Tomshop

Thanks! While it looks black in pic it is Anthracite Blue.

oswiff

Anyone have cars arrive in Baltimore in the last couple days? My car arrived Friday 1/31 but I know that at least 2 vessels arrived yesterday at the MB VPC.

Mine is still in Baltimore... waiting

Just wanted to see if anyone has heard anything about their cars

jbee

I can't explain yr. experience. My boat docked 12/30/13 and the car arrived at the dealer 1/6/14...most of the delay was due to the New Year's holiday. I think the car was in the VPC 4 days or so. I could see when it cleared customs and then when it went to the car carrier.

oswiff

VPC ready this AM and WWL website lists it as Liner Release

Kratos-TM

What does that mean for you?

oswiff

VPC ready would be that it's awaiting transport to the dealer and according to another member on the c63 forum, liner release was the day his car left baltimore.

HOWEVER - i just got an email from my salesperson and he said he was told there was a modification that needs to be done before the car is released. he's not sure how long but he's told it's quick... the modification is said to be software related, not damage

Kratos-TM

Baltimore VPC must really be thorough. It sounds like Brunswick didn't even check my car with how fast they got it on a truck. LOL. So I might need to be worried....haha.

jbee

I'd sure like to know what the softwarre update is. I wonder if it will need to be done to pre-existing S's. Hmmm.

Can you press yr. salesperson?

oswiff

He said the VPC won't disclose what the mod was but it's a quick and minor one.

I have a email out to someone at mbusa and will let you know if he can shed some light on this mysterious modification.

Further I'm not sure why the person at VPC is saying something more needs to be done as the car shows (as of this AM) VPC ready and by all accounts that means it's cleared VPC and is waiting for transport up the dealer.

MTrauman

Hi all,


My '14 S550 4matic was on the Don Juan ship. It arrived into Baltimore on 1/20/14 with the car being discharged on 1/24/14. Finally I am told it will be at the dealer on 2/10/14. It was at the VPC for a while since it was a Euro Delivery car that apparently the person ordered and cancelled so my dealer purchased eight of these cars of which mine is one of them.
So it took a bit longer at the VPC to convert the speedometer, etc from kmh to mph (it was in VPC processing for a week).
Can't wait to pick it up next week.

oswiff

saw your post on the other thread. any idea why your car was VPC ready on 2/3 but won't arrive at your dealer until 2/10? seems like a long time... especially given the distance between Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

just curious if you were able to get an answer?

MTrauman

I am not sure of the reason from VPC ready of 2/3 to ETA to dealer of 2/10 from Baltimore to Pittsburgh since it is only a 5 hour drive.


I suspect it might have to do with all the Euro Delivery cars the dealer purchased since they will probably have a full semi-truck of S Class Euro Delivery Cars--maybe not all Euro Delivery cars are VPC ready that the dealer purchased.


I am sure the dealer wants these cars as soon as they can get them since the dealer paid for the cars in December and have been carrying them in their inventory the whole time in transit. My understanding is the dealer usually gets charged for the vehicle at the VPC ready stage--different from Euro Delivery.


Bottom line--It has been a long wait since the dealer initially stated I would have the car mid January.

Diesel Benz

Off topic for this thread but someone else asked this question earlier and I did not see a response: you say they had the car configured for European units, at least the speedometer reading. How about the navigator and maps, did they load European maps to a US car?

For a W204 someone explained they got a Becker temporary setup during the stay in Europe.

MTrauman

I assume they did load the Euro maps but I do not know. Since the dealer was the one that actually took delivery in Germany on my behalf, the dealer would know.


Sorry I could not fully answer your question.

MTrauman

Update to my Euro Delivery: My car arrived today at the dealership. As I mentioned it was VPC Ready on 2/3/14 and today is 2/6/14 coming from Baltimore to Pittsburgh. Since my dealer is a 1/4 mile from my office and I happen to be going back to my office from a meeting, I actually saw the truck unloading all the Euro Delivery cars. So I stop and confirmed my car was there--it was.


Already set up delivery for 9am Friday morning.

oswiff

Heard back from my contact at MBUSA. The "mod" was for the software in the control module, he couldn't go into further detail.

