There are inconsistencies on the price that you think you will pay for an E53 based on the mbusa.com configurator and what Mercedes will charge based on the dealership configurator used to order cars.

The black microfiber headliner is $450 on mbusa.com versus $1,600 on the dealer build sheet. When I saw the headliner was $450 on mbusa.com, I added it to my build only to find out on Saturday Mercedes is charging $1,600. My salesperson said he had system issues today and was not able to remove the headliner.

The wagon should have the "manual rear sunshades" option of the wagons, not the "sun protection package" of the sedan. The sun protection package includes the power rear sunshade for the sedan. The mbusa.com website correctly lists the manual rear sunshades option at $380 (similar to the E450 wagon.) The dealer build configurator still has the sun protection package (similar to the E450 sedan) for $800.

All-season floor mats are $170 on mbusa.com versus 185 on the dealer configurator.

Pinnacle trim comes in at $850 less on the dealer configurator. The mbusa.com website says that heat and noise insulating glass is a component of the Pinnacle Trim, but it is standard equipment in the dealer configurator. The dealer configurator Pinnacle Trim option lists "581 Dual Zone Climate Control" as a component instead of "4-Zone Climate Control." I hope this error in the configurator used to build the cars doesn't cause an error in the cars being built. Can anyone who has taken delivery of an E53 wagon confirm that the Pinnacle Trim built with the 4-Zone climate control? In May, the heat insulating glass was also available as a $500 separate option, but it is now standard equipment.

Rear air bags are $350 less on the dealer configurator versus mbusa.com. More people might be inclined to purchase the rear air bags for $350 versus $700 on mbusa.com.

The carbon fiber package for the sedan includes the mirror caps and rear spoiler. On the wagon, the carbon fiber package is the mirror caps only. The mbusa.com configurator has a price of $1,750 for both the sedan and wagon.

My configuration had the $200 dashcam option on the dealer configurator, but somehow the dealer configurator dropped the option when I checked recently.

I'm not sure what is happening at Mercedes, but the prices they say they will charge the customer can be different from what they will actually charge. $1,600 versus $450 for the microfiber headliner is a big difference.

 

Yup. My initial order confirmation and the computer generated ‘window sticker’ on the dealer website vary in a few places from the configurator. My car has not been delivered yet, but it looks like I will be charged more for the microfiber headliner, less for Pinnacle trim, and not at all for the console wood trim. Net is 100.00 more than MSRP on the configurator. It is the least of my issues with MB’s order and delivery process.

 

My dealer sheet for my E53 wagon has 851 Heat/Noise glass as an option part of my Exclusive package. It does not appear the in the standard section. Curious where you see that it is standard.

i have 580 dual zone climate control in my standard options. So 581 must be the correct number for the 4 zone. (I didn’t get Pinnacle…just Exclusive.)

i have 810 as Burmester surround sound but it doesn’t say anything about it being the 4D version but it is in the standard section. Hopefully it is the same thing. This seems to be the big difference between sedan and wagon. Wagon includes the 4D as standard and the sedan has it as an option.

The Exclusive trim package is $900 less on the dealer config vs MBUSA. You’d think that the Pinnacle would match at $900 less instead of $850.

So really the base price difference between the sedan and wagon isn’t $3750 but $2850 if you get Exclusive trim package or $2900 if you get the Pinnacle.

 

581 is the correct code for 4-zone climate
810 is the correct code for 4D Burmester

 

Heat insulated glass is not part of the default build, it's part of either DX1 or DX2, even if the build sheet does not itemize it like that. See attached build sheet of a car with no Exclusive or Pinnacle package.

Here are the discrepancies between dealer builder and the website:
DB9 Sun Protection Package $800 vs $380
DX1 Exclusive Trim $1,550 vs $2,450
DX2 Pinnacle Trim $3,300 vs$4,150
293 Rear Side Airbags $350 vs $700
61U DYNAMICA HEADLINER $1,600 vs $450
732 Center Console in AMG Carbon Fiber $950 vs No price
872 Heated Rear Seat $500 vs Not an option
L6H AMG Performance Steering Wheel in DINAMICA/Carbon Fiber $900 vs Not an option
D07 Wheel Locking Bolts $170 vs $160

I just ordered a new wagon yesterday and I have the dashcam as an option from the dealer.
Also, you can order Alpine Grey from the dealer but it's not on the configurator online either

Ultimately the price is always "subject to change" and I'd go off the build sheet before the online builder even if it makes the car more or less expensive depending on options you chose.

I agree, for a company like Mercedes it's embarrassing to have such discrepancies and such a bad online presence. I have other issues, like last night the configurator was down, the inventory search response is non-deterministic where cars disappear and re-appear randomly. It also allows you to build a car with a Tonka or Neva allows you to pick red seatbelts when they're not allowed, you get black seatbelt if you go with a duo-tone interior.

So yeah, it is what it is, caveat emptor.

 

Just look how sick this would look:



But you can't have it. I confirmed it via an EU builder site that actually enforces the constraint properly.

 

Believe the “dash cam” is - $200 digital purchase that can be made any time?

 

. . . . . deleted . . . . .

 

So dealer wouldn't budge and insists the window sticker has the correct price on sun proctection package. What would you do?

 

You can either walk or pay. I compared the pricing to the All-Terrain and that one has the side shades priced correctly at $380 on the build sheet.

