In Canada, we are given the Commission number which is same as the PO number you guys get in the USA I believe.

 

I had a typo in my PO number which is why it wasn't coming up on the track-trace site. Using the correct PO, I get a hit with it showing the status. Below is a screenshot of what I got. I redacted it a little as I don't want to publish that info in the public. Cargo ID is the VIN. I'm not sure what ocean bill of landing number or ocean booking number are.

 

Awesome. Glad you were able to get it sorted out. Mine is very similar.

 

This is an excellent tracking tool. At least there’s something buyers can use themselves to see the status of their vehicles. From the VPC to the dealership shouldn’t take too long so the wait seems almost over for you. Congratulations!

 

Just got an email from my dealer that my E450 is at the port and has an ETA for port of Halifax Aug. 23rd. Should have car within two weeks of that date. This has been a long journey. I thought I would have a 24 E450 last Sept. which should have been the normal date for intro of 24 E class. Happy to finally get a car.

 

Glad to see everything working out for you! Patience is the key.

 

[QUOTE=PSims;9013986]Glad to see everything working out for you! Patience is the key.[/QUOTE
I had to check my birth certificate to check if I could that long.

 

I'm now a week August 17, which is the projected date my 2025 MY E-450 should be completed. Perhaps my expectations are too high, but I would appreciate a confirmation or the latest update from my dealer rep. Yes, I can inquire, but practically every communication originates with me. A communication stating things are on track or not, and when I should expect to hear from him again would be a sign of attentiveness and demonstrate they understand how uncertain this can be for buyers. As learned from others, I should get a VIN during the "build" process next week, before final production. Next, I should know when the car gets to port and when it ships. I'll share the frequency and accuracy of the info I get going forward. Once on ship (RORO) to my Brunswick GA VPC, I can track it myself. If all goes reasonably smooth, meaning production completes on August 17 and the car ships within a week or two, I should have the car in my garage between late September and early October.

 

It's interesting you got a date of expected completion. I only got a "production date" which I'm told is when the car starts production. That was July 1st and I got my VIN on July 8th only after asking my dealer the status. Like you, I have to initiate and there is very little proactive communication. I was also told that my car was at the shipping port on the same day I got the VIN. I don't know if a VIN was known before that but I suspect it was since it's also my understanding that a VIN is assigned when the car enters production. I did get proactive communication that my car was put on a ship however I expect that was due to my earlier email to MBUSA asking about the release date of the 2025 MY. It took three weeks for my car to ship while it was at port and my dealer told me it was held by MB until they officially released the 2025 MY. I sent an email to MBUSA on 7/25 asking them when the 2025 MY would be released. They responded on 7/30 saying that my car was put on a ship and expected to arrive at the VPN on 8/10. This was one day after my dealer contacted me to tell me the same news. What's interesting is the MBUSA email told me that my sales rep (they referenced them by name) would be in touch with further info. It seems that MBUSA took my email as an escalation when it was more a generic question on when the 2025 MY rather than my specific car would be released. I never responded to their email as I felt it was not necessary but MBUSA proceeded to email the same info the next two days seemingly wanting some acknowledgement from me. I was on a 10-day motorcycle vacation so I didn't have good Internet access but I finally replied after three emails and they stopped sending me further email. What I thought was funny was in their email, they referred to my order as "your marvelous order". I felt like saying, I bet you say that to all your customers who order a car.

I hope your timeline works out better than mine PSims since my car waited at port for 3 weeks before it shipped. Hopefully yours does not. Mine is on a ship sitting at NY right now and scheduled to be at the Brunswick VPC on 8/14. It was 8/10 then 8/11, but now 8/14. I expect it to take 2 weeks from there to be ready so hopefully I'm able to pick it up no later than 8/31. If so, that would be exactly 60 days from my production date of 7/1. That's actually right on target of the estimated date I was given when I ordered the car in March. My dealer said likely mid to late August I could expect the car.

 

By the way. This is just a guess on my part but I suspect that the VIN is determined when the car order, and all the options are entered into the production line computer. That would likely be before the sheet metal is pressed that will eventually become part of your car. That would make sense since at that time, the car now exists from a manufacturing point of view and would need a unique number (the VIN) to distinguish it from all the other cars. Prior to that, there is no need to create a VIN since the car has no physical existence and is just an order that could possibly be cancelled or altered. I would think that at the start of each decade (MB's manufacturing term for a 10 day cycle) the data is loaded into the production system and at that point, all cars in that decade get a VIN.

