04E500

My wife picked up her E500 this afternoon and we have managed to cover about 125 miles so far. I was pretty confident that this was a very nice car but I have to say I am bit surprised at just how good it really is.

The car has the premium package and so far my favorite option is the drive dynamic seats. They are surprisingly functional. They react very quickly and really do a good job of holding you in place.

I also like the ventilated seats and left the cooling function on during the entire drive. I activated the pulse feature a few times but can't say for sure if it helps with fatigue without doing a few hundred miles over the road.

Engine and transmission are fabu, smooth quiet yet fairly responsive and very powerful, makes me wonder what an E55 is like. The suspension is great, I drove most of the time in sport two but relaxed and switched to comfort for the last third of the miles, the settings are noticeably different but all deliver a comfortable ride. My only small complaint is that the tranny is a bit slow to shift but I think it will improve with a few more miles and "adaptation".

Premium sound is suprisingly good, Navigation is not suprisingly mediocre at best.

My only disappointment was not getting the adaptive headlights. Doubt that I will miss them but definetly a cool feature I would have liked to have.

Dealer experience was great, kudos to Mercedes Benz of Chandler.

Sorry no pics.

bmms8

congrats on your car! with the tranny, it will get very very responsive, and will want to hold each gear in hold. we only have about 3000 miles, and it is a huge difference from before. have fun with it!

glojo

The C and S mode button referes to transmission settings. There has been a very informative thread describing the difference, but basically the C mode will perhaps feel more 'sluggish', it also pulls away in second gear.

I would personally recommend NOT using 'C' mode until you have put a few miles onto the transmission. (1000 - 1500!!) However others might disagree, but it is a beautiful car.

Regards,
John

04E500

Thanks guys, I was aware of the transmission modes and left it in S the entire time. It was just a little slow on picking up my throttle inputs, downshifting in particular, but again I think it just takes the car a bit to adjust to my driving style.

It rained last night so I have to wash it already.

I had a dream that my wife and I both went car shopping and both came back with BMW X5's NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Adobe

04E500,
I live in the Phoenix area.

Did you do comparison shopping among the three dealers before you bought the car?

Can you tell us if you got it under MSRP?

Did you order the car or was it in stock?

Do you have a specific salesperson you can recommend talking to?

Have you done business with this dealer in the past (I know they are pretty new) or with other M-B dealers in the Valley?

If you prefer to discuss this off line, please PM me.

Thanks in advance,
Bud

04E500

Hi Adobe,

I have a business relationship with the dealer and got the car for about 1000 over invoice. Considering they are one of my customers and help make it possible for me to buy the car, I was very happy with the price of the car.

The car my wife wanted was not in stock but happened to be on its way, we waited about 6 days for the car and the only thing on the car we didn't ask for was parktronic, but now that we have it we like it.

Mateo (Mat) Bertone was the sales consultant and I would definetly recommend him.

Our experience with Chandler was very good. I contract with several of the local dealerships, several highlines, Lexus, BMW, Infiniti, Mercedes so I had my choice. They gave me a good price on the car without having to haggle, they got a specific car, color combo and optioned car to us in less than a week. We added a wood steering wheel and the parts department sent a guy on a special trip to Phoenix motors to get my wife a teddy bear to put in the drivers seat when she took delivery. They baked my son brownies and I am not kidding either. I was honestly surprised and very pleased with how well they handled the whole thing.

The best part is, I hooked my neighbor up and he bought a C230, then when I dropped by the delaership today, my neighbor across the street is in there talking about a CLK320. We got a good laugh out of that.

Adobe

04E500,
Thanks for the Info. I live in the NW valley so Chandler is the most difficult dealer to get to. Still, I think I'll give your salesman a call and to see what he's got.

Thanks again.
Bud

konigstiger

MBOC - I can tell you that they've gone through countless sales & service people. In fact, their last service manager up and left one day without reason - or so they say. Sales managers come and go frequently. And they were forced to bring in a savior from their sister dealer in CA on the service end. However, the word on the street is that they are the most willing to match or discount when purchasing. One can only hope their recent improvements "take".

Adobe

OK, so who is the best MB dealer in the Valley of the Sun?

I've used Shumachers for service and they did great work but it was expensive.

Schumacher's is the easiest for me to get to and they are supposed to be building a new dealership with a 64 bay service shop in North Scottsdale.

However, when it comes to Euro delivery it appears that Shumacher doesn't care about it. Kaiser Wilhelm their Euro guy told me that the CDI wouldn't be available before October or November on the same day that I found out that Phoenix Motors had already lined up 7 pick-ups for May and June.

konigstiger

My opinion:

Metro Phoenix purchase:
Mercedes-Benz of Chandler. Most willing to match lowest soujtern CA prices. May have something to do with their sister dealership Caliber Motors.

Europe
Phoenix Motors if by way of Europe. Just ask MBJIM.

Service
Schumacher either way for "your personal" convenience. As far as service costs, get quotes from the other two dealers by phone or email. Ask Schumacher to match the lowest quote. Anything is possible for the "asking".

Adobe

OK, I'm down to Euro Delivery of a CDI through Brian deCook at Phoenix Motors (if I can convince my wife she can handle the plane ride) or else it's an E-Class from Schumacher's.

I didn't realize that MercedesofChandler and Caliber Motors were connected. I used to buy all my Mercedes parts from Caliber before I switched to the Internet.

04E500

Konig/Adobe Yes Caliber and Chandler are owned by the same family.

Konig, you are correct about the personnel, I have been there from day one and I can't name anyone who has been there since day one. They are well aware of their teething problems. Understandably it takes a very long time to get up to speed financially and most of the exodus is the result of the lack of income. Salesguys, service writers and management get paid on commision and MoC just wasn't doing enough volume early on.

That does make negotiations a bit easier for us. As I mentioned before, I hae had first hand knowledge of the operations and was very impressed with how well it came off. My neighbor was likewise treated very well both at time of purchase and subsequent service visits. They have more loaners than either of the other two dealerships.

Schumacher is building a new facility on the Northwest corner of Chauncey Ranch and Scottsdale road, directly north of Chauncy Ranch.

MB-JIM

Adobe
I think you should not let the opportunity go by for Euro delivery. Remember you save the 7% and the $720 which is around 1.5 more for a total of 8.5%. That on top of the great experience driving your MB in Europe should not be overlooked.
After your previous dealer experience, I can't imagine not sticking with Brian even if you get a gas E Class. I have bought over ten MB's from Phx and have never been dissatisfied with either the sales or service dapartments.

Adobe

Jim, I just sent you a PM.
Bud

konigstiger

MBOC has been sold to Autonation. Sale is to be finalized within one month. So far all personnel remain. BTW, House of Imports - Buena Park, CA (Marcus Benz) is also an Autonation dealership.

Kenechi

Boy, what a nightmare you had!!!

konigstiger

Never mind the friggin’ lights, hope all is fine. Did it happen on the 101?

Talos