ajf1

Here is a copy of a letter the factory sent to us sales managers and gm's regarding the availability of certain options on the s550. I just don't understand mb why the hell wouldn't you get all your ducks in a row before launching your flagship sedan? You go and market all this cool **** and then people can't even order it on their cars, know you expect people to wait 5-6 months to get the car they want. They are leaving money on the table on the options people cant even order. I just dont understand how supposedly smart people can run a company so poorly, it reminds me of the commercial where the guy is given a presentation to a bunch of chimps.

Germancar1

Very interesting. Mercedes' relationship with their suppliers once again bites them in the **** it seems. I wonder if because of the car's popularity in Europe this is happening to U.S. orders? Either way that will cost them some sales, but I doubt it will be many.

M

mkaresh

More likely they severely underestimated the number of people interested in the high-buck options. With launches companies often blow this one, and either under-equip or over-equip the first cars as a result.

It's also possible that the people ordering cars at first are much more likely to check all the boxes--these are the "gotta have it" crowd. It doesn't make sense to contract with suppliers to supply components at the level of this intial surge, as they'd then be left with a lot of overcapacity later. And Mercedes probably would have to guarantee a minimum volume.

lorinserbenz

High demand my ***... they are available everywhere..
no one wants a stripped down 100k car. Why not just make all the features standard and price the car at $96K? MB is the stingiest automaker..

Germancar1

I agree. Very good take on the issue.

M

ClayJ

IMO, if anyone is reacting strongly to this - they are over-reacting.

Expectations for this new flagship-model MBZ were high; and the car appears to have met those expectations in the flesh (or in the metal and leather as the case may be ), or in the eyes of the beholders whom are going down to look at and order one. No real surprise here, folks!

Demand is obviously high - perhaps higher than anticipated or conservatively planned for - and so they are unprepared for a rush of orders fully or heavily optioned. Or, the stupid $tealer$hip$ got even more stupido and went cheapo in their early ordering.... What's the big deal, surprise, or alarm?

So it takes another couple of months to get your brand-new, spank-me silly 'cause I'm in heaven Alice, nicely optioned S-Class?

It is not the end of the world -- nor of MBZ.....

Get over it, and put your order in....

akburton

I agree whole-heartedly. I'm going to print "Vote 4 Lorinserbenz" T-shirts and organize a march. Benz should make everything standard, price the car at 96k and just have people if they want them, pay extra for various designo and AMG packages!!

AsianML

Damn it! How about bi-xenons standard on all models!

I could name a ton of things to make standard on all models, not just the S-Class.

Nevada Jack

Based on this document dealing with delays and the reluctance of dealers to deal fairly with trade-ins on the W220, I will just put off any purchase of a new S550 until MB's gets it act together on delivery.

I thank you for posting to enlighten us as to the real mess MB has created with delivery of this car.

Evil Duffman

you know I love MB, but its **** like this that makes me want to fly to germany and slap those *****es silly. How did they not realize those would be popular options, i just dont understand how stupid they could be.

Its like my bio class, yesterday we had a test, but they didnt have enough for the people in the lecture, despite a class list . Come on now, what you cant freakin count?

I guesss im gonna have to convince my pops to just get the CLS, i like it better anyway.

naadp

Complain all you want about them stripping down cars, but at least my Mercedes came with no cost floor mats, unlike the BMW I bought a few years ago...

Kar don

not really, you could have placed your order into the system and have the dealer mark it a priority 1 and see what build slot you would come up with instead of cancelling it all together.

jimbo1mcm

Way back when..... MB couldn't figure out why US customers wanted air-conditioning, PLUS a sunroof. Did not compute to the logical German mind. It looks like Herr Doctor has some serious *** kicking to do. They didn't anticipate the requirements, obviously, but the answer might be in the fear category. Fear of "wasting" money by ordering the correct amounts. The corporate culture has to change. It sickens me that when you pay over $80,000 for a car, you then also have to add options.

