Driving tips to Germany AMG

[st13phil]

Isn't this one of the reasons MB stopped factory collections?

There was speculation that this was the case, but I suspect it was more about encouraging people to shift away from the Factory Order model to buying what was in stock in the buyer's country. That it coincided with the shift to "option packs" instead of being able to specify individual options tends to support my suspicion.

on the other hand, googling tells me that collection by Europeans stopped earlier in the decade.

I made my last Customer Collection from Sindelfingen in 2011 and by 2014 when I was considering another purchase ISTR that MBUK were no longer offering them. A shame really, and it was a prime driver in me not having purchased a new Mercedes-Benz car since that last Customer Collection.

 

[Skd884]

When i ordered my 204 in early 2012 i arranged factory collection but come nearer the collection month of october it was no longer an option.

 

[ALFAitalia]

They probably realised, that with their current reliability and build quality record, getting customers to drive all that way in a brand new car was not the best idea!


VW and Audi still allow it.....but only for Germany and Austria residents.....probs for the same reason!!!

 

[Alps]

thanks for all the comments and advice guys, really helpfull

French and German clean air permits - I bought both just in case, didn't need the French one but definitely needed the German one for where we were staying in Stuttgart. Use the official sites, RAC has the right one for the French one, but use the Berlin site for the German one (EURO 10 cheaper).

Route in - took the lower route via Luxembourg, weather was terrible full on rain and really dense fog most of the way then Friday rush hour traffic at the end to top it all off, not a route id recommend. 9 hours calais to stuttgart

Return route - via Brussels, weather was better and daytime, so made up a lot of time on the Autobahns, roads were a lot nicer but more speed camera's in the Belgian side. 7 hours Stuttgart to Calais.


So Friday night was rest night then over to Affalterbach in the morning for the AMG Private lounge xmas gathering


Weather was still pretty terrible that evening torrential downpours but managed to meet up with a few MBClub members for a bite to eat.

Next day we braved the German public transport, single day ticket and ride on the S-Bhan trains to the main Stuttgart station, then another train to visit the Porsche Museum. Definitely worth a visit, we took a walk past the Porsche factory too.


Stuttgart xmas market is also worth a visit, we went there in the afternoon by train once more so I could have a few mugs of Gluhwein.



final day we had our own factory tour which was amazing, the British flag laid out especially for us, and got to park next to some Legends. The use of Ai to monitor the builds of the engines and control of the tools was so technologically advanced and the Factory full of GT Pro 2's was mind-blowing . (no pics allowed though in the factory which was a bummer!)

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

They probably realised, that with their current reliability and build quality record, getting customers to drive all that way in a brand new car was not the best idea!


VW and Audi still allow it.....but only for Germany and Austria residents.....probs for the same reason!!!

Thinking about this, it would have been more about tax and money laundering controls.

In the good old days, less than two decades ago, it was more commonplace for money to wash around between countries without difficult conversations about where it was coming from.

Not so these days - at least at this level.

 

[ALFAitalia]

When I used to organise it for customers they still had to pay me in the UK before they went to Germany...you could not buy it directly from the factory...just collect it.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

When I used to organise it for customers they still had to pay me in the UK before they went to Germany...you could not buy it directly from the factory...just collect it.

The Brits are boringly acquiescent like that, but that's not how the rest of the continent works.

Think of all the Cayennes in poor little Greece.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Dealers would have not been happy if the maker's sold direct to the public.....which is why it was not allowed. Obviously with makers like Merc using the agency sales model now, they effectively are selling direct....but it would never have been allowed when I sold.

 

[st13phil]

When I used to organise it for customers they still had to pay me in the UK before they went to Germany...you could not buy it directly from the factory...just collect it.

That's exactly how the Mercedes-Benz collection scheme worked: you paid the UK dealer in full for the car before setting off to Germany to collect the car. In effect, you were the (unpaid) delivery driver.