VIN will be assigned when vehicle goes into actual production ... which is September ... until then, it's an order ref. number ... I ordered a few cars in the past ... an order ref. number with your name is as good as it gets.

I had a VIN 5-6 weeks before production for my C63...maybe becuase it was being built under "special circumstances"? Either way Net Star should be showing "A" status, no "A" status no car, I learned this the hard way this past spring.

I ordered 5 BMW's, 2 Mercedes and 5 Porsche's from the factory ... VIN will be assigned when vehicle goes into actual production ... all individual options belonging to the specific vehicle correspond as well to the VIN as it goes down the production line. Trust me, I've done this a few times.

Your circumstances were indeed a little different ... as I recall, your dealer is/was not an AMG Performance Center. In order to show status on the computer, the dealer was first awarded an allocation for MY2013 ... no allocation, no screen. An order reference number with your name on it is as good as gold.

Maybe things have changed then since you orderd your last MB becuase over on the PL when everyone was getting impatient due to production delays and terrified becuase what happened with my "order" everyone was comparing notes and guys were getting VIN's weeks before production. PO's don't mean squat, I had a PO in Feb, but guess what, in the end no car came with that PO, it was at that time when I started those threads bashing MB here and on several boards including PL which ultimately led to me getting a car. I believe you're a PL member go read some of the threads yourself if you don't believe me. Lots of guys posting "got my VIN today" a few weeks before their cars appeared as "B" status. I had my VIN in mid April and car was built late MAY and delivered early June. I have purchased my fair share of MB's over the past few years as well, my CLK BS, two ML's and this year I purchased my C BS and a CLS 550 as well as just ordered my wife the new 2013 GL so I am pretty up to speed on the current MB ordering process as well.

My point here is not to argue about ordering semantics, it was only to let @jtrichel know not to trust anything the dealers say about "orders" especially when it comes to these limited production cars. I had not heard that it was officially annonced less than two weeks ago on a PL chat session that they would still be offering those 2013's that were origianlly designated as Ducati Editions.....and regarding my order situation, I did order through MB Naperville which is not an AMG Performance Center but they actually placed the order through their sister dealership MB Westmont which is an AMG performance center less than ten miles away and I still didn't get the car. The ball was dropped at multiple levels, dealership(Westmont), regional and MBUSA and was ultimately corrected by getting people WAY up the food chain involved.

Not arguing with you ... more like comparing notes. Of course someone can drop the ball along the way ... or the dealership can opt not to sell you the car even when it's on the showroom floor. It won't earn them any brownie points, but hey have no obligation from the factory to sell you the car.

But since this particular dealership traded away a produced car for a MY2013 allocation, it seems they are committed to the customer. If I'd be him, I'd asked to be kept in the loop all along the production cycle for peace of mind.

No worries man. I am just looking out for a fellow enthusiest. I didn't know you were a motorcycle guy but noticed your last few sig photos are of Marco Going way off topic here but what's the latest on the Evosport World Challenge BS? The season is basically over, only one more race on the 2012 schedule if I am not mistaken. Do you have any info you can share? I was dying to see some on track results with this monster they built.

Unfortunately, Marco never got the chance to ride liter bikes ... he sure was exciting to watch. I was at Laguna Seca a few weeks ago for the MotoGP ... good news, or for some bad I guess, Rossi signed for the next to years with Yamaha. It will be interesting how he's going to do against Lorenzo ... but it sure will be exciting.

Evosport's World Chalenge BS makes it's debut at Sears Point, Sonoma CA Aug. 25 ... I think you can watch it on NBC. Last week it was at a test session ... let me tell you, it's an impressive car, considering it started off as a street Black Series CLK.

Ok. I saw the screen. Category B. But still no VIN, just a "PO" (I assume Purchase Order) number with my name on it. And looking the GM in the eyes, etc. they acted like I was crazy for even asking. 110% sure about the production of my car, he said.

Having said all this

1) I am even more excited for some reason...thanks for that JCART! its like making me feel special that I am getting a car I already thought I was getting
2) I dont feel the slightest bit awkward for asking. I realize these things can be complicated and dealers can screw up unintentionally.

Thanks again for all the great info

funny how this thread turned into an allocation thread (with an exhaust spinoff question) versus the original handling question.

That's probably my fault. Sorry about that, and sorry about highjacking.

no worries it seems like you got information and the OP did too so its a win win

I found that secondary cat delete gave me just enough increase in decibels but more importantly added more crackling and popping that I thought this car really lacked. Give thus a go first before resonator delete. To me the exhaust is now utterly perfect. I have a set of headers for this car siting in garage but am reluctant to mess with perfection. Headers often make the 63 exhaust just far too loud and then the measures you take to reduce volume take away the crackling and popping, although H pipe does help much more than x pipe in this regard.

I hghly recommend secondary cat delete Vic

Ben

I didn't mean to worry you or concern you there just seemed to be a lot of issues with Black Series orders this last time around and did'nt want to see you get screwed like I didi and a a few other guys did. Glad to here yours is confirmed.

Ok im sold, did you go with a straight piping or an H or X pipe?

Sure is funny ... started with handling ... than allocation ... to exhaust mods, MotoGP bikes and riders to Evosport's World Challenge race car ... now, all we have to talk about is **** and *** and this thread went full circle

LOL hello my good friend how are you?

Straight pipe

So long as Vic is the only moderator in this section I'm sure we could get away with posting some ****

If you have a PO then you 100% have a car. I have a family member who has been in mercedes sales 25+ years, sells all the AMG stuff at the dealer for the most part, and I KNOW there is a netstar build for 13' C BS. I have seen it myself. If you have a PO your dealer has an allocation and you will be getting a car. Think about it, there is no way they would've traded an inbound C BS for a PO if a PO didn't mean they were actually getting a car.