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Yesterday, I sent an email to MBUSA customer support to see if they might be able to help me regarding status on the 2020 GLE450 I ordered last June. I also drew attention to the very poor communication I've receive from the dealer in Yakima, WA, where I placed my order (with a $1000 deposit) Almost a year later, still no car and silence from the dealer who has my money. I was hoping for some better customer service from MBUSA. Here is their response regarding my issue.
Dear Bill:
Thank you for your email to Mercedes-Benz USA.
Customer feedback is paramount to ensuring that we are providing an unsurpassed ownership experience and we appreciate your contact. Not being directly involved with the circumstances you have described, we trust you understand why we are not in the position to speculate or comment with specifics. Despite these obvious limitations, we do take your concerns very seriously, and are sorry that you have been left with a negative impression.
Since authorized Mercedes-Benz dealers are independently owned, they are responsible for their own business operations, including sales transactions. Accordingly, we have forwarded your letter to the dealerships' management team, for their review.
We thank you for the opportunity to review your concerns.
Kind Regards,
Dana B.
Obviously something is broken here. I guess Mercedes (the best or nothing) is no longer the company that earned my business decades ago, leading me to purchase more than a dozen of their vehicles over the years.
I'm not surprised you got a weak response. What you actually need to do is send a physical letter via a registered delivery to Nicholas Speeks, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA. This is what made the difference for me two years ago.
Also, this thread has me curious regarding my current situation. I placed an order for a C300 on 5/2 -- what steps should I take to confirm the reality of my order, etc? I have a feeling that it's probably doomed given what bcrounse has been experiencing let alone the timing of my order as it relates to COVID
Fabbrisd1,
I finally got through to someone who could help regarding the long delayed order I placed for a 2020 GLE450 (ordered mid-June of 2019). The PO # is 0071564498. If you would be so kind, let me know what you think. Am I likely to get this car? The dealer has offered to refund my deposit and give me first right of refusal when the car arrives at their dealership. My concern now is that I am essentially buying an end-of-year model. Perhaps you could provide some guidance on what kind of "discount" would be reasonable should I still decide to purchase this car? I know there will be significant depreciation the minute I drive it off the lot, even more so as an end of year model. Thank you again for your advice to date and any further help you might offer.
If and when the car arrives @ the dealership and it is in fact still a MY 2020, I think you should be looking for at least a 10-12% discount. We ordered our 450 in late March 2019 when they first came out and were able to get a 4.5% discount out of the gate fairly easily. Glad to hear the dealership is going to refund your deposit.
audi40, Thanks for your advice. My original deal was similar to yours. At least you got your car. I now believe I'll get mine too; probably sometime in late June or early July. I'd like to think that I could negotiate a better deal, but my understanding is that mark-up on these vehicles is perhaps 6 to 8 percent above MSRP which doesn't leave much room for the dealer to make a profit unless Mercedes participates in the discount of end-of-year models. If you wouldn't mind, let me know how happy you are with your 2020 GLE450. Any issues?
RuanNeu, Make sure there is actually a purchase order in your name in StarNet for the car you ordered. The dealer should be able to provide information on when your car is expected to be built and what the "priority" is on your order. If the dealer has plenty of allocations for the model you are buying, they simply go into StarNet and customize one of the cars in their allocation according to the color, interior and options you have ordered. If that is the case, you should get your car within a few months. In my situation, I believe the dealer had very few allocations for the GLE450 and thus the long wait. Also, the GLE is made in Vance, Alabama. I'm not sure where the C300 models are made these days, perhaps still in Germany. Where the cars are made will also affect the timing of your delivery.
audi40, Thanks for your advice. My original deal was similar to yours. At least you got your car. I now believe I'll get mine too; probably sometime in late June or early July. I'd like to think that I could negotiate a better deal, but my understanding is that mark-up on these vehicles is perhaps 6 to 8 percent above MSRP which doesn't leave much room for the dealer to make a profit unless Mercedes participates in the discount of end-of-year models. If you wouldn't mind, let me know how happy you are with your 2020 GLE450. Any issues?
The later GLE450 models have really good quality. No issues. Mine has never been back to the dealer.
While you are right that the invoice is around 6% below MSRP, and even with the holdbacks they are not going to be much below 8 or 9%, you should not think about this from dealer perspective but from buyer perspective as it is your money. The reality is if you take delivery of a 2020 model just before the cut over to the 2021 you are going to take a bath on resale value versus if you got a 2021 just a month later.
I've bought and sold many cars and typically what I see is 20% depreciation for first model year cut over, 40% on second and 50% by third.
