evo2turbo

I have a trip to Germany planned in a few months and am interested in a new GLK, so I'm considering the European Delivery option. Not only would it make the trip extremely special, the $ saving are very attractive as well.

How much should I pay? I priced one out on MBusa.com and with my options the MSRP is right around $43k with the european delivery discount. Is it realistic to get it down to 40k or lower? Does european delivery help or hurt with additional discounts?

Thoughts?

david1201

I picked up my GLK this spring from a local dealer who had it on the lot with the options I had. Ended up getting just over $3k off list (which was just over $43k). Website that I found helpful on price was truecar.com. Good luck!

CJM Online

Hello evo2turbo,

I had a trip to Germany for work earlier in the year so we went ahead and special ordered our 2011 for EDP around the same time. The discount is 7% off sticker (and no delivery/destination fees) so it's a pretty good savings. And unfortunately there is no additional discount beyond the 7%, but hey, that's close to invoice so it's hard to do much better on a domestic purchase (though it may be possible to do the same or better at some dealerships, especially those that need to sell more cars to keep up with their quota). Keep in mind also that the dealer makes no money on the EDP deal...it's something MB has them help with in hopes it ensures a long-time MB customer for both of them.

However, the AMG wheels were on backorder so our delivery date slipped to almost a month beyond my trip. And silly as it may seem, there was another deal breaker for us. When taking delivery, regardless of whether or not you will drive the car around Germany, etc. they'll drill 4 holes in the front bumper and stick a German plate on it. Then when you/they deliver the car for export they'll take the plate off leaving the 4 random holes in your once pristine bumper. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it...this is just what they do (trust me, we tried everything to keep it from happening...even emailed the delivery center in Sindlefingen) and wasn't something we wanted to deal with buying our first MB. Turns out this is also a big problem for the dealers here as not many people expect it to happen, and when their car is delivered to the dealer they're a bit upset to see the 4 holes and no license plate. And aside from filling the holes and repainting the bumper at a price, there is nothing else they can do (or you could get your hands on a German plate and stick it on there anyway, but that wasn't for us either....we like the bumper without a plate or holes).

In the end we changed from EDP back to a special order through the dealer. They were thrilled to get the sale and gave us 3% off (we didn't expect it, but it was nice). Also, I still had my wife fly to Munich to meet me then we took a day trip to see the factory and delivery center in Sindlefingen (spent another week in Germany too...Fussen was very nice). Unfortunately they don't build the GLK there (it's built up north in Bremen) but we did get to see them building C-class sedans, E-class sedans/wagons, Maybach, etc. So while we didn't take delivery there it was still a special experience.

Good luck!

Jason

MBRedux

Nice story CJM... Speaking of Nice... We had a similar situation back in the late 90’s when we took Euro delivery of our E-Class. The drive around Europe was spectacular (Zermatt, to Kiel and then down to Nice stopping all along the way.) The car was loaded onto a ship in Nice for its trip home. Unfortunately front plates are mandated here in Maryland no matter what. So I purchased a Euro style plate and holder for the front with the Maryland numbers. Had no issues.

evo2turbo

Thanks for the responses. From the dealers I've talked to, it looks like it's a fixed 7% off and very little wiggle room otherwise.
Problem right now is that the '12s have no incentives going on financing wise. Lease money factor is high, though residual is good at 58%. The other unknown is because the lease would be signed in September, those rates are still unknown. Hopefully they will go down, but you can't count on that.

You can lease an ML for very close to the same price as a GLK. I haven't driven the latest ML, but it's about 10k more car for the same lease payment.

Thoughts?

Oh, one more thing. It seems like the economy in NE Ohio isn't as bad as it appears because I can't get my local dealer to return any of my calls. Must be too busy selling new cars...

MBRedux

I know things are not as good as they should be out there, but this whole "the sky is falling because of Obama" attitude is a bunch of BS.

saw17752

My wife and I took delivery of our fourth MB on August 1, 2008, a w204 (C 300 Luxury Edition). It was our first time doing EDP. Our first two MB's were leased, our MB before this was a purchase with financing, and this was a cash purchase. In addition to these four MB's, all purchased or leased from the same dealership in Escondido, California, each of us owned a MB before we met, so we have a long and happy relationship with MB. In fact, if it counts, we also own a 2009 smart Passion Coupe, which we had to purchase at a different dealer as our Escondido Dealer is not a Penske owned store and at the time Penske had the sales rights for North America. Our salesperson, I am told, is the number one volume EDP salesperson in the US, and grew up near Singlefeldin. He did truly go out of his way, providing Michellin maps and various information packets for each stop we made in Germany and France. We drove from the factory to Paris, however, took six days to do it so we obviously made many side trips. In addition to the 7% that MB takes of the full MSRP, our dealership took almost an additional 3% off the MSSRP. was $42,620.00 (I am looking at the sticker) and of course there is no "Destination Charge" which MB waives under the EDP (which is another $875.00 saving or at least that was the fee). We paid $38,629.00 which as I understand is actually under dealer cost, and I am not sure how they do it. To that amount we added sales tax and DOC fee of $55.00 plus the registration and that was all. I would be happy to provide the salesperson's name, but I am sure he would not remember us as it was a flawless delivery and thus not remarkable. The only reason he might remember us is that we did order, in addition to every available package and separate option not contained in a package, a genuine leather interior, which I am told is not all that frequent in a C class. I am also told that the EDP can be done at one dealership, in this case Escondido by phone and fax, and actually shipped and delivered to your local dealership. As all MB's are prepped at either of two centers, one in Maryland I believe and one in Long Beach for us left coasters, the delivering dealer has nothing to lose, and might get a service customer out of the deal. Again, I really like the dealership and salesperson, but it has changed hands from a family dealership to an NYSE auto group since our last purchase and even the staff will admit that they have lost some of the ability to operate in the way they used to -- a more family feel with great customer advocacy when needed. Again, e-mail me if we (my wife or I) can be of help. We are not in any way, shape or form affiliated with MB, the auto group, the dealership, the salesperson, etc. We just like MB and loved the EDP program!!!

