SL/R230: European Delivery February 2006
02-27-2006, 11:35 AM
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'08 Audi R8, '09 SL63, '10 GLK, '10 ML550
European Delivery February 2006
I just returned from taking delivery of a 2006 SL500 through the Mercedes Benz European Delivery Program. Since there have not been any postings about the European Delivery experience in awhile, I thought I would post an update, as well as post some tracking information for the re-delivery process, for those of us who are anxious to be reacquainted with our cars again.
I ordered my 2006 SL500 the last week of November 2005. A few days after placing my order, my local Mercedes Benz dealership called me with the delivery date of my car in Sindelfingen, Germany, located outside of Stüttgart. About a week after that, I received a nice leather portfolio from Mercedes Benz that contained my order confirmation, European Delivery taxi/meal vouchers, my car’s warranty information, European insurance information, and other papers.
The delivery date of my car was set for Monday, February 13 at the Daimler Chrysler Kundencenter (customer delivery center) in Sindelfingen. One of my friends accompanied me on this trip. We arrived in Stüttgart on February 10, which gave us a couple of days of orientation in Stüttgart, as well as to overcome jet lag, before the delivery date. We used the free taxi voucher for the trip from the airport to the hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Graf Zeppelin, which was a very nice, comfortable hotel. All of our hotels for this trip were the Mercedes Benz recommended hotels (with Mercedes Benz discounts), and they were all great.
On Monday, we arrived at the Kundencenter around 10:00 a.m. We checked in at the reception desk. I signed the papers for my car, and we made appointments for the 11:15 a.m. english-language factory tour and the 2:00 p.m. delivery of my car. While waiting for the tour, we shopped in the gift shop and waited in the lounge to watch other Mercedes Benz owners take delivery of their new cars. That was a lot of fun to watch.
Our particular factory tour followed s-class cars from start to finish. As others have expressed, the factory tour was amazing. We visited two large buildings; one which housed countless numbers of robots that formed and welded the metals to make the exterior frames of the cars. The second building was the assembly plant, where the interior parts of the cars were attached to the exterior frames, and then each completed car was taken through quality-control tests. Our tour lasted a little more than one hour. It went by too fast, in my opinion.
After the factory tour we ate lunch, which was free as part of the European Delivery Program. Lunch was great, but the anticipation of seeing my new car for the first time was even greater. At 2:00 we checked in at the delivery showroom and I was introduced to the Mercedes Benz technician who then introduced me to my new car. It was very exciting to see my beautiful car sitting there in the delivery showroom. The technician explained the details of my car to me for about an hour. He handed me both of the car’s instruction manuals, to take home with me on the airplane. I didn’t think about taking those ahead of time, so I really appreciated that he gave those to me to read at a later time. As I have awaited the re-delivery of my car, I have been able to read about the features and instructions for my car.
I also brought home the European warning triangle kit from the trunk of my new car. It fit nicely in my carry-on suitcase. Before my trip, I had read that if you leave anything in the car, US customs agents will confiscate it when the car arrives in the US port. So, I lugged it home, since it is unique in the US. It is actually a nice-quality warning triangle (if there is such a thing) and it now proudly sits in my 11-year-old’s bedroom. He’s quite pleased with this ”free” souvenir. I did leave behind a large, boxed calendar that was in the trunk of the car, which was a gift from Mercedes Benz. The calendar was almost the size of the trunk of my car (maybe for someone’s garage??) and there was no way I could get it home. It remains to be seen if the calendar makes it through US customs. Although, from what I have read, I doubt it.
After we completed the instructions of my car, I drove my car out of the showroom and over to the Mercedes Benz shipping agent, which is EH Harms. EH Harms is located a few short blocks from the Kundencenter. At EH Harms, an agent processed my paperwork, and while she did that, I took my car on a drive on the autobahn, which was also just a few blocks away. It was great to finally get a chance to drive my car. Of course, being able to spend a couple hours with my beautiful new car makes the wait for re-delivery very long.
Since my car’s delivery date was set for mid-February, I decided ahead of time that I would not take my car on our itinerary throughout southern Germany. Even though I live in the mountain states and I am used to winter driving conditions, the weather was too unpredictable. I didn’t want to be disappointed by getting in an accident, or damaging my new car in any way while in Europe. I planned for the worst and I wasn’t disappointed at my decision.
