Why can't I collect my new Mercedes during the weekend?

[fab1975]

@ Penelope

It makes sense now. Definitely you have to pay an extra for MB USA to give you the factory collection option, and in fact there are different packages available:

European Delivery Program - Mercedes Vehicle Shipping - Mercedes-Benz

This all sounds great. My problem is that I do not even have the option to collect my car on Saturday from a local dealer :-(

 

[JBD]

Yeah that's bull, it's got nothing to do with admin, it's just because weekends are busy. Say you'll pick it up early or ask to speak to management. Just say this wasn't mentioned at point of sale

 

[Bjm34new]

Picked mine up on a Sunday from MB Sheffield albeit second hand, the car was centre stage in the showroom under a dust sheet.

The lights were turned on above said dust sheet which was removed in a flourish revealing my car they took time with me and made me feel like I mattered not the sale of a car

 

[JBD]

If we need to hand over at the weekend, we just makes sure its first thing or end if the day. The car can be invoiced, registered and funded prior to delivery

 

[whitenemesis]

@ whitenemesis : Delivery to my home address might be an option, but I did not ask as I would really prefer to collect the car directly from the dealer and be the first one to drive it (even if I know that sometimes that is not possible due to a number of reasons, such as delivery between dealers, test drives, etc.)

Delivery via transporter/flatbed should be possible...

 

[fab1975]

Picked mine up on a Sunday from MB Sheffield albeit second hand, the car was centre stage in the showroom under a dust sheet.

The lights were turned on above said dust sheet which was removed in a flourish revealing my car they took time with me and made me feel like I mattered not the sale of a car

I'm envious In my case it looks like it is all right if I collect my car as long as that does not distract members of staff from attending more important matters. I have even suggested an early Saturday morning collection, but even that was not an option :-(

 

[219]

You had to pay for factory collection, nothing was for free. I think it was extra £1500. So it wasn't Mercedes flying you out to Germany, it was you choosing to fly to Germany, pay for the hotel and whole experience. I also heard it was stopped a few years ago for UK customers.

It used to be the same price : remember , MB saved on the cost of transporting the car to the UK , then from port to dealer , dealer PDI , perhaps more .

The cost of a couple of flights , an overnight stay ( both of which they would have negotiated deals on ) would be no more to them .

You also pay a delivery charge to the UK dealer , so indeed nothing was 'free' .

Sad to hear it has been discontinued as it was a great experience ( I was 12 at the time ) .

 

[HB]

Go with what JBD says, he knows what he's taliking about.

 

[219]

Actually , I just checked and it seems to still be an option ; albeit while they still put you up , you now have to make your own way outward .

http://news.mercedes-benz.co.uk/products/factory-collection-experience-–-a-drive-to-remember.html

 

[PenelopePitstop]

Actually , I just checked and it seems to still be an option ; albeit while they still put you up , you now have to make your own way outward .

http://news.mercedes-benz.co.uk/products/factory-collection-experience-–-a-drive-to-remember.html

It's article from 2011 so I'm not sure if it's still the case. I remember someone on SLK World wrote it's not an option any more. Worth asking dealer. I would do this if I was collecting something fancy. Flying to Germany is not a problem.

Stopped in 2012:
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/amg-lounge/149789-factory-collection-no-longer.html
Factory Collection Scheme to be stopped end 2012 - Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums

I saw a lot of people collecting their BMWs in BMW Welt in Munich. They are taken on factory tours before collection.

 

[Crazyfool]

Hi guys, I will be collecting my new C300 hybrid this week and although I am really excited about it, I am also a bit annoyed about the fact that the dealer only allows the collection of any new car to take place between 10:00am and 4:00pm, Monday to Friday. In fact, by the time my new car will be ready for collection, I will have already sold my current car privately. Unfortunately this is going to turn into a logistical nightmare for me, as my original plan was to get my girlfriend to give me a lift to that dealer on a Saturday when we are both free; instead, I now have to sort out some kind of transport during normal office hours, which means that I will probably have to take some time off work as well, in addition to planning a 40miles journey on public transport. I am not impressed at all, especially considering that only 3 months ago we had been able to collect her own brand new car on a Saturday without any problems. The only difference is that it was a Toyota. Is the normal policy of any official MB dealer that no car collections can take place during weekends “because both the parts and the admin departments are closed”? My genuine impression is that they prefer to have all their sales staff available for new customers during core hours (and especially weekends), rather than having to deal with “boring” people who at the end of the day have already purchased a new vehicle. End of ranting…for now Cheers Fab

I had my car delivered to me and they took my other car away as a part-x

 

[219]

It's article from 2011 so I'm not sure if it's still the case. I remember someone on SLK World wrote it's not an option any more. Worth asking dealer. I would do this if I was collecting something fancy. Flying to Germany is not a problem.

Stopped in 2012:
http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/amg-lounge/149789-factory-collection-no-longer.html
Factory Collection Scheme to be stopped end 2012 - Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums

I saw a lot of people collecting their BMWs in BMW Welt in Munich. They are taken on factory tours before collection.

Perhaps it has been stopped . However , if it is still available from USA , it won't be that Mercedes-Benz have stopped doing it : more likely MBUK can't be bothered facilitating it . Mercedes certainly had a number of collection centres on the continent ( most popular being Stuttgart as you could take in the museum along with the factory tour ) and it would be surprising if these had closed .

It might very well still be possible to order your new UK spec car from a dealer in Germany ( or elsewhere ) getting better service into the bargain , and arrange factory collection through them .

I'd expect , though , doing it that way you'd have to get the car on temporary plates then arrange ferry and importation/registration yourself rather than having it all done for you .

 

[Rory]

Perhaps it has been stopped . However , if it is still available from USA , it won't be that Mercedes-Benz have stopped doing it : more likely MBUK can't be bothered facilitating it . Mercedes certainly had a number of collection centres on the continent ( most popular being Stuttgart as you could take in the museum along with the factory tour ) and it would be surprising if these had closed .

It might very well still be possible to order your new UK spec car from a dealer in Germany ( or elsewhere ) getting better service into the bargain , and arrange factory collection through them .

It doesn't make a lot of sense anyway unless the car is actually made there! many aren't.

VW has a massive factory collection facilty and the car is brought to you on a platform from some kind of giant stacking facility.

 

[bozmandb9]

I'm envious In my case it looks like it is all right if I collect my car as long as that does not distract members of staff from attending more important matters. I have even suggested an early Saturday morning collection, but even that was not an option :-(

That's a bloody disgrace. Which dealership is this? I'd send the Dealer Principal a link to this thread if I were you.

For such a significant purchase this is just a disgusting way to treat a customer. As a salesman I work hard to make sales, and if I treated customers like this I wouldn't have any.

I think MB 'sales' sound like a disgrace to sales. Customers come to them wanting to buy, and if they're lucky, get a 'sales person' who doesn't manage to completely put them off, in a dealership which eventually manages to deliver the vehicle. It's only because the product is so good that any of them stay employed.

To my mind, the sales process should be equal to the quality of the product, and should be very much part of the customer experience.

 

[JBD]

This isn't an MB standard, it sounds like something specific to this dealership. Not good