glcv

Just wanted to see if this happened with anyone else here.

I went to a dealership to place an order for a GLC 300. The sales person was friendly and patiently went through all the options. He showed a printout of a vehicle details that was in transit to see if we are interested, but we wanted all the options except for one minor change - so wanted to place a custom order. He made a note of it on that printout and said there are no available slots to place an order and would need to get it from their other store and will let me know after the order is placed. No deposit was asked, but I had to fill up credit application for the vehicle and that was it. No other documents provided.

1. I certainly wasn't expecting this, as I thought I would go through the build and ordering process with the salesman and leave the store with an order number, pricing info, etc. Has anyone else been in the same situation?

2. He said there will be a credit check now and there will be another when (if) I decide to finance with MBF at the time of delivery of the vehicle - two hard credit checks in total. Is this normal?

guhvies

If the dealership is going to be financing the car then I'd say they could do it at the time of financing. They could ask you for a non-refundable deposit once your order has been accepted. However, if they aren't financing the car, you could refuse to give them permission to do the credit check. But then I don't live where you do...

Mr. J

2 hard inquiries seems strange. We special ordered and financed our C450 last year and we have a GLC43 on the way, so I have a little experience with this process.

The when we ordered the C450 we placed a deposit with a cc. There was no credit check until we picked up the vehicle and worked out financing. Early on I believe the sales rep asked us something along the lines of "there's no issue with your credit right?", or something to that effect. I told him no and I think he told me that MBUSA top tier rates apply somewhere in the low 700s for FICO. We negotiated discount and the sales rep entered the PO. Once the PO was accepted, he emailed me a copy to review.

We special ordered the GLC 43 last Fall. The sales rep told up that since we were repeat customers they did not require us to put down a deposit for the vehicle. I suspect the fact that these vehicles are in high demand right now also helped influence that decision. We negotiated discount and waited for the PO to be submitted. The sales rep sent me a copy to review and a few months later he contacted me when the vehicle had hit the production phase. We still haven't paid anything or had any credit inquiries run at this time.


A hard inquiry can depress a credit score for a few months. Many hard inquiries within a short time frame are usually treated as one because they usually are the result of shopping for a credit line of some sort. Two hard inquiries spread over time will depress your credit score more because they will be treated as separate events.

This doesn't really matter if you have great credit. But if your credit is in the low 700s, two hard inquiries could bump you out of the top tier rates.

You should know exactly what you can and cannot afford and what your future financial plans are. A small dip in your credit score could be uneventful or it could be hugely impactful if you are planning to purchase or refi property in the next 6 months. If you put down a deposit that should be enough good faith investment to avoid the hard inquiry.

Sigp232

Ordered GLC300 last August from So Cal dealer. Didn't ask for a deposit or credit check. Customed ordered what I wanted gave me my order sheet called me 4 months later when car was here and did financing with MBZ same day when picked up car. And that was first time I did business with that sales man.

rihallix

Ordered a GLC43 custom to order. Required a deposit via credit card. No credit check. This was in California. One dealer wanted $500 fully refundable deposit, another dealer (the one I went with) $2,000. The former dealer refunded the $500 without issue when I asked him to match the latter dealers price on theGLC 43 and he wouldn't match.

however also was going to order one coming from another dealer - for this they did require me to come in and I believe apply for credit. But the day I was going to do this the car sold at the other dealership.

good luck

glcv

Thanks everyone. I am in California as well. Looks like I will need to ask for the order sheet and to not run the credit check until delivery date.

MB-AMGDan

I too was asked (in Virginia) to fill out a "Credit Application" ... well, they INSISTED ... in spite of my protest. This was in addition to a $1000 deposit, and my assurance that I had a pre-approved line from my bank (essentially a cash-deal for them).
The "application" was entered via a link to "dealerinfo . com" with "elead" buried in the link ...hint-hint. Surmised it was some big-MBrother data mining thing ... I did choose to leave blank a lot of personal info. They never came back.

That was back in Dec - there never was a hard-check on my credit.

psgmolina

I live in the east coast and shopped around for the best offer i could get on a GLC 300 with the options i wanted. Not one dealer requested or told me that they had to run a credit check on me.

dieseldoc

Never had a credit check when I ordered a car.