We ended up renting a Mercedes C220 with snow tires for our trip. In the end, I was really glad I did it this way, as we encountered a very narrow, snowy mountain pass on the way to Neuschweinstein (Disney castle), with an endless line of trucks who thought they owned this narrow, icy part of the autobahn. We also encountered a lot of snow when visiting Neuschweinstein. The snow was piled four-feet high along the roadsides, and the back roads were narrow and icy. We also encountered a heavy downpour of rain with snow and blinding fog outside of Munich. For those of you who are not so nervous about driving a new $100,000 car, the trip may have been do-able, but I can tell you that because of the weather, I enjoyed the scenery and the trip a lot more in a rental car.
Our rental car had the Mercedes Benz command center/navigation system (programmed for English), which was easy/fabulous to use. I am now well-practiced in the navigation system for when my car is re-delivered in the US. One night we were in Munich and we needed gasoline. We drove around and around looking for a gas station in heavy downtown traffic. It was hard to see out the front of the car from heavy rain. With the navigation system, I found that you can search for points of interest, so I programmed it for “gas stations” and our car was directed to a gas station. We would have never found it without the navigation system and we used it everywhere we went. The Mercedes Benz navigation system is great and easy to use and I cannot recommend it enough for your travels.
I am now home from my trip and I await the re-delivery of my car. In the end, it took more than two weeks from the time I dropped off my car at Harms in Sindelfingen to the date it is set to sail on the ship, which is in a few days. That has been disappointing. I had hoped it would be on its way in one week, but it has taken substantially longer.
When I got home, I contacted the agent at EH Harms to find out the approximate delivery date of my car. She provided me with the shipping date of my car from Bremerhaven, Germany; the name of the ship that will transport my car, which is the Aegean Leader; and the US port of entry, which is Long Beach, CA. She gave me an estimated time of delivery of “about four weeks,” once the ship sets sail.
I found two great web sites to help further track the delivery details of my car. One web site can be found here: http://www.dbh.de/index.php?id=151. Here you type in the name of the US port where your car will be delivered, along with an estimated date of shipment. From there a list of ships will come up with their shipping dates and estimated dates of arrivals. I found the Aegean Leader in the ship list for the port of Long Beach with its sailing date and the estimated date of arrival in Long Beach. It is due to arrive on March 25. That gives me a better idea of my car’s delivery date, rather than just an estimate of “about four weeks.”
I also found a web site that tracks ships all over the world in real-time in map format. The web site is http://www.aislive.com/aisliveportal...opDefault.aspx. Here you can register for the “public page” free of charge. Once you register, you can track your car’s transport ship in real-time, as it makes its way from Bremerhaven to your home port in the US. From this web site I have been following the Aegean Leader, hour by hour, as it has made its way half around the world and is currently heading into the port of Bremerhaven to pick up my car! From the port of Bremerhaven, the Aegean Leader will travel through the Panama Canal and up to the port of Long Beach.
In Long Beach, it has to clear customs and then go to the Mercedes Benz Vehicle Prep Center. They will put the US navigation disk in my car and do a couple more things that are just specific to US cars. From the time my car reaches the port of Long Beach to its arrival at my local dealer, it is supposed to take seven to 10 days. I have about a five to six-week wait still ahead of me.
I am glad I participated in the European Delivery Program. I have to say, though, that the four-plus-months of waiting feels really long. As planned, though, my car will arrive just in time for springtime and many, many months of enjoyment! I just wonder how I am ever going to wipe the smile off my face!
I attached two photos to this post. One is of my car in the delivery showroom. The other one was taken in the Harms parking lot on the only patch of ground without snowpack.
My new car: 2006 SL500, black exterior, stone interior, comfort package, panorama roof, Sirius satellite radio, keyless go, and a big smile on my face.
I ordered my 2006 SL500 the last week of November 2005. A few days after placing my order, my local Mercedes Benz dealership called me with the delivery date of my car in Sindelfingen, Germany, located outside of Stüttgart. About a week after that, I received a nice leather portfolio from Mercedes Benz that contained my order confirmation, European Delivery taxi/meal vouchers, my car’s warranty information, European insurance information, and other papers.
The delivery date of my car was set for Monday, February 13 at the Daimler Chrysler Kundencenter (customer delivery center) in Sindelfingen. One of my friends accompanied me on this trip. We arrived in Stüttgart on February 10, which gave us a couple of days of orientation in Stüttgart, as well as to overcome jet lag, before the delivery date. We used the free taxi voucher for the trip from the airport to the hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Graf Zeppelin, which was a very nice, comfortable hotel. All of our hotels for this trip were the Mercedes Benz recommended hotels (with Mercedes Benz discounts), and they were all great.
