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Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedans
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Comments
You are right. I bet dealers would love to only have each car on their lot for a few days.
Unfortunately, they carry inventory so we have selection.
Right now, our biggest dealership in Boston as 92 E-class MB's on hand.
They had 99 as of new years so they are coming down some. But for December their inventory increased about 10 cars.
So if they tend to cars say 75 month in and month out, they are paying interest or opportunity cost on 365*75 lot days ... Another way to look at it is that they are financing $40,000,000 worth of inventory at 8% or so ALL year.
Smaller dealerships of course, do less. They love to sell you a car at MSRP that you order.
Imagine the profit they make on your deposit plus $5 - $7,000 on the day or two they have it, prep it and deliver it.
Nice money if you don't have a big inventory.
I find the light from head lamps (regular not high beam) cover a shorter distance than other cars I have driven, though much brighter. Is the depth of the road ahead covered adjustable?
Appreciate any thoughts..Thanks
In retrospect, I kinda wish I had gone to Euro instead. And get this: I get to drive a Taurus from Enterprise (at MB Alex), when I am getting my V60 installed. I lamented about that to the New (Car) Sales Manager and he attacked me by saying, there are no dealers in the U.S., let alone the DC area, who offer a full loaner fleet of MBs. He went on to say that it is only something they do if your 'new' car happens to be in the garage long-term. The rationale was that they are servicing up to fifty requests a day (sounded untrue) and there is no way they can maintain a fleet that big. I was fuming when I heard this but chose not to comment, since it was clear this guy was an absolute dork--even if he owned a spankin' new C32 ;>
Later my salesperson assured me that the manager mentioned above is full of you know what and that when the dealership is fully built-out (it is still under construction) they would no longer have Enterprise Rent-A-Car in the building. Rumor has it that HBL also has an Enterprise desk--can anyone confirm?
Anyway--I paid close to 70K (with taxes etc.) for my car (got it for about 2K off of MSRP), I really was hoping for a better experience. However, perhaps it was my mistake to go to a dealership that is supposedly the first new franchise in thirty years in the country. I don't even know how true THAT is but they really are under construction.
I do love my E though--can one be in love with their car? I get lost on purpose just so I can keep driving...won't be able to do that when the Navi comes in, I guess. Heh...
Euro does, indeed, have a 100% Mercedes fleet of loaners!
Also, who was your salesperson?
How's the supply of Wagons out there? I was hoping to get a good deal on a 2003 with the old body style as a replacement for our SUV.
The service is much different from GM dealer. They're dressed in suit and ties and have offices to discuss your service visit. The will drive you somewhere if you want or I can give them one of the loaner coupons they gave me when I purchased the car.
Sounds like if my wife could have waited a few more weeks, I could have saved the $670 lux tax and gotten a better deal to boot.
Clark 217
My red light on the climate control is not working
so I guess it is the bulb.
Oh well...live and learn...perhaps when the E55 comes around...
--monakh
All this seems a little extreme. Anyway, the dealer is working hard to try to help but so far, not a whole lot of progress. At first I was hoping for a road hazard warranty, now I will just settle for a tire that matches so I can get the temp spare off the car. Thank God I do not travel a lot of miles everyday.
PS: I still love the car but the handling with the temp spare leave a little to be desired. ;-)
Just kidding Sorry to hear about your trouble. Did you try TireRack.com? They have the most extensive inventory on the planet and have a heck of a website and great prices to boot (no pun intended).
Give it a shot.
In my mind, not bad! I will keep you posted.
My dealer put a Continental on the car temporarily and will replace it when the Michelin comes in in 7 - 10 days. I am not holding my breathe, but at least I am driving my car.
Thanks again for all the suggestions.
Good luck,
Jay
If I had a new E and the tire wasn't available, I would expect my dealer to take one off one of their inventory cars while waiting for a replacement. They should not have a problem swapping the wheel and tire complete and keeping your wheel for the new tire and the inventory car. At least that's what I would expect after paying 50K+ and having the car for only a few weeks.
You might try twisting their arm so you can get back to really enjoying your new E..
Ummm....maybe I don't think so.
MB dealers earn their degrees in arrogance and gouging early on. I bet they can get you a $150 tire and $400 wheel overnight for $1000 though.
Good luck!
So check this out: While I am changing the tire I remembered a horror story from one of my friends' C240 about having this weird wheel bolt so that the regular key is unable to remove it (and how he had ruined his entire disc while trying to force it), so I called TeleAid to confirm while my key was not in the ignition (no the new E does not have this 'problem'). Once I got off with them, I noticed that my satellite link had not shut down, I tried to end the call manually and it turned out that my stereo had gone 'Carrie' on me, i.e. it had taken on a life of its own.
