TomS

Well this was a mixup in the good direction. It was delivered today. I picked it up and drove it home. Only problem it was delivered to Mercedes of Tampa. Herbert is checking into the mixup. I think the issue is that when I placed the order MB of Tampa was the dealer but soon after I asked to change it to the local dealer in Clearwater. Apparently, that detail was missed in the process somewhere. Oddly enough, I remember seeing MB paperwork that listed Lokey Mercedes in Clearwater as the dealer so I will Herbert tell me what happened there, but the EDP process is done for me. I guess we can go back to our initial dates and this car came back in 5 1/2 weeks from drop off in Nice to delivery in Tampa. Not bad at all...

Anyway, I have my car back and after a few days, I will put it through its paces here and report back on those run flats

Thanks to everyone that followed along. I will get some pictures taken . I think I will also do some YouTube videos of the back seat operation.

AppleFan1

Great News Tom! Yes, please give us updates on your driving experience and overall impression of the car now that you have it at home.

TomS

The clear bra went on the face yesterday and the car was polished and detailed too. It looks great. One small etching on the mirror from a bug so if you are doing EDP, make sure you get any bug guts off the car before you turn it into the shipper in Europe. Bring some quick detailer in your checked bags and a microfiber towel.

TomS

Here are some pictures after the clear bra on the nose and full detailing (polishing, OptiCoat, etc).

jrpisha

Your car looks fantastic !

I'm interested in your thoughts regarding the clear bra. I'm contemplating this for my 15 S550 4MATIC. The dealer didn't apply the bra, correct? How much coverage did you opt for and, if you don't mind me asking - how much did it cost?

TomS

I limited the clear bra to the nose (or bumper) as I did not want to do a full hood or see any lines for a half hood. I had the bra applied at a local shop that specialized in it—I don't think that is good work for the dealer as I would not know who they sub it to.

Here is a picture of the kit (keep in mind, I have the non-sport so the bumper is opposite but XPEL also makes a Sport kit too).

The retail cost of the kit is $495 but through the dealer including install it was $550. This is in the Tampa Bay area.

Here is a link to the Xpel site. http://www.xpel.com/products/paint_p...&submodel=4215


The warranty on this is 10 years including labor.

jrpisha

Thanks, Tom.

TomS

He is a fun story...A salesman at the local dealer just called me and said he had a customer that is interested in ordering Anthracite Blue on an S550 but has never seen the color. The salesman asked if I could arrange a time to stop by. He said he would fill up the tank for me.

I have to go to the dealer to get some front license plate bolts for my German plate and SunPass transponder (I don't like the inside mounting spots), so I figured, why not.

I guess that is what happens when you have a unique order. I would guess after seeing my 53R wheels, the customer would order those too as they are unique!

hyperion667

TomS

Upon delivery, I noticed that the iPhone connector in the car was for the iPhone 4S (30 pin). I contacted Herbert and asked if they had cords for the iPhone5 lightning connectors. I just received it the mail.

Here are some pictures of the part.

Note that Amazon has a 4 inch lightning connector too which works well. Now I have one for both of our phones.

AppleFan1

That's interesting. On the delivery day (April 5) the salesperson was in the car with me giving me a fast tutorial about the car. I tried hooking up the usb cord that was inside the console to my iPhone 5 and it would not fit. I happen to have one of my own that I brought with me and used it to connect the phone. The salesperson did not understand why they did not provide the correct cord. In any case, I did not press the issue and I still use the one that I own. I also have another one of these in the house. Tom, is there any advantage to using the cord that MB sent you for the iPhone 5?

DaveVY

I am also using the apple cable with my 5S. I can see the advantage of the MB cable over the Apple cable in that the MB cable has the 90degree connector on the end - this can be useful depending on where you like to place your phone. The apple cable protrudes straight out of the bottom and if you want to have your phone in an upright position the cable will have constant bending/strain put on it.

I now plan on getting a cable like the one TomS received from Herbert.

Thanks for sharing TomS.

TomS

It may have been your desire to get going, but your wording struck me as one more great benefit of Euro Delivery. The delivery gent spend two hours with me going throughout the car. It was not rushed. Like I said, I'm sure your dealer would have taken as much time as you needed.

This MB cable seems to be a "beefier" cable and the 90 degree end is very sturdy. I cannot imagine the insulation pulling back from the collar on the plug like is known to happen to the Apple and Amazon connectors.

I just tested it in the car and 90 degree connector works well as the plug wraps around and goes away from the base parallel to the bottom of the phone. You can open the center console and look right at the iPhone while it is connected. With the short 4 inch Amazon cord, I cannot do that. The bigger Apple cord leaves you with the slack to ensure it does not get in the way of the closing compartment. It is a well-thoughtout cable.

AppleFan1

That settles it Tom. I am calling my dealer tomorrow and ask them to send me one of these cables. Thanks again for posting this.

AppleFan1

Btw, if I can get off topic for a bit, I cannot wait for the iPhone 6 to be released. It will be spectacular. I, and many millions more, will be upgrading to the larger screen size along with amazing technological advancements. I am also going to be buying the iWatch when it comes out. I LOVE Apple products.

AppleFan1

Tom, I forgot to mention above yesterday that indeed, I was in a hurry on the delivery day. Thus, the salesperson rushed through a bunch of stuff with me. He would have taken a lot more time if I didn't need to get back home by late that afternoon (driving from Kansas City to Des Moines).

JoeMa

Tom,


Does your new S-class support Apple CarPlay? There has been rumors that the head-unit will support it but I haven't read anything for sure about it.


If you do not know what I am referring too, check out this link to Apple's web site:


http://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/

TomS

I have a 2014 S550 so it does NOT support CarPlay today. I do not know that we have seen a definitive statement from MB telling us they will retrofit CarPlay into the 2014 S550 or the current 2015. This is wishful thinking based on what I have read and seeing how Command without a touch screen integrates in the CarPlay videos.

If anyone has any DEFINITIVE information on that, please let me know.