MKenM

A couple of things, 1st if you need a larger vehicle then the 2012 ML would be a good choice. If you are looking at a 2011 ML then they are bigger but just down right ugly, IMO. See the pix in this post

https://mbworld.org/forums/glk-class...lines-glk.html

If the dealer won't return your call find another one

evo2turbo

Wow, that sounds like an amazing deal. I have called the 5 closest dealers in the area and the story is always the same: 7% off MSRP and that's it. Seems that GLKs are selling very well so there aren't any incentives on '12 models. I'm going to make a few more calls tomorrow and see what I can do.
I'm set on the GLK, not interested in an '11 ML and EDP sounds like it will be a blast.

MBRedux

Please keep in mind that you are not obligated to deal with your local dealership... as a matter of fact, you can deal with ANY dealership nationwide when considering the EDP program. It could just be that the dealers in your region aren't dealing because their allotment quota is much less than elsewhere, like on the coasts! I would try having the dealers from another state e-bid on your car, then request a ED and see what they say?

evo2turbo

I placed the order! I was able to get the best deal with MB Escondido. They offered an additional 2% off and their EDP rep does the most european deliverys in the country, so he knows what he's talking about. For instance, if you order for September or October delivery, you get 2 free nights in a hotel with the standard package instead of just 1. I didn't know that nor was informed of such in all my discussions with other dealers.
I'll post more on my experience later.
In the mean time, how do I contain myself for the next 2 months!?! The big day is October 12th. Absolutely can't wait!!

saw17752

We know you will love Herbert and the way he treats his customers. Are you taking delivery here in San Diego or is the car being shipped to your local Ohio dealership? We stayed at the Graff Zepplin hotel when we took delivery and it was very nice. Stutgart Airport is quite small and no one is available to help with luggage. Also one very small point, when we had our lunch at the factory we did not give the waitress our voucher until she brought the check. Apparently we were supposed to present it when we ordered and she actually had to get the manager to approve accepting the voucher after the meal was rung up. We had two small (they called them small we called them large) beers each, split an appetizer, had two main courses, each of which came with the buffet salad bar with all its cold cuts and local sides, and we had enough left on the voucher so that once the late presentation was worked out, she offered to pack two deserts to go. The paperwork did take longer than we had expected and although we arrived about 10:00 AM the delivery desk had to call Harmes (the then shipping agent, whom you must stop at no matter where you drop your car at the end of the trip) to wait for us. We couldn't even get to the museum as we were so late -- almost missed our dinner in France. Don't forget if you order the media system (or the Navigator System without the whole Media Package) to get the loaner European Navigator that the factory offers to US cars as the factory system does not cover Europe, so they loan you one that does. Just return it when you drop your car off for its trip home and make sure they note it some where that you returned it, although we never had a problem. If you have specific questions please e-mail us at saw17752 @ aol. com (spaces are there to try to avoid spam.)

Tr1t1um

Sound like you got a great deal. Have fun on your trip. I recommend the Interalpen hotel in Telfs. You will never forget your experience there... I promise. Spectacular five star hotel.

We are currently waiting for our car to arrive in the states...we can't wait to get it. Glad to see you weren't charged a dealer prep fee...they tried to charge us almost 600 in dealer prep fees but we got them to wave most of it. I think it's a common fee in Florida.

We got the car so early that they didn't have the pricing for the multimedia package and it seems we were under charged 1k so we are no longer upset about the dealer fee.
Ps...wanted to let you know that you can finance with a bank like we did. Mb tries to convince you that you have no other financing options, but it is not true.

evo2turbo

The car was "born" last week! We're leaving the end of this week to tour through Austria and will pick the car up on the 12th and spend 10 days in the Black Forest region.
The Interalpen hotel looks amazing, but we couldn't fit it into our itinerary.

Can't wait!

Tr1t1um

That sounds fantastic! We didn't get the Black Forest package and didn't get to see much of the Black Forest, but I hear it's great. The Interalpen was not part of that package, it is in southern Austria...it was just one of the free hotels you could choose from outside of that package.

Stay in Germany as much as you can. The parts of the autobahn with no speed limit are so thrilling!!!

Very excited for you!

GLKKa2H

Don't forget the "Notes on breaking-in a new vehicle", pay extreme attention on the Autobahn if you see a flashing "Stau" sign (traffic jam!) - welcome to Europe and have a safe trip!

VJORDAN

Thanks to saw177752.. we recently had a wonderful experience with herbert at Mercedes of Escondido ..tried to e-mail saw.. to thank them..but it failed..we leave in may 2012 for our GLK ED. Our expectations were met, and it was a very pleasant experience..we did a BMW ED. 3 years ago, and this procedure went a whole lot smoother...Herbert knows what he is doing from the automotive end , and also knows Europe better than most travel agents...thanx saw17775..