From that point forward, whatever I did, the stereo would not turn off, I tried to reset it by starting the car and killing the ignition and it did not work. I had no sound coming through my speakers from either the radio, the CD or the tape player. I could use my phone but not use the keypad after the call connected, nor could the other party hear me (although I could hear them). I called MB's Roadside Assistance and the nearest mechanic dude told me to reset the stereo by unseating its fuse. However, he could not tell me exactly where the fuse was because he said the schematics for the new E were at the dealership (real useful). Anyway, to make a long story short, I hung up with everyone and just figured I would find the fuse box and reseat every damn thing in it. I popped the hood and located the box near the driver's side, and unseated every single fuse but to no avail (you would think the darned lid would have a guide--it didn't). Next, I tried the fuse box inside on the driver's side--and that did not work either. Finally, I went for the one next to the battery in the trunk. There were two fuses there which I removed and reseated after a 10 second lapse, and thankfully THAT apparently did the trick. Luckliy, I did not have to re-enter my stereo's unlock code since I did not have it with me--I was told I would need it.
What a pain! This is a vintage Generation 1 MB issue, it was probably a software glitch (can you say Reboot!) but still--annoying, and I spent way too long in trying to fix it so that my battery won't die while the car was parked overnight.
It was a heck of a couple of hours! Sorry mbe2003--I now feel your pain Can't believe TireRack doesn't carry those Michelins...
You must have had a bad experience with your MB dealer..
Look at it this way, most dealers have a half dozen to as many as 30 or 40 E class cars on their lot. Last I knew, all E class cars come with a full size spare. Since the E classes aren't exactly flying off the lot at this time of year, it shouldn't be any problem for a dealer to "borrow" a spare from ONE of their inventory cars for a week or so. Certainly, if they have a customer for the one without a spare, grab the spare from another...
OK so maybe I would run "my" dealership with an eye to customer service, but I'd like to think there are many MB dealers out there who might do exactly as I described.
As an example, my salesman gave me a lead on bypassing the dealership's sale of a CD changer and saved me $500 by giving me the phone number so I could go direct to the audio shop they have do all their installs. Some dealerships want you to return.....
(2) I am still considering a new E-320; any comments from recent purchasers; are you satisfied with the car and its performance?
Finally someone else mentioned the "new" small print in the messages.. I too have sent emails to Edmunds complaining about the "honey you shrunk the letters" issue. However, I like the new navigation methods better.
Maybe the host can pass the word to the managers..?
Head on over and check out what everyone is saying. Note -- the complaints about the font size have been heard loudly and clearly and from what I gather, that is the number one issue that is being addressed.
But do post your comments there - join right in.
I have a '01 E430 with now 32k on it. ITs been a dream. ONly problem so far was at 30k the catalytic converter cracked. $1400 under waranty. It sounded like a diesel.
The car came with the goodyear f1 which was supertire, but noisy. Too much tire for the car in that suspension is not calibrated like a porche. I replaced at 17k with Yoko AVS db's that now have 15k on them, and now they are howling, most likley started at 12-13k. I don't think they'll make it to 20 either. I don't think I drive too agressive, but thats subjective. Is anyone having any luck with a quiet tire? I'd give up some performance just to shut the dame thing up. The car is so quiet perhaps I am being overly critical. The DBs are good performers but they got noisy. I'd go to michelens but would rather not pay 200 plus per tire and then find them noisy.
For those whom are considering........The 01' model has been great for me. Rock chips the paint, but what are you going to do. I love the new model and only feel that twinge of envy to have one when I am at the dealer.
Join the club!! I too had the same problem with the AVS db tires last year on my 96 E320. At 12K they were sounding like my full set of snow tires.! Yokohama gave me a tread wear credit towards their Avid V series tire which have about 10-12K now and are about the quietiest tires I've ever owned.. And look like they will easily exceed the 20K wear life; over 30K would be my guess at this point. They are one performance notch down from the AVS db but there is virtually no difference in performance. Seems like a really good tradeoff. By the way, we aren't the only ones with this problem, there was another person in the TIRES discussion group with a Lexus with the identical problem. Seems like Yokohama has a problem with the AVS db not being so quiet after all.!!
1-It guzzles alot of gas, and I hope the gas mileage gets better after the vehicle breaks in.
2-The drivers side door sticks in the morning,which the dealer says is the result of the cold weather in the northeast.
3-The tires are H rated continentals as opposed to W rated, the dealer said the H rated tires provide better wear and are better in the rain/snow;therefore Mercedes is equipping all E500 sports with the H rated tires (they also don't blow out unlike the softer W rated tires)
Any comments or similar experiences are appreciated.
H-rated tires will provide longer tread life, and perhaps marginally better snow traction, but the w-rated tires will have much better wet/rain traction any day.
My 2 month old E500's brakes keep squeaking! The sound is not that loud, and goes away after five minutes of driving, but it is still most alarming--haven't had a chance to visit the dealer yet.
Anyone experienced this?