interior is called almond. Thanks.

Glyn M Ruck

jctevere

So let me get this straight, you pay 7% under MSRP, you don't have to pay for the car to get shipped from Europe, you just have to wait a while for it to get back (approx 10 weeks), all you have to pay for is your plane ticket and any hotel/other related travel expenses... Sounds like a great deal to me, especially if you are already planning a vacation... One last question, just because I'm a pain in the ***, I'm guessing you start paying your monthly payments from when you get to the factory and not when it gets to the U.S.? As such, I would assume you probably can't do European delivery on a lease as it wouldn't make much sense...

DannyAves

They usually give you 2 for 1 on Lufthansa, but usually you can find better prices on your own.
They give you one free night (I got 2) in a hotel over there and provide your with vouchers for taxi transport to the hotel and to the factory.
Yes, you can do a lease, I am leasing for 36 months.
No, you usually don't start paying, my dealer did something where an extra month was added so my 36 month lease became a 37, I don't know if all dealers do this.
You also don't pay any dealer transportation (destination) cost so that is another saving.
Your car can reach within 6 weeks if everything goes perfectly, but it rarely does.
I will be back in 2012 to pick up another one because you can order exactly what you want, no compromises.