New E-class and Mercedes-Benz UK

[GordonTarling]

Welcome back to the forum glojo! Good luck with the import and do keep us posted with progress.

 

[SlimJim]

Please refrain from anything Brexit outside of the politics thread cheers

An unbelievable statement.... on a thread about buying an E-Class in Europe, where Brexit was barely mentioned, other than maybe having an impact.

 

[glojo]

Please refrain from anything Brexit outside of the politics thread cheers

I went with the other option and did a Classic conversion:

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I apologise

 

[KillerHERTZ]

An unbelievable statement.... on a thread about buying an E-Class in Europe, where Brexit was barely mentioned, other than maybe having an impact.

Its a very simple rule on the forum, dont discuss brexit out of that thread. reason? because once it starts then arguments happen, time and time again. we nip this in the bud to preserve forum peace. maybe join a politics forum?

If you have trouble with this unbelievable forum rule, then that's your issue.

 

[Darrell]

Yes, welcome back @glojo.
Importing from Belgium is, of course, not a new idea. I bought an MG Metro back in the early '80s from there. Now where was that built?

When I bought my first GSXR via Belgium in 2003 my business partner looked into it a bought a Triumph Speed Triple from a Dutch Triumph dealer because it was cheaper the the Triumph dealer in Harrow!!

 

[glojo]

You are correct Killer. I should NOT have responded to the post that politely raised the issue and in hind-sight I should have been rude and ignored their post.

By any chance, do you work at Mercedes-Benz UK?

 

[CaptainChaos]

Interesting thread. I too was browsing the UK configurator for the E-class. It's a very poor offering and the assumption is clearly that everyone wants an AMG look car with giant wheels.

 

[glojo]

I fear that I am walking on eggshells when discussing importing a car from the EU in 2021.

I have now been told the car should be built in March of next year and I will be paying Belgium VAT (which I can claim back) then of course I have to pay UK VAT when importing the vehicle. I am told there are dealers in Belgium that do not apply their VAT if the car is being immediately exported, which in my case it is.

But hey ho, who knows what other, if any taxes that might be added after December 31st, but I guess that my concern might be the concern of anyone who intends buying a new EU car manufactured after that date.

I do have the build order which lists all the options but it is a couple of pages in length and probably includes standard features. I noted it costs 1200 euros for the RHD option, which makes me wonder if that is a charge simply added into the base price of our UK vehicles?

I wonder how car insurance companies will view this vehicle as it will be quite unique with its petrol-hybrid configuration. Yup, I accept there is an E-class variant available in the UK, but only as a saloon, so will the insurance company have issues with something that might not feature in their database?

CaptainChaos
If you really want to feel miffed, simply log onto the French Mercedes site and look at their options and as I said earlier, we have the option of French or English

 

[jdrrco]

I fear that I am walking on eggshells when discussing importing a car from the EU in 2021.

I have now been told the car should be built in March of next year and I will be paying Belgium VAT (which I can claim back) then of course I have to pay UK VAT when importing the vehicle. I am told there are dealers in Belgium that do not apply their VAT if the car is being immediately exported, which in my case it is.

But hey ho, who knows what other, if any taxes that might be added after December 31st, but I guess that my concern might be the concern of anyone who intends buying a new EU car manufactured after that date.

I do have the build order which lists all the options but it is a couple of pages in length and probably includes standard features. I noted it costs 1200 euros for the RHD option, which makes me wonder if that is a charge simply added into the base price of our UK vehicles?

I wonder how car insurance companies will view this vehicle as it will be quite unique with its petrol-hybrid configuration. Yup, I accept there is an E-class variant available in the UK, but only as a saloon, so will the insurance company have issues with something that might not feature in their database?

CaptainChaos
If you really want to feel miffed, simply log onto the French Mercedes site and look at their options and as I said earlier, we have the option of French or English

I believe the insurance companies will just go from the VIN number and their computer will "allocate" it a model from that.

My CLS500 was never sold in the UK as a Shooting Brake, but someone at MB Milton Keynes wanted one, so here it is. When I do my annual insurance quotations, it shows on screen as a coupe or a saloon, but the insurance is perfectly valid, because it is linked to the VIN number and the V5 itself is accurate.

When you do your quotes, it may just list it as a saloon, but it's not material, in the same way as CLS and CLK coupés appear as 5-seaters when they are 4s.

 

[glojo]

I believe the insurance companies will just go from the VIN number and their computer will "allocate" it a model from that.

My CLS500 was never sold in the UK as a Shooting Brake, but someone at MB Milton Keynes wanted one, so here it is. When I do my annual insurance quotations, it shows on screen as a coupe or a saloon, but the insurance is perfectly valid, because it is linked to the VIN number and the V5 itself is accurate.

When you do your quotes, it may just list it as a saloon, but it's not material, in the same way as CLS and CLK coupés appear as 5-seaters when they are 4s.

Thank you very much for the reassuring post as we have all no doubt heard horrifying stories of insurance companies that would not pay out due to their pedantic attitude.

It sounds like your car is just another example of Mercedes-Benz UK depriving the UK of choices the rest of the World take for granted.

 

[Piff]

Good to see you back glojo

 

[wivenhoe]

Bit late but I don’t visit regularly any more - I had 6 Merc’s all from new. When I came to replace my E350e with a factory built E300e the options were virtually non existent (no HUD, massage seats, etc etc) and I didn’t want to wait 9 months for black plastic seats. For the first time ever I went with a BMW - 530e. A choice of all the options I wanted including 3 different leather grades in 5 colours and car built and delivered on time in 3 months. Sales & after sales service have been superb.

