AMG GT - weird marketing phone call

[rsk21]

Yesterday I'm sitting quietly at work minding my own business when a lady rings up saying she is from Mercedes Benz UK.

Hello she says, I understand you showed an interest recently in an AMG GTs ?

Yes I say Before we go any further can I check that you are mr RSK, and we then do the customary name and address check.

Then she proceeds and asks me what cars I currently drive. So I tell her, pointing out that one of them is an AMG car and so was its predecessor. She then says " lovely, I'm delighted to say we can offer you a test drive and I will arrange that with your local dealer".

Good I say, that'll be the same dealer I ordered an AMG GTS from for delivery this September in October last year !

"Oh"

So wherever MB has been spending its profits of late it quite clearly hasn't been on joined up CRM systems !

 

[Mrhanky]

Classic left arm not knowing what the right arm is doing. Sadly very common with firms that run a franchise model.

Nice car BTW bet your counting the months and days.

 

[FastLaneJB]

That's some serious patience to wait a whole year for a car. Is that intentional in that you didn't want it straight away or just the build times are that long?

 

[rsk21]

That's some serious patience to wait a whole year for a car. Is that intentional in that you didn't want it straight away or just the build times are that long?

That's the quoted build time. Bear in mind RHD production didn't kick off until Feb/March 2015 and that the car was ordered sight unseen.

Palmball who also has one on order is working to a similar timescale I believe, albeit he ordered before me and so gets it before me.

AceJ got a result in as much he has an option on what I think is cancelled order/dealer allocation car and again he's looking at September.

 

[jotter22]

think MB has spent its profit on Lewis Hamilton

Tony.

 

[rsvgreg]

I had the same call last week. She did not ask me if I was RSVGreg, but I have at some stage, she informs me, expressed an interest in driving an AMG GT ("who hasn't?" I thought).

"Are you still interested and would you like a test drive" she continues, at which point I am beginning to think it's a prank call. The call concludes with the promise that my local (Cambridge) AMG Performance centre will be in touch shortly.

Now given the very limited supply of these cars I can't believe that each Performance Centre' dealer is going to get one of these for merely interested drivers to take out for a spin but we shall see.

Take your point about an unconnected telemarketing effort however.

Greg

 

[markjay]

If they have a small number of demo cars and rotate them between dealer... then they would want the process optimised and all test drives pre-booked well in advance, rather than having some potential buyers not managing to get a test drive at their local dealer while the car is sitting idle at another dealer.

 

[rsk21]

Building on both comments above I am a little annoyed about the supply situation on these cars. Turns out my dealer has both a demo and a showroom car on site. Greg I think it well be the case that each AMG PC does indeed get one. At the time of ordering I was told these were going to be like hen's teeth and that mine was going to be the second car they got.

 

[Palmball]

My local dealer, Derby, appears to be sharing their one car with Nottingham. It's crazy if some dealers have two when customers are having to wait for so long, but I suspect the lengthy lead times are exactly what MB want. Still, they need to do something different for us who have put actual money down on a car...currently, I've had an extended test drive and a GT magazine. Where's the track days and private events....things that Jag had no issue doing for the F-Type launch? Typical MB UK laziness, as the US guys seem to be having a ball in comparison.

Oh yes, and the phone call - I had that too. They had no idea that I'd already driven one (fair enough) or that I'd placed an order (inexcusable).

 

[Moosey]

think MB has spent its profit on Lewis Hamilton

Tony.

Well they definitely didn't spend it in the strategy department.....

 

[rsk21]

A bit more clarity on availability.

I asked the dealer if we could buy his demo car and then sell it back when the factory order car arrives in Sept. Short answer was no and neither could we have the other one he offered on such terms which it turns out was in his dealer network and not at MBMK. The only way we could have either car would be to wait until they can get a replacement in as MB have said every performance centre must have a car available to drive at all times. So we could have their one instead of ours but not until ours is ready which defeats the object !

 

[rsvgreg]

Was this the approach they took with the SLS? I am not sure I ever saw one of these sitting in the showroom, let alone waiting on the forecourt for test pilots.

I want to believe that after the long wait these cars will not disappoint, and all reports seem to confirm that will be the case.

 

[Palmball]

Was this the approach they took with the SLS? I am not sure I ever saw one of these sitting in the showroom, let alone waiting on the forecourt for test pilots.

I want to believe that after the long wait these cars will not disappoint, and all reports seem to confirm that will be the case.

What, that they will or won't disappoint?

Evo put the GT ahead of every rival, inc. 991 Turbo.

I had a GT a couple of weeks ago and it will NOT disappoint - it's like it combines all the best bits of the SLS then adds some 911 dynamism and precision into the mix. It's phenomenal and whilst some reports suggest it may not be ultimately 'perfect' as a 911, it's far more exciting, more of an event. Honestly, I could've bought a 991 Turbo S for less than my GT is costing (as could anyone) and after driving it, I don't regret the decision to go Merc one bit.

 

[rsvgreg]

We.ve probably read the same tests, perhaps seen the same Chris Harris Laguna Seca launch video (excellent) and of course your recent 'real world' test drive write up (thanks for that). I don't think this car will disappoint at all.