It is similar to playing golf. When you go to a nice golf course, plunk down over $100 to play, then they nick you $6.00 for range *****, you want to jump over the counter and stick a putter up their assets.

Nevada Jack

Maybe so but I happen to plan things whereas MB lacks that skill. Don't tell me the car will be built in the first week in April and delivered in mid-May...then tell me they are rearranging the build schedule and we will let you know "on our schedule" when we will deliver it to you.

Either get your act together MB or you don't get my order and maybe the LS460L will. I am sick of poor management and having MB (and others) feel like they are doing you a favor selling you a car.

rkao

Hmmm....I've never had to pay for the 2 set of floormats for any of the cars I've leased/bought in the last 12 years from BMW, Audi and Lexus - never bothered with winter mats for the SL500, they'd just take up space in the storage closet!

MBZFAN55

I don't think that now is the time to "pull strings" or exert influence to get a Priority 1 slot or notification. Obviously Mercedes is straining to produce what they can, and from my experiences with "first off the line" deliveries, it really doesn't pay. You wind up getting a hastily assembled vehicle with all of the problems (i.e. 2000 S430 delivered 3-30-99).

ClayJ

I have to agree with the don't-buy-an early-build-car-because-of-the-potential-for-problems philosophy.... Not saying that I think that there definately WILL be early-build problems with first S-Classes -- but the potential is there....

Why take the major-headaches chance on a $100K car?

I say think about waiting, to both avoid this potentiality, and to get exactly the options that you want on your car....

Since I am waiting for an S65 AMG, I am hoping to avoid both potential difficulties.

Sometimes patience isn't a virtue -- it is a necessity(!).

Braheem

It's this type of managment that will run a typical car manufacturer into the ground, lean production such as TPS has been kicking mercedes in the net income butt for the last 10 years, you'd think they would have learned something and adapted by now.

Coat tails of reputation is only going to last so long.

Kar don

There is no string pulling involved, I am not sure what you are talking about.

david_101

when was the last time anyone's heard of option shortages for asian brand cars?

as for high S550 demand, that's questionable? they're sitting unsold on S FL dealer lots, and i've received EM solicitations alerting me of their availability in the NE. perhaps there's high demand for loaded S550s?

ewde1

loades ss550's is what the people want..considering the fact that option prices are cheap

georgl

I don't know the reason for this - in Germany those extras are available.
I think they want to prevent problems by producing a great amount of innovations from the beginning.

It is always risky to buy a completely new car within the first months. You know how much they improve/change within the first year? On the W221 dozens of small (mostly invisble) improvements are already made.
It's always that way, it doesn't matter if you buy a Lexus, a Chevrolet or a Mercedes - only the will to improve those problems and the quality of the construction itself is different.

Behind that there's maybe a principal problem, not easy to understand:

Lean production, cost reduction, outsourcing, all these things basically introduced by japanese companys (under american influence) are responsible for many quality issues.
MB was a typical german company, that means that they were ruled by engineers - they builded cars because they can - not because they wanted to become as rich as possible. These people were engineers not business-people!
The only reason they wanted to make money was to improve the product further and further!
But the car industry (same with home electronics) has a big problem:
The customers are not professionals, they are doctors, actors... but they don't know much about cars, but with their purchase decision they rule the market!
Toyota etc. were the first to realize that, they overwhelmed the market by reducing production costs while investing much money into marketing, to manipulate the customers (their power: the purchase decision) in a way that they can make the products worse (to make them cheaper to produce) and still let the customer think that he made a good decision!
The basical difference is that they make cars to make as much profit as possible! So when the customer wants something that doesn't makes sense in a technical way they would still do it! Or they develope technologies that are easy to sell due marketing.
You have to be aware of the result of this small difference! What technical solutions got outlawed because the customer (the actor, businessman...) didn't accepted them?
There was a time MB has made unpopular decisions (they decided what you buy!) because they knew that it was the right way for the product - but now, because of the customer, they are forced to adapt to many Toyota-principles. The result is the same = worse quality and trying to hide this fact from the customer (that's not too difficult, because, like I said: 99% of the customers don't know about cars).
Of course, there is still technological developement, able to compensate cost reduction or even improve quality. But look at the MB W140 (the last mass-production-car -not only MB! - from engineers) closely - do you notice the difference in construction and quality? I don't mean the things you see at first sight, business-people know how to manipulate the impression of quality, I mean the way how "honest" everything is made!? There is not a nice piece of wood or metal where you look and behind it there is only crap - it's like opening a TV - nice silver design is everywhere - but what's behind that?

