PigletEllen

This is my first post and my first MB. I have learned so much from this forum (thank you!) and hope someone can help me with this, and maybe it will help others.

I have been researching my new car for over a year. I waited for the X1's to come out (lack of blind spot monitoring quickly ruled that out), I waited for the GLA's to come out, then I heard about the GLC and waited for that to come out. I finally decided in the spring to order a 2016 GLC for European Delivery, and I was ready to do so right when they closed the ordering of the 2016's. I literally missed it by days. The 2017's European Delivery was too late for our plans to visit Europe so that was a huge disappointment.

So I ordered a 2017 GLC at the end of April. I ordered the Premium Package 4 that was in effect in the DOG at the time. One of the options we wanted was the Burmester Sound System. According to the DOG, that was included in PP 2, so therefore it was included in PP 4. Therefore, I did not order it as a stand alone option.

As you probably know, since then the packages have been changed around. There is no longer a PP 4, and you can only get the Burmester as a stand alone option.

My car has been built, and I confirmed with the dealer the pricing yesterday. However, I noticed in the pricing that it specifies PP 3 (because there is no PP 4), and there is no Burmester listed under PP 3. My dealer is looking into it, but he also doesn't see that the car has the Burmester.

When I ordered it, I even went through all the stand alone options I WASN'T ordering to make sure I didn't miss something. We didn't select the Burmester stand-alone option because it was supposed to be in the PP we did select.

I'm hoping this is just some kind of mistake in the details, and that the car really has the Burmester, but I have a feeling that the DOG was simply wrong, and they did not include it in the PP even though the DOG indicated it was included. I think I'll find out tomorrow.

My question is - has anyone else 1) ordered a 2017 GLC in the spring and 2) ordered at least PP 2 expecting the Burmester and 3) didn't order the stand-alone Burmester? If so, can you please let me (and others) know if your car actually has the Burmester?

If it doesn't have it, I'm not accepting the car. This is a huge purchase for me, and I want it right. Unfortunately, my ordered car also has Burl Walnut interior, which is the only interior I want, and I know that is back ordered. So if they have to order another car for me, I'm going to have to wait probably 3 months to order it, and another 3 months to get it in order to get exactly what I want.

Finally, what should MB do to make this right for me? The dealer is giving me the 7% discount I would have gotten with the European Delivery, since I had just missed out on that. I think that's a good deal for a brand new model year, but I don't think that's a good deal if I have to wait another 6 months for the car because the original DOG had a mistake on it. Should MB do something to make this better for me if the car doesn't have something the DOG said was in a PP that I ordered?

I'm really hoping the car has Burmester, but I'm not optimistic. I think maybe someone is trying to tell me this isn't the right car for me.... first I couldn't get the European Delivery, now I may not have the car I thought I'd have unless I wait another 6 months for it...

Any comments/suggestions you have would be welcome.

Thanks!

fabbrisd1

Your dealer can download/save the "extended" build/factory sheet on your GLC - and email you a copy - and that sheet will show you EXACTLY what that GLC has... there is no "gray" area.. each package will show exactly what features are in that package, and each indiv option will be shown.

If that factory/build is "locked down" with no further changes allowed - then your dealer can configure/price the exact rig you want for their next open/changeable factory slot.

Keep the beat !

PigletEllen

Thanks. I think that is what the dealer emailed me, with the pricing. It shows PP 3 and no Burmester, so I'm pretty sure there is no Burmester on the car. Even though the DOG in effect when I ordered it showed Burmester WAS included in the PP (2 and therefore 4) that I ordered, I now think it wasn't actually included on the car. I think the DOG was wrong at that time.

jjt1234

My understanding was there was a DOG dated May 31 that did show Burmeister in various packages, but the DOG was changed June 30 and they reconfigured packages to where I think it was a stand alone option?

sszyma

Walk away if it is not what you want. 7% is not that great of a discount.

northcoast

I was in the same boat as you. I ordered P4 when the DOG listed it, but then it was changed to P3 after I ordered, when the DOG changed. However, they automatically included the Burmester in the build (but did charge me $850 for it, since it is now a stand alone option!).

If you have it, it should be listed on the build sheet that your sales person sent you.

Good luck!

