why not buy from germany?

[joyfulheart]

I ordered a 350 SLK only to find it is £5k less in Germany.
How can this outrage be justified?
We have the right to order it RHD in the EU.

Why are we fleeced over here?
sure I need a warranty, but £5k?

 

[Roman]

Hi my friend.Can you tell me where did you order it from?I am thinking of importing one as well but not sure where to start.
Thank you
Roman

 

[joyfulheart]

contact a german garage

ask them for RHD, check the warranty. It is a worldwide warranty, so they cant deny servicing in the UK

 

[Arnie]

Yes, it is an outrage. I think that the diffference in price used to be even more, but they've now increased the ex-factory price for RHD cars (extra engineering cost). But, 5k is quite a gap still. The warranty may not be 3-years if bought in Germany, so check this, especially as the recent crop of new MB cars have been very prone to technology breakdown. It usually takes 2-3 years for MB to sort out niggles on brand-new models. 35,000 new E and SL cars are now being recalled in the UK for problems with brakes and other things (that's two years after the launch of the new SL).

 

[ralph]

Quote:- It usually takes 2-3 years for MB to sort out niggles on brand-new models.

My 2 1/4 year old W209 CLK still has 15 warranty items to be sorted, mainly electronics faults.

Garage is MB within M25...... Sent complaint fax to them, MBUK & Stuttgart.

 

[ralph]

Here is a price comparison, using MB Germany & UK offical prices, without tax.
?1.4975 = £1, Percentage relects higher UK over German price.
...............D..........GB
SLK200..19299....22809 No comparisons, different spec.
SLK350..24975....28596

Airscarf.....264........289....9.5%
5-Auto......1182......1234....4.4%
Parktronic.. 441.......502..13.8%
Leather.......701...... 766... 9.3%
Metallic ......361.......511...41.6% !!
ElcDrvSeat...531.......553....4.1%
Comand... 1863.....1660.-10.9% !! cheaper.
6CDchanger.264......298.. 12.9%
607 Wheels.551...... 604....9.6%
FoldMirrors..144...... 162..12.5%
These extras should all be comparable.

 

[joyfulheart]

Lux detail

Called Luxembourg dealer.
Details are:
3100 Euros extra for RHD
VAT UK payable, 17.5% rather than 15% in lots of Europe
Security extra on 350 SLK in Lux standard UK, add 500 Euros.
Pick up from Lux (not factory), so delivery is an extra cost.
Warranty 2 years Lux, 3 years UK. Both valid throughout Europe

The 3100 for RHD killed it for me.
Still a £2k saving, but thats not enough, for the hassle, less warranty and resale hit for a non uk sourced car.
I cant see how they can justify charging us £4k more than people in Lux or Germany, whats the point of EU free and fair trade.

 

[teky]

hehe we the uk are the only ones who make a car here and charge import tax and delivery to buy it here "the dam things made here" not on about the mb, but i think the answer is VAT

 

[Arnie]

Re: Lux detail

I cant see how they can justify charging us £4k more than people in Lux or Germany, whats the point of EU free and fair trade.

Well, yes, but I think that it's Daimler Chrysler UK which sets the prices for the UK according to what they think we customers will pay and according to what the competion does. The extra cost for a RHD car did not use to be there, if ordered from abroad, it is a recently "made-up" cost to try to artificially increase prices and make the obvious price gap between UK and rest of EC look smaller.