MB was the first company to offer ESP in all cars as standard! But still they were attacked because they were not offering a CD-Radio as standard! You know what? ESP is much more expensive to produce, much more important - but you can't see it - a CD-Radio is extremly cheap, everybody can see it in every showroom at first sight...
That's just an example, but you got the point? THAT's the difference between an engineers-product and a businessmen-product! Please don't destroy the last piece of engineering in MBs or BMWs by falling on these cheap tricks!

YOU decide how the next car-generation will be like - even cheaper or better?

The business-people always talk about cost-reduction (I don't mean efficency) like it would be a good thing - but where is this cost-reduction when you buy the product? Became the cars cheaper? No, it's in the pockets of some people...

Every time, MB doesn't offer you something you are willing to pay because they say it doesn't make sense or an innovation occurs you couldn't see (because it doesn't look well, has a huge display, makes funny sounds, is easy to demonstrate...) be grateful because it is very likely that you get better quality instead of filling the pockets of the shareholder value!

P.S.
What a nightmare, my english is struggling by trying to explain such a complex theme - please be gentle ;-)

Braheem

If that were true, they should make thier whole line less reliable so they can sell more, I gave my 91 Lexus to my mother in law 4 years ago with 305K miles, nothing was changed on that car except a timing belt.

The 140 was a beautiful car, amazingt in it's detail to build but still lacked reliability. The suction doors were constantly down, the transmission did not last as long as the Japanese couinterparts....AND the dumbest item of all the so called ENGINEERS that had total control over the car offered it in a S300 version, an engine that could barely move the car sombined with a transmission that was not made to tow that amount of weight.

MB sold cars for $80,000 without a CD changer because they could nickel and dime you for it. and when you went to purchase the $200 Japan made Alpine CD changer they charged you $600+

Cost reductinon is not only reduced by buying products at a cheaper rate but by developing system to continually improve and standardize everyday work so that it is done more efficiently by learning from the previous build issues.

Innovation and invention is one part of the process, unfortunatly it seems the germans believe it is the end of the cycle whereas thier japanese counterparts believe it is the beginning.

mkaresh

An S550 without options is hardly stripped. I'm also surprised to see someone call the options "cheap." Perhaps relative the the base MSRP, but not to what others charge for similar options.

In general Mercedes charges twice as much for options as a volume brand. The only option that is priced lower than I expected is the Night Vision Assist at $1,750, since Cadillac charged $2,000 for a less sophisticated system a couple of years ago.

Perhaps I just don't have the mindset of the typical S550 buyer, but the only things I see on the option list that should arguably be standard are the keyless go and parktronic.

Standard isn't the same as free, though the extra volume does lower costs and thus should permit the base MSRP to go up by less than the full option price.

Nevada Jack

I think the Wood Steering Wheel and Electronic Trunk Closer could be made standard, as well as Keyless Go. As individual items they list out at about $2170...with a larger volume buy that price could be reduced probably by several hundred dollars. Parktronic would pose a problem because if you select Distronic Plus, Parktronic is deleted and Park Assist is included using the radar system instead of the buttons on the bumper.

In Germany and the rest of Europe the option list is huge. That is because there are many more models available and almost every thing is optional. The US market is run by MBUSA and they are the ones who select what and what will not be sold here. I would think the more they make standard on the S Class for the US market, the smoother the production and delivery schedule could be. It is the flagship line, so load it up and set the price wherever it falls...limiting the option list to only those special things (night vision/rear view camera, etc.)

Just my take on it...ymmv