I recently purchased a 2003 Mercedes CL55. On the list of equipment
for the car is something that says "DCAG Pre-Series Factory Code" and
I'd like to know exactly what it means. This item was hidden from me
at the time of purchase. I now know that the car is configured
differently than other CL55s (it's missing what should be standard
equipment). Nobody at Mercedes claims to know what this code means but
I'm hoping that someone can confirm for me that this car is a
pre-production prototype. If it is, are these pre-series cars typically
sold as new?

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Request for Question Clarification by clouseau-ga on 05 Dec 2003 15:03 PST

Hello sfmarq,

As best I can tell as shown by this web page:
http://yalmas.tripod.com/maybach.htm

"...Pre-series of the sedan shall start in March 2002, the first
production cars to roll off the line in July 2002..."

and this page:

http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:FY_yN1ad6-wJ:www.eybl-international.com/download/eybl_halfyear_report0304.pdf+mercedes+%2B%22pre-series%22+OR+%22factory+code%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

"...Through the parallel production of prototypes, development steps
were optimized and large numbers of pre-series vehicles were
furnished."

And a cached page on a Brussels auto show notes:
http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:FxBPc-gX65YJ:www.febiac.be/motorshows/en/amc/evt_conc.asp+%22pre-series%22+%2Bdefinition&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

"...The 2002 Motor Show presents a number of vehicles that are not yet
on the market (prototypes and pre-series) and even some dream cars
that will never be commercialised (concept cars)..."

it definitely appears to me that the term "pre-series" refers to a
pre-production automobile, and though I am not a lawyer, nor does
Google Answers provide legal advice in any way (note Terms of Service
and disclaimers below), I think that this should have been disclosed.

This pdf on Fiats says:
http://www.adefa.com.ar/anuarios/Seccion-2.pdf

"...Fiat Siena, for instance, is a completely reliable new car. To
reach this terminal product 80 prototypes and 185 pre-series cars ?
which run 1,7 million km- have been manufactured, in a period of 18
months..."

Again confirming for me the general meaning of "pre-series"

I called Mercedes and they were less than helpful. They would not even
discuss the term "pre-series" without much more information. For one,
they wanted to know where that was printed. I assumed since you said
"on the equipment list" that this must have been on the Monroni window
sticker. They then refused to provide any more information without the
VIN (vehicle identification number), Owner's last name, title,
registration and proof of insurance. Frankly, I consider this to be
highly suspect in itself as a general question about a new vehicle
purchase should have nothing at all to do title, registration and
proof of insurance. I was less than pleased with their customer
service. They requested that ALL of this be faxed to their Montvale
New Jersey office at 201-476-6213 with a written request for
explanation of these terms. Frankly, if it were me after a purchase of
this expense and a customer service reaction such as I experienced, it
would be on my lawyer's letterhead.

I called my local dealer and spoke to a very nice salesperson. He has
never seen the mention of "pre-series" on a factory sticker and had no
idea what it might mean. He asked what model and I told him CL-55 and
he thought that could be why explaining that is an AMG model of very
limited production. He did not have one to check the sticker on his,
however, since they are in short supply. I think he was well meaning,
but not informed.

I searched on Usenet groups and found an incomplete thread that talks
a bit about the difference between Mercedes and BMW and how they
handle "pre-series" vehicles:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=3BA9822A.D0F23732%40bigfoot.com&rnum=2&prev=/groups%3Fnum%3D100%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DISO-8859-1%26q%3Dmercedes%2B%252B%2522pre-series%2522%2BOR%2B%2522factory%2Bcode%2522%26sa%3DN%26tab%3Dwg

In part, it says:

"...> sell their prototypes. I have heard from several people that BMW
even scraps their pre-series cars. They have an agreement with the

Right. They scrap them.

I think there is differences in between the carmakers,
also I think it depends on the exact status of the
cars, there is e.g. hand-made prototypes and there is 
pre-series cars - the hand-mades I think generally
are scrapped, with the pre-series cars it depends
on the manufacturers, although of course those never
will be handed to customers..."


Actually, here is the complete thread:

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=3ba8f48c.540280%40news.t-online.de&rnum=3&prev=/groups%3Fnum%3D100%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DISO-8859-1%26q%3Dmercedes%2B%252B%2522pre-series%2522%2BOR%2B%2522factory%2Bcode%2522%26sa%3DN%26tab%3Dwg


I wish I could be more helpful, but without more information and
personal information that you SHOULD NOT post here in a public forum
such as Google Answers, I will not be able to get any further with the
Mercedes factory representatives. Hopefully, some of the above will
provide a bit of ammunition for you. And if you have additional
details to post without revealing your personal information, do post a
clarification and perhaps I or another researcher will be able to
uncover something additional for you.

Good luck!

-=clouseau=-

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Request for Question Clarification by clouseau-ga on 05 Dec 2003 15:39 PST

A little more for you:

I contacted my state NADA office (National Automobile Dealers
Association) and they had never heard the terms "pre-series". However,
the more I put two and two together, the standard sequence of bringing
a car to market is prototype / pre-series / production, so I told them
that with some degree of confidence and asked if a vehicle is
pre-series would that require dealer disclosure prior to delivery.
They of course asked why you did not notice this until you had the car
and I mentioned it is so limited production, you were probably happy
to get one and did not go over the equipment list until after you had
possession. They said they would do a bit of research and get back to
me, but they may and may not.

Being so late in the day, I could not call the National Offices for
NADA in Virginia, but you might wish to try this Monday. Here is their
contact information:

http://www.nada.org/template.cfm?Section=Contact_NADA

National Automobile Dealers Association
8400 Westpark Drive, McLean, Virginia 22102
(703) 821-7000 or (800) 252-6232
nadainfo@nada.org

also:

Legal and Regulatory Affairs
Phone: (703) 821-7040
Fax: (703) 448-5824
legalaffairs@nada.org

Perhaps this will be helpful.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

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Clarification of Question by sfmarq-ga on 06 Dec 2003 18:27 PST

Thanks Clouseau. My law firm is already filing suit. You are right in
assuming that I purchased the car without seeing it. There are very
few of these cars so I bought mine from a dealer in New Jersey. I did
carefully review the window sticker and documents, but after I paid
for the car, the dealer shipped me this pre-series car rather than the
one I agreed to purchase. The VIN number is actually different than
the car I agreed to purchase which was a production model CL55. The
purchase agreement I signed is actually for a different car.

Needless to say, this level of fraud deserves a lawsuit which is under
way. And it stands on it own based on the fraud committed by the
dealer, but I'd like to also prove that the motive was to sell this
pre-series car which is clearly inferior. But Mercedes seems to have a
company wide policy of denying that these pre-series cars exist. I
obtdained a computer print of the window sticker for my car (the
dealer conveniently lost" the original) and it lists this "DCAG
Pre-Seies Factory Code" right next to all of the other options on the
car.

So there's not much more I can give you - especially since there is
already pending litigation - but I'd love to find out more about these
pre-series cars. And by the way, I experienced the exact same level of
customer service you experienced the other day ever since I've owned
the car. It's been a real joy!. Thanks for all of your help.

Mark