Guyz, guyz, look at my badge and grill

[markjay]

Agreed, but why does it have to be removed from the E and C classes?

...and why can't there be choice?

 

[grober]

The whole point is not that the traditional star and grille is better or worse than the more sporty big badge and grille look After all beauty is in the eye of beholder. Its an issue of customer choice denied the UK buyer- a choice that exists in other markets?

 

[Tiim533]

Sorry, but on my E Class I prefer the big star in the grill, and no gun sight. It just suits it better.

That being said, I do agree on older Mercs the gun sight looks better. But each to their own, and perhaps they should allow the choice on the UK site.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

I have emailed the UK Mercedes Press Official line on why we only get the 'AMG' packages, will post it here once I have a reply.

 

[Neiltodd]

Had the gunsight on my C32

 

[renault12ts]

Sorry, but on my E Class I prefer the big star in the grill, and no gun sight. It just suits it better.

That being said, I do agree on older Mercs the gun sight looks better. But each to their own, and perhaps they should allow the choice on the UK site.

No need to apologise.

We are only saying that those who think differently to you should be allowed the same choice that is available in other markets.

 

[tode]

The "gun sight" still comes as standard on (only) the S class . . .

 

[renault12ts]

The "gun sight" still comes as standard on (only) the S class . . .

...this, we know.

 

[219]

I think it would look awful on a CLS. (just my opinion of course.)

Surprised MB haven't put the gunsight and badge less grille as a £500 'option'.

People who want them could always just buy one after purchasing the car couldn't they? (If they really wanted it that badly)

Some people do just that , but with some of the newer cars quite a lot has to be changed

 

[st13phil]

I have emailed the UK Mercedes Press Official line on why we only get the 'AMG' packages, will post it here once I have a reply.

Let’ see if I can do a Mystic Meg and predict the answer. Yup, there’s something coming through...

“There’s insufficient demand in the UK market to make the other options viable”.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[219]

Let's not forget those who choose to have both big star grille and upright bonnet star...

We may not forget them , but we don’t have to like it .

It didn’t look right when people added cheesy aftermarket grilles to W123s , and it still doesn’t look right when people do it to later models .

 

[219]

Well as and when Merc ever build a batch of E Class's with WSC and mine finally arrives I shall be adding an upright bonnet star. I have promised myself a big Merc estate with a bonnet star for years and that is what I shall have - I would like to have an Elegance model, but Merc UK have decided we can only have SE (Avantgarde) or AMG Lines. This then gets into the debate about why we are now denied in the latest price list, for example, heated rear seats, heated steering wheel, climate front seats, massage front seats, heated windscreen, HUD (now only on AMG proper cars), any meaningful choice of alloy wheels (MB Germany offer about 20 permutations), the list goes on. Ours will be a family car, and heated rear seats on leather trim for rear seat passengers is not too much to ask (don't expect too many of London's private hire fleet will be much chuffed either as they like to keep their customers happy).

Strikes me they are trying to ape BMW (even calling Avantgarde Line SE for the UK market) but have failed to realise that the BMW do offer you the full options list so you can create a halo car as well as still doing their own Designo equivalent options (for those who really don't worry about splashing the cash). I don't understand the logic, but then I am only a humble customer.....

You could always source your car from a dealer in Germany ; if a faff there are importers who would do it for you .

 

[219]

I make no apologies for liking old skool! One of the many reasons I am buying the E class is that once a month or so we travel to our holiday home in Bavaria and want something to waft us there and back in lots of comfort (hence air suspension, driver assistance plus package); I am not buying my car to pose with an AMG body kit, or buying a proper AMG model to enjoy blistering performance. I just want a bit of affordable and comfortable luxury to make life more comfy and to me a proper badge on the bonnet helps fit the bill a bit better. If I hadn't specified Distronic then I would also be fitting the Elegance grill, but with the different shaped radar cover etc then it is not worth it.

Since you have a holiday home there , why not try the local dealer ? You can generally order RHD UK spec cars through the German dealers , and since you’d be returning there regularly you can get any servicing and warranty work done there .

Alternatively, depending where you do the bulk of your mileage , maybe you’d just want to get a German spec car there , register it at your holiday home , and just bring it to the UK when here ...

 

[BfgSLKMan]

You could always source your car from a dealer in Germany ; if a faff there are importers who would do it for you .

