I would like to order a fully or mostly loaded EQB. Contacted two dealerships in the Atlanta area and they claimed they had allocations but don't know a delivery date. Is there a freeze or something currently preventing orders?

 

IMHO, they are just trying to not overpromise. There have been myriad delays in production and shipping.

FWIW, we spec’d our very loaded EQB last spring. The dealer did not get a 2023 allocation until July and the car was produced in August. It’s now finally at the VPC in Baltimore and we will be luckily to see it this month. Others have seen their production dates slide, sometimes more than once.

 

So six months before receiving. I was hoping the wait would be shorter. If you don't mind answering was it at MSRP?

 

Anyone thinking six months is dreaming. Ordered/built June, dealer got allocation in July or August. My production date (the day it is to be built) is now 1/20 and I give it even odds that it won’t be built on 1/20. I won’t see this car until May.

Figure a year.

 

I ordered last March, car was built in October and was delivered to the dealership last week. Unfortunately it did not come with the third row which was definitely on our order. That was the main attraction to the EQB for us because we have young kids and a smallish garage. So we refused the vehicle. Dealer put in another order for us that is supposed to go into production next month. But with the updated IRS guidance stating the grandfather provision expired in December for the $7,500 federal credit, plus the loss of a $4,000 Illinois state rebate as of last week because they have more applications than funds, and not to mention the precipitous decline in used car values (hits us on trade-in)... I may walk away from this. This vehicle is now easily $15,000 more expensive than when we ordered.

 

Yes. At the time our dealer was doing MSRP for orders and “market price” ($$$) for anything on the lot. I suspect the market is rapidly returning to a more normal dynamic.

 

Ugh. Walking may be entirely rational at this point.

 

I am seeing 2022s on web pages for different dealers and I don’t think the average EQB consumer is going to pay over MSRP given the IRA, interest rates and the vehicle market. It went up sharply at COVID and demand is DOWN. The high end EQS market is a different market. Dealers may say they sell them over MSRP but that doesn’t make it true.

In the EQB context, a GLB is WAY cheaper. And if you got into this it was in major part a utility equation and cost/benefit analysis. The final deal cannot be otherwise. There are downsides to EV. There are upsides. It’s just a car in the end, and I’ve come to think of luxury as reliability and time. Most cars are now equipped as luxury - so, MB, are you giving us what we want and when we asked for it, at a fair price?

 

Exactly. Going into this, our priority was a 7-seat smaller electric SUV. So my only options were the EQB and the Model Y, and we don't really like the Tesla styling and build quality, so the EQB was the default choice. But value matters here too. I'm leaning toward buying a used GLB, which I can probably get for $30k cheaper than we would end up paying for our EQB at this point. All the gas and maintenance in the world won't make up that difference. My other car is an EV and I love them, but I love them as a practical matter, not a spiritual one. The EQB is no longer a practical choice for us.

 

In my state, dealerships still demand 5K above msrp for build order and anything on the lot, and they all sold within a day or 2.

 

Found a dealer that can order an EQB and they are stating 4-5 months to actually get it. Waiting to hear bak if it will be at MSRP.

 

Fully loaded cars are a problem. A lot of the options aren't currently available.

 

OK. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Ugh.

I'm not pleased with how long our EQB 350 (built in August) is taking to get here, but it looks like we might have accidentally timed everything perfectly as it's very loaded as was built as ordered. We checked pretty much every box except AMG.

FWIW, it finally left the VPC in Baltimore on Tuesday so hopefully the dealer will receive it today or tomorrow.

 

When the dealer tells you that they have it, ask them to send you a picture of the sticker on it BEFORE you show up to buy. Then I highly recommend you go through the sticker to make sure it's matching up with everything you ordered, has all the parts of the packages that you ordered, and that the standard features that you're naturally expecting are there as well. My loaded EQB arrived about 3 weeks ago without heated seats and with a few options I didn’t want but was expected to pay for. We walked away, but agreed to purchase the vehicle after they promised to put in after-market heated seats for us and waive the price of the 2 upgraded features. Then, as I drove it home, I realized that the $1700 Driver’s assistance package that was listed on the sticker, was NOT on the car. Not a single feature in that package. Total deal breaker. To not have adaptive cruise control?

