wien0305

Question for the group—

I have a 2017 e400 wagon with 60k miles that I am imminently trading in for a custom order all terrain.

The service B light just came on. Should I have the service performed before trade in or just trade it knowing they’ll deduct for the service cost?

The wagon was given the 60k service la year ago at about 58k miles.

Any input would be helpful from people with experience trading in.

Thanks.

JTK44

Just my observations:

If you did a service at 58,000, other than an oil and filter change nothing else is necessary. I would also argue that with 2,000 miles, you probably do not need to do it until you have gone 10K miles, but others would argue for every year to keep the warranty. However, you are beyond the warranty. If it were me, I would be comfortable waiting until 10K miles have occurred.

You can reset the light. Just check YouTube.com for how to do it. I have also posted here in this forum how to reset the service indicator. It takes less than a minute.

I am about to custom order a 2022 E450 - the lease on my 2019 E450 ends on December 27: This will be my third E Class from the same dealer. My dealer is not very encouraging about getting a 2022: He is not willing to give a discount on a 2022:, on my 2019 he gave me almost 12% off of MSRP and has no idea when a new car ordered today will be delivered. I am now paying just under $900 a month. He said to expect to pay between $250/300 a month more. That is not acceptable to me.

I may try to extend my lease and failing that may just buy my car as it only has 20,500 miles on it and two new front tires.

Hope this helps.

wien0305

Thanks for the reply and useful information on the Service B. I may just go ahead and skip it.

With respect to the 2022 e450 here is what happened to me.

In February 2021 I requested an e450 All Terrain. The dealer offered 4% off MSRP. The other two I reached out to would not budge.

At that initial outreach I was promised an April allocation. Since then it has been pushed back every month until it was finally built last week and is awaiting shipment. I had to sign a waiver on the Hermes module to be installed in 2022.

The chip shortage is hammering everybody. The dealer here in Denver has virtually no cars I assume the same is true in your region. At this point I’d say if you can get a 2022 at MSRP you aren’t doing terribly.

I’d say that unless you are really keen on the I6 and 48volt system, or would be getting major features you really want not present, to just skip the custom order. My sense is that the car market will remain supply constrained for a good while longer and that many manufacturers will artificially constrain it—make to order model—to maintain margins.

I needed (wanted) the ground clearance and wanted the acoustic comfort package and ventilated seats so I pulled the trigger. My wife thinks I am insane and she may be right. But sometimes you just want what you want.

JTK44

Allocation: I forgot my dealer basically says he has no E Class allocations and those that he has he going to sell at MSRP. I believe in capitalism and supply and demand and with so few cars to sell, if I were a dealer I too would be selling at no less than MSRP.

I checked several dealers - we have 15 to 20 in a 50 mile radius: Non have more than 2 E Classes in inventory: all have more than 15 S Classes in inventory: that means either Mercedes switched E Class production to S Class to maximize profits or the S Classes are not selling. I have owned the S Class, BMW 740's and Audi 8: my wife says I am big enough to drive one, I am over 6"1", but I find them ponderous to drive and too ostentatious for me.

I always keep in mind that whether to buy or not a Mercedes is not a "life and death decision". This is truly a "First World Problem": Nobody needs a Mercedes, we are the fortunate few that wants and can afford one.

BTW, my 2019 is the Luxury Styling which has a bit more ground clearance than the Sport and unfortunately for 2022 has been discontinued.

What is the Hermes module? Will you get the full screen or analog gauges? My 2019 has the full digital dash.

Most of the cars ordered by the dealer either have way too much equipment of not the equipment I want. I have had both leather and MB-Tex and I find MB-Tex preferable. The only options I want are silver exterior, grey interior, heated steering wheel, burl walnut, exterior lighting, driver assist and premium package. This combo is hard to find, which is why I order.

wien0305

Yeah, it's rough out there. I work in supply chain and I've heard of chip suppliers re-allocating promised shipments to higher bidders right out from under my clients. MB is probably big enough that this isn't an issue for them, but it hasn't been pretty from a supply side. Without the chips they can't build cars--which is why we're seeing extremely low inventory. I just checked here in Denver. Zero e-class sedans or wagons. That is madness. The S class thing is interesting. I have to imagine MB is trying to catpure margin more than anything.

The workaround is shipping cars without certain chips. In my case, the '21 e450 Wagon is being shipped without Hermes; this makes MBrace, Sat Nav and WiFi work. Since it doesn't impact the actual safe operation of the vehicle Mercedes is shipping them and making customers sign a waiver indicating this will be installed at a later date. My dealer is indicating late 2021 or early 2022 as the likely timeframe.

That magna grey is classy. I have two kids under 5 so that was a no go for me. I alse debated MB Tex vs leather. I wanted ventilated seats so I think I was forced into it. I am on the other end of the spectrum from you in that I optioned this thing to the gills. This will probably be my last car purchase til the kids head off to college so I wanted to go all out. We'll see how much I regret that after it is out of warranty.

My wagon is the sport model. It was perfect for the East Coast, but Denver has a surprising number of dirt roads in the close-in burbs and not all of them are super well maintained. So the light "off road" capability of the all terrain works out for me. Here's what I am expecting to come

JTK44

Two kids under 5 and your last car until they go to college! That is approximately 12/13 years! As you approach the end of your warranty I would think about an extended warranty.

Yes if you want ventilated seats, it requires leather. So it becomes a $2,000 option.

I do a lot of skiing and I find the MB-Tex fine in both winter and summer and extremely easy to keep clean and quite durable.

wien0305

Ha! Yep 13 years. My wife is a drive them into the ground type. Her last car was a Discovery so her pain tolerance on the maintenance front is quite high.

Personally, I’ll very likely get the extended warranty so the maintenance costs don’t bleed us dry.