Long story short but Germany and importing is not an option for me (I shalln't divulge further on this forum). However, even if I could the list price for our new car is €96K in Germany versus "only" £53K in UK, so considering VAT is almost equal I'll need alot of discount to match the offer I am getting in UK. I know I can always get an Elegance grill (and I would happily change it as I have a very competent DIY mechanic) it's just with all the other grill radar stuff for the Distronic I shall leave well alone. Of course what I would really quite like is the light "Designo" Elegance interior to match, available in RoI (so engineered for RHD) but not in UK as Merc UK have said no (same as they have denied the UK E Class Cab buyer a proper light interior less Black with a strip of white leather much to my wife's annoyance).

 

[219]

Long story short but Germany and importing is not an option for me (I shalln't divulge further on this forum). However, even if I could the list price for our new car is €96K in Germany versus "only" £53K in UK, so considering VAT is almost equal I'll need alot of discount to match the offer I am getting in UK. I know I can always get an Elegance grill (and I would happily change it as I have a very competent DIY mechanic) it's just with all the other grill radar stuff for the Distronic I shall leave well alone. Of course what I would really quite like is the light "Designo" Elegance interior to match, available in RoI (so engineered for RHD) but not in UK as Merc UK have said no (same as they have denied the UK E Class Cab buyer a proper light interior less Black with a strip of white leather much to my wife's annoyance).

Ouch ! That’s a huge difference, and previously the difference was the other way around with UK cars much dearer than on the continent !

I wonder what will happen post Brexit ...

Though I can’t speak from experience, the service from German dealers is meant to be better too .

 

[BfgSLKMan]

I live and work in Germany (at the moment) and the big Merc dealers are massively corporate and on the face of it can appear unfriendly. Coffee is good and they are not afraid to melt you wallet at payment time. I gave up on our main dealer in town when they started charging me €35 per litre of Mobile 1 for our SLK (in 2009!!!). I now use a local official Mercedes service agent (they only service but don't sell (think it might be a German thing??) whose main business is vans/trucks) but they have serviced and stamp the book on our SLK since pretty much new, are honest about work that needs doing (and not) and charge less than the equivalent Halfords type places; they are also half the price of the main dealer in town (which itself is a group of 6 dealers in the local area).

Ironically you can get any outside trim with any interior on a German car (Base, Avantgarde, Elegance and AMG) with any exterior; so you could have an AMG exterior with an Elegance Interior. Also every colour inside is available in Cloth, Leather, Nappa Leather or the Artico/Suede AMG interior. I say ironic because in UK the AMG Line is Black or Brown, but in Germany you also get the Beige you can only get on the UK SE (Avantgarde) model (and others). When I was trying to find an Avantgarde model in Germany with a Beige interior (so we could look at the colour in the flesh before ordering as we weren't going back to UK for a while) and I could not find one on the website I was looking at with over 2500 cars! The German market love a dark car with dark seats, dark finishers and often all the outside chrome made black, but lots of Brits like a dark car with a light interior so it's even more strange our interior colour choices are limited.

As for the list price i was shocked when I priced the two together. The German car is about €52k base price and then needs about €20k of options to make it a "standard" UK SE. Whilst we can't complain in UK my German neighbours were blown away, especially as everyone has the impression cars are more expensive in UK and in the case of the E Class they are made in the factory in Stuttgart. Let's not forgot Mercedes are still making a profit on the UK price so must be laughing in Germany (and elsewhere in the EU for that matter as there's not much difference pan EU and German price). The RHD ROI price is quite close to the German/EU price when you start pricing it up - must be those KPH speedometers that are so very expensive .

Never mind, 21st Century problems.... I'll just be grateful I get a bloody car (5 months and counting from paying my deposits so far and yet still no production month let alone date......)

 

[grober]

https://www.mbusa.com/vcm/MB/DigitalAssets/Digital_Brochures/2018_E_Class/2018-E-Class-Family.pdf

 

[ForestAthlete]

I like the new grill and flat bonnet badge on my AMG Sport, it makes the car appear lowered and somehow more ground hugging.

 

[chrisk2010]

Let's not forget those who choose to have both big star grille and upright bonnet star...

I saw a CLK the other day and without thinking I actually said out loud to myself "oh no watcha do that for" ! I think it was a w208.

Personally i prefer the elegance grill and upright star over the big plastic job.

 

[MancMike]

Personally i prefer the elegance grill and upright star over the big plastic job.

Like mine.