SmokinBuddha

No credit check to order a custom GLC43 coupe. Only asked for $500 deposit

pkattack

I bought my GLC in SoCal. They ran a credit check when I bought the car (probably to give them some piece of mind that my check wouldn't bounce). I didn't get two credit checks.

Wassaby

I will go and talked with the GM to see why the sales person had to do this. Credit check or filling up a credit application for ordering a car is not normal especially you don't have one in order ,unless is a $$$K or more i see the point of credit check.

A nonrefundable $$$$ deposit for special order should have been enough and you should get a PO#.

fabbrisd1

It is at the discretion of the dealer - due to the HIGH# of exports - for cash orders - or is salesman/sales-mgr "feel" something sketchy - taking Credit App information is a way of stiffening up a little bit - without being too standoffish... I don't care who here "agree's" or "I am trying to be helpful - but these are ALL questions to be worked out thru the Mercedes dealer you choose to do business with ...
" - frankly it's big money penalty for a dealer if they don't tighten this issue quickly this year over last year.... the Export thing has been absolutely positively HORRIBLE !

Wassaby

We're talking about GLC. I think this model is not on the EXP list. GLS (first place) G S GTS are the ones desirable for Export.

fabbrisd1

GLC's too buddy - very short worldwide supply - and export ordering here to get the features/interiors they want - also black Metris - can you believe ?

Keep the beat !

mtberman

Ordered a 2018 GLC yesterday. In the past, I've ordered a couple of Subarus, two Audis, a Ford, and a BMW. I've always been asked for my name, address, etc. and a photo ID. Nothing else, except the deposit of course. I have been asked to complete a credit application for a credit check prior to delivery.

The last two times I ordered cars, I wasn't even there. I did it via email and did the deposit by phone.

tabbibus

Did you mean to say 2018 GLC? Didn't know those were out yet. If so, please pass along this info!

mtberman

Sorry if I wasn't clear: I didn't buy one yesterday, I ordered one. 2018 GLC300 4matic. It's scheduled for production the first half of June.

The remaining 2017s are spoken for, either as ordered cars or for dealer stock. Orders placed since about March 5 or so are for 2018s. Production of MY2018 cars starts around June 1. Let me know if you need any other info!

tabbibus

Thanks for the info. How did you place the order? If I try to build a GLC on the MBUSA site it doesn't seem to be the 2018 (can't see option for android auto for example).

mtberman

I started with the 2018 ordering guide on this forum. Here's a link:

https://mbworld.org/forums/glc-class...th-2017-a.html

I then made a list of exactly what I wanted like this:

2018 GLC300 4matic
896 Brilliant Blue
101 Black MB-Tex
51U Black headliner
H09 Natural grain brown ash
P01 Premium pkg
413 Panorama roof
443 Heated steering wheel
632 LED headlamps
810 Burmester sound

... and so on.

The 2018 order guide is critical. Packages have changed and the trim I prefer (natural grain BROWN ash) is now available for 2018. Otherwise you're sort of guessing or you're at the mercy of a dealer who might put something you don't want in there (like the wrong color headliner) by mistake.

I then emailed my list to the dealer who had quoted the best price on an order. He sent back the order details to confirm it was exactly what I wanted and Bam it was done.

tabbibus

You are the man (or woman)! Do you have a sense of when it will be delivered?

mtberman

Sorry to the OP for hijacking your thread!

It's in a slot in the first round of MY2018 production, the first half of June. He said it could be on a boat before June 30 which would probably be mid-July-ish delivery.

They said they'll keep me updated and to be prepared for July 5-10, just in case.

Wassaby

If production is first half of June expect to see delivery very end of July at the best.

mtberman

The unlikely-but-possible early to mid-July estimate is based on what the sales manager said has been his experience. My experiences with other cars include 2 Audis about a year apart that both took 45 days after the build week to arrive. Our BMW took only 35 days including a trip through the Panama Canal. The Benz is processed in Baltimore and then trucked to where I live (Colorado) while the others all went to Cali first.

I can't imagine it taking a whole lot longer, but maybe they're just slower than the other brands.

This is my first Mercedes Benz product so I'm keeping an open mind and low expectations. August is fine.