But GLE seems to depreciate more. To give a personal example, I was originally shopping for a new GLE450, but I happened to chance upon a perfect condition (had it inspected) 1 month old used GLE450 with 751 miles on the odometer. I bought that car for 20% below MSRP in January. The resale will be even lower when the 2021s come out. So paying top dollar for a 2020 in June makes zero sense from a financial perspective, unless you are leasing it - in which case the depreciation is MBFS's problem.
audi40, Thanks for your advice. My original deal was similar to yours. At least you got your car. I now believe I'll get mine too; probably sometime in late June or early July. I'd like to think that I could negotiate a better deal, but my understanding is that mark-up on these vehicles is perhaps 6 to 8 percent above MSRP which doesn't leave much room for the dealer to make a profit unless Mercedes participates in the discount of end-of-year models. If you wouldn't mind, let me know how happy you are with your 2020 GLE450. Any issues?
We've had it for almost a year now and have been very happy with it (replaced my wife's 2014 ML350 Bluetec). The engine is very smooth and powerful and it gives a solid, comfortable ride even with the base suspension. Only a couple issues with it early on: i) windshield wipers chattered (as reported by others), but this resolved itself after a couple months and getting them broken in, and ii) experienced a "random misfire" the first week we had it which caused the engine to run very rough and threw off a bunch of warning lights (had it flat-bedded to the dealer who resolved the issue in less than an hour...it's been trouble-free ever since with 13k+ miles on it). Other than that, there's a bubble in the leather on the wrist/hand rest on the center console which we plan to get fixed the next time we take it in for service.
As an aside, we're looking forward to taking it on a 1,700 mile road trip in a couple weeks - taking our daughter back to school in IN to clean out her dorm room, and then hopefully will be taking her back to campus in August for the start of fall semester.
Stealth.pilot, great advice. When (if) my car comes in, I will certainly do my best to negotiate a good deal. It will be all cash, no lease. However, I don't see how this low-volume dealer will be able to absorb a loss on the car. And, if I order a 2021, I'll be waiting another six months or longer. I usually buy a new Mercedes during the first year a new model is introduced and keep the car until the next new model comes along (usually 6-7 years). Been doing this for the last 35+ years.
Why in the world did someone buy a GLE450 and then get rid of it with only 750 miles on the odometer, or was it a dealer loaner or demo car? In any event, it appears you got a really sweet deal. Congrats. I'm reassured to know you love the car and haven't had any problems with it.
Thanks for getting back to me and for the helpful information. I just reached out and requested the StartNet PO/Info regarding their allocations. However, I am unfamiliar with StartNet and how to access it, etc. According to the information I've found, they are phasing out C300 production in Vance -- however there are still some vehicles produced from there, as well as the Bremen and South Africa plants. I know that the Bremen plant resumed operations as of 4/27, but unsure about the other two.
Hi again, so I just actually received this from my dealer. According to this, my vehicle is in production at the South Africa plant. Would you mind helping me make sense of the rest of the information? My dealer told me that they're working on the vehicle and "should be able to see the progress within the next few weeks." Thanks!
Hi again, so I just actually received this from my dealer. According to this, my vehicle is in production at the South Africa plant. Would you mind helping me make sense of the rest of the information? My dealer told me that they're working on the vehicle and "should be able to see the progress within the next few weeks." Thanks!
I'm not an expert in StarNet. As you've discovered, only the dealers have access to the system. The status on the car I ordered is the same as yours so I think it will go into production. What I can't see if the box on the far right of the screen that shows the order's "priority. Mine is priority 1 and it shows the car as being sold. See below.
Hi again, so I just actually received this from my dealer. According to this, my vehicle is in production at the South Africa plant. Would you mind helping me make sense of the rest of the information? My dealer told me that they're working on the vehicle and "should be able to see the progress within the next few weeks." Thanks!
I'm not an expert in StarNet. As you've discovered, only the dealers have access to the system. The status on the car I ordered is the same as yours so I think it will go into production. What I can't see is the box on the far right of the screen that shows the order's "priority". Mine is priority 1 and it shows the car as being sold. See below.
[QUOTE=bcrounse;8057378]I'm not an expert in StarNet. As you've discovered, only the dealers have access to the system. The status on the car I ordered is the same as yours so I think it will go into production. What I can't see is the box on the far right of the screen that shows the order's "priority". Mine is priority 1 and it shows the car as being sold. See below.
The picture I was sent of my info doesn’t show me that particular area of the screen, however I see in the listed updates it seems to be Priority 1 as well (below).
next to status, it’s listed as B1 - X13 PROD… do you have any idea what that means? Thanks
B1 means 13 days to production.. See above link for list of Netstar status codes.
this is great information, thank you! Is there anyway to see the date it was first listed as a specific status, for example in order to determine how many days are left in the 13 day period before entering production?
