Terminator2029

TomS,


When a new car is shipped directly from the factory, it comes with basic means of exterior and interior protection, most importantly, with a sheet of white plastic foil wrapping the hood and front fenders. This protects at least the largest visible parts of the body from naïve and silly scratches, rock chips, etc. Now, under the EDP, the buyers receive their vehicles with all this protection removed, essentially exposing their new purchases to potential cosmetic damages in transit. That’s why I will be looking to install a clear bra right in the Affalterbach area.


Looking forward to your ED story. Good luck!

TomS

I do believe the shipping protection is put on before it is shipped. I'm not sure why one would assume they ship it without protection.

Terminator2029

I guess we shall find this out in less than 80 days, sir.

Kirkster

Thanks for posting all the info. We are taking Euro delivery of my E550 coupe in March. We are quite excited that the day is almost here. I too used Herbert Haemmer for the purschase. Before reaching out to herbert i had tried to get the process going with a couple of local dealers in MN, and they were clueless. Mr. Haemmer is on top of his game and is very easy to work with.

JP500

[QUOTE=Skerdian;5888627]On December 17th I left NYC headed to Stuttgart to pickup a 2014 S550 through the European Delivery program. I had been planning for this trip since I placed my order sometime in September.

My car build: 2014 S550 RWD, 040 black with 514 Exclusive Nut Brown nappa leather, ...]

Can't mistaken Skerdian for anyone else. Glad to see you on the site and thanks for the great detailed write up of your experience. Wish you luck and continuing success. I am looking forward to seeing that thing gliding around. Cheers bro

-Jasin

SB_NYC

[QUOTE=JasinP;5911711]Thanks man, 1 more week until I pick up from stateside dealer!

s600ed

Guess I'm a little late into this post but, for ED is there actually room for negotiating the sell price? All current dealers are taking MSRP for the new S so did you have to "haggle" for the 13k off or was it just offered on the spot? If it wasn't, how do you know how much to ask for?

TomS

No haggling required. MB gives 7% off and some dealers add 2-3% more for a total of 9 in my case. Plus you do not pay the $925 delivery charge. AMG cars may be a bit different though but my S550 ended up with a $12000 discount off of MSRP.

Tom

SB_NYC

Almost Here!

Passing Chesapeake Bay Bridge....nearly at port in Baltimore.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

Terminator2029

Great news!

Would you mind posting some pictures upon delivery along with a short summary of the condition in which your car arrived?

Kirkster

Very cool. So i guess a few days to a week in customs, then to the VPC for a few more days and then transport to you? All told around two months 7 some days? BTW..beautiful car. MB outdid themselves on the S class.

kirk

Mine will be a longer wait because I will have to drop mine off in Zurich.

SB_NYC

Actually, car cleared customs while still on the boat and before docking. I expect it to remain at Baltimore VPC another day or two and then truck to NYC...about 4 hour drive. I'm guessing i'll be taking delivery by this Monday (I hope). If so, in all after dropping off in Bremerhaven, it should be just a few days over a month. Only real delays so far was that car sat by dock for 10 days before being loaded onto a ship (but in the future, you can plan ahead to catch a certain ship in time) and storm Hercules over England delayed the ship from entering Southampton port...which led to a 6 day delay. If everything works our perfect, you could definitely have your car back in as little as three weeks if on the East Coast.

Kirkster

You obviously did your homework on the whole process. Would love to see pics after arrival. Thanks again for the trip details too. All of the stuff MB has is years old and no one ever posts anything in recent history on you tube. i plan to document my whole experience on video and share it so other MB fans can appreciate it.

Kirk

OBP

A few days over a month for Euro Delivery shipping stateside is fast. I got mine in about 6-7 weeks which was right on time per the MBUSA guidance last year - Needed a day or two more than you guys landing at Baltimore cos mine went into Port Brunswick GA. Still, I had no issues about dings dents etc. Everything worked out really well. And btw, I got my clear bra done at my US dealer so I went without protection for the 10 days I drove it in Europe. Escaped with no chips or anything like that. Real pleased with my Euro Delivery experience.

jdmmbz

Have a dumb question. Did the Navi work throughout all the euro countries you drove? If it did I assume MB will have to add US maps or reconfigure it once stateside?

