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I may just go do the BMW driving experience thing at the plant, just in case that's the direction we go in. This rollout of the 450 is strange, at least it seems so to me.
GregW wrote "Grrrr....still no change - showing 3/13 completion."
Just spoke to the Sales Manager of my dealer, 'they are experiencing delays in sourcing parts.' I have been on B4 since early February. Now appear to be looking at early April.
On the one hand it’s disconcerting that they have this shut down and delay. But a lot of companies would keep cranking out product and deal with the issues down the road. A production shutdown for 2 weeks will cost Mercedes a boatload of cash. It may not even be a Mercede’s issue since so many components are outsourced. I’m not going to jump ship for a BMW that has lots of known quality issues. Every time I make a decision on impulse I usually regret it later.
I am watching the news feeds to see if there is anything being reported. Mercedes would normally keep Stock Market Analysts appraised about potential issues to avoid an unexpected loss. Not good for the stock price!
GregW wrote "Grrrr....still no change - showing 3/13 completion."
Just spoke to the Sales Manager of my dealer, 'they are experiencing delays in sourcing parts.' I have been on B4 since early February. Now appear to be looking at early April.
Originally Posted by Ron.s
On the one hand it’s disconcerting that they have this shut down and delay. But a lot of companies would keep cranking out product and deal with the issues down the road. A production shutdown for 2 weeks will cost Mercedes a boatload of cash. It may not even be a Mercede’s issue since so many components are outsourced. I’m not going to jump ship for a BMW that has lots of known quality issues. Every time I make a decision on impulse I usually regret it later.
I am watching the news feeds to see if there is anything being reported. Mercedes would normally keep Stock Market Analysts appraised about potential issues to avoid an unexpected loss. Not good for the stock price!
I can understand there might be parts shortages or other production issues, especially early in a run, but there should be a way to keep the dealer advised on a new estimated production date, especially for sold customer orders. I’ve been waiting 4 1/2 months for this, and first it was to be completed 2/27, then it slipped to 3/13, now ??? I have someone waiting to buy my car and I have to keep telling him it’s delayed. This makes for a very poor customer experience, especially for us early adopters that are brand promoters.
My gripe is that with every month/miles on car, we will get less for our trade-ins. But, can't be helped.
I too wish they would be more forthcoming with the dealers, and more specific about what the delays are actually about.
I can understand there might be parts shortages or other production issues, especially early in a run, but there should be a way to keep the dealer advised on a new estimated production date, especially for sold customer orders. I’ve been waiting 4 1/2 months for this, and first it was to be completed 2/27, then it slipped to 3/13, now ??? I have someone waiting to buy my car and I have to keep telling him it’s delayed. This makes for a very poor customer experience, especially for us early adopters that are brand promoters.
I agree 100%. There is no excuse for the lack of communication by Mercedes and they are accountable for the delay. Just like the apparent holdup with EPA certification, something is amiss. I do give them credit if they called a halt to production....but they may not have had a choice so will reserve judgement.
As we saw with Elon Musk tweets, there are ramifications to information releases that can affect stock prices. Hopefully they are waiting-not to dodge the issue but to be certain that they can report accurately.
I’m in the same boat on having sold my Vehicle. I set the deal to close April 5th thinking that was conservative based on March 1st decade build schedule. I have to let my vehicle go so will be inconvenienced for a while. MERCEDES owes Greg a big favor and should give you a high priority....but it’s a big Co. and the decision makers probably have no way to know about your contributions on their behalf.
I didn’t have much time so put a complaint together in haste. Here’s what I wrote....
“I am a first time Mercedes customer and I am active on the Mercedes Forum. You are losing business and alienating your existing customers with the delays and lack of communication to the dealer. Buyers have purchased or are considering buying a BMW/Audi because of the delays and lack of communication to the Dealer. I won’t list all of the circumstances but trust me, there are numerous buyers reporting the same delays and the Dealer never has any information from Mercedes.“I have had a 2020 GLE 450 ordered since November of 2018, a vehicle with MSRP of $80+. Mercedes apparently has production issues that seem to be delaying scheduled build dates. I have ordered many new cars so I am not naive to the process and understand that dates are tentative. My tentative build date moved 3 weeks without notice. It’s now scheduled for 3-26 but I know that won’t happen. Now buyers are reporting that their unit with Serial number and build dates almost two weeks ago have no build and no explanation...the Dealer as usual has nothing but a stale date. Rumor is that Mercedes has all but stopped production and that it could last more than a week or two. This isn’t coming from the Dealer...they don’t have any information. Production delays are certainly costly to Mercedes but many of us are at a loss relating to the lack of communication. At least update the online schedules and give your dealer something to report. You probably have no idea how this affects your customers with orders pending and the damage to your image. “
I didn’t have much time so put a complaint together in haste. Here’s what I wrote....
