I wanted to update this thread per MB of Annapolis. I went down to pick up an order today and spent a few minutes with Eddie Alexander, head of the parts and who takes care of the Internet orders placed there.
He mentioned that he has received SEVERAL orders over the past few days through referrals from this site, and is appreciative of the business.
I talked to him about the exhorbitant shipping costs, as quoted by their RevParts site shipping calculator. He immediately said that their shipping costs are NOWHERE NEAR that high -- generally only about ONE-HALF the RevParts price quoted. The reason for the discrepancy is that the RevParts site uses the UPS shipping calculator as its default, but all MB dealerships nationwide actually ship via FedEx. And MBUSA has a GREAT contract rate with FedEx (which we already knew), and the shipping costs are MUCH less than RevParts quotes via UPS.
So, again, count on general shipping costs about ONE HALF of what the MB Annapolis RevParts site quotes (
www.getmercedesparts.com). NO sales tax for out of state orders. And prices among the very best out there. Generally, orders are compiled at the dealer before being shipped out -- they are NOT typically drop-shipped from MB parts warehouses.
MB Annapolis puts a "hold" charge on orders received, on the credit card, but DOES NOT CHARGE THE CARD until the order is received and shipped. This allows for the downward adjustment on shipping cost, removal of sales tax, etc. So, if you place a $500 order, you may get charged $150 shipping for it, for a total pending charge on the card of $650. But, the actual charge will be much lower than that.