easygreenus

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Hi,

I was asked to post my experience on the European Delivery Program. I am
by no means THE expert, but if you combine what I have written with others
that have posted, I think you will have a more complete idea about what to
expect and have a long list of places to see.

Itinerary

Frankfurt - Arrived day before pickup. Train station at airport. Took
train to Stuttgart. Runs every 30 minutes. Took an hour. Make
sure you get on an Intercity train, not the local which stops
at every little village.

Stuttgart - stay at hotel attached to the Hofbahn ( train station ). Ask
for room in back. The park near the train station has a nice
Bier Garten. We walked the park and had dinner there.


Rothenberg - interesting medieval walled town

Bacherach - small village on the Rein noted for their wine. Enjoyed a winery
tour. Took a four hour Rein cruise to Koblenz. Very scenic
section of river. Many castles and vineyards. Return from Koblenz
by train. Really enjoyed the cruise.

Baden Baden - used our free night, plus paid for a night at the Schlosshotel.
VEERY nice. Great views. Great breakfast. After some
talking, got my wife to go to the Old Spa, instead of the modern
one. Nudity involved. She overcame her initial reservations and
really enjoyed it.

Met a couple in the bar at the Schlosshotel. They were on their
11th EDP! In their late 70's. They had just picked up a new
S-class that day. On our way out the next morning, we saw it in
the parking lot. The passenger side rear door was all smashed in.
Guess he misjudged a turn and hit a post. Heart breaking.

Black Forest - I picked a scenic route through the black forest I found in a Rick
Steves Guide book. I programmed 12 waypoints into the NAV
system before leaving the US. It was mostly driving in the rain.
Still enjoyable. Stopped to see Clocks made, at the Open Air
Museum, and at a pastry shop for Black Forest Chocolate Cherry cake.

Hall, Tirol - about five miles east of Innsbruck. Stopped here to break up
a long driving day AND to see a Bavarian Slap Dancing Folk show.
Laughed a LOT!!!

Kastelruth ( or Castleroto ), Italy - in the heart of the Dolomites. Took a
sixty miles scenic tour. Must have made over a thousand hairpin turns.
Lots of fun in a sports car. Would probably suck in a sedan. Great
views with the top down. Program your NAV system for Sella Pass. Next
day drove up to the Alps de Susa. The largest high mountain meadow
in Europe. If you get to the gates by 9am, you can drive up. After
9am, you have to take the bus.

Modena - did not spend the night, but found a small family farm the made
Balsamic Vinegar Had an elderly Italian woman show us how the
vinegar is made. They had two lines. One aged at least twelve years,
the other twenty-five years.

Siena - Had to find hotel outside of the walls to have a decent place to keep
the car. You might be tempted to get a hotel within the walled city,
but you will regret it worrying about your car.

Tuscany - Siena is in the heart of Tuscany. Programmed the NAV system to
take us right through the middle of it. Very enjoyable drive with
the hills, fields, bright blue sky, and the top down.

Sestri Levante - where the Italians go for vacation. Very picturesque.

Chamonix - two days in Chamonix. Great mountain hiking. Cable cars to tops
of peaks. I did a tandem parasail from the top of one of the peaks.
Wow! Take the Panorama Gondola for an exciting look at glaciers.
Its a four person cable car that at one point is 3000 feet above the
ground.

Lauterbrunnen - classic Swiss village. Take cable car up to Gimmelwald and
Murren. Try the fresh cheese and un-pasteurized milk. Take the cog
train up to the Jongfrau ( pronounced like Yungfrau ).

Zurich - dropped off car 10 minutes from the airport. Took no more then
20 minutes.

Total - 15 days, 2052 miles on the car. We spent about $4500 plus plane
tickets. In our case, we used frequent flier miles. I hear that Mercedes
can some times arrange a buy one, get one free on Lufthansa.

