AR.Shah

Hi

I ordered my ML 320 CDI over seven months ago and it still has not arrived, the delivery date was approximately by end of March and at the latest on 20th of April. I called the dealer two weeks ago and on the phone he could not tell me where the car was. He later sent me an email in which he explained the car has been produced (February production) but for some unknown reasons it still was in US and that it could not be released for export to Denmark. He also said that they have ordered many other ML's after my order was placed and that the first lot of these cars were to be delivered within the next two weeks here in Denmark.
I called him again today and he still hasn’t got any answer for what’s wrong. He said that I can have one of the other MLs as an “upfront-car” until mine arrives. They tell me that the delivery time from US to Europe is two months, given that the car is released!

I am so frustrated about this because I have waited such a long time for this car and my patience is running out . My wife and I have planned a journey to Italy in May with this car but now it looks as if these plans are going down the drain thanks to incompetent Mercedes staff.

Has anyone here had any similar experience?

Best regards
Shah

sosh

There could be many reasons, perhaps one of the options you ordered has been backordered, perhaps there is some sort of a problem with the vehicle .or it went

AR.Shah

Sosh>

They tell me that the production of the car is complete but due to some unknown reason it cannot be released for export to Denmark.

GregW / Oregon

Has the dealer received others of this model, or is your the first. Could be some Danish regulation regarding the diesel?

AR.Shah

I asked the same question and was told that the only major difference was colour and that I had ordered mine with a trailer-hitch. Apart from this, the others are also diesel and with diesel filter. No changes have taken place in danish regulations. All this is so strange

gary350

I am having a test drive of a ML320 cdi but yesterday I was reading that a new range of cleaner diesels (all models) is on its way looks like 2007 for the UK, just wondering what affect this could have on present day cars, like the one I might buy in the coming weeks.

gary

AR.Shah

Yes I have also read about these new BlueTec diesel engines which are going to be much cleaner than any other engines ever produced. In order to run these engines, a seperate tank with "AdBlue" liquide (a sort of non-smelling synthetic urine!) must be filled in a seperate tank when filling up conventional diesel at the petrolstation. Later it is automatically added to the exhaust-system.

In autum the E320 CDI (a completely redesigned, less polluting & consuming engine) with BlueTec will be launched on the US market, whereas the AdBlue infrastructure is still being developed in Europe. Therefore I don't think that we will see this technology before 2007 here in Europe and sadly I don't believe that we will be able to upgrade the current engines with this BlueTec technology.

GMBALL

Damn! I feel really sad for you! What a dissapointment! But dont be too sad, the delay is common in many countries of Europe! When I went to our locar MB dealership here in Czech Republic, the salesman told me that I will have to wait appr. 4-5 months for the car. I felt like I was ordering a some kind of exotic....that was just horrible. So I simply decided to use a different way and I ordered my ML from Germany, it was shipped in 1 week and I was more than satisfied. The company name was ImpexCar >> http://www.impexcar.com/ However, I am not sure if they are in Denmark.....

AR.Shah

Wow that sounds really great, nice picture btw. Initially I was told that there would be a good chance to get the car in February (4 months) and therefore I placed the order and paid the deposit. Two weeks after I received a mail confirming that delivery date will be end of March and at the latest on 20th of April, which is 6 months! I thought, well ok I can live with that and planned things accordingly and now I have to wait at least another two months! This is too much , they could a least have told me that the car was going to be further delayed. This is a clear example of bad customer service.
I am going to call that **** salesperson tomorrow to get the final delivery date.

AR.Shah

Btw just noticed something, is your speedometer in the picture showing 220km/h? Wow how was the handling and feeling at that speed?

ML-Stern

Hi Shah,

I did order my ML350 on 3rd August 2005.
The car was build sometime in the middle of February.
The ship left the US harbour very late on 21st of March.
The ship arrived in Bremerhaven, Germany on 5th of April.
Today we have 24. April and I still waiting for my car.
The promised delivery was for March.
Than I got final date for 21st of April, but all these dates have gone.
Today we have 8.7 month after I placed the order.
So I can feel how you are feeling.
I hope the performance of the car and the enjoyment with the car will compensate for the long waiting.

