Hello Everyone,
I am new to the forum and am not actually an MB driver, but am posting on behalf of my father in law. He is the proud owner of an E 320, and as of this week a new SL500. When he called the dealer today to arrange pick-up of his new roadster, they told him there was a 700$ charge to remove a special 'protective wax' the factory puts on for shipping. I find this charge very strange, especiallly on a $90K+ car. Is this standard practice for the dealer to charge this fee?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

$700, thats cheap for anything, or a part, for any MB car that has an $L badge! If your worried about $700, waite till it's out of warranty!

 

i only use steam cleaner to remove the wax.

it is part of PDI or pre delivery inspection and the customer pays for it. it's not only removing the wax but also among many other things such as removing the temporary wiper blade, battery switch, tightening torques on wheels, initializing windows/roof, etc.

as what Benzbob mentioned, removing the wax is too easy... but the PDI is a good prrof for warranty issues later because it only means that the car was thoroughly checked during turnover to the end user.

 

this sounds like complete BS. Since when does the dealer charge the end consumer for PDI[:@] ??

Call MBUSA (I don't know what country you're in) next week and find out if anyone else has ever been charged for this.

 

china. this is not my country but i work here.

sometimes the aftersales outlet also pays for it...but they will sell you a set of floor mats

we got PDI 1 and PDI 2. the PDI2 is where they charge. they would scare the customer that if they will not go to that certain process... their warranty will be in a rocking boat.

 

Hi Guys,
Thanks for all your responses! I am actually in the US ( Like sleepwalker, 'not my country, but I work here' ). Think we'll call MBUSA and see what's up. I'll let you know the outcome.