New E-class and Mercedes-Benz UK

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glojo

Hardcore MB Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 15, 2004
Messages
14,652
Location
Torquay
Car
S211 Sprinter 213CDI, & the new T-class
Is anyone considering buying the latest E-class?

Look at the options you are offered by Mercedes-Benz UK. I am emphasizing Mercedes-Benz UK as this is our countries supplier of new vehicles. This is the organisation that takes away our freedom to choose what options we want fitted onto our new vehicle, what colours, interior or even engine

Stand by for a bit of a rant that will eventually highlight what I am talking about.

In early 2019 we decided to replace our much loved 2004 E-class estate, a vehicle fully loaded with all the toys and whistles Mercedes had to offer including that brilliant rear sliding floor. In the spring of 2019 we ordered a new E-class but were told no sliding floor and no interior mirror to open our garage door and turn on our exterior lights... No big deal but we would have liked these features and we would have liked a petrol hybrid, but no, Mercedes-Benz UK assured us that the petrol option is only available for the saloon. We have subsequently found this statement to be 100% wrong, they speak with forked tongue. The delivery of our new vehicle was expected late December, early January.

At the beginning of December, we put our registration number on retention and were getting all excited about taking delivery of our new vehicle. Ooops, cue the telephone. Our main dealer said our order had been cancelled because in December\January the E-class was having a face-lift and a number of the options we wanted were now no longer available. I will not bore folks with the complete list but the deal breaker was leather interior. We had stipulated a light grey leather interior just like our current E-class. Now, I could have the choice of a black plastic interior or black plastic interior!!! The sales-person I was talking to explained that Mercedes-Benz do not come with a 'plastic' interior, they do not come with a vinyl interior, instead, he corrected me, they come with black 'Artico' leather. Yup the choice was black or black and 'Artico' leather? This is advertised as'man made' leather or..... In my language, rubberised plastic, unless cows now have a man-made coat!

I wrote a very detailed letter to the managing director of the South-West Dealership and as a result, we had a very interesting 40 minute telephone call where he was extremely supportive. He had spoke with Mercedes-Benz UK and was 'fairly' confident that when Mercedes-Benz bought out the new E-class in late summer things would be rectified.

Cue the very lastest E-class
The black plastic on the AMG-Line had gone and had been replaced with black leather, or...... BLACK leather!!! Brilliant for those that like black leather interiors but not so clever for those that dislike that colour. All was not lost, Mercedes Benz UK has a cheaper option of the AMG-Line that does offer a limited number of coloured interior but..... Look at the extremely limited number of options that are offered. If we opt for a different coloured interior the selection of options is practically non-existant, If you want options, then Mercedes-Benz UK dictate that we have a black interior!!!!!!! In so many words I said shove it, but who am I punishing?.

I could buy a well-specced car from Southern Ireland, I could buy a well-specced car from Europe but Mercedes-Benz UK is the dictator that rules over what it thinks we like or dislike. We have no choice, we have no input. The easiest option was to tell Mercedes-Benz UK to poke their cars where the sub doesn't shine.

Nope, we have ordered an amazing vehicle from Belgium. Right-hand drive E-class petrol hybrid Executive, oh and yes, it does have that 'unavailable' interior mirror that opens our garage. How ironic that we as a nation pride ourselves over our freedoms, freedom of choice being a biggie, but Mercedes-Benz UK are acting as a dictator, telling us what we like, what we want and what we can have. They are happy for you to part with in excess of £50000 but they are not happy about you having the freedom of choice that Germany, France, Holland, Belgium etc all have.

Shame on Mercedes-Benz UK, shame on you for acting in the way you are doing, you should be looking after the British customer and offering the very best of what Mercedes-Benz has to offer instead of acting like a very strict parent telling its childrten how to behave.

Apologies for the rant but yes the E-clas hybrid estate is offered as a petrol powered vehicle and yes there are lots of options we can have on this beautiful vehicle that are not offered here in the UK.

We take delivery of our new car late January 2021

Regards
John
 
Have you ordered the "proper" grille as well?
 
What was the buying experience like in Belgium, easy difficult and would you recommend?
 
Completely agree with the OP.

I started a thread out of frustration at the specification restrictions applied by MB UK to the new E-Class Coupe (for example, no adaptive cruise control unless you specify the night pack; active damping not available at all; no option for Head Up Display; etc.

