Apologies if this is not the correct forum. I also suspect this might be a very naive question.

I paid cash for a 2016 E350 about 6 months ago in So CA, but filled out Mercedes loan paperwork to take delivery pending clearance of the check. I remember doing this last year with my wife’s Audi when we paid cash and an Acuara a few years ago. However, we have not received the title for the E350 after 6 months nor any notice that the loan was closed. I don’t remember the specifics of the previous purchases, but do know the title was delivered fairly quick.

I’ve tried unsuccessfully to contact the Finance Manager that worked with us. I’m a bit irritated at the lack of response even if this is a stupid question. This is the same dealership that simply handed me the keys after purchase and I had to ask if I can be shown any basic set-up and COMAND operation. I was able to locate the Owners Manual in the trunk the next day, so that helped.

Do I need to hunt down a contact at Mercedes Financial Services or contact the CA DMV directly?

Again, apologies if this is an overly stupid question

 

You need to clarify exactly what you're saying. If you paid cash, there's no loan. If there's a loan, you didn't pay cash. If you paid the dealership cash, they should have ripped up the loan paperwork. If you got a loan, then the check should have paid off the loan. If there was a loan, the loan company would be sent the title from the DMV. If you paid off the loan, you should get the title from the loan company. There's some failure somewhere. You need to go through your paperwork and figure out exactly what happened.

 

Often when giving the dealer a check, he will take a credit app to know who he is dealing with. He might also have you sign a contract to assure payment. But, in this case you are far past that situation. It would seem obvious there is no loan as you have not received a payment demand after six months of having the vehicle.

You need to call the dealership and demand to speak with the Sales Manager or General Manager. Do not take no for an answer and inform them your next call will be to the California BMV. If you have had the car for six months and they have not produced a title, they are in violation of several dealer laws.

 

I paid cash for my last MB also and never filled out a loan app. That is strange.
In any event, I never received my title either and it appeared to have been lost in the mail. In Illinois you can request a duplicate title if lost, which is what I did. You can do it online here, so no trip or call to the DMV. I got my new duplicate title in a couple weeks with all of the proper information. Perhaps you are in the same boat and it simply was lost or misadressed.

 

I paid cash for my car also. Had to contact Illinois dmv. The seller motor werks never sent in the paperwork that I bought the car. Contacted state police and they contacted the dealer. 2 days later I had my title. Apparently some dealers hold onto the paperwork and do not show the sale until it is a good time for them. After 2 month they still did not process the paperwork. By contacting the BMV and state police you force them to process the paperwork. Overall a bad experience. I would think twice before buying from them again

 

Thanks all. I'll contact the sales manager and see where that takes me.

 

Here in FL the titles are all electronic now IIRC. Have to pay extra for paper title.

 

You may need to contact MBUSA Customer Assistance re: the dealership in general. I have never purchased a car where the sales person did not sit down for 30+ minutes to explain the major features of the vehicle. Got a Nissan a couple of years ago and salesman even set up the Bluetooth phone for me, as well as lots of other displays, navigation, etc. At least an hour.
The MB salesman spent about a half hour and gave me his cell number for any questions. Probably called him several times over setting up different features. Always answered and took whatever time necessary to get it done. Same with the Nissan salesman.
You should have an Operator's Manual, a COMAND Manual, a Maintenance Manual and a "Quick Tips" manual if this was a new car.

 

The experience was a bit underwhelming. We finished about 9:00PM on a Friday and I suspect people wanted to get home. The salesperson we had an appointment with at 6:00PM had left or the weekend so we were helped by a different salesperson.

They either didn’t think much of us or the dealership lacks any rigor in their processes. Which is unfortunate, because we re always pretty easy. We went in to buy the ’17 E300 or ’16 E350 after test drive and bought the ’16. Drove the ’17, made a very reasonable offer on the ’16, did the “speak with my manager” dance that actually took them about 20 minutes for one cycle and went off to finance to write a check.

By the time we finished everyone was gone. It’s a shame because most people seem to have a good experience at this dealership. I enjoy the car and will almost certainly pick up the W213 when the inline 6 comes out, but will go to a different dealership.

 

I bought a car once when I had to use the dealer financing to get a $1000 extra discount. The way this worked was to sign for the loan and then pay the car off at the first note. There was no penalty for early pay.


The OP may have unknowingly done one of these deals?