Newbie here. I'm coming over from the Range Rover side (the only thing I've driven for the last 25 yrs. or so) as I just don't feel like waiting 1 1/2 - 2 yrs. to replace my current one. So, I put a deposit down on a '24 GLS 580 at my local MB dealer. In my case, this is the only dealership owned by the owner as opposed to some owners who own multiple dealerships. I was told that my dealership doesn't have an allocation for the car I want but should have one, hopefully, within a month or so (having no prior relationship with this dealership I have no idea whether this is accurate information or not). Two questions come to mind: 1) are they trying to get me to buy one of the '23 models sitting on the lot and 2) am I at an allocation disadvantage because I'm not dealing with a multiple dealership ownership? In other words, is a group of same owned dealerships going to get more or quicker allocations for a specifically ordered car than a single dealership will? If I have to wait too long I might as well put my name on the RR waiting list although I must say that I am very impressed with the GLS 580 I'm trying to order. Thanks in advance for any replies sent my way.

 

Well, there are a couple of factors that will affect you. First, allocations are given out to dealerships based on their sales volumes. A larger dealership that sells more cars will get more allocations and can even talk to their regional rep to get more allocations. I've dealt with such a dealership in the past to buy a limited volume car. Secondly, the factory may not even accept custom orders. Recently due to the pandemic shortages still kinda affecting production of certain models, the factory has just built whatever they can build and ship the cars to dealerships. The SUVs might not be all that affected by this.

Then on top of that you are looking at a 2024. You may not be able to take delivery of a 2024 for a number of reason. MB may hold them back if there are still a lot of 2023 in inventory. New model years also have to be homologated and that takes a while. Every year new the new model years are often sitting at the factory, the VPC or the ports for a while waiting to be released. They can't be legally sold until they are officially released. In some instances new model years have not be released until January/February of the actual year. That was for example the case with my 2019 C63. I ordered in November 2018, but the cars weren't released until sometime in March or so. Didn't affect me, because I was doing European delivery anyway, so my car didn't arrive in the states until September.

The short answer is that you basically won't know when you'll get your car if order now. If you order with a larger dealership you have a better chance for them to get an allocation, but you are still at the mercy of when the 2024 will actually be released.

 

Not what I was hoping to hear but it's good to understand the process. Thank you for your insightful and informative response.

 

2024s are already hitting lots and have been released, as are factory orders. There are certain items which are limited availability (multispoke wheels for instance), however they are allowing custom builds.

 

I don't know the answer to your question, but I know your pain. Have been waiting 3 years for a lwb atb P530, and am now told it will be another 3 years at least. So I have ordered a 2024 gls 580. dealer had an allocation with a December build date, so fingers are crossed. so far the mb experience has been head and shoulders above jlr.

 

Wtf. No car is worth waiting that long for. You could commission a bespoke supercar in less time than that.

 

couldn't agree more. I was a long time rover owner; hence my switch to mb. the problem I am told is with the lwb atb v8. somewhat easier to get other models.

 

I just went through this twice, in the past few months, as I was helping my sister and my mother-in-law, each in different states, order new vehicles. In both cases, I had to call around to multiple dealers, until I found one with allocation for exactly what I was looking for. In the case of my sister, all she cared about was that it was white, so I was able to fairly easily find one already built and only a few weeks from arriving at the dealership. In the case of my mother-in-law, she was much more... difficult -- no jokes, pls -- So, I had to call around until I found a dealership that had one in allocation that was still configurable in their system.

Your dealer's comment that they "should have one hopefully within a month or so" worries me greatly. I fear they're stringing you along on a prayer that they can actually come up with an allocation for what you want, but they don't want to tell you the truth and see your money go elsewhere.

Throughout this process, I initially made the mistake of believing a dealership who told me that they did indeed have a changeable allocation for what we wanted. BUT, days later when it came time to sign the deposit agreement, guess what...? They did NOT actually have the vehicle in their allocation, but rather a dealership 200 miles away from them with whom they frequently do "dealer trades" had the car, so naturally they wanted to charge us extra to have the car transported in to them (no thanks!), plus they weren't able to guarantee they could make any of the configuration changes (we walked!). Lesson learned, I should have asked them point blank: "Is the vehicle allocation in YOUR inventory?"

Bottom Line: Either a dealer has an allocation, or they don't. Unless you're super patient and willing to wait around for a "maybe," I would recommend calling around until you find a sure thing. Good luck!

 

Lots of good advice here. Thanks and I'm glad I found this forum.

 

I was in a similar position (minus the JLR bits). First placed an order for a 2023 GLS on September 18 2022 and was told by the dealer that I'd get the next allocation. I finally got a call in January to tell me that my car was on the way, except it was the wrong color, a six-seater (wanted 7) etc. I am not sure where that car came from, but I suspect that it was a hand-me-down from a different dealer's allocation. My dealer plainly didn't get an allocation for itself. Richmond has a bunch of GL/GLS drivers, but I think many of them were shipped in from other parts of the state/country as people relocated for work. They finally told me I could have the actual car I wanted in April (for May delivery), by which time I politely declined and asked for a 2024 as soon as the DOG came out. Projected build date is September 19 (2023, I hope). When I ordered, I was told it was their first fancy 450 allocation (they have a plainer white one that the GM drives that got delivered a month ago, and they now have one 580 on the lot).

I second the comments on going for larger dealership groups (ours has a sister dealership a few miles away, but both are fishing in a fairly small market) if you're in a hurry. In our case, I have nice cars, I don't mind the wait... Also quite enjoy my current VERY cheap finance deal on the GLC that is about to get replaced at 6ish%. I don't suppose anyone has a spare $75k they're willing to lend me at 3%?