Kind regards
St-Stern

AR.Shah

Hi ML-Stern,

Almost 9 months!! I feel really sorry on your behalf. You should complain about this and get some sort of compensation. That is too much.
I had a word with the sales person today, he said that the car has been shipped recently and the delivery time will be approximately in 3 weeks here in Denmark. It sounded a bit optimistic, I think. Lets see what happens..

Roch207

Be thankful you can even order these machines. We can't even get order them yet. In some of our states they are still banned!

Anxiously awaiting....

AR.Shah

Well hopefully you will get them faster once you're able to order them in the US

AR.Shah

Yes Yes Yes.. Finally some good news! Just recieved a mail confirming delivery. The car will arrive at the dealership on the 8th of May and it will take a few days to have the car ready. It seems the delay was due to the dieselfilter, which at the time of ordering was an extra option here in Denmark. This is so exciting, lets see if they keep this one

AR.Shah

One thing is for sure: Never trust Mercedes Benz delivery dates! I was suppose to get the car this week and wrote an email to the dealer a few days ago to confirm the precise date of pickup. After no response I called him on his mobile today and he was on his way to Formula1 - Grand Prix in Spain! He had absolutely no idea about what was going on. Later he called back and said that I could have the car next week but not sure about what day it would be.

All this is so unprofessional. I have to reschedule my holiday plans all the time and it’s so tiring. I really hope that this car has been worth the wait as my second option would have been a SLK, which could have been delivered within 3 weeks from Germany. My wife still thinks we should have had the SLK but I persisted on the ML. I wonder if there are same delivery problems for cars shipped from Germany to the US- market?

sosh

Here in the US we sometimes have similar problems with the European made MBs.

GMBALL

Yep, actually I did 227km/h and the car could do more, but there was too much traffic ahead of me. No wind issues, the car didnt feel like an SUV at all, more likely lika a sports sedan. It's phenomenal comparing to my 2005 Mercedes C-Class. I love my ML320 CDI. BTW, I've raced a 2005 Grand Cherokee 5.7 HEMI from 50-180 and we were dead for the whole time. That really shows that MB still knows how to make good cars. I am wondering what an owner of HEMI was thinking.
In my opinion, ML is the best diesel SUV and I wouldnt get an SLK instead of my ML.

AR.Shah

Wow this assures me that I've made the right choice Thanks

GMBALL

I have driven a Porsche Cayenne S, which actually felt horrible, didnt like the car at all. Touareg wasnt good either. I didnt like an interior of Range Rover Sport, the standart RR was too big for Europe. Volvo XC90 is too old, X5 as well. These cars have their pros and cons, but ML was overally the best vehicle. I am proud to be an ML owner.

AR.Shah

I had a short test drive of the ML320 CDI last year and I was convinced at the spot, this was what I had been looking for. Good design and a very quiet and powerful diesel engine. Really looking forward to it.

AR.Shah

Still no ML in sight. Car arrived at Bremerhaven on the 11th of May. Today more than three weeks and several exceeded deadlines later; I was told that I could perhaps get the car on 1st of June. (Btw. Bremerhaven is 300 miles from Copenhagen! )

What’s wrong with their supply chain? Why does it take four months from production to delivery? I’m certain that DaimlerChrysler is loosing a lot on this inefficiency and getting plenty frustrated customers. Are they perhaps inspecting all the cars received from the Alabama plant in Germany? If so they need to learn the basics of quality management!

puckrup

Not good news reading this thread. I am still waiting for delivery of ML320CDi from UK Dealership, was due on 11th May still no sign. Worse still dealer cannot even trace car other than it left US by sea in February. Have agreed to deliver demo ML320 on 1st June. Any other users with UK delivery problems or is this endemic across Europe?

Adam Taylor

Yes - mine due third week in May - now being told 18th July. Somehow reading these threads I have my doubts.

puckrup

Dealer just called this morning, ML turned up on forecourt without warning, he looked on systems the day previous and only information was that it had been shipped from US.

Delighted that the car has arrived but not impressed with MB logistics, if you can track a $30 FedEx parcel from the US surely one would have thought that you could track a £45,000 vehicle!