2013 ML550...Picking up 12/31/2012...
 

Will add pictures if i can figure the forum out...:slap: Every third time i try to read or post i get a permissions issue.

2013 ML550
Black Out / Gray Leather In
HK
Ambient Light
Light Package
P1
20" 5 Spoke AMG
Keyless

There seems to be much less activity on 166MLs over the C350 forum i just graduated from (maybe). Stay tuned for pix.

Something slightly different based on what I've read here: Dealer said it is 'scheduled' for delivery on monday... and that he expects it to be ready by the afternoon and asked to book time on my calendar for a specific time slot (3PM) as it is a holiday. I agreed... would have liked a call saying it was there but perhaps this is just as good. How long do they need it in possession before they can release it (I asked for no drilling in the front for plates, I'll risk the fines as I have for years.. US/CT is always lazy here) remove plastic?, wash snow salt from delivery?..take joy ride? ... any last minute recommendations? Is it odd that SA seems to think he will be able to release it within an hour or so of delivery?

Thanks from a long time reader and a first time post'er.

-m-

Great choice, LOVE my 550.

Enjoy!

I love mine too (2013, Pearl Beige, Almond MBTex, P1, ambient lighting, lighting package, Satin Ash wood). The acceleration is a hoot! It's amazing all the little things they changed from the previous model -- quieter turn signals, parking brake release (electronic now), and door locks, much better instrument panel graphics, COMAND boots up faster, to name 3.

I just installed the AMG door pins on my 550 today - they make a huge difference in appearance, I can highly recommend doing this to your new 550 as well :)

Oh - a lot of us had problems with "check coolant" warnings, get your SA to top her up to the max to save yourself a trip back to the dealer later (or just add a splash of extra water yourself).

Maybe a little overstatement?

You'd think... but now every time I look into the door as I unlock the car I smile and go "aaaah that's better than the crappy plastic pins". I'll wager your eye will be drawn to those nifty door pins way more often than a low mounted front licence plate.. heh :)

The ONLY time I have ever been aware of the door pins is at the drive through bank teller. The pin tends to jab me in the arm as I'm stuffing envelopes into the machine. :mad:

Could you post a pic of the door pins if you don't mind? I would like to see what they look like.

Thanks

Any chance on getting the pics? Would love to see the color combo with the new body style

Here's what the door pins look like, a little cheezy in the pics but they look awesome/brilliant/amazing in person:

Attachment 449145

Attachment 449146

I also got the chrome "bling" strips for the hood, gave her some gansta teeth:

Attachment 449147

Attachment 449148

Took about 1/2 hour to install everything - really easy. Took the old plastic pins out using pliers to twist them off (didn't care about scratch marks since I was planning on tossing them away). I then used some blue threadlocker before placing the new stainless door pins. The chrome strips come with a cleaning/bonding kit, you're supposed to install it above 60F, my garage was 50F on the day so hopefully close enough...

Also, from another post here are the part numbers I used:

0007660228 BUTTON F LOC 4 $30.00
1668800082 ORNAMENTAL T 1 $168.00

Got them from http://www.getmercedesparts.com/, seems to be a dealer that sells OEM parts below MSRP which is quite nice. I like how they have a "best before" date, wouldn't want to buy rotten parts now would I eh? :)

Attachment 449144

How many other trim parts of our cars have "Best Before" dates on them? Do we have to throw our cars away soon?:nix:

It's probably the glue on the chrome strips that has a "use by" date, but I still think it's funny that they put one on the side of the box. A little bit of German culture is leaking through there I think :)

Reminds me of a running joke on Top Gear where Jeremy discusses his CLK63 AMG automatic service warning system - "you are only 9 days away from service!"

Those pins look really good..

Thanks for the pics.:y

They do look good - I'll be placing an order!

Yeah, for some reason us new owners seem to be very picky about the little things.

Speaking of the little things - check out the other new post where myself and iankayem are comparing international vs. US & Canada cornering lights... there might still be hope that we could just put in a bulb and get ours to work! It's really a little thing, however I've just spent an hour online trying to see if I can find pictures of exploded diagrams for W166 headlight clusters. Fingers crossed!

Accessories
 

The website only seems to show W164 parts - did you call them?

I ordered the door pins and think they are a huge improvement over the standard cheap plastic ones. FYI, I ordered them from getmercedesparts.com (actually Mercedes of Annapolis, MD) and it took them nearly 2 weeks from time of order to receive them and then was charged $20.50 shipping and handling; given that the pins were shipped all of 75 miles, 2 weeks is inexcusable. You may be able to do better elsewhere for price and responsiveness.

Same experience for me, they didn't do anything for about a week then sent me an email with a "DO NOT REPLY TO THIS ADDRESS" containing some sad tale about my VIN number not existing?! Not my fault their database doesn't have brand new cars in it. After fixing that that it took about 3 weeks for them to actually ship. Then they shipped "signature required"... uugh even after I explicitly told them it was a residential address and nobody is home during the day. So I nearly let the package go back and perform a charge back on my credit card, but then I decided that I was tired of all the waiting and drove across town to the UPS depot to pick them up.

Sounds like all Mercedes dealers all over the country are as useless as each other. Oh well, I guess Amazon has made us expect so much more from internet resellers.

I got the part numbers from the mbusa.com web site. Here's what I did:

1) Navigate to the page with the appropriate accessory.

2) Look at the URL in the address bar in the browser, notice how it ends with the part number, eg:

http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/access.../id-OEMPartNo:A0007660228

3) Enter the part number directly into the site you're buying parts from, skip their stupid search pages that don't really work. You may need to leave off the trailing "A" in the number depending on the site.

Accessory purchase
 

Think I'll just go through my local dealer - I can get 10% off list. Are the hood fins plastic, I assume?

I picked up four AMG pins from an MB dealer on ebay. Fast shipping and pins come in MB retail boxes as seen in pics above for $39 ea. Local dealer price without any discount is $280+tax for all four. The dealer on ebay will charge under $170 shipped.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-OEM-...8b7e02&vxp=mtr

Accessory prices
 

Your local dealer is screwing you over. List price, per MBUSA website, is $40/each for the door pins. ($220 for the hood fins).

http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/access.../model-ML350W4

That's interesting, mbusa used to say $140 for set of two or $70 per pin. Previous threads discuss this.

Maybe they came to the realization they were overpriced? Although, they're still trying to peddle a 2Gb SD card for $59!