The Monroney is correct, here I think MBUSA made a mistake but there isn't much you can do.

Just for comparison, the same car in Europe that costs $117k in the US would cost $140k plus an additional 27% VAT for a total of $178k!

As I pointed out, some options are overpriced and others are underpriced when compared to the customer facing build tool. It's likely just as frustrating to the dealer as it is to the customer to have this discrepancy but MBUSA should really need to care to make it right and right now they're probably more concerned with 17% decline in sales YoY in the US than mis-pricing the rear side shades by $420 on the E53.

 

Good to know. Thanks!

 

I would continue to ask Mercedes Benz for a goodwill refund since the "Sun Protection Package" doesn't go on a wagon and it clearly is an error by Mercedes. It's a Mercedes error, not a dealer error. I would hope that the dealer principals would be more active in getting Mercedes USA to correct their systems, so it's always a good idea to mention it to the dealership.

Mercedes sales reps sell a wide variety of Mercedes. It is legitimately difficult for a sales rep to understand all the packages across the range. It falls to us customers to notice that the "Sun Protection Package" with the rear shade doesn't go on a wagon.

My dealer was able to remove the Sun Protection Package before the build locked, so I don't have to go that route now.

I contacted Mercedes months ago about the Sun Protection Package on the 2026 E53 wagon. When I saw the customer website had substituted the manual rear sunshades for the sun protection package, I assumed that Mercedes also corrected it on the dealer configurator, but I assumed incorrectly.

 

Correct.

 

On my build sheet, 851 Heat/Noise glass appears in the list with no price. It doesn't appear under the Pinnacle Trim. It is possible that it is still an option, but it doesn't appear that way on my build sheet.

Good to see the price difference between the sedan and wagon is lower than it appears at first glance.

 

Nice summary. Thanks!

 

Thanks for attaching your build sheet. Your build has 875 heated washer system and PAV winter package.

My build in May had the winter package as standard, but the latest build sheet doesn't mention the winter package, the heated steering wheel or heated wipers.

I'll compare my build sheet with your build sheet in more detail later today to see what else is off.

 

I wish the 4-zone climate control was an a la carte option. I ordered the Exclusive Package as I don't want the heads-up display (which, btw, if you wear polarized sunglasses, you won't see the HUD from what my dealership said). I don't want the headlight projections. I don't want the MBUX Interior Assistant. Just the 4-zone heating and cooling with the vents on the columns.

 

There are a bunch of standard items on the inventory "MSRP" sheet that you attached that aren't on my build sheet as well as items on my build sheet that aren't on the inventory report. My guess is that the reports are being generated from two different systems each of which shows different codes. I do question why the winter package was on the build sheet in May as a standard item but is not shown on the October build sheet. I'm going to hope that someone is tweaking the codes that show on the report, and that the winter package remains a standard item on the E53 Wagon.

 

So did you get the side shades as a build option or not? I am pretty sure the dealer can't add options unless the system lets them. I do want the side shades on mine so my only way to add them to the car is to order the entire $800 package.

Also, that MSRP sheet I posted was not my build sheet, it was an in stock vehicle at a dealer, I just used it as an example of what is priced as what.

 

What do you mean? I compared a similarly equipped car to my build sheet and they were identical other than the color/trim/leather selection and the few more options the other car has over the one I ordered. Every single other item was identical, there is no difference on the build sheet with one exception:
Mine has option 56 "Modification year 25/2" which just means that they have some kind of process, software, or logistical update that was a mid-year change.

I'm attaching the build sheet of the well equipped car that is similar to mine except colors and it has CF interior including the steering wheel.

 

Perhaps interestingly, I added the dash cam as a digital extra. They had a 10% off sale so it cost $180, which is a $20 savings over getting it as part of your bill.

 

The dealer configurator still has the sun shades as the "Sun Protection Package" for $800. To get the sunshades you need to select that option and pay $800.
When I realized that the dealer configurator wasn't updated to the "manual rear sunshades" option, I removed the shades from my build.

You should continue to select the "Sun Protection Package" option for $800 to get the shades.

 

Right. So if you want side shades, which I do, it'll be $800 not $360. Same with the Dynamica headliner costing $1,600 and not $450. But if you get the rear airbags then you save some and if you go for the Pinnacle trim then you're saving even more. In the grand scheme of things, the price will be what the price will be and that's all there is to it. Trying to split hair over the cost is not really beneficial as you don't have much recourse other than not ordering.

Of the 132 cars that I've tracked so far the median price is $117,700 and it's $116,240 if you exclude the Edition 1 cars. My build has an MSRP of $116,355 so it's a pretty "averagely optioned" sample even though I feel like I kind of went a bit heavy with the tick boxes.

 

I regret pissing away $800 on this.

 

Right. In the US it doesn't matter as every US bound E53 has the U19 (Augmented Video for Navigation) option, which is a requirement for the Dashcam digital add-on.

The only benefit for having the dashcam on the build sheet is that it's part of the car and not having to faff with buying the digital download/license later.

It also makes sense to order the car with it if you're planning on leasing as in that case the dashcam price would be residualized so it would cost about half of its price. Same goes for wheel locks, floormats, and any other port installed option. If it's on the Monroney it's part of the MSRP, it gets residualzied. If you're buying outright, not a whole lot of difference, the $20 may get you a snack somewhere...