Car is released and on a carrier to dealer, ETA tomorrow

oswiff

Thanks for that update. It's not just you. The MB system shows a ETA of 2/13 (a week, just like you), but my dealer called the trucker and he said he would arrive on Saturday at the latest depending on the weather and roads.

Not sure why they are giving such long travel times.

mrbrianshin

First off all gentlemen, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Brian S. and I was a claims manager for Marine Cargo insurance companies (specifically for Asian Insurance Companies overseas) and I dealt with shipments of brand new Hyundai/Kia vehicles ALL the time.

From the looks of it, it looks like the delay in delivering the vehicle was most likely due to some damages which occurred when the vehicle was being discharged from the Ro-Ro vessel (Roll on-Roll Off) from which the vehicles are shipped on when leaving the place of assembly (which Im assuming is Germany), since after all, it is human beings who physically drive the cars from the boat off onto a FPR location (First Place of Rest) to do a preliminary inspection. If it passes this inspection phase, it goes straight to the processing center and converts all the electronics and instruments to American metric system, and etc.

With that being said, and since your vehicle was delayed, your vehicle was most likely damaged to some sort of minor degree and had to go through a more in depth insurance inspection process and become repaired prior to it being reallocated to the actual dealer which sold you the vehicle. I wouldn't be alarmed about the damages though, since they do follow serious protocol and will not sell you a vehicle if it meets a certain criteria which deems the vehicle "Not Sellable as New". Plus, I dont know if you are aware, but the insurance process is never immediate, and usually takes a few days which may also add to the delay.

Anyway, the best way for you to find out why and where the delay occurred is to ask for Trucker's Delivery Receipts or Inland Bills of Lading which will show you the exact dates the vehicle was discharged at the port, the date the vehicle was picked up/delivered to the FPR, the date the vehicle left the FPR to an intermediary warehouse for final allocation (if any), and the actual date of pickup and delivery to the actual dealership lot by the delivering carrer. Also, it may help to ask for a "Survey Report" to MB-USA. You may be able to obtain these people's contact over at MB-USA who will have this survey report through your dealership. The survey report will have details regarding if your vehicle was damaged at all.

Even with all this said, the delay was something out of your control, and most likely wasn't any foul play. It was probably just some sort of issue which had to be sorted out and it takes time. You gotta understand that one delivery of thousands of vehicles being discharged from an overseas ocean vessel will sometimes have issues. Also, the trucker's delivering the cars to the dealership don't get paid for their job until the car is delivered, so there is no reason to believe the delay was intentional by any means. In fact, nobody gets paid during the transit process until the car is delivered to the dealership and you leave the lot with the vehicle.

Hope this helps clarify any doubts or misconceptions you might have regarding the delay in the delivery of your vehicle. Basically, in lehman's terms, **** happens. And it just so happens to be that it happened to the delivery of your vehicle. But remember, all vehicles have insurance purchased on them to ensure that they are delivered to you in 'New Condition'.

If you have any further questions or comments, dont be afraid to ask!


Brian S.

Eyesncars

My car arrived in Baltimore on 2/6. I spoke to the VPC and they told me the car was about finished and would be arriving shortly. We have had 2 snow storms in-between so I am sure it will be here later than sooner. Just hope it arrives safely without any repainting for damages.

LovinMercedes

My experience, even after lawyers, is that you will never get this information. You will never know what happened to your car. The position is that the car is still considered new until it leaves the VPC and under federal and state laws they are not obligated to disclose what happens.

TomS

So here is an interesting case.…when one buys a car via EDP, it's not considered new anymore (at least for customs). I wonder if the VPC fixes anything (which I have been told they will do), if then would then have to disclose?

So, rather than guess, has anyone that has taken delivery of a vehicle via EDP had any work reported by a VPC?

Just curious...

Tom
31 Days to Stuttgart

LovinMercedes

If MB is like BMW, which I imagine it is, the cars that get shipped to the US after a European delivery do not follow the same rules or the same procedures. They are considered used cars and they go as used cars. I know this because they lost my car for a month and I spent a lot of time with them trying to find it and understand the procedures.

Being shipped as a used car they would have to disclose any damage. I am not sure if they would have to disclose it if you didn't ask but I would certainly hope they would.