ChuckinTucson

Just wanted to get the opinion of those on this board about European delivery. I'm thinking about getting a 2012 E350 Bluetec. In addition to the 7% discount (which is always nice), they have a 5 day tour package for $1,300 that looks interesting. I understand that they have a deal with Lufthansa, breakfast or lunch when you pick up the car, along with a tour of the Sindelfingen factory. Lufthansa is charging around $5,000 RT for business class at the moment, but I think I read something about the second person flying free if arranged through Mercedes. (First class was $14,000, no thanks.)

Has anyone on this board actually gone this route? It looks like from their tour itinerary that I would be dropping the car off at the hotel in Munich and then flying out of there.

A couple of specific questions: Was their original date of when the car would be ready at the factory fairly accurate or did it change? How long did it take to get the car back the States and be ready for pick-up at the dealer?

Thanks for any responses.

BudC

You can and should try to get more than just the Euro 7% discount because the dealers are still making about what they would with a normal delivery. At least try to get the dealer to throw in the hotel package.

I ordered a new E550 from the factory on February 2, 2011, it rolled off the assembly line on March 3, 2011 and I picked it up at my Phoenix dealer on April 25.

This is about how long it took to get my 2008 E350. In other words, it takes about six weeks for a car to come from Bremerhaven to Los Angeles.

You can figure that it will take six weeks plus the time it takes for the car to make it from Munich to the port and get on the ship.

ChuckinTucson

Thanks, BudC, for your suggestion and information. I appreciate it. When I go onto the MBUSA website, it fills in the date October 16 as a default for the pick-up date. And, you're right about the additional discount from the dealer. I'll check with the dealer to see when I can order a 2012.

ahmadkshuja

Just ordered my 2012 E350 Cabriolet as Euro Delivery. Got an initial pick-up date of Aug 16th. Very much looking forward.

Also, I did ask my sales agent at Benzel-Busch to see if I can get a free 5 day package.

Will keep you all posted.

ChuckinTucson

Thanks for your reply, Looking forward to hearing about your experience. Enjoy the new convertible.

park423

I have a friend who did this when he got his M3. Doing this was not about the price but the awesome experience. I was so jealous, something I definitely want to do very badly. I know I will probably have to pay more for the car but pretty much a once in a lifetime experience to have your own brand new car and drive through Europe and on the autobahn and fully experience a sports car like an M3 or something similar (he took his M3 upto 150 on the autobahn and took video doing it). Once you're crusing through Europe in your brand new car, I doubt you will be thinking about the extra 2-3K you could have saved.

ahmadkshuja

Absolutely

I regretted I did not do this for my S600; I had to buy this one just for Euro Delivery

MB-JIM

You should note that the 16th is a Sunday and no cars are delivered on the weekend. If you pull up their calendar, it looks like deliveries of E Sedans begins on October 20th.

ahmadkshuja

It may be that it will be available for Aug 17, but that is the confirmation that I have received so far. Will keep you posted.

ChuckinTucson

The more I think about this the more I want to do it. I have some friends in Amsterdam that I haven't seen for a while, and from Google maps it looks like it's about 8 hours away. I understand that 15 days of insurance is included in the price, so while I'm there, I might as well take advantage of it.

CTPete

I did Euro delivery this spring to pick up my E350. It was a wonderful experience. In the summer they deliver about 400 cars a day in this program at their delivery center. So expect it to be busy. When I was there in March they only delivered 175 cars that day so there was no waiting. Either way, it was a great experience. The food on site was 5-star. Try to arrange to have two meals there - it is worth it. The MB accessories store is neat and factory tour was definitely worthwhile. We did not do a MB tour, but rather drove through the Black Forrest for week on our own. We stayed in Baden-Baden and Triberg. Then into Swizerland and stayed a few days in Zurich. We left the car in Zurich and then flew to Italy. By the way, we got a better deal on airfare making our own arrangements. Good luck.

Philcoa

How does a trade-in work with Euro-delivery? I have a 2010 E350 sedan and I'm thinking of upgrading to a 2012 E550 sedan.

DannyAves

I did Euro delivery last year and it was a really great experience. However, I was told that you can't get the 2 for 1 in business class, only in economy and remember, you can find cheaper ways to fly business class to Europe. Getting across the Atlantic is the hard part, you can always fly economy on those short trips within Europe.

I just returned from Spain and Portugal and the hidden gem is Air Europa, I paid less than a comparable BA or VS premium economy fare to Spain from Miami and the service and food is even better than BA or Swiss business class but unfortunately, the seats are not fully flat.

Bob338

Maybe I'll see you there. That's the pickup date for my E350 Blue Tec!

OOPS! That's the date I leave, the 18th is my confirmed date.

Bob338

You'd handle that through the dealer with whom you're working. Works the same as if you were buying locally.

gfmohn

When we picked up our 2007 C280 Quadramatic in Sept. 2006, the MB european delivery web page at that time started off, "Few things compare to the thrill of driving your new Mercedes-Benz out of the factory." When those huge doors slid open to the street, I realized, Boy, were they right!

