clembo

My E500 has arrived at the dealership but for whatever reason it does not have the In-Dash CD Changer that should have been ordered with the car. Has anyone added it? My sales rep just told me that it can't be added at the dealership.

I'm thinking about having them order me another car. I have become very attached to having more than 1 CD available at all times. Am I crazy? This is a lot to pay for a car and I would like it to be what I expected. The dealer has been good about the mix-up, they'll get me another car but it will take 60 days?

Any comments?

bmms8

well, that isnt that bad of a wait, but i believe dealers can do it for 800 bucks instead of 400, buti am sure they will sell it to you for 400, i am not completely sure though

DSMIT

yes the cd can be added at the dealer.not avaiable until march or so

Beltfed

Is the changer on the window sticker? Or did the dealer/salesperson just forget to add the changer?

clembo

Beltfed,

The part was not included on the window sticker. Evidently the salesperson or the ordering manager at the dealership just left it off of the order. All other options are included. The Navigation will be added in a few months like all other cars.

karl k

Get cd-changer comped, if dealer sales personnel screwed up!

Add it when you add new dvd comand next March.

AMGLAB

My dealer also said the CD changer is not yet available, but that it could be added at any time since the car is pre-wired for it.

skymast

Tell them you understand mistakes happen but that you want the car that you ordered and you want them to order you a new one... and see what they come back with. At a min, they should comp you the CD

Kassav

Same thing happened to me but I took my car anyway. I do not think it is worth the wait. Now I compile my favorite songs onto a few CDs and take with me. Remember that if and when you get the DVD based navigation system, you can compile tons of songs onto 1 CD and play it in the system.

E4fUn

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Remember that if and when you get the DVD based navigation system, you can compile tons of songs onto 1 CD and play it in the system.
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I think you mean burn into a DVD-R(W), right? But then you will not be able to use your Navigation and it will become a 2200+ CD player. (you have to take the Navigation DVD disc out first, I guess).

Kassav

Once more you are right.

abhansali

I agree, if you have the DVD Navi, the CD Changer effectively becomes a must have..

BTW, this DVD design is the stupidest thing. In my Honda, there is a unit under the passenger front seat that contains the computer and the DVD disc for the Navi. So the CD tray for the stereo is for the stereo and nothing else. No confusion, no need for a CD changer to just use the navigation and CD player at the same time. MB should have done a similar thing so the slot is a CD player only, and the DVD computer (where you can put in the Navi DVD) is mounted in the trunk or something.

For some reason it seems like MB wants to make the DVD slot in the Navi very accesible to you, but think about it, you almost never need to change this disc. In my Honda, I have had it for 4 years, and have not ejected the disc once. I have not found any roads which aren't in my current disc to require me to update.

karl k

MB is way behind leading car mfrs. when it comes to CD changers.

Charging $400 for a CD changer in a car that costs 40-120k is not only ridiculous but downright stupid and an insult!!

skymast

Karl -- Still better than the $800 trunk changer from two years ago that could be bought and installed from Circuit City for $300 (EXACT UNIT)!

True stupidity but we buyers (as a group) perpetuate the stupidity when we pay for it!!!!!!!!!!!!

abhansali

I agree, they are also behind on the CD changer. The changer tray conceled in the dash is a good step forward, but still, if you look at the Toyota Siena mini-van, they have an "in-dash" 6 CD changer. You just put the CDs into the single slot on the stereo 1 by 1 until you have put in 6. Very easy, no trays, etc.

karl k

Same on my ACURA RSX-S, my Japanese Porsche! RSX-S cost:

Only $24,000!!

MadManAboutTown

My dealer offered a CD changer to be added for free to a car on the lot vs. having me order what I wanted (the car was missing a few items).

So at least there is some dealing going on, but I stayed focused and ordered what I wanted to

MBStar

I agree that a 6 disc in-dash CD changer should be standard in a car of MB class. What I find even more disturbing is that a company of a this class and reputation could release a car that is still in the process being developed, with many unresolved software issues, production problems, and poor engeneering. The absence of CD changers is not caused by an accidental omission on the assembly line, but, I am told, by lack of availability and reliability concerns. MB should deal with this embarasing fiasco by offering a free CD changer to all those whose cars came in without one despite having been ordered.

abhansali

How about the same for the wood wheel? Same problem of supply from what I understand.

Question, are these really dealer omissions during ordering, or is the problem that if MB is low on supply for an option, they just don't put it in the car even if you ordered it?

Apurva

AMGLAB

I ordered a E-500 during the first week of September. I wanted the wood wheel and the dealer said that option was not on their current order form to process. (This was despite the fact it is listed in the brochure as a factory option and was on several E-cars at the dealership that I previously saw as a $500 factory option.) The MB web site to build an E-Class only lists the wood package as a dealer installed option at $850! After searching this forum, I found the factory order number and called the dealer again. The dealer called back and said that order number was right and MB accepted my order for the wood wheel as a factory option. Anyone who wants the wood steering wheel should not accept a no from their dealer. I suspect they just want to sell it as an $850 plus labor dealer installed option. I also suspect that they are so busy taking easy orders for the new E that they are not taking the time to provide real service by researching these issues with out being pressed.

abhansali

AMGLAB,

Can you tell me the factory order number? My dealer's story sounds exactly like yours except that he wants $975 instead of $850..

MBStar

My E500 was definitely ordered with a CD changer, but as it is a dealer installed option, I think the plan was to have them available to the dealers in Sept. I am now told (today) that these will be shippping to dealers in Canada in November or early December. I am told that for N. America the CD changer will be differnet than in Europe, though still in-dash.
Still an embarassment for MB to act like a two bit conversion outfit, not like the finest automobile maker in the World. Same applies to the steering wheel fiasko...

cheungthegreat

:o

cheungthegreat

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MBStar

Cheungsomethingorother, your eloquence is astounding!