S65 AMG: Timeline, experiences, observations, etc.
 

I have been reading this forum from time to time and finally decided to open a new thread with my own timeline and other satellite aspects of my journey to getting a dream car.

A few fellow members seem to be also keen to know how things are getting on, and for their benefits and also for the benefits of everyone else, I'm going to start with highlighting all major milestones in my MB AMG customer experience.

Here is my timeline to date. I will keep it updated inline to finally create a seamless list of all major events during my purchase:


https://onedrive.live.com/download?r...F0FD547E%21134

My 222.179 Spec
 

And of course, here is the full spec. Excluded the SplitView option as a higher resolution is more important. Heated windshield screen was not selected as I'm planning on tinting it and didn't want to have the film interfering with the feature, or the other way around.

Other than that, not too many options are available for the S65.

https://onedrive.live.com/download?r...F0FD547E%21125

Thank you for sharing this detailed explanation of your journey.

Being of similar mind, it's nice to have someone share their story.

Helps us wait with you and look forward to your pictures.

Very soon now! :zoom:

"05/30/2014....MB Foo decided they don't want my business".......Can you explained what happened?

That’s a long story, and every participant will have their own view on what happened.

From my perspective, the price negotiation failed due to some BS that was identified during the process. In essence, the dealership was pressing on MSRP explaining that they never sold a custom order car below the full price. They also tried to convince me that they had to go through an extensive process with MB USA to get me the car I wanted. I learned that (quoting) "We have not had to discount any of these due to the status and requirements needed to get one of them from Mercedes-Benz. Each one of those cars are what is called a “Pull Order” meaning that we need to substantiate the order with a client, a copy of the down payment and the need to fulfill these orders. In some cases we also need to provide a client’s car purchasing history with Mercedes-Benz. As we are not the only dealer with high profile owners their requests are many and the volume of cars are limited."

I decided not to proceed given this explanation that smelled BS. The dealership then canceled my order, removed my customer information, changed the build a bit and ordered the vehicle from Mercedes Benz without any client backing the order up. Whether it was done against the dealership operating procedure is unknown. I have had a Customer Advocacy representative from MB USA looking into this, however he went dark and never got back to me. The car they ordered using a false misrepresentation of client's existence was delivered to them a couple weeks ago and is currently in stock. It does not have the CCB, but does have the SplitView making it not too attractive to me at all.

The dealership exhibiting unprofessionalism and unwillingness to continue working with me on my custom order is Mercedes Benz of Lynnwood in WA.

The explanation given to you certainly does not sound correct. They either get a slot from MB or they don't. I have never heard, in almost 30 years of custom ordering MB cars, the explanation they gave you.

I think you made the right decision. Would not have felt good to me either.

Lots of self-selection w/dealers in any major mkt....

Even in world's biggest mkts for 65s, BH or SF, only 1 or 2 dealers in each region sell a lot of new, bespoke-spec 65s to repeat 65 buyers; and, at each of those dealers, 1 or 2 longstanding salesguys maintain these relationships w/these repeat 65 buyers

In my expce, natural/self selection prevails where any smart dealer/salesguy understands the superior long-term profitability of such 65 buyers and treats them fairly to earn their continued repeat buying (and referrals of their invariably affluent colleagues)

Opportunity cost/time of any 65 buyer is far more valuable than an extra few dollars of alleged discount (truly trivial "savings" as 90+% of 65s in BH/SF are 2yr leased anyway) if one has confidence in integrity of dealer&salesguy....which will be stress-tested if any major warranty/lemon issues arise (every repeat 65 buyer I know has had at least one 65 lemoned over the yrs: the dealer is critical in making that unfortunate and annoying process as seamless as poss)

I could not agree more. For buyers like me, a seamless customer-to-dealership experience is a must during both sale and after-sale phase. I really cannot explain why some dealerships manifest irrational behavior when it comes to returning customers. For example, I can hardly explain to myself what the Lynndwood people really achieved by making me feel like they were doing me a favor for going through MBUSA paperwork and dealing with my order. I was being told on a number of occasions how challenging it is to get through build slot allocation, etc., especially for an S65. So what is the result? I will not come back to them in the future. CHECKED. They will not get a referral from me. CHECKED. I will not hesitate to share my experience with them in public. CHECKED.

And this is not about being overly picky or demanding. It is about car buyers expecting to be treated with decent respect and ultimate transparency, and not as cash cows, especially at this end of the price spectrum.

On the water, breathing fresh salty air
 

California Highway is carrying the beast in her belly...

