Ordered but waiting 5 weeks (and still) for a build date - What's your experience?

My recollection is as follows. I was told car (EQC) would be delivered in 3 months, which was approximately correct regarding the physical delivery to the dealer however...

It took several weeks for electric car government grants to be granted which held things up. And then there was Easter holidays. And then government severe covid restrictions happened. I also wanted important mods done before collect. Dealer had to quickly close and modders too. At the time even servicing was illegal unless you were a nurse or something. Couldn't leave house more than 5km unless having a heart attack or other extreme reason. I got around in a borrowed Mercedes from a friend. I did find if I had any question I could reach out to my contact at Mercedes, as they continued working remotely.

Another 3 months later everyone reopened and mods could be done and I could collect (half a year later from order). Maybe for your car, by boutique they mean it is on hold pending 22kw upgrade availability for your market. By the way just saw the new Renault Megane will have 22kw AC. For EQC it was upgraded from 7 to 11kw after I took delivery.

Mkultra40 said:

Morning all,

Well I said yes, placed the order, paid some money and ........ absolutely nothing after more than five weeks. Still no word from dealer / factory as to 'when' it will arrive. Still waiting.

Apparently it's a 'boutique' order, whatever that means. But five weeks+ and no ETA?

Curious if that has been your experience or indeed what your experience might be in whatever location you are in?

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Sounds like you have made a “factory order” less common in the U.K. in my experience but far more normal here but it seems these days a large no of U.K. purchases are of vehicles already in stock.
At the time of ordering it is the norm here to receive a detailed copy of the order which details the vehicle and all the various items fitted to it inc the packs etc and a delivery date normally 3mths later and set at the moment the order is raised by the mercedes order system. For my first 2 cars that date was accurate, the e class was delayed by the changes to the WLTP regs and the EQC by the chip shortage. Actual build takes place quite late in the process ie the last 4 weeks and for us delivery times are only usually a couple of weeks from factory to dealer (they come to a central distribution point by train). So did you get a copy of the order with a date? It is very useful as it includes all the various codes for the equipment the car will be built with. Once the car is ordered then it is radio silence really until we get about a month away from delivery but when the e and the EQC were on order my dealer was managing expectations there could/would be delays. the dealer does have access in real time to the factory schedule and build date and state of play once started and when it is built and ready to leave the factor.
Things have changed a bit since my first order (a GLK never available in the U.K.) with Mercedes’ moving from the basic plus the options you could select at will as you wanted to cars sold with “packs” reducing the no of individual options and therefore one assumes the complexity of planning the build and indeed here in France we only had the choice of the AMG line no sport and it was either premium or premium plus but there were a few options car play being one, leather , driving assistance and a towbar from memory ( our specs are similar but different to the U.K.). I have CarPlay and the Towbar.
Hope this helps.