wem

Correct regarding Porsche. I took delivery of a new 2023 Porsche Cayenne S Coupe last month that I ordered a week before my SL.

Tifoso48

I think this is pretty outrageous and sets MB up for history repeating itself. I do believe, however, that this is very much connected to clearing out the 22's. Last time I looked there were between 400 and 600 2022 SL for sale. April and definitely May are great months for selling convertibles in much of the USA and I think it will take that long to sell these cars.
I agree it is just a guess but one that seems logical. I really do feel very badly for everyone who is waiting for their 23's, many with cars collecting dust and rust at the preparation centers. MB truly appears not to care about its customers - very sad indeed.

sks144

If this is true I’m canceling my order even if I lose my deposit. Out of principle. My dealer had quoted me an April 15th shipment date to me. My 23 has been sitting in Baltimore since February and I only have so many nice months in the Northeast to utilize a roadster.

Omega803

MB dealer had no idea why 55s and 63s are being held up at the port and wouldn't hazard a guess about release. They have not even received a MSRP. Dealer said he was helpless and clueless. Cancelled order and receive full deposit refund. Last MB I will ever purchase after owning 10. I am convinced this is a really screwed up company. The secrecy is bad for the brand. Good luck everyone. Off to the Porsche dealership.

wem

I have a followup meeting with the sales manager and my sales associate tomorrow. If something significant isn't offered, I might totally change direction to get a 2023 G550 (MSRP for a nicely optioned one is slightly higher than the SL55). My dealer has one in stock but wants $25k over sticker. I found two other similar spec'd ones at other dealerships that are selling at MSRP. If my dealer agrees to sell me the G at sticker, I will take the G and cancel the SL. If my dealer doesn't move on either the G or the SL, I will probably cancel the SL and buy one of the other G wagons at MSRP. I'll give the G wagon to my wife, and I'll take the new Porsche I bought for her a few weeks ago.

Alan Smithee

Shocking this is happening again with the 2023s. Like others, waited almost a full year from order to delivery for a 2022, which sat on the dock in Germany for four months, no MSRP info, and finally showed up in the final quarter of 2022. With the wrong interior (was aware, but still a bummer). Then the dealer and MBFS games started. Fully predicted they would be discounted within months so walked away from the car and decades of MB loyalty.

Ordered a Carrera Cab in January and will have it in a few weeks; 180 opposite purchase and waiting experience, with the TYD app showing status of the car in all phases of the process, photos of the car on the assembly line, gift from PCNA last week in the mail, constant updates from the sales staff, etc. Yes, about the same amount over MSRP as they wanted for the SL, which to be fair wasn’t a lot, but it was clear upfront before placing the order…not a year later and after two hours of wasted back and forth in the showroom.

Don’t get me started on my over two year attempt to order an E63 wagon…

W205C43PFL

Exactly, the 2022 held up was probably due to being a completely new generation and so it takes more time to certify or more stuff has to be certified, the 2023 is just a bump in model year. MB does have this conquest program going on for the 2022 so I am wondering if it is about to move and clear out 2022 inventory? Anyway hope you guys all get your 2023 soon.

wem

With the Conquest dollars plus anything additional you can beat up the dealer with and the 3.9% financing, an in stock 2022 might be an option too. A big part of the luxury car buying experience is a seamless, no stress experience. MB has missed the mark by a long shot. Great car 232 SL, ruined by a clueless corporate management team.

W205C43PFL

and... greedy too, priced way too high to begin with and trying to compete with the 911. just look at the C 63 S Final Edition, for UK that package is way cheaper, MBUSA decides to charge what 38K? for a bunch of stickers?

wem

So here's the scoop on the release of the 2023 SLs. I had my followup meeting at the dealership. It is a disaster as many have already mentioned here. Dealerships are still receiving deliveries of new 2022 SLs. Ridiculous but true. The 2023s will not be released until corporate back in Germany decides the 2022 inventory levels are at an acceptable number (no one but the mother ship knows what is the magic number). A few 2023s have slipped through the cracks and are at dealerships, but Corporate indicated those should not have been released. June is still the ETA for the release of the 2023s. Interesting that it is also when the Conquest dollars program ends on the 2022s. I will make a decision on what to do next week after i speak with the dealer again.

Tifoso48

Yes, that sounds just about right and quite frankly this is an unacceptable debacle for an iconic brand like Mercedes. The great big irony is that by delaying the 23's until June there is a pretty good chance that unless MB produces very significantly less of MY2023 they buying public will be in the same boat pretty soon again.

kcirm

I'm very curious about statements like this from dealers. Because anywhere I look, after the 3-6 first months that the SLs were on the market, dealers have been aggressively discounting them.