“I am a first time Mercedes customer and I am active on the Mercedes Forum. You are losing business and alienating your existing customers with the delays and lack of communication to the dealer. Buyers have purchased or are considering buying a BMW/Audi because of the delays and lack of communication to the Dealer. I won’t list all of the circumstances but trust me, there are numerous buyers reporting the same delays and the Dealer never has any information from Mercedes.“I have had a 2020 GLE 450 ordered since November of 2018, a vehicle with MSRP of $80+. Mercedes apparently has production issues that seem to be delaying scheduled build dates. I have ordered many new cars so I am not naive to the process and understand that dates are tentative. My tentative build date moved 3 weeks without notice. It’s now scheduled for 3-26 but I know that won’t happen. Now buyers are reporting that their unit with Serial number and build dates almost two weeks ago have no build and no explanation...the Dealer as usual has nothing but a stale date. Rumor is that Mercedes has all but stopped production and that it could last more than a week or two. This isn’t coming from the Dealer...they don’t have any information. Production delays are certainly costly to Mercedes but many of us are at a loss relating to the lack of communication. At least update the online schedules and give your dealer something to report. You probably have no idea how this affects your customers with orders pending and the damage to your image. “
Great idea Greg. I’ve avoided all the Social Media but it’s got a lot of eyeballs and should get you some response. Your nice approach will be more effective than mine, I was a little too harsh.
My luck is bad on another front. I ordered a new Honda Talon Side by Side a few months ago. It was shipping last week but Honda found a Safety issue with a weld and now it’s sitting at shipping waiting with almost 400 others for a roll cage replacement. Not a big deal but even Robots make mistakes....and repeat them over and over and over, Apparently the Robot developed a slight hiccup a few weeks ago and it was so obscure that it went unnoticed.
It's a good question Beth. I've been very pleased with my last three MB's and was certain we were ready to downsize to the GLE. When they first revealed the GLE the first thing that struck me was the interior looked a bit underwhelming (plain looking dash design and the seat covers are somewhat plain). While it's fully functional it didn't have that 'wow factor' I've came to expect from MB. But I put those feelings aside and focused on the overall design including MBUX. Early reports stated MBUX would support wireless Apple CarPlay which is important to me personally. When the GLE finally was available for testing and I learned they are not (yet) supporting wireless CarPlay I was disappointed. In the past I've generally focused on a the car I wanted and didn't really look at the competition so this time around I decided to get an up close look at the new BMW X5, a direct competitor to the GLE. I was very impressed with how far BMW had come since their 1st-gen X5 which was the last one I test drove. But the 2nd row leg room was still not as generous as the new GLE and that is very important to us. So the test drive confirmed for me that the GLE was still the better choice for our needs. A week or so later the BMW salesman called me to let us know they received their first shipments of three X7's and would I like to take one of those for a test drive. I couldn't resist. When I saw the X7 for the for the first time I felt that 'wow factor' and when they opened it up and I saw that beautiful interior my heart began to sway. But the test drive really did me in, it's such a fun vehicle to drive, very quiet, and very composed. Their new tech package is equally impressive. But the one thing I feel BMW got right was the dash design. It's just beautiful IMO. And the seats are beautiful and very comfortable, remind me of the designo seats in our GLS. They loaded it with tons of impressive tech throughout. Again 'wow factor' all over the place. The 2nd row leg room is as generous as the GLE with the powered 2nd row moved all the way back. The reason they powered that 2nd row is the same reason I feel MB powered the GLE's 2nd row when you opt for the 3rd row seating, so you can move the 2nd row forward to make more leg room for people sitting in the 3rd row. And it supports wireless CarPlay. For me this is a huge plus. Now when I get in the X7 my iPhone pairs with the head unit and CarPlay is instantly available without me even touching my phone. This means I can make and receive phone calls, text messages, and listen to the music on my phone completely wireless. I can call up Waze or Google Maps in a flash. And when I get out of the X7, no need to unplug my phone.
The GLE I had on order is nearly fully loaded and I'm sure it will offer some wow factor also. Whoever ends up with that build will no doubt be happy. But I realized at $96,000 for the GLE, we could own a loaded 40i X7 for the same exact money. We ended up buying a 50i X7 (V8 engine) with a MSRP of $106,000 because of the great deal they offered us, 5% off MSRP and $65,000 for our GLS and we get 3 years of included maintenance. We just couldn't pass up that offer. As I said in my post last night, I've always secretly wanted to own a BMW, the previous generation X5's just didn't quite do it for us. Their new X7 checks all the boxes. For those like you Beth waiting for a new GLE, you can always give the X5 or X7 a look. It will either confirm your decision to buy a new GLE or give you something else to think about as it did for me. The more we know the better off we are.