Lessons Learned

- I brought a wheel lock set with me. The Delivery Specialist had them installed in about fifteen minutes.
- Take collapsible bag with you
- Remove floor mats, safety triangle, manuals, first aid kit, and license
plate from car when you drop it off.
- The back plate of SLK is plastic. Suggestions to bring a magnetic sticker
to attached the "D" sticker will not work on the SLK.
- I did not attach the "D" sticker. Kept it in glove box. Drove through
Germany, Austria, Italy, France, and Switzerland without a problem.
- There is some tax or sticker you are supposed to have to drive in Austria.
When I arrived at the Austrian border, no one knew what I was asking for.
Never paid it. Didn't get caught.
- Stopped at Swiss border ( from France ). Was not stopped. Had to search
out someone to pay for the road tax sticker. 30 Euros.
- Take the address of the Kindercenter with you. The cab drivers will ALL
claim to know where you are going, the two I dealt with did not.
- The two cab drivers I dealt with recognized the blue taxi vouchers. They
apparently are VERY desirable. But, neither new where the Kindercenter was.
Both times they said they knew before I got in the car. Both times we
had to ask people in Singlefingen. The morning of my pickup, the driver
said he spoke a "little English". Turns out that was the sum total. We
stopped at one of the Mercedes factory gates. He could not speak German,
either.
- NAV system - I can't tell you how many times the NAV system bailed me out.
I took a TomTom 910 with me. Programmed all my way points before I left the
US. Twice in the Black Forest, the road was blocked without an alternate
route given. No detour signs. The TomTom found a way around
the closed sections of road.
- Get to Kindercenter EARLY. We got there about 7:45. First ones. We stopped
there the night before to get a reservation for the 8:30 tour. They
delivered our SLK right then. Spent 30 minutes going over the car before
the tour. Did the tour and were back in the Kindercenter by 10:40. Had
20 minutes to kill before the restaurant opened. The gift shop was mostly
clothing. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but was disappointed.
Another couple having lunch next to us had to wait until 14:30 to get their
car. They were on the 8:30 tour, but had not gotten a time to pick up the
car. They were a bit angry about it. We were on our way by 12:15.
- Take your luggage to the Mercedes dealer after they are packed and trial
fit it into the SLK. My wife had to repack the day we left. My Rick Steves
roller board fit nicely. She had a medium sized roller board that required
a little pressure to get it in.
- Side benefit to the small trunk - no shopping. No place to put anything
she might have wanted to buy.

Sincerely,

Mike

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WOW, what a fantastic experience. Could there be any downside? Why does MB give a discount on your purchase when choosing European delivery? Thanks for the info.

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----------------1-----------------
--------SLK 55 ///AMG---------
THE MON55TER ON THE BLOCK

mtiede

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Ssshhhh..... they mind change their minds

Woolly

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Why is it that Americans have to pick their cars up in Singlefingen and Europeans can actually pick them up from the factory where they are made, in Bremen. The tour of the SLK production line is brilliant. In the UK, we do not get a discount for factory pickup, but we do get flights, ferry/chunnel return plus a night in a hotel in Bremen included. It seems strange taking it back to your dealer in the UK for a 'pre delivery inspection' after you have driven the car for 5 days - you also get a free tank of fuel when you get your car back from the dealer

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2005 BMW LT - 16 countries, 2 CONTINENTS & counting
2004 MB SLK 350 Andradite Green (6 speed manual]
1999 Ducati ST2
2003 Vauxhaul Vectra
1974 Triumph Bonneville 750 T140V
1937 Norton 500 single
(all still current)

Wimbledon_SLK

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My dealer was pushing for the Bremen pick up... I am sure they save money even if MB pay for all the above. Regardless of the money implications, the personal pick up is an amazing experience and I am looking forward to doing it again as soon as the new SLK is released in 2008!

Ciao

P

RacerCub68

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Because they want us to see the factory they rebuilt after we bombed the crap out of it, along with you Brits. ;-)

I think it is because of the tour with the movie and all that, and the museum is close by. Yes, we get a 7% discount for Euro Delivery, but it does NOT apply on roadsters or AMG models. However, MB has not enforced the NO discount on roadsters so I got mine, and they might have changed that. I do not know anyone who got the discount with an AMG model, so they may enforce that one.