 

Makes sense. My “decade” would be the 2nd one for August (11 - 20). I’m anticipating a VIN during that time because no VIN means no E-450. Also I’ll wait until my dealer rep contacts me because his June 29 email said he would when he had an update and I specifically asked him to let me know when he had the VIN.

 

My car (or ship that my car is on) just left NY and is heading towards Brunswick VPC. It has an ETA of 8/12 which conflicts with the overall route ETA of 8/14. Hoping it's the earlier date.

I wonder who will get the first 2025 MY delivery from this board. It may very well likely be me.

 

I have an E450 with a scheduled production date of 08/16 and will be headed to Brunswick VPC as well. Maybe they’ll be shipmates…

 

Did anyone of you get any confirmation of your name and PO number in writing. Just asking because I never did with the dealer I'm ordering from, they just had me sign the build sheet list and then took a 1000 dollar deposit and that was it. Seemed kinda strange. It seemed like the dealer was nervous to put anything in writing incase the order gets all screwed up or something? I did find out the PO later from another salesman at the dealership when he looked up my order on his computer. He disclosed that my build was not going to be until the end of november instead of earlier which I was lead to believe by the original salesman. The original Salesman insists the order is listed at Priority so I dunno if that means the car can be built before the end of November? I guess they probably tell the "Priority" part of it to everyone because it seems to me these orders always get severely delayed one way or the other.

 

II put my deposit down a VERY long time ago. But when I did, I did get a document that stated the car and model I was putting a deposit for and what I paid. Kind of a receipt. Then, after I was able to spec out the order I was given a sheet a few months later with the details. Once, the car was built, they shared a screenshot with me showing the VIN #, location of the car and that had the cmossion number or PO number on it. That is what I have used to locate the shipping info for my car as of now.

 

Yes, I got my PO number in writing on a build sheet that had all my selected options confirmed the following Monday after putting my deposit down on Friday. The order had to be submitted to MB and accepted before a PO is issued which in my case was the next business day. I don't know if "Priority" is a real thing, but my understanding is that each dealership gets a limited set of allocations to which they can order custom cars on. If they have an available allocation, they can use that for your order. If they do not, they either have to wait for a new allocation to be granted or order through another dealership that has an available allocation. In that sense, if a dealer has an allocation where the customer decided to walk, they can repurpose that for a new order and your car would be built at the originally scheduled time. In that sense, it could be priority but that is by chance and not something that can be requested. I'm no expert though, and there may be other options I am not aware of. What I am telling you is based on my own experience and what I have learned by talking to others.

 

I have a printout with all the specs and a PO#, but my name is not on it anywhere.

 

That is the same with mine. I don't think your name would ever be on it since it's the dealership that is actually ordering the car. You are just giving them the options you want and giving them a deposit to hold the car for you once it arrives. It's not yours until you purchase it from the dealership. I supposed some dealers might have their own system that provide this information and include your name on it but that likely varies between dealerships.

 

I think priority means it will take priority over a stock unit for the dealer allocations. What causes the long wait at some dealerships are dealers selling cars without allocations. Therefore their orders only get filled when they get allocations. It’s important when when buying a factory order to find out if they have an allocation and when it will go into production.

 

Having a PO is good because it means the dealer has an allocation for your vehicle and it represents an official order. Those who don’t have a PO only have a desire for the car and not an official order, even though your dealership may have accepted your down payment and printed a spec sheet.

 

I got a sales agreement for my factory order showing all the options but no price. All they wrote was price to be MSRP less the percentage of discount agreed upon. With that I gave them 5K deposit. That gives you a lock on your car and a set price agreement.

 

The last shipment from Bremerhaven was August 9. The next shipments are August 23, with 2 ships leaving that date (Patriot and Morning Lynn) and both arriving at the Brunswick VPC September 12. That's a two week gap in shipments. Perhaps this is to deliver the latest 2025 MY builds many have been anticipating. Let's hope so!

 

that’s good so the fact that my order does have a PO number means the order must have been accepted by MB. It would have been nice if the Salesman I’m dealing with had given me the PO number and the fact another salesman had to get me that number only by my asking is not very confidence inspiring. Oh well at least my order is in and for now I’ll just play the long waiting game.

 

I tried to get a 5 or 6 percent discount with the order but the salesman would not agree to that and said you will get whatever discount there is at the time your order comes in.

 

hopefully it’s the shipment of the 2025s. I haven’t seen any 2025 All terrains at any dealers yet. Maybe there are some 2025 e450 sedans in I’m not sure.