OBP

Not a dumb qn. Great qn. MB loads Euro maps for your Euro Delivery experience, then reloads US maps into the system when the car gets to VPC in the US. Dunno if the other auto makers do the same thing but this was exactly my qn when I was deciding MB vs BMW vs Audi. The MB answer gave me the most confidence.

jdmmbz

Thanks so much. I have a US market GTR in Japan and couldn't get Nissan to change the maps/hard drive. Your ED experience looks great, having just left Italy for 18 days it would be fun to drive from Germany to maybe France to check out the country side. I have to agree however with the other posts about getting the car wrapped prior to driving. Seems everyone is worried about shipping. Driving it new without protection gives me the fits. Love the factory delivery pics. The black just simmers !!

OBP

On shipping, if you drop your car off at the usual spot in Stuttgart, the shipper there has worked with MB for ages. He must have had 30+ US spec MBs for delivery on his lot when I went to see him. They have a pretty thorough procedure to check the car is OK and they'll tell you if they find anything. If anything happens on the ship ( mine came across with a bunch of brand new MBs anyway so they did not treat me different even though I had 800 miles on my car ), VPC will have to make it right. Last thing MB wants is a negative experience for anyone on the ED program.

Kirkster

i was told not to worry about any damage either caused by me or by the shipping company. Any repairs take place at the VPC and it's my understanding they are equipped to deal with them vs. the factory. Will be driving worry free in Europe..

TomS

While I hate the "me too" replies—which my post is—I was told the same thing.

I'm handing it over with big signs in the car that say "Do Not Wash" and the detailer is meeting me at home the day I pick it up.

Tom
53 Days to Stuttgart

TomS

OBP- I'm curious if the car was speed limited at the factory? I guess I could ask the highest you got it up to after you picked it up. I know the stateside VPC will change the gas tuning but do they also add the limiter?

SB_NYC

Yes, limiter is set to 133mph. I hit just about 140mph on a downhill. I traveled at limited top speed on the autobahn for well over an hour. Dont worry, this was after I did about 700 miles driving at low rpm for breakin period. Car easily could do more but limiter kept it under 2000 rpm at highest gear.

TomS

Thanks for the info. I was thinking that since the car is limited, even 133 is not too hard to drive it day one as you are not getting anywhere close to the full RPMs. At least I hope it is that way. I will ask them at pickup time point blank if I can drive at the top limited speed early. I say early as I am only in Germany the first day I have the car then it is off to Austria and Italy. If I get the chance on the Autobahn, I just have to see what 133 MPH feels like I guess if they say no, I will either adjust my plans to swing back into Germany on the way to Nice for drop-off or decide how much I want to drive that fast. I'm not a speed demon but just driving flat-out on the Autobahn seems like something one has to do at least once in life.

I'm guess the car handled 133 MPH like it was 70? Other than things passing you by faster, did you really notice the difference from the car's standpoint?

Thanks,
Tom
50 Days to Stuttgart

OBP

I think our cars will come with the standard US speed limiter already in place cos we are not allowed to get Euro spec cars even though we are driving them in Europe for a few days or weeks. The regional spec determines the build standard per factory procedure.


I was told by the MB factory staff in Sindelfingen to keep the revs/speed at 5000/90mph and below for the break in period. I was good about it for the first 700 miles but on day 9 when we were driving Munich to Stuttgart, I opened her up a bit. 115-120 mph tops cos I had wife and kid with me. Much more than that and I would have had family issues for endangering a 3 yr old etc ... I knew then that that was the max speed my car would go on public roads in its life time cos the next day would be spent in Stuttgart between the MB Museum and the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen and the day after that the car would start its journey back to the US. And of course driving Munich to Stuttgart, at 115 mph, an Audi wagon and a BMW wagon flew right by on my left, probably doing 140-150 mph...


For the two of you doing ED, a tip if you visit the MB Museum ( you're supposed to get free tix so why not right ? ), try to get a spot in the parking lot next to some cool display car. I luckily found a spot next to a 300SL Gullwing display car which had actually seen real life service on the roads - its original paint showed minor road rash here and there. That pic of my CLS next to a classic Gullwing is something that will be hard to replicate here in the US. Made multiple copies of this pic for posterity. Hope you get some good ones for yourselves too.

MDrill

Well, I did 160 on my M3 on autobahn. Took a photo too. Average 120-140mph consistently. I plan on taking my wife's s Klasse to its max. Will spend two weeks in Germany and its surrounding countries.