Dave,<br>
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I did a search of about two dozen M-B dealers in the Upper Midwest (Chicagoland, Rockford, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) at the end of December looking to move-up on waiting list that I had been on since August.<br>
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The dealership in Rockford doesn't take orders, and sells their G's to the highest bidder when the trucks come in. They claim to get $15 - 20K over list. That's an option you seem not to be interested in. There are also a couple of dealers in Chicagoland that do the same thing. The ones that are charging list price have waiting lists that run into the summer (if you're that lucky). You'll just need to call around.<br>
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If you're willing to drive, give a call to the dealers in Iowa (the 3 dealers were charging list), Illinois, and Wisconsin (4 of the 5 were charging MRSP) to see if things have changed. It was pretty much the same deal -- nothing until summer.<br>
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At this point in time, if you want a specific color combination, the earliest you are looking at would be summer. Dealers have to lock options on the vehicle roughly one-month prior to production with MBUSA / DCAG (that would put you from mid-March order to mid-April production, with an end-May delivery date). That's assuming you could find a dealer with an open mid-April production date.<br>
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Most dealers, if they are ordering trucks without buyers, are ordering either Brilliant Silver / Ash or flat 040 Black / Charcoal combinations, without the only factory-installed options (the Motorola TimePort cellular telephone and a complete set of the NAV cd's). Brush guards, AMG wheels, cargo trays, all-weather mats, etc. are all considered dealer accessories, and therefore get added at the dealership.<br>
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I had one of the dealers, that I had previously contacted, give me a call in mid-January because they just got a special allocation G from MBUSA and had to sell before January 31; I was in my truck within two weeks. Black Opal with Ash.<br>
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Good luck!