As for BMW reliability, that is a concern for us and if it turns our the X7 is not reliable, we'll simply trade it on another car in the future. I can say the Mercedes we owned were very reliable and the dealership was great to us. The guys at the BMW shop were equally impressive to deal with but we'll see how that goes in the coming years.
I know I've been rambling on but I wanted to provide a reasonable reply to your question Beth.
Congratulations on your new Bimmer! I hope you drive her in great health and happiness. Though I've been a lurker for the most part on this side of the forum after getting my E450, I know you've been a great contributing member on this forum and I'm sure many will miss your input greatly.
Congratulations on your new Bimmer! I hope you drive her in great health and happiness. Though I've been a lurker for the most part on this side of the forum after getting my E450, I know you've been a great contributing member on this forum and I'm sure many will miss your input greatly.
Again, congratulations on the new ride!
Very kind of you. I'll keep watching this forum in the coming weeks and months to read everybody's reactions to their new GLE's as they begin to arrive. Better days ahead for all of you.
Well, now I am embarrassed! The day I sent my complaint, my GLE finished production-4 days early. Shows done as of this morning. I had mine fairly loaded but with just the air suspension. That kind of narrows the delay of Greg’s and Joe’s down to the E-ABC so apparently the Mercedes factory is humming along.
I might have mine by the 15th to 20th of April if shipping gets back to normal.
Well, now I am embarrassed! The day I sent my complaint, my GLE finished production-4 days early. Shows done as of this morning. I had mine fairly loaded but with just the air suspension. That kind of narrows the delay of Greg’s and Joe’s down to the E-ABC so apparently the Mercedes factory is humming along.
I might have mine by the 15th to 20th of April if shipping gets back to normal.
Good news for you! As heavily as E-ABC was promoted at launch, you'd think they would have had a quantity of parts premanufactured. Well, it's all speculation at this point - could be a number or reasons some are delayed.
Good news for you! As heavily as E-ABC was promoted at launch, you'd think they would have had a quantity of parts premanufactured. Well, it's all speculation at this point - could be a number or reasons some are delayed.
Mine is Polar White and they batch colors so.....maybe Greg has his in this batch too! I assume they are working through the weekend so maybe Monday you will get some good news. I keep telling myself there’s no hurry but we all know that’s a lie. Once you order each day seems like 2 or 3.
Mine is Polar White and they batch colors so.....maybe Greg has his in this batch too! I assume they are working through the weekend so maybe Monday you will get some good news. I keep telling myself there’s no hurry but we all know that’s a lie. Once you order each day seems like 2 or 3.
From the MBUSI website: "...At this point the bodies are sent to the ASRS (AUTOMATED STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM) where the painted bodies are stored. The ASRS enables a Just-In-Time automated storage and retrieval of any painted body that our Production Control department orders. Upon order the painted body automatically travel to the appropriate assembly shop. Typically at the same time they will send a signal to our JIT/in-sequence suppliers to build the parts for that vehicle. The parts will arrive on the line at the same time as the body arrives."
So, it sounds like there is a supply of bodies of different colors waiting to enter the assembly process. That's why you see cars of different colors moving down the line. I'm guessing that's when the VIN gets assigned, when it enters the line. I've had a VIN since at least 3/4. I'm guessing it's setting partially complete waiting for some part(s) that are delayed. With JIT a supply truck crashing or any small thing can upset the flow of materials.
From the MBUSI website: "...At this point the bodies are sent to the ASRS (AUTOMATED STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM) where the painted bodies are stored. The ASRS enables a Just-In-Time automated storage and retrieval of any painted body that our Production Control department orders. Upon order the painted body automatically travel to the appropriate assembly shop. Typically at the same time they will send a signal to our JIT/in-sequence suppliers to build the parts for that vehicle. The parts will arrive on the line at the same time as the body arrives."
So, it sounds like there is a supply of bodies of different colors waiting to enter the assembly process. That's why you see cars of different colors moving down the line. I'm guessing that's when the VIN gets assigned, when it enters the line. I've had a VIN since at least 3/4. I'm guessing it's setting partially complete waiting for some part(s) that are delayed. With JIT a supply truck crashing or any small thing can upset the flow of materials.
Every assembly line video I’ve seen has no more than 2-3 colors. The Mercedes C Class one had White and Gray. As I understand paint booths they paint all one color for a time and then change to another but more modern ones probably allow more flexibility. Unless it’s changed they have some cleaning to do as they change the color. I can visualize a modern plant having each color similar to a beer tap. If they do that changing colors might be as simple as changing the spray nozzles and a few hoses. Someone needs to tour the plant and find out, LOL.
Any rough guesses for a GLE 450 ordered on 3/19? Dealer staff guessing late May to early June.
There's not enough of a track record to hazard a guess. There have been few if any custom orders delivered yet. Mine, ordered first day back on 11/4, is now 10 days past the already slipped 2 weeks date. Assuming the plant gets running smoothly, that estimate sounds plausible.
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