On Monday, we arrived at the Kundencenter around 10:00 a.m. We checked in at the reception desk. I signed the papers for my car, and we made appointments for the 11:15 a.m. english-language factory tour and the 2:00 p.m. delivery of my car. While waiting for the tour, we shopped in the gift shop and waited in the lounge to watch other Mercedes Benz owners take delivery of their new cars. That was a lot of fun to watch.
Our particular factory tour followed s-class cars from start to finish. As others have expressed, the factory tour was amazing. We visited two large buildings; one which housed countless numbers of robots that formed and welded the metals to make the exterior frames of the cars. The second building was the assembly plant, where the interior parts of the cars were attached to the exterior frames, and then each completed car was taken through quality-control tests. Our tour lasted a little more than one hour. It went by too fast, in my opinion.
After the factory tour we ate lunch, which was free as part of the European Delivery Program. Lunch was great, but the anticipation of seeing my new car for the first time was even greater. At 2:00 we checked in at the delivery showroom and I was introduced to the Mercedes Benz technician who then introduced me to my new car. It was very exciting to see my beautiful car sitting there in the delivery showroom. The technician explained the details of my car to me for about an hour. He handed me both of the car’s instruction manuals, to take home with me on the airplane. I didn’t think about taking those ahead of time, so I really appreciated that he gave those to me to read at a later time. As I have awaited the re-delivery of my car, I have been able to read about the features and instructions for my car.
I also brought home the European warning triangle kit from the trunk of my new car. It fit nicely in my carry-on suitcase. Before my trip, I had read that if you leave anything in the car, US customs agents will confiscate it when the car arrives in the US port. So, I lugged it home, since it is unique in the US. It is actually a nice-quality warning triangle (if there is such a thing) and it now proudly sits in my 11-year-old’s bedroom. He’s quite pleased with this ”free” souvenir.
I did leave behind a large, boxed calendar that was in the trunk of the car, which was a gift from Mercedes Benz. The calendar was almost the size of the trunk of my car (maybe for someone’s garage??) and there was no way I could get it home. It remains to be seen if the calendar makes it through US customs. Although, from what I have read, I doubt it.After we completed the instructions of my car, I drove my car out of the showroom and over to the Mercedes Benz shipping agent, which is EH Harms. EH Harms is located a few short blocks from the Kundencenter. At EH Harms, an agent processed my paperwork, and while she did that, I took my car on a drive on the autobahn, which was also just a few blocks away. It was great to finally get a chance to drive my car. Of course, being able to spend a couple hours with my beautiful new car makes the wait for re-delivery very long.
Since my car’s delivery date was set for mid-February, I decided ahead of time that I would not take my car on our itinerary throughout southern Germany. Even though I live in the mountain states and I am used to winter driving conditions, the weather was too unpredictable. I didn’t want to be disappointed by getting in an accident, or damaging my new car in any way while in Europe. I planned for the worst and I wasn’t disappointed at my decision.
We ended up renting a Mercedes C220 with snow tires for our trip. In the end, I was really glad I did it this way, as we encountered a very narrow, snowy mountain pass on the way to Neuschweinstein (Disney castle), with an endless line of trucks who thought they owned this narrow, icy part of the autobahn. We also encountered a lot of snow when visiting Neuschweinstein. The snow was piled four-feet high along the roadsides, and the back roads were narrow and icy. We also encountered a heavy downpour of rain with snow and blinding fog outside of Munich. For those of you who are not so nervous about driving a new $100,000 car, the trip may have been do-able, but I can tell you that because of the weather, I enjoyed the scenery and the trip a lot more in a rental car.
Our rental car had the Mercedes Benz command center/navigation system (programmed for English), which was easy/fabulous to use. I am now well-practiced in the navigation system for when my car is re-delivered in the US. One night we were in Munich and we needed gasoline. We drove around and around looking for a gas station in heavy downtown traffic. It was hard to see out the front of the car from heavy rain. With the navigation system, I found that you can search for points of interest, so I programmed it for “gas stations” and our car was directed to a gas station. We would have never found it without the navigation system and we used it everywhere we went. The Mercedes Benz navigation system is great and easy to use and I cannot recommend it enough for your travels.
