ordered and put a deposit down for a new E 450 on black friday. was told that I was 'lucky' that there happened to be a build slot that was modifiable. was told the car should be in some time in February. never was contacted at all by the salesman. stopped in in mid January to find out that the order was 'delayed'. I asked if the car would be here in march and was told 'maybe'. stopped in on 4/15 to be told that the order was canceled and the orders for 25's were no longer available. NO contact at all from the salesman and the sales manager told me that he has explicitly directed the guy to contact me. just so happens that this guy was on 'training' that day. he is an old guy so its not a rookie mistake. they did everything but fluff me to try to get me to leave the deposit so that I would be 'first in line' for their ONE allocation available in june for august delivery. this would be the 4th car purchased at this dealership and 3rd merc. they said give it a week and think about it. what would you guys do? I do have the deposit refunded and banked.

 

Ugh that stinks, escalate it and also post a google review if they aren't willing to help.

 

I'd never use that dealer for anything ever again.

Check your sales contract. You may have a basis for recompense or other compensation.

 

If not the dealership how would we buy a car : ( broker?

 

sale was not made and nothing was signed. this is in Mishawaka Indiana

 

This is/was to be expected in the current climate. Perhaps the order was delayed and then the tariff situation changed Mercedes’ willingness to import as many vehicles. It was evident when they said they would cover 2025 vehicles for tariffs that they would also end orders for those vehicles.

If you really want the car, it’s time to start the search again unfortunately and it will be easiest finding something you want in inventory or one that has been canceled due to owner back out.

The salesman being incompetent is another issue.

It sucks, good luck. Mercedes has released a plan for some great engines coming up in the next three years but it’s very much going to be pay to play and value will have to be considered.

 

Depends on how much you want the car. You could just look for one in stock sumilar to what you want and settle. Their screw up gives you some sympathy leverage at least, but that may not be of any benefit depending on the dealer and their willingness to make things right. Since you have been dealing with them for several car purchases, it may be worth it to give them another chance. The deposit is not much when you consider an E450 costing north of 75K. What's it to you to be without it for a little longer? I suspect the bigger issue is time wasted by continuing to wait for them to get you an order that will be filled. For that reason, you may want to contact other dealerships and see what they can do. Even if they are a few hundred miles from you. What better way to get to know your new car than taking a road trip.

 

OP. were you given a PO when you initially placed the order?

 

tariffs have nothing to do with it. as stated the order was created on black friday

 

no just a build sheet with the options. they have never given me a purchase order in the past. just order the vehicle and then all the paperwork was handled just prior to delivery.

 

Copy. Maybe try to reach out to Benz and Bowties (MB of North Olmstead, Ohio) on instagram/facebook. maybe they can help you locate a car. They seem to be very transparent.
I also had some friends order at the same time as you did and they were able to receive their cars on time. I suspect Maybe the dealer never had an allocation in the first place.

The last three times I placed an order with any MB dealerships, I was always given a PO number with the build date.

 

If money changed hands there is an implied contract.

 

Simple, go to a different dealer. Whilst I understand this seems to be your family dealer where you acquired your previous MB from, however, there seems to be some type of dishonesty going on or a poor level of communication within their team. Your time and effort are worth much more in my opinion.
Use a broker if you cannot allocate a dealer that is within distance to level with you on this, as brokers typically have better connections within their pipelines and sometimes a direct line of communication with SM or GM rather than just sales.

 

actually I did reach out to them. we are talking.

 

I can really empathize with what you're going through. I would be furious with the dealership as well.
How do you feel about the dealership? Is there another one nearby that you could consider switching to?
Since you've been waiting since November, there's no need to rush your decision.
Would you be willing to wait a bit longer to see how the current uncertainty with tariffs plays out?
This might give you the opportunity to get into a 2026 model instead.

 

Problem is the 2025 tariff hold won't apply though.

 

Yes, I forgot, no trade has been disrupted and Mercedes and their dealers are following all business plans they had on Black Friday. I’ve heard since they plan ahead, they will be producing every part and model at the exact volume estimates they proposed last Black Friday.

Good luck op, nothing has changed and plenty of these vehicles available and arriving every day to dealerships. They are all on sale and you can order your 2025 today!

Fully reading my comment above, you would’ve seen that beyond a ****ty sales person not updating you, there’s lots of other things going on in the background that don’t involve you. You can cry and sue (and lose) or move on and be realistic and get it done for yourself.

 

Sounds like they made mistakes, and blew smoke up yer *** too. I'd find another dealer, GL to you.

 

Choose a different dealer. There are 385 MB dealers in the USA.

 

oh, they mentioned "that" dealership not as in dealerships in general (all dealerships). Read it wrong.

 

I placed an order in the fall, gave a deposit, got a PO number, build date and all... in Nov after the build date had passed by a week, I inquired on the status of my order... I was told there was a "problem", and the order had been canceled by MB, and they would need to re-order the car... they placed a second order, and I got a new PO number. Very frustrating to wait 3 months and then be told to start again. I complained to MBUSA, they investigated, and didn't tell me what happened but they did recommend I go to another dealer. They offered to forward my contact info to another dealer close by with an allocation to take my order, etc. I was surprised that the dealer didn't have their order placement, tracking, etc. process honed to a fine art... that is what they do for all the cars they sell -- whether sold off the lot or custom order for a customer.

 

did you end up switching dealers?

 

No, the upper management of the dealership learned, from MBUSA I guess, what had happened and took over for the salesperson. They made it right in the end.

 

Oh that is good then.

 

no one can order a 2025 as they have moved on to 2026 models