2020 E Class Coupe - Spec Options Restricted by MB UK | General Discussion

In fact, it was so frustrating that I decided not to buy and keep my 2014 E Class Coupe which has all the options I require (and only 35,000 miles).

I hadn’t thought of buying in a country outside the UK. Maybe I should have a look at the mercedes-benz.ie website. The Republic of Ireland is only 60 miles down the road.
 
Is anyone considering buying the latest E-class?

Look at the options you are offered by Mercedes-Benz UK. I am emphasizing Mercedes-Benz UK as this is our countries supplier of new vehicles. This is the organisation that takes away our freedom to choose what options we want fitted onto our new vehicle, what colours, interior or even engine

Stand by for a bit of a rant that will eventually highlight what I am talking about.

In early 2019 we decided to replace our much loved 2004 E-class estate, a vehicle fully loaded with all the toys and whistles Mercedes had to offer including that brilliant rear sliding floor. In the spring of 2019 we ordered a new E-class but were told no sliding floor and no interior mirror to open our garage door and turn on our exterior lights... No big deal but we would have liked these features and we would have liked a petrol hybrid, but no, Mercedes-Benz UK assured us that the petrol option is only available for the saloon. We have subsequently found this statement to be 100% wrong, they speak with forked tongue. The delivery of our new vehicle was expected late December, early January.

At the beginning of December, we put our registration number on retention and were getting all excited about taking delivery of our new vehicle. Ooops, cue the telephone. Our main dealer said our order had been cancelled because in December\January the E-class was having a face-lift and a number of the options we wanted were now no longer available. I will not bore folks with the complete list but the deal breaker was leather interior. We had stipulated a light grey leather interior just like our current E-class. Now, I could have the choice of a black plastic interior or black plastic interior!!! The sales-person I was talking to explained that Mercedes-Benz do not come with a 'plastic' interior, they do not come with a vinyl interior, instead, he corrected me, they come with black 'Artico' leather. Yup the choice was black or black and 'Artico' leather? This is advertised as'man made' leather or..... In my language, rubberised plastic, unless cows now have a man-made coat!

I wrote a very detailed letter to the managing director of the South-West Dealership and as a result, we had a very interesting 40 minute telephone call where he was extremely supportive. He had spoke with Mercedes-Benz UK and was 'fairly' confident that when Mercedes-Benz bought out the new E-class in late summer things would be rectified.

Cue the very lastest E-class
The black plastic on the AMG-Line had gone and had been replaced with black leather, or...... BLACK leather!!! Brilliant for those that like black leather interiors but not so clever for those that dislike that colour. All was not lost, Mercedes Benz UK has a cheaper option of the AMG-Line that does offer a limited number of coloured interior but..... Look at the extremely limited number of options that are offered. If we opt for a different coloured interior the selection of options is practically non-existant, If you want options, then Mercedes-Benz UK dictate that we have a black interior!!!!!!! In so many words I said shove it, but who am I punishing?.

I could buy a well-specced car from Southern Ireland, I could buy a well-specced car from Europe but Mercedes-Benz UK is the dictator that rules over what it thinks we like or dislike. We have no choice, we have no input. The easiest option was to tell Mercedes-Benz UK to poke their cars where the sub doesn't shine.

Nope, we have ordered an amazing vehicle from Belgium. Right-hand drive E-class petrol hybrid Executive, oh and yes, it does have that 'unavailable' interior mirror that opens our garage. How ironic that we as a nation pride ourselves over our freedoms, freedom of choice being a biggie, but Mercedes-Benz UK are acting as a dictator, telling us what we like, what we want and what we can have. They are happy for you to part with in excess of £50000 but they are not happy about you having the freedom of choice that Germany, France, Holland, Belgium etc all have.

Shame on Mercedes-Benz UK, shame on you for acting in the way you are doing, you should be looking after the British customer and offering the very best of what Mercedes-Benz has to offer instead of acting like a very strict parent telling its childrten how to behave.

Apologies for the rant but yes the E-clas hybrid estate is offered as a petrol powered vehicle and yes there are lots of options we can have on this beautiful vehicle that are not offered here in the UK.