I am now home from my trip and I await the re-delivery of my car. In the end, it took more than two weeks from the time I dropped off my car at Harms in Sindelfingen to the date it is set to sail on the ship, which is in a few days. That has been disappointing. I had hoped it would be on its way in one week, but it has taken substantially longer.
When I got home, I contacted the agent at EH Harms to find out the approximate delivery date of my car. She provided me with the shipping date of my car from Bremerhaven, Germany; the name of the ship that will transport my car, which is the Aegean Leader; and the US port of entry, which is Long Beach, CA. She gave me an estimated time of delivery of “about four weeks,” once the ship sets sail.
I found two great web sites to help further track the delivery details of my car. One web site can be found here: http://www.dbh.de/index.php?id=151. Here you type in the name of the US port where your car will be delivered, along with an estimated date of shipment. From there a list of ships will come up with their shipping dates and estimated dates of arrivals. I found the Aegean Leader in the ship list for the port of Long Beach with its sailing date and the estimated date of arrival in Long Beach. It is due to arrive on March 25. That gives me a better idea of my car’s delivery date, rather than just an estimate of “about four weeks.”
I also found a web site that tracks ships all over the world in real-time in map format. The web site is http://www.aislive.com/aisliveportal...opDefault.aspx. Here you can register for the “public page” free of charge. Once you register, you can track your car’s transport ship in real-time, as it makes its way from Bremerhaven to your home port in the US. From this web site I have been following the Aegean Leader, hour by hour, as it has made its way half around the world and is currently heading into the port of Bremerhaven to pick up my car! From the port of Bremerhaven, the Aegean Leader will travel through the Panama Canal and up to the port of Long Beach.
In Long Beach, it has to clear customs and then go to the Mercedes Benz Vehicle Prep Center. They will put the US navigation disk in my car and do a couple more things that are just specific to US cars. From the time my car reaches the port of Long Beach to its arrival at my local dealer, it is supposed to take seven to 10 days. I have about a five to six-week wait still ahead of me.
I am glad I participated in the European Delivery Program. I have to say, though, that the four-plus-months of waiting feels really long. As planned, though, my car will arrive just in time for springtime and many, many months of enjoyment! I just wonder how I am ever going to wipe the smile off my face!
I attached two photos to this post. One is of my car in the delivery showroom. The other one was taken in the Harms parking lot on the only patch of ground without snowpack.
My new car: 2006 SL500, black exterior, stone interior, comfort package, panorama roof, Sirius satellite radio, keyless go, and a big smile on my face.
02-27-2006, 01:15 PM
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Great write-up! The kind of posts that I love.
I think that the only thing missing was the potential to have your car stop for a day at AMG Manufaktur for interior or other modifications or customizations (which you didn't do -- but I wanted to mention it for others ).
And yes the wait is tough....
Good Stuff. Good for you. Glad you had a good time with it.
I think that the only thing missing was the potential to have your car stop for a day at AMG Manufaktur for interior or other modifications or customizations (which you didn't do -- but I wanted to mention it for others
).And yes the wait is tough....
Good Stuff. Good for you. Glad you had a good time with it.
02-27-2006, 02:02 PM
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very nice write up, i wish someday in the near future i could participate in the euro delivery...
btw i like the IKEA in the background... nice german cliché
btw i like the IKEA in the background... nice german cliché
02-27-2006, 07:54 PM
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2002 BMW 745Li Black/beige, 2006 SL600 Capri Blue/Black still on order
Originally Posted by alboogiee
very nice write up, i wish someday in the near future i could participate in the euro delivery...
btw i like the IKEA in the background... nice german cliché
btw i like the IKEA in the background... nice german cliché
02-27-2006, 07:57 PM
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2002 BMW 745Li Black/beige, 2006 SL600 Capri Blue/Black still on order
Ironic that your car got trucked to Sindelfingen from Bremen, and then will be trucked back to Bremerhaven after to get on the ship to home. Glad you enjoyed your German visit, and that you were able to get your luggage in the car! You have to pack light with this one. The EU customs plates make a great souvenir too....if you're lucky they'll still be on the car, but don't count on it. My bet is that your calendar will indeed be there...customs does not have time to check these cars. Let us know though!
Steve
Steve
02-28-2006, 12:38 PM
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1988 560SL (sold); 2001 E430 (sold); 2004 SL500; 2009 CL550
Did they punch holes in the front bumper to attach the EU license plates??