Once you arrive at the dealership I would also do an inspection of each deal-breaker feature on the car itself and have them prove to you it’s on there before you sign. Negotiate money back for any missing feature that’s not a deal breaker, because if you realize something’s missing after you paid, it’s much harder to get money back from dealers at that point.

They just sent me the replacement car’s spec sheet. I had to comb through the spec sheet myself, again, to realize that it does have the Driver’s assistance package but only 5 out of 10 features (But still with the $1300 cost currently listed as price on mbusa.com for 10 features), and also to see that the Burmester surround sound stereo was removed with no notice or no financial compensation. Ventilated seats are no longer available either. Standard features like Blind Spot Assist, Active Brake Assist, or Multi Color Ambient Lighting are also not there.

Good luck. It’s really screwed up right now.

 

Great points and we'll double-check.

That said, I'm pretty confident that "on paper" the car was built as spec'd as I have data cards from each step of the process. Now if there are missing items that disagree with the data card and/or window sticker that's gonna be a HUGE problem.

 

Tell me about it! It's been a huge pain in the butt getting this resolved.

What are data cards and how did you get them? All I've ever gotten is a spec sheet, which is like a 3 paged single-spaced list of features of the car (not mentioning anything that's been removed).

 

I've received them from my dealer.

Each one includes the PO# and the later ones include the VIN (after it was built) along with the installed equipment and they will also include option codes to document credits for missing options.

Many dealers publish a version on their websites for vehicles in stock. (example attached, and not our EQB)

Here's our car after it was built but before factory pricing was released.

 

I just typed out a really long reply to this and I accidentally erased it. So I'm just gonna dictate this quick and it's going to be a mess. First of all, thanks for sharing your data card and the other EQB's data card. That's the same thing I've been calling a spec sheet. It's helpful to see others!

Some unsolicited advice I wish I'd had: Your spec sheet does not list any of the standard features. That's where you would see things like power driver seats with memory. It's like a page and a half of more info. Also your data card does not show under the big upgrades you purchased what will come in those upgrades. My 2 do show that so I think it's something you can request. I want to warn you that your drivers assistance light package probably only has five of the 10 features that are listed online. It's the same code as the second EQB ordered, which only has five of those items. The missing drivers assistance lite upgrade items are:

• Evasive steer Assist,

• Active brake assist with cross traffic function,

• Active emergency stop assist,

• Active lane keeping Assist,

• Active Blindspot assist.

Also, just to warn you, neither of the two spec sheets that I've seen for my 2 EQBs are noting when items have been removed. Not when the features are optional paid for upgrades or standard features. For instance, on my second EQB's data card it does not list the Burmeister surround sound system. It does list the pinnacle package, for the full price, but it doesn't list the Burmeister system which is a third of that package. It doesn't show that the Burmeister system has been removed or replaced. It's just not listed at all. If I wasn't looking at everything now with a fine tooth comb, I would have never even noticed. I'm not into sound systems so I would have probably gone forever without knowing I paid for this option and my car does not have it. I asked my dealer he asked his person at Mercedes, and was told the Burmeister's are being replaced. I don't know with what yet. On my first EQBs data card it did list the drivers assistance package (code DA2) with the total price I was charged for it ($1700), but it didn't list any of the features from the package. When the car came, it did not have a single one of those features from the package. Apparently, Mercedes are just using these data cards to show what features your car does have, and not to document any of the features that you ordered or come standard in your car and you expect to have in your car but don't get. Surprise! that's why I was trying to warn people in my previous comment.

I was also going to tell you that I think you're getting the wrong All Season floormats black rubber. Online you can see that you are able to select either two rows of the floor mats or three rows for the same price $170. My first EQV had three rows of seats, but only came with two rows of the rubber floor mats and the code was D43 which is the same as on your data card.