 

[grober]

In an internet dominated world of infinite permutations of consumer choice the manufacturer who does not appear to have cognisense of that reality is employing a very high risk marketing strategy in the longer term - for as they say- "PRODUCTS FROM OTHER MANUFACTURERS ARE AVAILABLE!"

 

[st13phil]

MBUK have previous for being “behind the curve”.

They still had almost zero petrol engine variant availability, and were telling everyone daft enough to listen that that was because it was what their customers wanted, when every other manufacturer had been quietly shifting their model availability away from diesel towards petrol.

 

[Dryce]

In an internet dominated world of infinite permutations of consumer choice the manufacturer who does not appear to have cognisense of that reality is employing a very high risk marketing strategy in the longer term - for as they say- "PRODUCTS FROM OTHER MANUFACTURERS ARE AVAILABLE!"

It doesn't seem to be high risk when all the manufactures seem to follow the same pattern.

And once the pattern is set consumers fall into it so it's difficult to break.

If you want to see this in action then look at the bicycle market in the UK. It's very similar. Gear systems on bicycles sold to the mass market are almost all derailleurs with both a rear hub set and pedal set. I would assert that these are not the right setup for the majority. But the mindset of the market is such that this is the norm and the alternatives are to be quesrioned as regards suitability.

And going further - bicycles are now typically sold in the UK without mud guards or chain guards.

What makes this even more interesting is that even branded bicycles are typically made up of off-the-shelf components so it's not as if there is any special manufacturing capability required to suppply a differently configured product. It's just a matter of a manufacturer choosing to sell a given configuration.

 

[glojo]

Bit late but I don’t visit regularly any more - I had 6 Merc’s all from new. When I came to replace my E350e with a factory built E300e the options were virtually non existent (no HUD, massage seats, etc etc) and I didn’t want to wait 9 months for black plastic seats. For the first time ever I went with a BMW - 530e. A choice of all the options I wanted including 3 different leather grades in 5 colours and car built and delivered on time in 3 months. Sales & after sales service have been superb.

The crying shame is that Mercedes DO HAVE the options you wanted. Heads Up Display is just one example. Folks here are tending to blame the manufacturer for not offering the options they want. That is NOT the case.

This is purely down to MERCEDES-BENZ UK. They are the culprits for culling the long list of features\options that the other countries in the EU can have and until we, the customers make a fuss, then the office bound nurd at that location will always be in a well paid job deciding what features we want\like and what features to strike off the list

There is the HUD for the E-class and I was using the configurator for the E300e petrol hybrid ESTATE!!!! Yup, we cannot have the petrol hybrid estate but that is down to that office-bound geek at Mercedes-Benz UK

How many potential customers are Mercedes-Benz losing all because of the attitude of their UK agent??

I am reading comments of folks blaming the manufacturer and I can fully understand why they are doing this but in reality, they are incorrect. The poor manufacturer is innocent, they are offering the features we all crave for, including multiple petrol engines and that HUD

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

The crying shame is that Mercedes DO HAVE the options you wanted. Heads Up Display is just one example. Folks here are tending to blame the manufacturer for not offering the options they want. That is NOT the case.

This is purely down to MERCEDES-BENZ UK. They are the culprits for culling the long list of features\options that the other countries in the EU can have and until we, the customers make a fuss, then the office bound nurd at that location will always be in a well paid job deciding what features we want\like and what features to strike off the list

There is the HUD for the E-class and I was using the configurator for the E300e petrol hybrid ESTATE!!!! Yup, we cannot have the petrol hybrid estate but that is down to that office-bound geek at Mercedes-Benz UK

How many potential customers are Mercedes-Benz losing all because of the attitude of their UK agent??

I am reading comments of folks blaming the manufacturer and I can fully understand why they are doing this but in reality, they are incorrect. The poor manufacturer is innocent, they are offering the features we all crave for, including multiple petrol engines and that HUD

I believe the limitation is that they would sell very very few cars with HUD in the UK, because a few "£1,000" options increases the cost of a PCP/lease disproportionately compared to the base cost of the car.

Let's say someone adds £4,800 in options to a car on a 2 year lease, which would be very easy to do with a free choice of any option. That adds £200 per month to the lease, as those options would usually be paid for in full during the term of the lease. As a result, most (but not all) customers would choose not to have those options afterall - even company car drivers.

 

[Dryce]

I believe the limitation is that they would sell very very few cars with HUD in the UK, because a few "£1,000" options increases the cost of a PCP/lease disproportionately compared to the base cost of the car.

This is a really good point as regards options and selling cars with option packs in the list price.

 

[unimog]

Its short sighted of MBUK to pursue this policy when dealers are also telling them differently.

The interesting thing is the dealers whack a premium on individually specified cars when traded in. My fully optioned C200 Premium plus estate was sold for 2.5k more than an equivalent premium plus car with lower miles. They even collected it from me having sold it unseen and gave me loan car until my GT was ready as it was in demand and a good margin for the dealer!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

This is a really good point as regards options and selling cars with option packs in the list price.

Agreed, that's a primary reason for doing it, it gets baked into the cost of the car, not the cost of the options. So much so you'll see words like "premium" in model names when looking up cars from registration numbers.