That would be the only drawback for me.
That would be the only drawback for me.
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02-28-2006, 03:12 PM
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'08 Audi R8, '09 SL63, '10 GLK, '10 ML550
I don't know if they punched holes in the front bumper of my car to attach the euro plate. I never thought to look when I was there, but from what I am seeing in my pictures, it appears that they did! In my state, only the back (state) license plate is required. I haven't decided whether to keep the euro license plate on the front. I see the euro plates on the fronts of cars quite often around town. Maybe because the factories punch holes in everyone's front bumpers, so people are forced to keep the plates on. Is there anyone else out there who has had this experience?
And, yes I know that my car was shipped from Bremen (where it was manufactured) to Sindelfingen and back to Bremerhaven. What is worse is that after two-and-a-half weeks, it is still sitting in the port of Bremerhaven. I am looking at Thursday for it to be (finally) loaded on the ship. I am tracking it on the web sites I posted above.
Regarding Ikea being German or Swedish. I think it is Swedish, but there are so many Ikeas in the US (I was born and raised in So Calif) that I thought of home when I saw the sign from the Harms parking lot. As we were driving out of the parking lot, we asked the Harms agent where we could get a Diet Coke. She told us that there was a Burger King and a Kentucky Fried Chicken next to Ikea. We laughed. Was this Germany or were we back home?? Most everyone we met in Germany spoke perfect English, so it was very comfortable traveling in Germany. The only time we were brought back to reality was on the autobahn when, during a quiet moment in the car, another car would rocket by at the speed of sound. It was something everyone should experience! The MB technician told me not to take my new SL over 85 mph (I am female and don't have the testosterone to push it ), so that was my limit and I didn't push the car. I did enjoy taking the curves on the offramps, though. My car handles great! I currently drive a 2004 Toyota Highlander (which I am keeping for the snow), so there was a big difference in the handling of the two cars, as you can imagine.
And, yes I know that my car was shipped from Bremen (where it was manufactured) to Sindelfingen and back to Bremerhaven. What is worse is that after two-and-a-half weeks, it is still sitting in the port of Bremerhaven. I am looking at Thursday for it to be (finally) loaded on the ship. I am tracking it on the web sites I posted above.
Regarding Ikea being German or Swedish. I think it is Swedish, but there are so many Ikeas in the US (I was born and raised in So Calif) that I thought of home when I saw the sign from the Harms parking lot. As we were driving out of the parking lot, we asked the Harms agent where we could get a Diet Coke. She told us that there was a Burger King and a Kentucky Fried Chicken next to Ikea. We laughed. Was this Germany or were we back home?? Most everyone we met in Germany spoke perfect English, so it was very comfortable traveling in Germany. The only time we were brought back to reality was on the autobahn when, during a quiet moment in the car, another car would rocket by at the speed of sound. It was something everyone should experience! The MB technician told me not to take my new SL over 85 mph (I am female and don't have the testosterone to push it
), so that was my limit and I didn't push the car. I did enjoy taking the curves on the offramps, though. My car handles great! I currently drive a 2004 Toyota Highlander (which I am keeping for the snow), so there was a big difference in the handling of the two cars, as you can imagine.
03-01-2006, 12:40 AM
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2006 SL 500
Very interesting post
I really enjoyed reading your post regarding your Eurpean delivery experience. I like long posts with lots of info. I truly hope you love your car as much as I do mine. Coming up on 6 months of ownership and not one problem. Enjoy!
04-01-2006, 11:59 PM
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'08 Audi R8, '09 SL63, '10 GLK, '10 ML550
My beautiful SL is finally home!
My beautiful black 500SL finally arrived at my home dealership yesterday from its February European delivery. It has been a LONG wait, but it is so beautiful and SO MUCH fun to drive!
For anyone participating in the European delivery program, here is the timeline for the delivery of my car, which I ordered in late November.
I took delivery of my car in Sindelfingen, Germany and dropped it off at the shipping agent E.H. Harms all on the same day, which was Monday, February 13. It took over two weeks for it to be trucked to the port of Bremerhaven, but it finally departed Bremerhaven on Friday, March 3 on the ship Aegean Leader.
The Aegean Leader arrived at the Atlantic Approach of the Panama Canal two weeks later on Friday, March 16. I watched the Aegean Leader go through the Panama Canal on all three Panama Canal web cameras! It took about 12 hours for it to enter and exit the Panama Canal.
