Building a Ml350 but want Michelins not Continental Tires
 

Can I do that with my build order?? I am putting in a deposit next week Monday but saw several Ml350s on some of the dealer lots with those bad continental tires. I want the Michelin Latitudes on my Ml350 since Michelins are better but can I tell my salesman to put in a request?

For Kuwait, most Dealerships will change the Tires when they get the cars.
Since the car didn't move for almost 2 months while being transported, they lose pressure and get a hard spot. What this means is that the tire loses a bit of its shape and vibrates when driven.

Tires are always replaced with the same tire (Size and Brand at least, specs don't Matter to them). I think there is a rule about these things, but this is my speculation.

By all means ask your dealership, you could probably ask them on the phone.

If that’s the tire you want then YES put it in writing!

I had Continentals on my 2002 ML500 and I was actually quite pleased with them. At first I was like you wanting Michelins but honestly I had no issues with them.

Brand wise Michelin are the best but beware of the make. Michelin like all other brand outsources different sizes. You want Michelin Made in France that is where the name shines as number one in the world. Conti's are mostly made in Germany and America but yes they outsource too. Country of origin is usually mentioned, in very small caption, on the sidewall facing inwards only.

My 2010 ML550 came with Contis. The 06 ML500 had them also. I have never seen an ML500 or 550 from the factory with anything but Contis. Do not know about the 350s though. I am pleased with the Contis, never had an issue with them. My 2010 E350 came with Michelins. Actually I am pleased to have either brand. Like them both.

Sosh,

I see that the contis have a poor rating on tirerack.com while the michelins have a fantastic rating compared to the contis. Can you tell me how many miles you got out of those continentals and how good they were in the snow. My current 2006 ML350 has the Michelin MXV4 but not latitudes and they are in 17 inch size and are very good in snow and get 40k miles out of them. The 2010 ML350 has the 19 inch rims.

Quite frankly I could not care less what tire rack says. That info may be self serving. All I can tell you is that on my 06 ML500 I had them for 4 years and 4 winters. They were wonderful in the snow and ice including the first 1/8th of a mile in my steep driveway. When I traded the ML500 for my new ML550 about 3 months ago they had 40K on them and I think I would have made it till spring if I had kept the car. My guess is that they had maybe another 4 or 5 K left in them. They are also quiet. Michelins are excellent also. Can't quite remember but I may have had Contis on the 02 ML500 also. The 98 ML320 that I once had came with Dunlops and while they were OK in the snow they were very very noisy on the road. Think you will like either the Michelins or the Contis.

Tire manufacturers like Continental and Michelin don't outsource their technology. They merely have production facilities all over the world to accommodate their industry needs. The country of origin is ALWAYS mentioned on the tire.

The majority of Mercedes Benz come with Continentals from OE. From the C300 to the S65 AMG. Tire Rack reviews are good to have a basic understanding of the performance of a tire, but you don't know the whole story, or really who is posting that information.

The short answer to the original posters question is no. The dealership doesn't know what brand of tire will come on a vehicle. They will however be more than happy to sell you a set of tires of your brand choice. I've tried doing the whole "put it in writing" but the answer I got was they have no clue what brand of tire will come and shy away from swapping tires.

With the way the economy and cars sales are going, if you really want a certain brand of tire, let your salesman know that the deal hinges on that stipulation and see how far they will go for a sale. If they are really motivated they may work something out, but they weren't as willing to in the past.

By the way, the brands most often seen are Michelin, and Continental but BlueTec's get Dunlops (Run Flats) and ML63's get Pirelli's. I've even seen a few ML 350's with the Pirelli's as well, guess its just luck of the draw on what guy pulls the tires that day.

When it comes down to it, if you get a good enough deal...who care's what brand of tire came on it? Take the money you saved and put the brand of tire you like on and think of them as a throw in.

Thank you everyone and especially sosh. I will stick with my order and be happy with whatever tires that come with the car. I am a michelin guy but sometimes continentals are as good on certain cars including the ML350 so it is not a problem.

My ML2010 350 came with continentals and i hate them. my 06 350 came with michelin which i didn't really like either but not as much as hate the continentals.

What do you like now that you have elected not to like the 2 best tires out there??

My '08 CDI came with Conti's. I have always had noise issues with Continental tires, so I asked the dealer to swap out the Conti's for Michelin Lattitudes, which were on another ML. The dealer happily swapped them out.

The only problem, in my experience, is that the Lattitudes ended up being just as bad as the Conti's. They were totally worn out at 25k miles. I replaced them with Toyo Proxes, and am very happy with them.

I've always had Michelin tires on my vehicles, but IMHO, the Latitudes are not as good as most other Michelin models.

Michelin Latitudes--at least in my GL size--are made in Canada.

Pretty nice country, with I understand some French component.

Pirelli Scorpion Zero Asimmetrico

This is my bread and butter, I know what I am saying. They use other factories, but have Quality check personnel on-site.

Yes the country of origin must be stated on the tire, I never said anything to the contrary. What I did say though is that the country of origin is usually mentioned on the inside wall facing the chassis. I can see how you got confused though, I should have added the last bit.

Neat. My fav too.

Yea, ok, thanks for playing. The 'usually' is a matter of how it is mounted on the wheel. The country of origin is always on the tire. That would have been what you should have said. I have a complete list of who own's who, and who makes for who. So, lets just say I know my business as well.