dosers

To start off, I have no new info on US / CAN dates :-)
but the first 3 SLK55 AMG have been delivered to customers in Germany September 8th. These 3 car are the very first cars produced (As we all know, there have been cars for the last few months in Germany, though none of them were sold) for Sell-through to customers; all 3 were pre-ordered, 2 of them were picked up at at the factory in Bremen, one delivered 'through AMG' in Affalterbach.

'Select' Mercedes Benz dealerships in Germany will start displaying the car in showrooms October 4th, though there has been a roadshow of sorts that displayed the car at dealers throughout Germany and Switzerland over the last 2 1/2 months (rotating).

Mercedes-Benz in Bremen (so again, take this with a grain of salt) says the US sales start of the car is November 4th, but they gave no hint of allocation, actual production capacity & dates, numbers or real delivery dates (as they probably wouldn't know them anyway).

Cheers,
Dan

dinko

Thanks for the info Dan, you're the man!

I'm gonna have a family member who lives in Germany go test drive that beast, and I'll let you all know how it was!

dosers

AMG stated that 'roughly 40% of the SLK55 Production will go to the US Market'.
If you happen to be in Affalterbach, you can sign up for a tour now that includes driving a the SLK55 AMG (in addition to 5 other AMG cars). Includes food and such, but they'll charge you 175 Euros (about a million dollars at the current exchange rate ;-)) and they only do a few a months, Sept. and October are, apparently all full (but you can call).

Best,
dan

dosers

Hi Dinko !
Yeah, that'll be cool. I'll be back in LA till November, but back in Germany (Berlin) that month, so at the very least I'll try to do the same then - IF we don't have some of these babies closing in on the US by then... :-)

Let me know if you hear from your 'insider' in Germany before !!

Dan

dinko

I have plans to go back to Germany for about a month later this year, or early next year. Perhaps we can take a day or two and check out Affalterbach?

dosers

That sounds like fun.
AMG has only scheduled these 'tours' until the end of Oct. for now, so it'll make sense to check (though I'd assume they'll continue). AMG is open to the public in any case, and they have a nice showroom (you can't buy there though) and 'museum' setup. Of course, that's not the same as driving them ;-)

Best,
d

SLK55_AMG

thanx for the info. so this means our cars are soon to be picked

dosers

Well.. we can hope anyway. But on the flipside, as far as I know, no POs have been generated for any US cars yet, so for one, I think any delivery prior to the apparently given November 4th introduction seems more and more unlikely (I might be wrong - trust me, I hope I'm wrong on it!), and there won't be boatloads of these things anyway, so.... Let's put it this way, while I'm hoping, I'm certainly not planning on having my car any specific week or, frankly, even month unless I hear of a production date. It's not uncommong for Mercedes or Porsche or BMW to have cars out in Germany several months before any volume shipment to NA, so....
By the end of this month we should pester our dealer in the US again for any updates. Keep in mind, any car delivered in, say end of October needs to get a PO within the next week or so to make it (longer for the West Coast)....

Here's hoping :-)

Best,
Dan

Yellow R1

Hi Dan.

I think you are right not to bank on seeing your SLK55 anytime soon. I doubt I'll see mine prior to February - even though I got my slot in May & specified the options about 3 wks ago when it was "possible" (our Benz Dealer had just gotten the SLK ordering materials/training binders).

At least we are "in line" .

What color you gettin'? I'm getting Firemist Red with 2 tone black/red interior. You think that COMMAND option is worth it (I ordered the upgraded stereo - just not the COMMAND option)?

-Matt

dosers

Actually, the dealer could 'order' the SLK55 AMG of July (that's when the option was available on netstar). From that point on it's a wait until Mercedes pulls the order and assingns a PO and Production date.

I ordered everything that was availalbe, period - which isn't that much. Lighting Package, Entertainment Package w/ Nav, Premium Package, Phone and Airscarf. Nothing else available ;-) .
You got red/black (order code 857) with Firemist (548) then ? I just got all black inside, and Iridium ext. Somewhat boring, and I drove the 350 with the Teluride Silver for a week and almost went for that, but I haven't had a trad silver car in a while so....

Did you get Entertainment package 320 then (with Nav and Logic 7) ?!

There is absolutely a chance to get a car in November or December, I am sure of that - it's a question of where in line you are and what the allocation will be really.

Best,
Daniel

Yellow R1

Ahh, I was not aware we could expect to see actual deliveries in Nov/Dec. Hmmm, interesting - I was expecting Jan/Feb (best case).

No, I did not order that entertainment package - I don't know if its really worth it since I'm not really sure what its functionality is (my Sales guy was pretty clueless - he couldn't really explain it - perhaps since he had not yet boned up on the literature )

I was #5 on our Dealer list up her in San Jose. Congrats on your order - these should be pretty cool cars (this one is primarily for my wife).

Cheers!
-Matt

dosers

Matt,
someting's fishy there:

There is no 'speaker upgrade' without the entertainment package. You get either 420 (entertainment package without DVD / NAV), 320 (same, but with DVD/Nav) or 'nothing'. IN the case of 'nothing' you can get the 6 CD changer as an option, but that's it. You have to get one of the entertainment packages to get:
380-watt harman/kardon® LOGIC7® digital surround sound system with 11 speakers and 7.1-channel amplifier. Integrated 6-disc CD changer, mounted in glovebox. COMAND ****pit Management and Data system integrating
AM/FM stereo/weatherband radio, in-dash single-CD player,
controls for CD changer and phone, and a 6.5" color-LCD
in-dash screen with ten mode-dependent soft keys alongside
screen for easy access to commands and on-screen menus

Otherwise you get AM/FM stereo/weatherband radio with in-dash single-CD player & In-dash audio system operating panel integrates controls and
displays for radio, CD player.

There's no inbetween (and I myself, having had nav on my current car think 320 is a great package) and Logic7 only comes with the entertainment package, not an individual option. What did they 'sell' you on ? DO you have option number and pricing ?

This is reflected on netstar as well as the brochure !

Best,
Dan

Yellow R1

All right, my interest is piqued!

I believe we ordered the "lesser" Entertainment package since I wanted premium sound - just not a DVD system. I'm confused though after reading Logic 7 can't get ordered with 420. I will swing by the Dealer to ensure I get the whole shebang. I think since you like the 320 - I'm gettin' it baby!

Dan, thanks for your inputs Buddy. This is my 1st Benz & I'm buying it "sight unseen" with no brochures (kinda risky but I'm consoled it IS a Mercedes).

I'll rock it up - this was the only thing missing I had not ordered. It should not be too late.

See ya!
-Matt

dosers

:-) AH, that would make sense. The package has order number 420 and indeed would include the exact same speaker systems, amp etc, CD Changer as 320, just no DVD Player and no Navigation. The Screen is different too (still colour, but narrower, as there's no need to display a full map).
SO, you're probably all good - I gave you the WRONG IMPRESSION as per the Logic7- it DOES come with both 320 and 420. You just cannot get it by itself if you choose to go without an entertainment system altogether. If you got EITHER, you WILL get HK's Logic7 :-)

Yeah, the 320 is sweet - of course it's more expensive, so that's a personal decision. I really like having a Nav system. When I got it for my current car, it was more or less a toy - I had no idea how much I'd use it and how cool it is. MB's Command III is nice, speaks in 7 different languages, can point you to (and call!) all kinds of restaurants or service in an area and so forth - and the screen is 'cooler'. But you are fine with 420 as well - just don't get 'no' entertainment system ;-)

Let me know how your visit at the dealer goes !

Best,
Dan

SLK55_AMG

lucky guys dudeee