Do you know why you weren't charged for the 19 inch five spoke wheels? It's a $600 upgrade. I did not want this upgrade because the hubcaps are blue and I didn't like that but I was charged for it and my car came with it. My dealer says if you order the technology package or the drivers assistance package you have to do that upgrade. My dealer did waive the fee, after I protested, but it still showed up on my data card. Also, I'd like to know how you are only paying $2300 for the pinnacle package. Online it says it's $3800 and that's how much I've been charged both times. Tell me how that happened! I wish it happened to me.

I think we picked out almost identical options for our cars except for I didn't get the upgraded suspension or paint. I was recommended that I spend $250 on the charging cord that makes it so you can plug your EQB into a regular outlet somewhere in an emergency. I am happy with that upgrade because after driving it for a month now, cold weather is really taking a toll on the range so I could see how an emergency could happen. I am only averaging 2.5 miles/kwh, and the car only comes with 66 kWh of usable space, and we are only supposed to charge it to 80-90% of that capacity, so really I am getting less than 150 miles if I do the math and if I drive most of that at freeway speeds it's feeling much closer to 100 miles. With that being said though, I never bothered to do a price comparison to look for an aftermarket $50 equivalent.

I hope this is helpful and I really hope you got your car and have everything you want on it. There's lots of things about the car I'm liking but it's hard to enjoy it when I'm having to fight with Mercedes to get the car I ordered.

 

Correct. And, FWIW, I have others that do. I'm gonna assume that the salesman can select different info to include, which is just one more avenue to create confusion. Once can also enter the VIN into websites like mb.vin and see all the equipment codes that the Mercedes records report.

I have OCD and have found lots and lots of EQB data cards online with missing equipment, and in each case there's been a three character equipment code with an attached credit, so it appears that the missing equipment is often credited.

Good know. We'll make sure we have the correct mats.

In fact, I do. They are standard on the 350 in the USA along with the pano roof—which is why the Prestige package is less expensive on the 350.

I'm actually glad we are not getting the MB 120V charging cable for $250. I bought a Tesla mobile charging cable that includes swappable 120V and 240V (14-50) plugs and a TeslaTap adapter. I'll toss that in the back for a backup and also to use at home in an emergency (with a 14-50 outlet in the garage) since our level 2 charger is restricted to 11pm-to-7am for heavily discounted rates. I doubt we'll ever use it more than a handful of times since we can easily charge every evening, but I figured it's better to be prepared.

We also have a GL350 with >650 miles range @75mph for road trips anyway. The EQB is a suburban/city car for us.

Thanks for taking the time. It is useful.

 

This is good info, my car has yet to be built so i dont know actuals yet. What specifically do I need to request to see the level of detail of the expected build? Attached is what I have now, am I missing anything for Driver assistance?

 

I'd say you look good.

FYI, be careful as there have been mistakes, typos, and omissions in many of the documents from MB. For example, it looks like you might be missing 'Distronic Active Steering Assist' in the Drivers Assistance Lite package, but that's option 266 and simply mis-named on your printout. It would not shock me if an updated printout from your dealer has corrected info.

 

I ordered one EQB with the 3rd row... when it arrived the dealership they called me there only to find out it had no 3rd row...

 

I put a deposit it with the dealer (Fletcher Jones So Cal) for the '23 EQB 350. Waited several weeks and was told that the order was still in the order bank and still has not been released. The dealer hasn't heard back from the factory and suspects that the factories are prioritizing the 250s and 300s, and could delay the 350s. Anyone have insights on this?

 

Seems odd, IMHO, considering the hardware similarity between the 300 and 350. One would think that MB would be prioritizing 350s for fatter margins.

That said, Fletcher Jones is the largest MB dealer in the country. If they can’t get allocations, or even a straight story, nobody can. Or the cynic inside me would wonder if they have “sold” more EQBs than they should have and have created their own backlog?

Of course, we have also heard that certain options and features are constrained. Select an option that’s in short supply and I could see an order stuck in limbo.