M-class delivery waiting period
jsch...@exodus.valpo.edu
I am told that there is quite a waiting period between ordering a Mercedes
M-class (ML320) and the delivery date. But I am hearing different lengths
of time from different dealers. What is the deal? Are some being less
truthful than others or is there some scheme of allotting these vehicles
between different dealers? Is there a way that a poor schmuck like me can
decrease the waiting period?
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
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Victor Marshall
jsch...@exodus.valpo.edu wrote:
>
> I am told that there is quite a waiting period between ordering a Mercedes
> M-class (ML320) and the delivery date. But I am hearing different lengths
> of time from different dealers. What is the deal? Are some being less
> truthful than others or is there some scheme of allotting these vehicles
> between different dealers? Is there a way that a poor schmuck like me can
> decrease the waiting period?
What kind of poor schmuck can afford a Mercedes? <grin>
When a car has a waiting list, there's a direct relationship between how
much you're willing to pay and how soon you'll get your car.
VM
Steve
jsch...@exodus.valpo.edu wrote:
>I am told that there is quite a waiting period between ordering a Mercedes
>M-class (ML320) and the delivery date. But I am hearing different lengths
>of time from different dealers. What is the deal? Are some being less
>truthful than others or is there some scheme of allotting these vehicles
>between different dealers? Is there a way that a poor schmuck like me can
>decrease the waiting period?
>
This subject has been discussed at length in the ML320 Owner's Forum
at http://4x44u.vmag.com/forum/ml320/index.html . The bottom line (as
I understand it): Mercedes has a computer system that allocates
production by dealerships, based on how many vehicles that dealership
has sold in the past. The shortest wait periods I have seen quoted
(3-6 months) are in Los Angeles, where many Mercedes autos are sold
(there are 20+ dealerships)--and there is not as high a demand for
4x4s as in other parts of the country.
I live in Columbus, Georgia, where the wait period is not too bad
either--I ordered my ML320 on October 20, 1997 and just recently
received a production date of February 5, 1998. I had been quoted a 6
month wait period. I have, of course, arranged for a factory tour on
the date my vehicle is built. :-)
Mike/TOY SOLDIER
When I visited my local Benz dealer a month ago, he noted that there was an
11-month wait for the car (er... van). After a close inspection and a test
ride, I chuckled and left. The salesman made a big deal over the feminine
appeal of this vehicle, comparing it to everything from Chrysler minivans to
Land Rover Discovery, saying "this is one 4X4 that the wife will want to
drive". I thought the finish didn't measure up to the other Mercedes products
in the showroom, and I have to tell you... there's hardly any room for
anything behind the 2nd seat. I think this is Mercedes repeating the SLK
problem. Millions of yuppies put down a deposit sight unseen, and when they
saw the real deal... a lot backed out. I suspect that the wait time is hype,
and you'll be able to buy one if you show the salesman a cash deposit.
Mike
jsch...@exodus.valpo.edu wrote:
> I am told that there is quite a waiting period between ordering a Mercedes
> M-class (ML320) and the delivery date. But I am hearing different lengths
> of time from different dealers. What is the deal? Are some being less
> truthful than others or is there some scheme of allotting these vehicles
> between different dealers? Is there a way that a poor schmuck like me can
> decrease the waiting period?
>
Jerry Bransford
Mike/TOY SOLDIER wrote:
>
> When I visited my local Benz dealer a month ago, he noted that there was an
> 11-month wait for the car (er... van). After a close inspection and a test
> ride, I chuckled and left. The salesman made a big deal over the feminine
> appeal of this vehicle, comparing it to everything from Chrysler minivans to
> Land Rover Discovery, saying "this is one 4X4 that the wife will want to
> drive". I thought the finish didn't measure up to the other Mercedes products
> in the showroom, and I have to tell you... there's hardly any room for
> anything behind the 2nd seat. I think this is Mercedes repeating the SLK
> problem. Millions of yuppies put down a deposit sight unseen, and when they
> saw the real deal... a lot backed out. I suspect that the wait time is hype,
> and you'll be able to buy one if you show the salesman a cash deposit.
My wife drives a MB and when I went to the local MB dealer to buy a $27
(!!!) replacement water hose (since it was a Saturday and no stores
stock them!), I saw the M-Class 4x4 sitting there. Though I couldn't
get inside (and didn't want a salesman there to open it up), I gave the
outside a pretty thorough inspection and decided it was definitely not a
MB I would buy. I went back to my Jeep TJ and drove off, no envy of the
new MB at all. Besides that, I thought it was really funny looking!
(perhaps the salesman didn't come running out to greet me because I
drove up in a Jeep Wrangler LOL????)
Jerry
--
Jerry Bransford
PP-ASEL, C.A.P., KC6TAY
The Zen hotdog... make me one with everything!
Dimitar Bojantchev
Let me add my impression -- I was very gung-ho over the prospects of
owning one of those vehicles. I found the idea of an SUV by MB quite
appealing... But then the test driving epizode arrived -- in all other
instances with a number of various vehicles, the salesmen were very
enthusiastic at the prospect of me taking the vehicle over a short
patch of 'dry' durt road and a few holes so that I can get a cursory
idea of what it feels like... The MB guy absolutely refused to
entertain that idea and his eyes opened wide at my suggestion... And I
definitely do not look like a teenager seeking to destroy someone's
vehicle. "What are you selling me then?" -- were my last words before I
'shook the dust off my feet'...
Dimitar
P.S. Also this car looks MB from the front. From behind it looks like an UFO.