We take delivery of our new car late January 2021

Regards
John
Crazy lack of choice agree. What they do offer in the UK seems to tie in with what a bmw or Audi driver might look for, presumably in a bid to win market share. Although some of them seem reasonably good value particularly if buying through a broker. If you can put up with the limited choices that is.

How does the price paid in Belgium compare to the UK price?
 
Hi again folks
Thanks for taking my post in the spirit it was meant.

Lots of questions
Been away because of ill health, the usual stuff :)

I guess the grille is the traditional Mercedes grille, I am not too sure about that lower chrome 'mouth' but I will see what it looks like in real life. The wife likes having that Mercedes 'gun sight' on the bonnet which again is perhaps old school but hey ho.

Ordering from Belgium is a piece of cake although I am your typical Englishman and can only speak our own language.

VAT can be a bummer as some dealers want you to pay Belgium VAT, and then claim that back and then pay UK VAT. I am now bed-bound and do not want my wife to collect the car so we are having it imported direct to our door. This has also helped to avoid paying Belgium VAT.

I am told some dealers sell the car without charging Belgium VAT and some do.

You need a Mutual Recognition Certificate and I guess that is about it. On my quote I also have Import Customs and registration fee.

The dealer I am using wants a 30% deposit which I guess is fair enough as it is a right-hand drive vehicle

Handydrive.
I spoke to a dealer in the Republic of Ireland and he was telling me I would have to pay their taxes which made the car way too expensive. Hopefully you might find a way around that issue.

I logged onto the various European sites and just ticked the English translation and then went onto the car configurator and had a field day :)

Not sure about any of the Mercedes colours but the wife and daughter both like the blue, so cavanite?? blue it was. I think I preferred the seallinite?? grey but I will not be driving it so I have no say in the matter.

Quick giggle
Mercedes-Benz UK has assured me the choices they make are after getting customer feedback. To me this means customers are asked to tick questionnaires regarding their purchase.

Question: Are you happy with the black interior in that £50000 car that you have just purchased?

Answer: I think I will leave you folks to figure that one out. What person is going to spend a fortune on a car they do not like?? Of course folks will say yes, but if the question was..... Would you like a choice of different leather interiors? What would the answer be then?

It is now just a question of waiting and also how will BREXIT affect my purchase?
 

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Crazy lack of choice agree. What they do offer in the UK seems to tie in with what a bmw or Audi driver might look for, presumably in a bid to win market share. Although some of them seem reasonably good value particularly if buying through a broker. If you can put up with the limited choices that is.

How does the price paid in Belgium compare to the UK price?
Missed your post but sorry I cannot really answer that question as I cannot compare our vehicle with any UK version, but I feel I am getting value for money. :) It will to all intents and purposes be a UK legal vehicle, headlights dip the correct way, speedometer in miles per hour and the correct rear fog light configuration.

As standard we also get two reflective jackets and a fire extinguisher :)

I have no idea what option 2OU is but it is listed as a standard feature 'Pre-installation for car sharing'
 
I hope the fact that the car arrives after the end of the brexit transition does not mess anything up. I’d be worried about potential tarrifs kicking in but I might be off on that point.
 
This is a regular issue on the official MB Club forum and the magazine too... perhaps you should send this letter to the editor as it is a really good post.
 
Good to hear from you John! Fond memories of the infamous Torquay 2007 GTG where I met Sue who is now my wife! So, you are partly responsible for my happiness 😍

Regards to your wonderful family who put on that amazing spread

P.S. Is the MB lawnmower still going? ;) :banana:
 
Thank you all very much for the kind words and yes, we still have the T55 AMG lawnmower :) and Gollom, I am so pleased that you found that 'Love of your life' The boss and I celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary last year and I still cannot figure out how she puts up with me.

I think BREXIT will be what it will be and hopefully our import will not prove too expensive :)
 
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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Yes, welcome back @glojo. It has been a little while.
I'm so glad you have found a way to get the Mercedes you want with a non 'black hole of Calcutta' interior. I normally prefer a lighter interior, but my latest A8 is black leather which I actually found I preferred when I sat in a showroom car....it just seems to work in that car.
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?
Even after having the car converted from LHD to RHD, the 'swimmer' (excuse the car trader speak) turned out considerably cheaper than buying one in the Oxford area.
I look forward to hearing how it all pans out in these 'challenging' times.
 

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