My First Mercedes Benz... Simply Beautiful
 

So here she is. I picked her up straight from the factory floor on Friday in Stuttgart (Sindelfingen)! Simply an amazing vehicle... No regrets.

I will follow up with a review of my expierence at the MB delivery center later... Mixed reviews.

2 more pictures.

Congrats. Looks good in dark colors, imho.

So why mixed feelings about OSD? Yeah, please do post the experience.

Congrats 114!

Can't wait to get back in an E myself - beautiful car...

Please do post a review of the machine and the euro delivery experience...Kinda sad that they regularly ruin peoples experiences

Very nice car....I'm sure you'll love it like everybody who's lucky enough to drive those automobiles. :slap:

Factory Delivery
 

I decided to take advantage of the on site delivery at the MB factory in Stuttgart option. Basically, the deal is to show up at the factory, check-in at the customer care center, and then enjoy the red carpet treatment with a factory tour (in English) and personal delivery agent to go over the car with you in detail.

We arrived at the factory at about 12:15 and were warmly greeted by a MB representative. We were escorted to a desk to finalize the paperwork and prove that I really was the guy that paid for the car. :) The representative then asked us if we would like to take the factory tour. We enthusiastically said yes, but in English please. We were told that the English tour was only once per day at 11:30am. So, the only option was a tour in German… at 13:30. I couldn’t believe it. I expressed that I had not been told there was a time stipulation for the English tours and that the paperwork I received from the dealer did not mention this. Had I known, I would have adjusted my travel arrangements to coincide with the English tour… The representative was apologetic, but, I really had no other choice. I asked if I could come back on another day and they said that would be fine.

I know it is not their fault… More my dealer’s fault, so I called my dealer and explained the situation. She (my dealer) told me she had no idea either and so it was just a big miscommunication. After a deep breath, I reminded myself that I was here for my new car and that everything else was secondary. I guess I was just a little frustrated since I had been looking forward to this day since the beginning of September.

So, we made arrangements to accept delivery at 13:45 which gave us about an hour to walk around and relax in the lounge. The lounge was beautiful and the staff was very friendly and helpful. The lounge was situated so that it overlooked the entire delivery floor. There were about 30 or so vehicles parked in the area and we got to watch as people were escorted to their new car by a personal delivery agent.

Pretty soon it was our turn. We were greeted by our delivery agent who spoke fluent English and he brought us out on the delivery floor and introduced us to our new E550. He walked me through all the features inside and out. After about 45 min or so of information and question answering, we were told that whenever we were ready, we were free to drive the vehicle home. We were never rushed and felt very comfortable. We took tons of pictures and took some time to set up a few features before we left.

The best part of the whole experience was driving the car out of the factory delivery center through sliding glass doors and on to the tarmac for the first time. A truly awesome feeling! :zoom::zoom::zoom:

All in all, I highly recommend picking up at the factory if feasible. It is a great experience… Just make sure you get there before 11:00 if you want a tour in English! :y

Thanks for the write-up,and congratulations on a beautiful vehicle.

Can you answer some questions for me?

1) ED discount
The ED website shows 7% off the MSRP, the ED build tool only gives that discount on the base price, not options.
What final pricing did you get and how?

2) ED benefits
2 for 1 flights on Lufthansa
Did you use this?
Are the tickets restricted to expensive tickets (e.g. refundable, first class etc.)
Or can you use lowest online fares?

Can you get these tickets for 4 people?

3) ED Drop off
Did you drop off outside Germany?

Did they let you keep the temporary license plates?

4) ED GPS
Did you use the built-in GPS or an add-on?
Any comments on this?

5) Any other tips?
I am considering ED on a E class for next summer.
Any other advice?

6) US GPS
Does the E550 US GPS voice announce street names (text-to-speech)?
Can you see street names of side streets as you go by on your route?

Thanks!

HiTach,

It will be hard for me to specifically address questions 1-3 since I am currently living in Germany and did not fly here from the US to pick up the vehicle and fly back. Also, I am not one to post publicly my purchase price, and I couldn't really comment on what the ED pricing would be from a US State-side dealer. Reason being that I coordinated my purchase of a US Spec MB (so I can use it in the US when I return) through a local dealer here.

But, I would be happy to address the other questions.