--
===============================================================================
Dimitar Bojantchev dim...@pontix.com or dim...@best.com
Pontix Consulting, Inc. http://www.pontix.com/
Personal Info http://www.pontix.com/dimitar
DADDY
Mike/TOY SOLDIER wrote:
>
> When I visited my local Benz dealer a month ago, he noted that there was an
> 11-month wait for the car (er... van). After a close inspection and a test
> ride, I chuckled and left. The salesman made a big deal over the feminine
> appeal of this vehicle, comparing it to everything from Chrysler minivans to
> Land Rover Discovery, saying "this is one 4X4 that the wife will want to
> drive". I thought the finish didn't measure up to the other Mercedes products
> in the showroom, and I have to tell you... there's hardly any room for
> anything behind the 2nd seat. I think this is Mercedes repeating the SLK
> problem. Millions of yuppies put down a deposit sight unseen, and when they
> saw the real deal... a lot backed out. I suspect that the wait time is hype,
> and you'll be able to buy one if you show the salesman a cash deposit.
>
>
> jsch...@exodus.valpo.edu wrote:
>
> > I am told that there is quite a waiting period between ordering a Mercedes
> > M-class (ML320) and the delivery date. But I am hearing different lengths
> > of time from different dealers. What is the deal? Are some being less
> > truthful than others or is there some scheme of allotting these vehicles
> > between different dealers? Is there a way that a poor schmuck like me can
> > decrease the waiting period?
> >
> > -------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
> > http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet
I ordered an m-320 in Sept. and was quoted a delivery of April.
They are now telling me that due to increased production and some
dropping off the waiting list, that Iwill probable get mine in January.
However, I do not have a production date yet.
John in Houston
Poon
Up here in Vancouver, Canada, we had to order the car in October of 1996.
We were one of the first ones on the waiting list and have just picked up
our car one week ago.
Considering the relatively low price (in comparison to other SUV's and
Mercedes), well worth the wait.
Not the typical Mercedes. But same quality and elegance.
jsch...@exodus.valpo.edu wrote in message
<8804331...@dejanews.com>...
Sandy Dupleich
Actually, I beg to differ. The waiting time is very real!! I put down a
deposit on my M-class last January (1997!) and although I'm number 50 on my
dealer's waiting list, I'm still waiting...
The cars did not start arriving until September (I believe) of this year. I
keep hoping for a surprise call before Christmas, but you never know...
Sandy
Weasel
In article <660ec2$qt9$1...@texas.nwlink.com>,
I bet that the size of the waiting period really depends on which
dealer you talk to and where you are located. In Baltimore, several
dealers had ML320's on hand that they were willing to sell me and had more
coming in. Perhaps luxury vehicles just don't sell as well there, but I
seem to find a lot of good deals. I even found an unallocated fully
loaded Boxster...
-Weasel
-======================--=============================--======================-
"Be a woman, sleep in a||"I've often thought that ||"Life is like a
bed that's not your ||the process of aging could ||dice game man,
own." ||be slowed down if it had to ||in to win."
- Amity Law, CC '00 ||go through congress" -G. Bush|| - Mobb Deep
-======================--=============================--======================-
Thomas C Norwood
I talked to the local (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) dealer and the
salesman there said it's a 14 month wait.
Ouch! Basically, you're buying a 1999 model 6 months after they're
released but putting the $ down in December of 1997.
Scary...
- Tom N.
--
==============================================================================
"Anyone can shoot a gun, but can you steer a bullet?"
- From a promo poster for Rage Racer (PSX)
"Power is nothing without the ability to control it."
"A Porsche is not built to be something for everyone; it is built to be
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jsch...@exodus.valpo.edu
Thanks for your post! I see several dealers listed in the Baltimore
area. Which one did you visit?
In article <66ak1g$o4k$1...@apakabar.cc.columbia.edu>,
wea...@tuik.mcb.rhno.columbia.edu (Weasel) wrote:
> I bet that the size of the waiting period really depends on which
> dealer you talk to and where you are located. In Baltimore, several
> dealers had ML320's on hand that they were willing to sell me and had more
> coming in. Perhaps luxury vehicles just don't sell as well there, but I
> seem to find a lot of good deals.
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
MS Internal
We looked, got snubbed by MB with a wait of "as much as 24 months" line and
bought a Range Rover off the lot...
No regrets
Masculine1
Dont know that Mercedes Stubbed you, but if they dont have any products
available what are they supposed to do? I am sure the dealers wished they did
have more to sell.
Good luck with your Range Rover. I had one in 94...was the worst vehicle I
EVER owned. By 20K it rattled and groaned, and switches stopped working,
cruise control stopped working, etc.....
And worst of all it deprecated like crazy, I lost my butt when I sold it in
'96. Lesson learned
.
Ralph
Have to aggree with the Range Rover problems, my uncle had one until the
electrical system burned up the truck.
I just took delivery of the ML320 and it was worth waiting for. The only
problem is that if you order one with option you want, you may be supprised
when the dealer calls with the news your truck has arrived, but its not the
color you specified.
I wanted tan interior and got gray, and no CD player. They kind of have you
over a barrel its not like you can just take another one!
Ralph G
>.
Kirill A. Gomelsky
Ralph <ral...@viptx.net> wrote in article
<6725dj$r...@news0-alterdial.uu.net>...
Who is your dealer?
I have been called twice even before the one I ordered showed up.
The first time it was a different color, the second time I could not make
it on time to get it.