A-Class (W176) [Official] Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W176)

[Kazlaker]

Chadman, Kazlaker,
are your cars on Toscana made in Finland or made in Germany?
My car maybe on the same ship too so I am wondering about the manufacture location of my vehicle. Hopefully the ship will arrive in Sydney later next week.

Pretty sure my A250 was made in Finland. I have a 'V' as the eleventh character in the VIN. I believe this would be a 'J' if it was made in Rastatt, Germany

As far as I could tell from looking at all the past shipping schedules on the Wallenius Wilhelmsen website, it appears that the last Australia bound A250's (perhaps other models as well) that were made at Rastatt were shipped in early November last year.

 

[Chadman]

Chadman, Kazlaker,
are your cars on Toscana made in Finland or made in Germany?
My car maybe on the same ship too so I am wondering about the manufacture location of my vehicle. Hopefully the ship will arrive in Sydney later next week.

Well my VIN number has a V as the eleventh character as per Kazlaker's VIN...so if Kazlaker is correct then ours are both from Finland.

 

[Chadman]

Well my VIN number has a V as the eleventh character as per Kazlaker's VIN...so if Kazlaker is correct then ours are both from Finland.

Just did a check on this site http://vindecoder.eu/mercedes-benz on it said Plant Code: Germany

 

[Kazlaker]

Yeah I've seen that website too. It's a bit confusing really, as I can't find 100% clarification anywhere.

But, having seen 'J' as the code for Rastatt pretty much everywhere, I'm more inclined to think 'V' would be Finland (Valmet Automotive).

I'm not really fussed either way though. Valmet Automotive in Finland seem to have a pretty strong track record of prestige car production.

 

[Kazlaker]

I think others have speculated the same in previous pages of the thread too.

 

[Chadman]

I think others have speculated the same in previous pages of the thread too.

Yes ultimately regardless of where the build has happen, either the car is up to spec or it's not on delivery. Having said that l know there is a list that was circulating regarding things to check that are known faults that may or may not of been seen before delivery by MB Australia/Dealer. Would really appreciate it if someone could pass this on.

 

[Bwclu]

Hi Kazlaker and Chadman,

Thanks for the information Just more curiosity than anything else. Valmet used to make Porsche boxer so I am sure they have a good standard. Most of the manufacturing are done by the robots anyway.

Not too long to go now, anything to look out for when picking up the car?

 

[stephen250sport]

Hi Kazlaker and Chadman,

Thanks for the information Just more curiosity than anything else. Valmet used to make Porsche boxer so I am sure they have a good standard. Most of the manufacturing are done by the robots anyway.

Not too long to go now, anything to look out for when picking up the car?

Most important, check your cars mileage!!!

 

[OZ A250]

Mine had 50kms on the clock when i picked it up. Ive heard a few other members had around the same, and some had slightly more. I questioned them about this and got some story that the car is tested out by the mechanic at the dealer. Who knows though... I wasnt about to reject the car and wait another 11 months..

 

[stephen250sport]

Mine had 50kms on the clock when i picked it up. Ive heard a few other members had around the same, and some had slightly more. I questioned them about this and got some story that the car is tested out by the mechanic at the dealer. Who knows though... I wasnt about to reject the car and wait another 11 months..

I've also heard the story but surely if the mileage is more than that I would want discount!! Hehe we all gotta win some way

 

[OZ A250]

I gotta say though Stephen, i havent had one rattle or squeak. So maybe they have test driven the car to iron out all the rattles and small problems. Mine was also tinted through the dealer, so some km's would have been clocked up there, that and taking the car to the petrol station for a full tank of fuel, etc..

 

[Jayman007]

For those of us awaiting delivery and have reading-A-class-manual-OCD, I grabbed the Mercedes-Benz owners manual App. Do an Apps store search for "MB Guides"...let the OCD continue!

 

[OZ A250]

Anyone else go down the Nanolex paint protection path? I did, and ive gotta say, im a bit unimpressed. The water does bead nicely on the paint, but i find the dirt sticks to the paint like glue. I'm thinking of putting a coat of wax over the top, or something that will leave the paint feeling slick and slippery.

The nanolex shampoo doesnt foam or feel like it is aiding the removal of grime as you go around with the wash mit. I followed the directions - 25ml per 10L of water. In fact i used less water this time, hoping to get it to lather a bit, but it does nothing. Just wondered if anyone else had a better experience with it?

 

[g0dskitchen]

I use snow foam before washing. Can Remove 80% dirt befor wash. Very handy. And make washing much easier. Especially because my car is black I wash my car every weekend.
I'm using different brand. mix 30ml with 2 litres water. It makes very thick foam on the car.

 

[OZ A250]

Iv'e also tried the snow foam ( Nanolex wash coat ) before washing, and i find that the foam wont stick to the paint, it just beads off. Tried a more concentrate solution, but it didnt make any difference. So the Nanolex paint protection is doing its job to a degree, - well as far as water beading is concerned anyways.

 

[Bwclu]

For people in Melbourne with their cars on "TOSCANA", the ship is arriving in Melbourne very soon!

 

[Kazlaker]

For people in Melbourne with their cars on "TOSCANA", the ship is arriving in Melbourne very soon!

Just watched it come past Point Lonsdale on the Port of Melbourne Webcams. Pretty Cool!

 

[Jayman007]

Just watched it come past Point Lonsdale on the Port of Melbourne Webcams. Pretty Cool!

Q. If I've been given a delivery date of the 19th June, would my car be on this ship?

 

[Kazlaker]

Q. If I've been given a delivery date of the 19th June, would my car be on this ship?

At a guess, if you're in Melbourne I would say no. My estimated delivery date is 28th May.
Ask your dealer for the VIN and then you should be able to find out the vessel it's on by searching on the Wallenius Wilhelmsen website.

 

[Chadman]

Yes l've been watching that page all day. Mine is 28th May too, for the dealer that is, so it will be about 1 week after that.

I guess the cars still have to go through a customs process? so l hope there's hold up's there.