From the Panama Canal to the port of Long Beach took seven days. It arrived at the port of Long Beach late Friday, March 24. Since custom's agents don't work on the weekends, it waited until Monday to clear customs. I expected it to take a couple days for customs clearance, but it went through first thing Monday morning and it was immediately taken to the Mercedes Vehicle Preparation Center in Carson, CA. It spent a day or so at the Vehicle Prep Center.
It was taken to the truck yard on Wednesday, March 29 where it joined a truckload of Mercedes bound for Salt Lake City. The truck departed Carson, CA on Thursday, March 30 and arrived in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 31 (yesterday). In the end it took almost seven weeks from drop off in Sindelfingen to delivery at my home dealership. THAT is a long wait!
And, the trunk-sized Mercedes calendar that was given to me in Sindelfingen as a gift, and that I had left in the trunk of the car for shipment, did not make it to Salt Lake City. It must have been confiscated by custom's agents, which I expected. I had no other way to get it home. I never even opened the box, so I don't know what the calendar looked like, but I would have liked to have seen it! It makes me wonder what the customs agents do with all of the items they confiscate.
For anyone participating in the European delivery program, here is the timeline for the delivery of my car, which I ordered in late November.
I took delivery of my car in Sindelfingen, Germany and dropped it off at the shipping agent E.H. Harms all on the same day, which was Monday, February 13. It took over two weeks for it to be trucked to the port of Bremerhaven, but it finally departed Bremerhaven on Friday, March 3 on the ship Aegean Leader.
The Aegean Leader arrived at the Atlantic Approach of the Panama Canal two weeks later on Friday, March 16. I watched the Aegean Leader go through the Panama Canal on all three Panama Canal web cameras! It took about 12 hours for it to enter and exit the Panama Canal.
From the Panama Canal to the port of Long Beach took seven days. It arrived at the port of Long Beach late Friday, March 24. Since custom's agents don't work on the weekends, it waited until Monday to clear customs. I expected it to take a couple days for customs clearance, but it went through first thing Monday morning and it was immediately taken to the Mercedes Vehicle Preparation Center in Carson, CA. It spent a day or so at the Vehicle Prep Center.
It was taken to the truck yard on Wednesday, March 29 where it joined a truckload of Mercedes bound for Salt Lake City. The truck departed Carson, CA on Thursday, March 30 and arrived in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 31 (yesterday). In the end it took almost seven weeks from drop off in Sindelfingen to delivery at my home dealership. THAT is a long wait!
And, the trunk-sized Mercedes calendar that was given to me in Sindelfingen as a gift, and that I had left in the trunk of the car for shipment, did not make it to Salt Lake City. It must have been confiscated by custom's agents, which I expected. I had no other way to get it home. I never even opened the box, so I don't know what the calendar looked like, but I would have liked to have seen it! It makes me wonder what the customs agents do with all of the items they confiscate.
04-02-2006, 01:36 AM
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the US customs dont take it.... the port workers steal anything that isnt tied down. I am going to do Euro delivery and I am considering putting a small tracking device on something... then get that worthless POS fired.
I prolly wont but its tempting
I prolly wont but its tempting
04-02-2006, 04:49 PM
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'08 Audi R8, '09 SL63, '10 GLK, '10 ML550
EU License Plate
My car has front and rear EU license plates. It came that way at delivery. I thought only the rear plate was required in my state, but apparently both front and rear are required. I am going to keep the EU plate on the front when my state plates arrive. One of the employees at my Mercedes dealership told me that everyone keeps the EU plate on the front of their car and stores their front state plate in the trunk of their car, just in case they get pulled over. She said that police and highway patrol don't hassle you, and that mainly, it is the meter readers who hassle you over front EU plates!
I am driving around with both EU plates on right now. I spent four hours on a Sunday drive today, in the city and on the freeway, and passed countless police and highway patrol cars with no problems. I see EU plates on cars everyday, so I doubt if I will have problems.
I am driving around with both EU plates on right now. I spent four hours on a Sunday drive today, in the city and on the freeway, and passed countless police and highway patrol cars with no problems. I see EU plates on cars everyday, so I doubt if I will have problems.
04-02-2006, 06:23 PM
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SL500 and A-CLASS
Will Mercedes give you plugs to cover the holes in the bumper. We do not have fron plates here and I just do not want ugly holes in my bumber.
