Maverick

For those of you who have been through the European Delivery program recently, I have a few questions (picking up my SLK April 4):

1. Did you stop in and talk to the forwarder/shipping agent before leaving the factory area? I gather that they are near by.

2. Are any parts or accessories available at the pick up location (specifically thinking about the plexiglass windscreen option, and floor mats for the trip), or do I have to pre-arrange that with the dealer here?

3. Any recommendations for things to see/skip/ask while at the pick up location?

4. Did you have any problems during your trip that required servicing of some kind? If so, was it a problem that took a lot of time? (We are going to be in the south of France almost the whole trip.)

5. For those who might have dropped of the car in Paris as we are going to: Is it difficult to find? How much extra time did it take to take care of the drop off, before heading over to the terminal? It appears that the drop of location is right at CDG, correct? Any difficulty getting from the drop off location to the international terminal?

Thanks.

Motzkoman

Maverick:

Sorry I didn't catch this earlier, but here is the response (I also sent you an email)...

1. Did you stop in and talk to the
forwarder/shipping agent before leaving the factory
area? I gather that they are near by.

Yes, we went there right after pickup; it is within
about a mile and they will give you a map with
directions.

2. Are any parts or accessories available at the
pick up location (specifically thinking about the
plexiglass windscreen option, and floor mats for the
trip), or do I have to pre-arrange that with the
dealer here?

There is a gift shop at the pickup location, but I am
not sure about accessories like the windscreen or
mats. I am actually getting them here; we used the
netting windscreen and it worked well for the trip.

3. Any recommendations for things to see/skip/ask
while at the pick up location?

I recommend the factory tour while you are there; it
is well staged and you see a lot of the "C" class line
(SLK's are made up in Bremen). When you have lunch at
the cafe, you will notice that the voucher is for $65
Euro. We had enough left from lunch to ask them for
an unopened bottle of wine to go...something they do
regularly...and we had a gift for relatives I visited
that night.

Also, if they don't volunteer, ask for a manual to
take with you; in my case the technician already had
one to give me (your official one will be with the car
in the US when you get it; I kept the extra as a
spare. Also before dropping the car at the forwarder,
take out the first aid kit and throw it in your
luggage...they would take it out anyway and a US
smaller one is added at the VPC.

4. Did you have any problems during your trip that
required servicing of some kind? If so, was it a
problem that took a lot of time? (We are going to be
in the south of France almost the whole trip.)

We had no hangups what-so-ever. The car performed
well and was flawless through 1800 miles in Germany,
Austria, Liechtenstein and France. We actually put on
2883 kilometers - the speedo was in KPH and got
changed to MPH at the US VPC.

5. For those who might have dropped of the car in
Paris as we are going to: Is it difficult to find?
How much extra time did it take to take care of the
drop off, before heading over to the terminal? It
appears that the drop of location is right at CDG,
correct? Any difficulty getting from the drop off
location to the international terminal?

Interestingly enough, I actually dropped mine off in
Paris. They had changed from a forwarder that was in
the city to the one now that is out by terminal 3. We
came from Giverny and were spending 4 days in Paris,
but I wanted to turn in the car first so I wouldn't
worry about it. As you approach the airport, just
follow the signs to terminal 3 (they will give you a
map at the forwarder by the factory). It is easy to
find and they will be expecting you because the
forwarder by the factory will have faxed them
paperwork. They then recommend you call a day ahead
of arrival as a reminder. When you drop your car,
they will radio for a shuttle to take you to your
terminal (they took us to the train station to head
into Paris).

YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE IT!!!