The "Priority 1" is just a flag dealers set when an order is for a custom vs. a stock order which is a lower priority. In theory, it makes it go through the process a little quicker, and VPCs may truck it out first.
The "days until production" isn't always accurate, especially nowadays. From X-13 it goes to X-10, and then to X-2, which is usually when the VIN gets assigned and production could finish a few days after that.
If there is no VIN#, there is still a chance of it getting cancelled.
Those codes are just a guideline. One of my GLS on order has been in B4 status (2 days to completion) since 2/4/2020. It has been quite a bit more than 2 days (101 days to be exact) and it never left B4 status. So take those status in their system as just a guide, nothing firm.
The "Priority 1" is just a flag dealers set when an order is for a custom vs. a stock order which is a lower priority. In theory, it makes it go through the process a little quicker, and VPCs may truck it out first.
The "days until production" isn't always accurate, especially nowadays. From X-13 it goes to X-10, and then to X-2, which is usually when the VIN gets assigned and production could finish a few days after that.
If there is no VIN#, there is still a chance of it getting cancelled.
Noted, thank you! My dealer insists that I placed my order at "just the right time," given that the factories have finally resumed operations, but the stories in these forums make me reluctant to trust their claims. Fingers crossed.
Those codes are just a guideline. One of my GLS on order has been in B4 status (2 days to completion) since 2/4/2020. It has been quite a bit more than 2 days (101 days to be exact) and it never left B4 status. So take those status in their system as just a guide, nothing firm.
Dully noted; that is what I am most afraid of. Completely unacceptable. Has your dealer been at all responsive/helpful? I would not tolerate that kind of negligence. That said, February was right around when COVID went into full force, so perhaps under normal circumstances your order would've been punctual. I'm sorry you're in this situation! Have you had similar issues with your X7 order?
My very 1st order of 450 is B4 since February of 2019. Till today still B4. I was at the dealer yesterday ask them about it. It’s still stuck somewhere in a parking lot
Dully noted; that is what I am most afraid of. Completely unacceptable. Has your dealer been at all responsive/helpful? I would not tolerate that kind of negligence. That said, February was right around when COVID went into full force, so perhaps under normal circumstances your order would've been punctual. I'm sorry you're in this situation! Have you had similar issues with your X7 order?
Dealer has been no help. I drove 1.5 hours to the dealer to talk to General manager in February. He contacted the factory and MBUSA, they told him they do not know why it's delayed. (or so he claims).
My X7 was supposed to have been built on April 1st. But factory closed down on March 29th and re opened on May 4th.. Now the online site shows it entered production on May 14th and came out of body shop and paint yesterday (Friday May 15th) and is in assembly now. They estimate completion by Monday May 18th. Dealer says it should arrive 2-3 weeks after that so maybe 1st or 2nd week of June. BMW is years ahead of MB in terms of ability to track status of ordered vehicles. You can track it online, or call an 800# and get status via automated system, or talk to a "BMW Genius" at the 800# to get status.
At this point it looks like I should get the X7 within the next month. Still no sign of the two GLS's on order so I'm going to cancel them once the X7 arrives. It's too bad, GLS was my first choice.
Dealer has been no help. I drove 1.5 hours to the dealer to talk to General manager in February. He contacted the factory and MBUSA, they told him they do not know why it's delayed. (or so he claims).
My X7 was supposed to have been built on April 1st. But factory closed down on March 29th and re opened on May 4th.. Now the online site shows it entered production on May 14th and came out of body shop and paint yesterday (Friday May 15th) and is in assembly now. They estimate completion by Monday May 18th. Dealer says it should arrive 2-3 weeks after that so maybe 1st or 2nd week of June. BMW is years ahead of MB in terms of ability to track status of ordered vehicles. You can track it online, or call an 800# and get status via automated system, or talk to a "BMW Genius" at the 800# to get status.
At this point it looks like I should get the X7 within the next month. Still no sign of the two GLS's on order so I'm going to cancel them once the X7 arrives. It's too bad, GLS was my first choice.
wait a minute, are you saying that the actual production times on these cars is essentially 4-5 days?
wait a minute, are you saying that the actual production times on these cars is essentially 4-5 days?
Actually the production time in normal circumstances is about 2 days from start to finish. But right now most factories are operating at only partial capacity and only 1 shift, so it's taking longer for a car to finish production.
Take for example the BMW factory in South Carolina, last year they built about 450k SUV/SAV. If you do some math, that works out to about 1250 vehicles a day if they worked 24x7x365 and never shut the plant down. Realistically they shut the plant down a few times a year for maintenance and other purposes, so they more likely build 1300 or more cars a day in order to crank out 450k a year.
Manufacturers these days have a lot of automation, and have it down to an art. They are very efficient at turning out high quantities under normal circumstances.
05-15-2020, 04:44 PM