4) Short answer: I used a portable device. This has been a thorn in my side since I started looking for a car over here... Since I bought a US Spec MB E class, they are preloaded with the US maps. AND, because the GPS uses a hard-drive instead of DVDs, it is not so easy to siply "swap" out for the European maps. :crazy: I know... this seems stupid since we are now in 2010 (BTW-BMW as already solved this problem and will swap out the maps for you without problems). But, there is good news... I have been told by my local dealer here and by the delivery agent at the factory that the European maps CAN be loaded on a US spec vehicle. They are currently working out the licensing agreements and should be ready for distribution in 2-3 months. So, by the time you are here, this should be resolved. BUT, I would make a condition with your dealer to have them load the European maps while you are here, then have them load the US maps at your state-side dealer when you have the car shipped back... FOR FREE.:y No doubt they will want to charge you for this, but common... it CAN'T be that hard to upload maps to a hard drive.:smash:

5) Yes, take some REAL time to explore Europe while you are here. Don't make it a week only trip... You will regret it. Especially since you have to break in the car when you drive away from the factory. Go to the MB Museum in Stuttgart... Very cool. Also check out other countries like Austria and Switzerland. There is nothing like driving through the Alps in the summer... And with a brand new Merc to boot!:D Stay away from the big chain hotels... Small B&Bs (Guesthouses) are the way to go.

6) No clue since it keeps telling me I'm "off the map" every time I touch the nav button.:rolf: You could probably test drive one at the dealer and enter an address... See what it says.

Hope this helps... Sorry I couldn't add more to 1-3.

If you want some ideas for places to visit/stay next year, send me a PM when/if you decide to take advantage of the ED.

Cheers!

Thanks JBean114 - appreciate the feedback.

I definitely agree with driving around Europe and the Alps. I have had many wonderful driving trips there from London to Istanbul and many places in between, and have scaled a few peaks in the mountains (Switzerland, Slovenia) and stayed in the alpine huts, but never toured in Germany much. I shall be going in the summer regardless, but doing ED for an E Class sounds like a plan if the pricing and logistics work out.

Great write-up.. Congrats and thanks!

Thanks for sharing the experience! Convinced me to make every effort to plan for an ED and have a trip with the Mrs. :D

I know I'm a little late to the party here, but congrats on the new car, its beautiful. Please post more pictures!

I noticed you have the Burl Walnut wood trim, but usually that is only reserved for Almond interiors on the Sport Sedan. Did you request this as a special order?

pmb,
Good catch! Every time I logged on to mbusa to build the car, it would always tell me that I could only get the ash wood with the black leather sport pack, but when I placed the order with the dealer I simply gave her the codes (see below) and she put it together. She didn't flinch, nor did I hear anything to the contrary from mbusa when the official purchase order came back. It must just be an online thing? :crazy: Or, could be due to the fact that I am currently living in Germany and ordered it here locally through a German dealer? Either way, my car is 100% American spec, so it is possible.

I personally dislike the ash on black because it just makes everything look cheap and plastic. The dark wood against the black looks and feels very rich and clean. I wanted that balance between luxury and sport, and, in my opinion, I have it... and love it.:D:D:D

Codes:
197: Obsidian Black
201: Black Leather
731: Burl Walnut Wood Trim

Nice Car! What do you think of the Black on Black? I am considering the same scheam but afraid it's too monotone. do you have any pics of the interior? Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Rick

congrats JBean114..

We are all looking forward to see more pics of your car.

I have been meaning to post more pictures on the interior Black with the walnut trim, but the sun has not shown up for the past few weeks here... And I tried to take a few shots in the dark, but the flash doesn't do it justice. I will post interior shot this week (I'm keeping the camera in the car for when the sun comes out).

But, for those of you wondering, I love the combo of obsidian black exterior, black leather and the walnut trim. To me it is not monotone at all. I still have that "damn... is that really my car?" feeling every time I open the garage or walk up to it in a parking lot. The interior accents with the silver and the ambient lighting system really make everything flow nicely IMO. I think it would be too monotone with the ash trim...

Cheers!

Glad to hear you are enjoying it! You must be spending a lot on gas if you are living in Germany with that car, what is the price of gas over there right now? Having a V8 E-Class must really stand out, most E-Class you see in Europe are 4 or 6 cylinder diesels.

LOL! Funny you say that... Just the other day someone came up to me and said "is that really a 550?" I said "Yes... do you think I bought a 350 and then bought a 550 badge to go with it?" They said "yes." My jaw dropped... And after I collected it, I popped the hood. :D

I have since de-badged the car because I like the "clean" look. So, honestly, I have no clue if I stick out... I think only other MB owners could tell the difference with the different exhaust tips and lack of chrome trim on the back. But they all know it's a V8 when I pull away from the curb. :naughty:

Cheers!

BTW - Yup... gas prices suck over here... :shakehead

Check out my shots on the Official W212 Picture thread above... black and burl interior.