04-02-2006, 07:52 PM
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06 Infiniti FX35, 07 SL55
Ive got a 2007 SL55 on order for European Delivery in August. We dont have front license plates in Louisiana and at first I thought it would be a problem. The more I thought about it, though, the more I began to like the idea of keeping the German plates. I have never seen one around here so it will be unique.
I was told by my dealer to take the front plates off before leaving Europe. I guess they sometimes dont make it to the US.
Paul
I was told by my dealer to take the front plates off before leaving Europe. I guess they sometimes dont make it to the US.
Paul
04-02-2006, 09:44 PM
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'08 Audi R8, '09 SL63, '10 GLK, '10 ML550
Regarding plugs for the license plate holes, I saw on one of the Benz forums that there are after-market plugs from a web company called bumperplugs.com. I don't know anything about them as a company, but the photos on the web site were impressive. I am keeping my EU plate on the front, so I didn't research it any further.
04-05-2006, 09:45 AM
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ML320
Hi Spnslc, thanks for the post. I heard by going through Mercedes Benz European delivery program you save about 5-7% than if you would have got from local US Benz dealer. I was just curious if that's true or not?:-) Gracias!
04-05-2006, 09:49 AM
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Tino - ....I heard by going through Mercedes Benz European delivery program you save about 5-7% than if you would have got from local US Benz dealer. Was just curious if that's true or not?
So the best answer would probably be: 'Not Always'.
04-05-2006, 09:54 AM
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'08 Audi R8, '09 SL63, '10 GLK, '10 ML550
I saved 7% on my SL. The Mercedes web site lists the models available for the European Delivery discount program. Search for European Delivery on their web site.
04-05-2006, 03:41 PM
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2020 BMW X3M Comp
Originally Posted by ClayJ
Depends on the model -- and who knows what else.
So the best answer would probably be: 'Not Always'.
So the best answer would probably be: 'Not Always'.
Tino - Here is your answer:
Mercedes offers a 7% savings by taking european delivery on all (Including AMG) C, E, CLK, SLK, CLS, and SL class. Go to the MB website and they can give you more details http://www.mbusa.com/edp/program/overview.do
04-05-2006, 04:29 PM
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Because if you had been involved in the program and in taking European Delivery over the years you would know from experience that the number and exact models available for discount (and perhaps even the amount of the discount as well?) through ED changes from year-to-year.
I haven't found much continuity, or logic to it -- I assume it is a decision made by either Marketing, or by MBUSA.... If I remember correctly, one year - maybe it was even mid-year - they cancelled/offered no ED discounts on any models....
And, if I remember correctly, they do not, or have not recently, offered any discounts on AMG models.....
So, the part about checking the MBUSA site to see what is available for discount, and to gather some details about the ED program -- that is worthy of being posted.....
I haven't found much continuity, or logic to it -- I assume it is a decision made by either Marketing, or by MBUSA.... If I remember correctly, one year - maybe it was even mid-year - they cancelled/offered no ED discounts on any models....
And, if I remember correctly, they do not, or have not recently, offered any discounts on AMG models.....
So, the part about checking the MBUSA site to see what is available for discount, and to gather some details about the ED program -- that is worthy of being posted.....
Last edited by ClayJ; 04-05-2006 at 04:53 PM.
04-05-2006, 05:58 PM
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Originally Posted by ClayJ
Because if you had been involved in the program and in taking European Delivery over the years you would know from experience that the number and exact models available for discount (and perhaps even the amount of the discount as well?) through ED changes from year-to-year.
I haven't found much continuity, or logic to it -- I assume it is a decision made by either Marketing, or by MBUSA.... If I remember correctly, one year - maybe it was even mid-year - they cancelled/offered no ED discounts on any models....
And, if I remember correctly, they do not, or have not recently, offered any discounts on AMG models.....
So, the part about checking the MBUSA site to see what is available for discount, and to gather some details about the ED program -- that is worthy of being posted.....
I haven't found much continuity, or logic to it -- I assume it is a decision made by either Marketing, or by MBUSA.... If I remember correctly, one year - maybe it was even mid-year - they cancelled/offered no ED discounts on any models....
And, if I remember correctly, they do not, or have not recently, offered any discounts on AMG models.....
So, the part about checking the MBUSA site to see what is available for discount, and to gather some details about the ED program -- that is worthy of being posted.....
PS- Suggesting the MBUSA website was not yours.