Don't spoil it. Leave tearing up the autobahns to the experienced local drivers. For only one example, it takes time just to get used to the much narrower lanes. I have done a lot of driving in Germany. My wife is German, and we go there every year. Most cars on the autobahns are driving at speeds about the same as in the U.S. At the very least, if you do take your MB up to anywhere near 150 mph, have someone else take the video!

You will be driving the greatest car you've ever owned. I know I was. Your owner's manual will recommend "moderate vehicle and engine speeds. During this period, avoid heavy loads (full throttle driving) and excessive engine speeds (no more than 2/3 of maximum rpm)." You're proud of MB engineering. Respect it.

There is one situation where you should show some decisiveness (even if not "full throttle driving"). That is when passing. The polite American style of passing on interstates is dangerous on the autobahns. The few drivers who are up there around 180-200 kph (112-124 mph) come up on your tail so fast that you should minimize your exposure in the passing lane. Ask yourself, just how fast is that car that appears to be a loong way behind you actually closing on you?! Even if you think he's safely far behind you, accelerate quickly and keep accelerating until you are past the car you are passing. Remember, you don't have much experience judging these speeds.

We saved almost $5000 off the best deal I otherwise could have made. That figure includes the cost of an $1800 U.S. "mandatory option" package that I did not have to accept in Germany. It also includes the Massachusetts sales tax (at the time, 5%) that I would otherwise would have had to pay on the amounts I saved. (Of course, I did not avoid paying the tax overall.)

The Graf Zeppelin hotel in Stuttgart is conveniently located right across the street from the train station. It is part of the Steigenberger chain, which is comparable to Hilton. Nonetheless, we found our room rather cramped. If we stay there again, we will ask for a better room than the standard room for which an MB voucher qualified us.

On the other hand, the car drop-off point in Sindelfingen (Simovic Car Service-the E.H.Harms agent) is NOT conveniently located. It on a tiny side street, in an industrial area. The entrance is in the rear, away from the street! It is easy to drive right past it, even with GPS. You can familiarize yourself with its appearance by looking at the oblique view on Bing Maps online.

We found the drop off quite time-consuming, and there was only one customer before us. With heavy luggage, it is a 10 minute walk to the nearest bus stop. Of course, you have to know where that stop is. We took a cab to the Böblingen S-Bahn station. The ride is only 4 minutes, but the cab did not come right away. If you are catching a flight, allow lots of time.

Bob338

Picked my first one up as normal and turned it in, in Paris and I had no problems at all. Process took no more than 10 minutes in spite of turning it over long before scheduled. Will do same with this next one, turning it over in Paris. Three countries last time, six this time. Great adventure.

MB-JIM

Just remember to have your shipping paperwork filled out at the Sindelfingen Harms office before heading out on your trip. You tell them where you will be dropping off the car and all your information will be ready when you drop off the car. Their office is less than five minutes from the delivery center. Ask for a map that shows you how to get there.

Bob338

Thanks. Currently, by initially providing your location for turning in, that is all taken care of by the M-B travel office. You can even change locations in the middle of your trip should you decide to turn it back to any of the other 11 offices than the one initially designated, but they do ask a couple of days notice in order to get docs to your expected spot. Failure to do so isn't a problem according to them, though that MAY lead to a significant delay at the delivery.

Initially I was going to just wander around Europe and I asked that very question with the idea of not knowing where I'd be. Madrid or Nice were both options. Italy is the only place that does present problems, but it can still be done.

DannyAves

I will agree with that...I liked their breakfast though.

Also make sure they lend you a GPS if your car doesn't have the European maps.

Laugele1

Good news! Most posts I see on the Forum seem to be rather uninformed about this subject. I found a guy who really seems to know a lot about factory pickup of a Mercedes-Benz. Check out this website:
www.mbeuropeandelivery.com IT's even more informative and helpful than the MB site itself. Good luck!

BenzV12

Here's a link for you

http://www.thedieseldriver.com/2011/...-diesel-sedan/

You can learn about details , I think Euro Delivery is quite promising because you can have a lot of fun yet travel and visit some cool places as well

Bob338

Yeah, good luck getting him to return calls. I called and left several messages for him indicating I wanted to buy the car through him. To this minute I never heard from him.

I picked mine up last August and drove around for over 3 weeks, turning the car in, in Paris again. M-B Europe does an outstanding job in all respects, the only glitch being a pompous Frenchman at the turn-in at the airport, but you learn to expect that from many Parisians. We drove about 4200 miles and had a ball! I'm planning on getting rid of this car and getting another early next year and doing much the same thing.

Laugele1

I hade several people tell me how prompt this guy is and they bought a car from him. You must definitely have the wrong person! My wife and I pick up a new MB every 2 years (I lease them) just to have the pleasure of doing a European Delivery and have this guy design a new itinerary for us each and every time. Better luck next time.

Bob338

Nope, same guy, no return calls and several messages left on his voicemail. Had better luck with a guy in Austin, Texas whose name appears on several links here.

I ended up with more help from a local guy and from the M-B travel office in New Jersey. I won't need any of them the next time now that I know. I'll get my next one based on the deal and a dealer in my state, preferably within a couple of hundred miles of home. One in the Bay Area was discounting heavily and if that be the same in 8 or 9 months, that's where I'll buy.