I am new to the forum. It is now less than 21 hours before my new S500 will be delivered to me here in Tokyo. As you likely know, the S550 is named as the "S500" in Japan. I also have a SL500 in the garage but this is my first S Class. Black on black with the Luxury Package (premium leather and sunroof).
While I understand this news may not be exciting to most, I thought I would share some of the differences about purchasing a car in Japan. First of all, I did not once step foot into the actual dealership. As is common in Japan, I called the dealer and they dispatched the salesman with a test drive car to my home. Furthermore, all of the negotiations and paperwork was done at home with staff visiting me in person. What great service! And yes, the new car will be delivered to my home tomorrow at 2PM.
During my research on the new S Class, I became interested in the Keyless Go but this option is not offered in Japan. Apparently there are many 'dead zones' in Tokyo where the keyless-entry systems do not work.
Other than the navigation system being in Japanese, the rest of the car should be similar to other countries. In Japan, traffic drives on the left side of the road but imported automobiles may be offered in either left-hand drive or right-hand drive.
Finally, in Tokyo, in order to purchase and license a car you must have a police report to certify that you have a parking spot for your car. It's more paperwork than one would perfer but considering the lack of space here, it's a worthy regulation.
I hope to post some photos of the new baby tomorrow. If anyone has any questions about ownership of a car/Mercedes Benz in Japan, I would be happy to reply.
Welcome to the forum. You had several interesting points on your post.
This KG issue sounds odd, I could understand a few spots with strong radio interference but shouldn't it help to approach the car close enough with the key, or use the key remote in some problem cases?
I don't think you mentioned if your car is a LWB or a SWB model. In Europe the S500 is available in both forms whereas in the US all (so far at least) seem to be LWB models.
I assume it is very costly in Japan, Tokyo at least to keep a dealership office, is it just that the service is so good or is it also savings on real estate costs? And how much does the S500 cost in Japan? Do you have high car taxes and is this good service visible in the car price?
And at my place I would have room for all the big MBs, unfortunately nobody seems to be willing to bring his/her car to my parking lot (would offer the space against some driving with their cars ;-)
I agree that the KG explanation doesn't make much sense but the option isn't offered in Japan anyway.
I am getting the 500 in regular wheelbase. The 500 and the 600 are both offered in LWB in Japan but they are both longer than I need for this city. The 500 is JPY 12.6 million (about USD 108,000); the LWB version is roughly another USD 4,000. Of course, that is before options are added.
Service from automobile dealers here (almost regardless of brand) tends to be very good.
Yanase are no longer exclusive distributors of MB in Japan. I bought mine through an independent dealer. But I agree with you... the service is incredible.
I took a drive through the countryside today to enjoy a variety of highway and rural roads. I stopped at a temple to take some photos that would show something 'Japanese' in the background.
Six days later and still in love! I think they should have named these cars the "Yes Class".
Kyle
Last edited by Tokyo Gaijin : 11-04-2006 at 11:53 PM.
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