My S63 Coupe is also on California Highway. Which VPC is your car going to?
Mine is suppose to be arriving in Brunswick on 15th

It is going to Baltimore VPC. Good to know they are travelling together.

BTW, I saw the S63 Coupe on the ground at the AMG HQ in Affalterbach a few months ago and was generally impressed with the car overall. I compared with my CTS-V coupe and there is visually less space on the back seats in the S-coupe despite being proportionally bigger than the 2-door Caddy. But don't worry - if you will be transporting more than one passenger, they won't say a word of complain. The Coupe is very luxurious and a wow-factor is guaranteed even for some of the most difficult to please riders. :)

Thanks. Baltimore is the next stop - ship is scheduled to arrive on the 12th.
I am excited to see the coupe - can't wait.

Nice, that's the same ship my S63 was on back in August...although mine was dropped off in Brunswick.

Ways to save money
 

While exploring opportunities to get a few $$$ shaved off the total price, I came across the incentive from United Airlines for their MileagePlus Premier members. As of writing, it offers $2,500 off + 50,000 air miles for an S-class sedan. The miles component is a good deal on its own as it essentially provides two roundtrips within the US. There are no discounts for the Coupe version at this precise moment in time.

My dealership was kind enough to honor this discount and here are some observations from going through this process:

• Do NOT rely on email confirmation that you receive upon completing the sign-up process. The email titled "Your Guaranteed Savings Certificate" does not carry enough information.
• Do click on the "Print Certificate" button on the confirmation web page. This does not print anything; instead, you download a PDF file with the complete set of information on how to use the incentive. Print this PDF file or email it to your dealership. I did not do this initially, resulting in a confusion as to where some critical pieces of information are such as the MBUSA control number.
• The MB dealership mainly needs what’s known as a Control Number. It was discovered that Control Number is equal to the Offer Code stated on the saving certificate. It can also be found on the 4th page in the PDF file I mentioned earlier. Neither TrueCar (the vendor managing this incentive program) nor United Premier Customer Service know about the control number thingy.
• The incentive currently covers all W222 sedan modifications available in the US, including the S65. It does not matter how the car is configured in the Web-based tool provided by TrueCar. The amount of savings is static and it is not a percentage off the total price.

Hope this helps you save some time and money in your upcoming MB purchase.

PS: I am not in any way, either directly or indirectly, affiliated with UA, TrueCar or any other vendors. The above renders my personal experience, and is not an advertisement.

Does the splitview really hurt the appearance for the driver that badly?? I ordered it in my coupe but you are giving me second thoughts....Please help me :)

My human-centric answer is "It depends". There are folks who find the loss of resolution noticeable. There are other smart people who do not care. See these discussions for more information (and pictures):

https://mbworld.org/forums/new-s-cla...splitview.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/new-s-cla...ml#post6037199

I had it in my 2014 S 550 but as others have said - if you don't know any difference then you shouldn't notice. I didn't notice it as I didn't know any better. Having said that this time around I didn't order it in both of my cars for the reason that I don't want to sacrifice the resolution.

California Highway is almost to Baltimore.

Yes, I have been tracking the ship as well - she seems to be moving and is on schedule. The next milestone is the VPC checkpoint. I deliberately avoided ordering any VPC installed accessories so that nobody can justify any additional delays by "...Sorry, but it took us 2 extra days to find and install your wheel locking bolts..." :)

That's funny but you are right about delays at VPC. Where is your dealership? You should have the car this week.

Mine has to go to Brunswick and hopefully MBUSA officially releases the coupe on the 14th or 15th as planned otherwise it's going to sit around and collect dust at the VPC until the release date.

I heard last week they are all being released on the 15th.

Hope you are right. My coupe will reach Brunswick VPC on the 15th. Hopefully it passes though VPC relatively quickly and released to the carrier. 15th is Wednesday so it probably won't get to Dallas this week. It seems like the wait is lasting forever.

I use a dealership based out of KY, conveniently located in 500 miles from Baltimore.

Hope you get yours on time. There is no commercial sense for a luxury car to collect dust at VPC. It needs to make money for MBUSA, and must do it fast.

Thanks. I can't wait. This week I'm looking forward to taking possession of my S63 sedan. It sat at VPC for 2-3 days for some reason and reached dealership this past Friday. It's waiting for an escort radar installation.

Arrived to the VPC today. Total travel time from Bremerhaven to Baltimore = 11 days. Not bad considering a stop at Southampton, vessel's characteristics and the nature of oceanic transportation.