After much consideration, I have decided to purchase the Mercedes E200 CGI.

In your opinion, would you buy the E200 in Elegance trim through the official dealer at THB 3.79 million or would you buy via the grey market an E200 in the higher spec Avantgarde trim at THB 3.5 million? An example of the grey market import I have in mind is attached.

http://showroom.one2...ar_id=j05540348

I know that the official Mercedes dealer gives a 3 year warranty and a discount of about 3%.

I would appreciate any comments especially from people who have bought grey market imports. Thanks.

I have never bought a Mercedes or a grey import but if i was spending nearly 4 million baht on a car i would want an official dealer. You would have to be made to take a risk just to save a few percent of the cost.

MB Thailand have a program where they will 'adopt' your import and provide it with a 3-year unlimited KM factory warranty. Entry cost for the program for E-Series is 300,000 Baht, and your vehicle must be inspected to see if it qualifies first. The cost also includes all changes necessary to properly localize the car for Thai conditions.

So unless your importer is going to offer a substantial discount in lieu of their own standard warranty, buying official looks like a better deal IMHO.

MB Thailand have a program where they will 'adopt' your import and provide it with a 3-year unlimited KM factory warranty. Entry cost for the program for E-Series is 300,000 Baht, and your vehicle must be inspected to see if it qualifies first. The cost also includes all changes necessary to properly localize the car for Thai conditions.

So unless your importer is going to offer a substantial discount in lieu of their own standard warranty, buying official looks like a better deal IMHO.

a clever programme by benz Th as they get to inspect a bunch of grey imports, report thir VIN to factory and can block selling dealer from more unauthorised exports

In this case spec of each car has not been displayed, so hard to judge their value. Be aware Blue Efficiency usually doesnt work in Th as it for most engines requires 98RON

Also be aware of slow spareparts supply for the grey one, despite being included in benz Th warranty

Ok. I will get the car from MB Thailand.

I think MB has discontinued adoption for grey market cars now, as per BMW. They announced they were stopping that policy a couple of months back, but who knows.

While you buy a grey market import cheaper, when you come to sell it is cheaper also, so it is not really as big a saving as you might think. 2nd hand buyers tend to be more particular on the grey market thing than new, since 2nd hand is when stuff starts to c&*p out.

In the mini this difference was around 15% of the value of the car between grey and legit car for car.

I think MB has discontinued adoption for grey market cars now, as per BMW. They announced they were stopping that policy a couple of months back, but who knows.

Just to clarify, up until August 2011, MB Thailand actually gave a free warranty for gray market imports. The change in policy was the introduction of the adoption fee...