nsoltz

My dealer did not even want a deposit for our order since we are repeat customers. We insisted on leaving a $1K deposit. We also had in writing that the deposit was fully refundable if we changed our mind even after arrival of car.

ENCT

I all reality what is a refundable deposit worth to a dealer?

nsoltz

Might just be some kind of indication of sincerity of buyer. That's why my dealer asked for a deposit with the first car we ordered from him but subsequently didn't want one. It was my wife who insisted on leaving a deposit.

mikapen

Sounds like she's the smart one of the lot. It's a business transaction. If M-B or the bank who floor-plans found out those shoddy practices, the Dealer might jeopardize it's line of credit, or even lose allocations.
You have seen an instance, on this forum, of an "ordered but not secured with deposit" car getting sold to a real buyer because every person at the Dealership wasn't aware of the Handshake Deal. If you want the car, negotiate and write a check!

ENCT

I agree that a deposit should be put down, however I do not understand the refundable portion of the law. When I purchased a new construction home the deposit was non refundable as written in the contract. Sucks to be the dealer who has a customer with multiple deposits and orders on the same car just to take the first available and cancel the rest.

BACnMercedes

Had a few personal business hiccups (took up a lot of my time and I couldn’t get to the car or deal) but finally finalized the 580 and picked it up today. We worked a deal on everything involved and I’ll even be getting a new grill.
Using forum math from these threads I feel as though I got about 9.5% off.

ENCT

Glad it worked out, post some pictures when you can.

BACnMercedes

It’s been a little busy. I jinxed myself with the earlier attorney comment. But here he/she/it is.

nsoltz

Gorgeous! Enjoy

Vegas Benz

I like that grill. What grill are you getting?

BACnMercedes

The panamericana grill. The diamond grill just does not do it for me, or my wife.

Vegas Benz

Your GLE looks beautiful! The panamericana grill is also nice. I have my 450 being built January 28 with the standard grill that is very plain, but I didn't want to spend $4k or so for the AMG badging. If the car is all I expect, I plan to upgrade the Burmester system and probably get an aftermarket grill. I hope you enjoy your new car!

TempeAndy

We just took delivery of our 580 yesterday (posted pictures on the pinned 2020 GLE Owners Pictures thread). So far so good! And wife is happy so that's a great thing (it's her daily driver).

(1) Speaking of grills: when we got it home, our 12 year old was not impressed with the grill and struggled to find the nicest way to say so, lol.
(2) One small but pleasant surprise is that it came equipped with air balance (scented) even though it was not listed on the order ... we only ordered the ionization option.
(3) I was hoping it would arrive with the same performance brakes that were on the '20 models, but you can't have everything. I didn't expect them, since several others posted on this forum they dropped this for the '21 models.
(4) We did not observe any craftsmanship problems with panel fit (e.g. the fuel filler door problem) or leather fit (no wrinkles that seemed out of place). I tend to notice these things more over time, though, so will report back if anything catches my eye.

marchgroupinc

You can change the grille. Some of us prefer the Panamericana grille and made the change

ENCT

Congratulations, let me know if you smell any fragrance? I have mine set up but don't smell a thing. Also let me know in awhile if the rear brakes dust more than the fronts? Seems to me the front pads may be standard and the rears may be performance pads. Anyway good luck with the new ride, hope your wife enjoys it, mine does.

alex_10d

TempeAndy: Your new car looks fantastic.
I've noticed that you didn't get Driver Assistance Package or Parking package ( not sure about their proper names).
Did you think they were not worth getting? I'm sort of struggling if I should get those.
Also, how do you like the ride on 22'' wheels? Is it still pretty smooth?
Thanks and enjoy your beautiful car

TempeAndy

Thanks!

With regards to packages: I don't think the 580 has a parking package, but it comes with surround view and "find a parking spot" feature as standard equipment.

The Driver Assistance Package, based on my reading of this forum and experience with my wife's Q7 (that she traded in), it's more of a nuisance than a benefit to many. Only option on that package we'd be likely to use would be Distronic, and by itself that option is not worth US$2k for us due to how infrequently we use it now on the Q7. The standard safety equipment on the current generation includes the basic things we would like, e.g. collision detection and emergency braking, so we feel the active collision avoidance is not necessary.

Was thinking about ordering 20" originally, but the 22" wheels are what the test drive vehicle had (a 2020 580) and my wife was super happy with the drive and handling so I didn't want to mess with that formula. Arizona generally has very nice roads (compared to Milwaukee/Chicago area where the winters take a heavy toll). Speaking of wheels, when we took delivery, another couple was taking delivery of a 350 with 19" wheels and it didn't look proper at all: undersized and with a very large wheel well gap. I think GregW pointed out elsewhere that the diameter of the 19" is much smaller.

TempeAndy

I did read that also, that the fragrance is very subtle. I could smell it when I first unboxed and installed it, but the "new car" smell is overpowering most everything else at the moment.

digital_b

its not called the panamericana grille. its the amg specific grille

Ron.s

The name may vary from time to time but Mercedes adopted the name for the Vertical slats...here’s a short cut and paste of its origin from a race...

”Nowadays, the story of the ’52 Carrera Panamericana race is mostly forgotten but the Panamericana grille has proved to be highly popular as it ended up being adopted by a number of high-performance AMG-tuned models including the A35 AMG, the C63 AMG, the GLC63 AMG, the S Class Coupe, the CLA, and the CLS.”

mercedesmax

Yes, but they dropped the Panamericana name since it is too close to the Porsche Panamera. Now it is referred to as the AMG specific grille.

BACnMercedes

When I called a few weeks ago before my car came in trying to get pricing and availability, the parts guy said, “this one says Panamericana grill.”

makris0000

I think everyone still refers to it as the Panamericana grill. I call it the panorama or AMG grill