PigletEllen

Thanks everyone. As expected, "my" GLC came in very loaded, but without Burmester. I have to decide now whether to take delivery of it, or reorder, recognizing I'll have to wait months given that the Burl Walnut trim is backordered. We are leaning towards the reorder option.

I'm very disappointed in MB that they didn't include the Burmester, since it was included in the DOG for the Premium Package we ordered at the time. Mine was probably one of the very first 2017's GLCs ordered. I suspect this got corrected in time, but not in enough time to get it added to my build.

The car sure is nice looking though. But it will be even nicer looking when it is right. We are still thinking about it, but I think we will end up reordering.

clarst

Sorry to hear that, Ellen. I agree that they should have included everything you ordered at the time.
Even though it is a bummer to have to wait, I also would order again to get what I wanted. We placed an order last Monday, as none of the vehicles in stock for the last couple of months was even close to our desired build. It will really be nice to get a vehicle exactly as we want it.
Best of luck!

Ian of Sydney

After waiting 4 months for the car, the same happened to me. In the end took the vehicle because didn't want to wait another 3 to 4 months.


Another point to consider. Before rejecting the vehicle you may wish to test the Burmester in a long term loan GLC. Surprisingly it is not even close to the Burmester you get with the E class (and possibly other models which I do not have excess to). If you are not completely happy with the Burmester(like many owners), try asking the dealer to upgrade you to a Focal system or similar at their expense.


Either way I am sure you will enjoy the GLC.

RedwinGV

Did you listen to the standard audio and compare it against the upgrade? I mention this as I find the quality of the Sirius Bcasts not being all that great (which I listen to a lot) If you use other media, you'll hear a bigger difference.

So give a listen to what you might typically listen to. I do have the Burm system and do enjoy it, but I wonder how much I would be giving up if I didn't have it.

Audio is funny this way, IMO. I think one gets acclimated to the quality of the sounds. The bar keeps getting set higher and higher. But the ears get accustomed to better quality and the wow factor can be diminished as days go by.

But, if you'll be questioning your choice every time you listen, you might just want to drop the coin.... and pay for the time to get it.

Ian of Sydney

The first comparison was between 2015 E with Burmester (employer owned ),2016 GLC Burmester (employer owned) and a 2016 GLC with standard sound (loan car) The latter was simply terrible/ unacceptable and MB should be ashamed. Moreover there was a very significant difference between the two cars with Burmester; the E was outstanding, but this may have something to do with it being a sedan.


The second comparison was between a GLC with Burmester and a GLC with Focal; both employer owned. For me the Focal had the better sound by a small margin but the upgrade would cost more than the Burmester. Of course Redwin has a good point in that sound quality is subjective.


My point is that it may be possible for Piglet to keep the standard car so that she/ he doesn't have to wait for a new order, provided the dealer upgrades the standard stereo to his like.

PigletEllen

Thanks for everyone's responses. We did listen to both the standard stereo and the Burmester. My husband could definitely hear a difference, but I'm not sure I could. Coming from my 13 year old non-luxury car, they both sounded great.

That said, I WOULD always wonder what I was missing, and some time in the future I might not like it as much and start thinking I should have gotten the Burmester. When I looked more into what the Burmester offered, the fact that it has 13 speakers compared to something like 6 in the standard setup made me think it would be hard to just upgrade the speakers to get a comparable system. The dealer didn't offer to upgrade with Focals (I have Focals in my house for surround sound, and they are very nice).

In the end, it was obvious that the right thing to do was to re-order, wait until the Burl Walnut came in, and then wait again for the car to get built and delivered. So that is what we will do.

Thanks for everyone's comments and help!

Madman7

Ellen, you made the right decision. When I was shopping I took my favorite test disc (Steely Dan's 'Aja', title track, at about 4:20 when the sax and drums start dueling, turned up loud) which really gives sound systems a workout - at least for my musical tastes which are all over the map but center on jazz, guitar blues, and AOR. There was a very clear difference between the Burmester and the standard sound. Much tighter and more dynamic with Burmester. The Burnester sound with EQ flat is a bit brighter than I prefer, but easily fixed with the EQ. Having heard both, I wouldn't buy it with the standard system. I got lucky and found one that was 95% what I wanted already on a boat from Bremen, but getting what you want is well worth the wait.