But for the first part, I know that my Canadian dealer recently had a 2022 order that was still available for modification.

wem

So here is the latest on my 2023 SL55. I met with the manager on Saturday. I put 4 different options/scenarios on the table. Two that involved working with the dealership and two that did not. From a purely objective standpoint, I told him that it made the most sense for me to look for a 2022 SL55 to take advantage of the Conquest dollars program (I currently own 2 Porsches that qualify) and to get the 3.99% interest rate, and to get a car in hand versus waiting until at least June for my 2023. He told me that if we could find cars that had the specs I wanted, he would make the calls to see if the other dealership was willing to trade. Based on his database, there were 12 2022 SL55s that were Hyperblue with the Performance trim. Over the weekend, I sent him an email to eliminate the ones that had the Sage interior. I found a particular SL55 that was even more highly spec'd than my 2023 with a color combination that was acceptable to me. This morning he called me to confirm that it was the one I wanted. He had to do some horse trading with the other store, but got it done. He is arranging for transportation as we speak. At the end of the day, I will get a car with more equipment for less money. If you recall, I also pre-sold my Taycan to the dealership back in November, so by staying with my local dealer, I will also get the sales tax benefit of my trade in which is more than a $6200 benefit. Fingers crossed that the new car doesn't fall of the transporter on the way to the dealership.

js_cls

Glad to hear things are working out, and that your dealer stepped up to the plate for you. Good luck, and hopefully your beauty will be delivered soon!

Okay, boomer

Great news!

I saw a hyper blue / sage grey SL recently and it looked really good, for what it's worth.

BenjaminKohl

Yeah, I've seen a few sage gray interiors and theyhave a lovely Blue tinge to it. I would highly consider it.

wem

There are a number of Hyperblue/Sage 2022s available. I have not seen the Sage other than in pictures. Neither the sales manager nor the sales associate were comfortable with the combination without seeing it in person. I decided to go with the Hyperblue with the Exclusive Macchiato Beige/Titan Grey, the biggest downside being the beige carpets (ridiculous to put light colored carpets in any car. I will order custom floor mats to cover the carpet.

js_cls

That will be absolutely gorgeous! Should look like the car in this review:

Omega803

WEM. Great minds think alike. Cancelled my '23. Went to a different dealer in same area and purchased a new '22 with everything I wanted in the color I wanted with the Porsche trade Conquest discount and a modest loyalty discount. Had to work the trade a little but ended up on the KBB line. Took delivery and feel great.. Unfortunately, they seem to have taken us down the path they wanted by getting us into a "22 but who I could care less because I finally have the new ride I wanted at considerably less than I would have paid 6 months ago. Congrats on your purchase. No more anguish; time to enjoy.

wem

@Omega803 Congratulations. Like you, I had no issue buying a 2022 versus a 2023, especially since we both got all the goodies w/o compromising on our must haves at a lower price than our original orders. I wasn't sure if the dealers were still willing to swap cars and allocations these days. Apparently the dealer who had the 2022 got a ton of requests to swap from other dealers, but he wanted a special future allocation/trade which thankfully my local dealer was a much bigger store and was willing to do to save the deal.

BLAM

Ha, I too cancelled my 2023 55 order and purchased a new 2022 63 today. Life is good!

BLAM

It’s not opted with the Guard 360. Can I still get it with the Mercedes Me app or installed at the dealer?

js_cls

Congrats, glad both of you were able to find a solution and enjoy a new SL. Be sure to post pictures of your beauties!

wem

Let me know if it can be added. My 2023 build had the Guard 360 and the Augmented Video for Nav. The 2022 that I'm buying has neither, but has the HUD and both Night packages and the forged rims (all of which are positive additions)

sks144

My dealer is still saying they haven’t heard the 2023 MYs have been delayed and the expectation is they ship in April. So either they are lying to me or are clueless.

My 63 has been at the Baltimore VPC since mid Feb.

I told them I’ll give till May 1st to take delivery or I’m canceling and buying a used 911 Turbo S. For me this is now about the customer experience and honesty and less about the car itself.

Whatever Mercedes thinks they are doing I can’t rationalize. They will lose customers for life. Perhaps they don’t care. I’m willing to pay full MSRP for the 23 and the car I built is here. Why not sell it to me?