You can't do Euro Delivery without doing the Rally at least once. MB must subsidize it, as the hotels are far in excess of what the $1,200 would normally get you. It's a lot of fun and you can go your own way afterwards. You get to meet a lot of BMW folk on the end of the rally. I just love those bad ass station wagons (estates.)

I had no problem with D sticker, I taped it in the rear window, it was snowing a lot so the top was always up.

I miss having my little Austrian toll sticker on the windsheild!

easygreenus

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Where did you get yours? I was driving in Austria for two days.
I asked several people about where to purchase the sticker, but
no one knew what I was talking about?

Mike

easygreenus

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I don't really know what the facilities are like in Bremen. But know they
are first rate at the Singlefingen center. When we pulled up people came
to our cab to take our luggage and store it. You nave the nice showroom
for actual pickup. The really nice restaurant for lunch, etc.

I know that Mercedes tries to position their cars in the US as luxury
cars. In Europe, there are a lot of Mercedes as utility vehicles. I
suspect the Singlefingen location is picked to enhance that luxury
image. Also, showing us how the S models are built doesn't hurt them
either. Isn't that their upper end of general purpose sedan. Don't
take general purpose as a slam. I mean, not sports car, not a supper
expensive McLaren, etc.

I also believe MB makes more money on the EDP cars then
regular delivery to the US. If they deliver it, there are import taxes
they have to pay. If I buy the car in Europe, drive it around a bit,
then I become the importer of record. I think this saves MB more than
the 7%. Given that, I don't know why they don't extend this to the
AMG.

Mike

Woolly

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Hi Mike,

as many people will corroberate - the Bremen pickup is superb - Club class flights over, a 5* hotel, factory tour is awesome (especially if you get the mad 1/2 Irish, 1/2 German guide (like a leprechaun on speed!!)) - the Bremen MB restaurant is fine, BUT .... bottom line, - you go round the production line where SLK's are made - indescribeable.

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2005 BMW LT - 16 countries, 2 CONTINENTS & counting
2004 MB SLK 350 Andradite Green (6 speed manual]
1999 Ducati ST2
2003 Vauxhaul Vectra
1974 Triumph Bonneville 750 T140V
1937 Norton 500 single
(all still current)

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I agree! superb!

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mtiede

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When I was going to buy my SLK 350, I was told that the 7% didn't apply to the SLK. Then later I was told they changed that and it did include the SLK350 at that time.

So I am not sure whether it DOES or does NOT include the SLK at this point in time. But my guess is that it does.

No one mentioned any Rally requirement for the ED.

Tslick

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The SLK 280 and 350 have been offered all along in the US. The only AMG offered in the US EDP is the SL63.
http://www.mbusa.com/edp/vehicles/view-all.do

easygreenus

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An update on my EDP experience:

* Keep on top of them. My experience is the people at Mercedes are NOT proactive. My
car arrived in Baltimore on 9/30. I waited five days then called to MB dealer to see if
they had a due date. They found my car was on hold at the VPC. I asked them to call,
but they said this was normal and they would call if the car was on hold on day 7. Day 7
came and they decided to wait until day 10. Car still on hold at VPC. They promised they
would call, but when I called the dealer that afternoon, they hadn't gotten around to it. I
had to go to the dealer and sit with him while he made the call. Turns out my wheels had
been damaged and they could not remove them because of the wheel locks ( see below ).
I had to FedEx my wheel lock key to the VPC so they could replace the damaged wheels.
I applaud them for replacing the wheels without me having to argue with them. BUT, I wonder
how long the car would have sat at the VPC before someone actually tried to find out why,
or contact me to get the key. Or, go to parts and get a set of wheel locks out and pull the
key. I assume ( could be wrong ) that one key fits all. Or, is each set unique? Lesson
learned: its your car. You have to be proactive. MB won't be.

etyu

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The key to the wheel locks are not one size fits all, although the "flower" pattern might look similar. I'm glad you stayed on top of them, otherwise it'd still be at VPC.

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