White Decal rejected - 2014 BClass California

[surferboy]

Hello folks,
I leased a new 2014 BClass 3 months back in SoCal & applied for the White Decals for HOV lane usage. After around 3 weeks I got a denial back from DMV stating that my car was not on the list of cars as posted on their website. So I setup a call with them and the agent who answered checked the website and realised it was on the website.
Anyways, she said that since she is just a customer agent the right reason would have to come from the dept. which handles this decal and she set me up for a follow up call from DMV. I received a follow up call after a week and the agent said that while my car was on the list of approved cars my VIN sequence number was not. She also mentioned that the VIN is correct and she can see it belongs to a Benz B-Class but the sequence prefix does not & she cant do anything about it.

So I am curious to know if anyone on this forum from California who have their VIN sequence starting off in WDDVP9A have had the white decals approved ? and if not what did they do to get it fixed.Thanks so much

 

[JeffRay]

Surferboy,

Unbelievable. I hope you get satisfaction. Dealing with any bureaucracy is tedious but especially so when they tell you that you are right. Yikes. In NY, to get my stickers I had to provide the same information. Thank goodness I got my stickers without your hassle.

 

[pavan]

Does your title show E for motive power? If the dealer put gas down by mistake, that might explain it.

PS: I just applied for a decal for my 2015 B class. I guess I will know in 3 weeks if I will have the same issue.

 

[GlennD]

My dealer got the tags for me. I made the F&I guy change the car from hybrid to electric. Mercedes dealers are not used to selling electric cars.

 

[surferboy]

Thanks for your responses, I am sure my registration shows Electric & not hybrid since I did get my Cali state credit approved & DMV does agree that the car is electric from their records too. Its just that their database has to match both on the type of car as well as the VIN sequence to issue the tags. I am probably going to try re-submitting it again and attach a letter too. Let me see if I am second time lucky.
I concur with you Benz dealers don't know anything about selling electric cars.

 

[Johnsie]

oh crap, i have the same starting code for my VIN and I'm waiting for my stickers to arrive, I will let you know if I get rejected or accepted.

 

[GlennD]

That is the beginning of my vin also. As I said, the dealer provided the stickers so I do not know if there was any difficulties. According to the DMV paperwork it cost $8. It took around a month to receive them.

 

[Ferdball]

...So I am curious to know if anyone on this forum from California who have their VIN sequence starting off in WDDVP9A have had the white decals approved ? and if not what did they do to get it fixed.Thanks so much

Mine starts with the same VIN, but I got my stickers from the dealer (MB of Escondido).

http://www.mybclasselectricdrive.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=171

 

[TonyWilliams]

Thanks for your responses, I am sure my registration shows Electric & not hybrid since I did get my Cali state credit approved & DMV does agree that the car is electric from their records too. Its just that their database has to match both on the type of car as well as the VIN sequence to issue the tags. I am probably going to try re-submitting it again and attach a letter too. Let me see if I am second time lucky.
I concur with you Benz dealers don't know anything about selling electric cars.

There's not likely a connection.

Go back to the dealer and make sure your dealership ticked the correct box for "motive power" on their copy of the registration. If it was done correctly, get a copy.

If they incorrectly entered "gas", you'll need to get it corrected. In California, the DMV requests that the dealership complete Sections G & H of form "Reg 256". For section G, the sample response given was:

"Due to a clerical error on the Report of Sale, the motive power was entered as "gas (G)", when the actual motive power for this vehicle is "100% electric (E)". Please correct. No fraud intended."

The dealer then signs and dates Section H.

 

[RGDavey]

My 2014 has the same prefix. I leased it 6 weeks ago and applied for the stickers 1 week later after I received my plates. My stickers arrived today, about 5 weeks timeframe.

 

[akakak]

I also received a rejection notice from the CA DMV -- but the reason given was that the dealer had already applied for and received the stickers for my vehicle. The problem is that the dealer was not the same as one that leased me the car. So I guess it's common that Bay Area dealers pull stock from other parts of the West and my B-class actually came from a dealer in Fresno. Now I've been trying to reach someone from that dealer's business office all the way up to the General Manager, but no one is returning any calls! I even submitted a complaint to MB USA customer service, but no progress there either (though they did send an email that they are 'working on the issue'). I don't know if I'll even receive my stickers at this point. I have to say that this type of nonsense is damaging to the MB brand.
Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[renault19]

I also received a rejection notice from the CA DMV -- but the reason given was that the dealer had already applied for and received the stickers for my vehicle. The problem is that the dealer was not the same as one that leased me the car. So I guess it's common that Bay Area dealers pull stock from other parts of the West and my B-class actually came from a dealer in Fresno. Now I've been trying to reach someone from that dealer's business office all the way up to the General Manager, but no one is returning any calls! I even submitted a complaint to MB USA customer service, but no progress there either (though they did send an email that they are 'working on the issue'). I don't know if I'll even receive my stickers at this point. I have to say that this type of nonsense is damaging to the MB brand.
Anyone else have a similar experience?

Out of curiosity, how long did it take until you received your CA registration and plates?

I am still waiting for my CA plates, after having started my lease on a new BCED longer than a month ago. In the meantime, the dealership called me "informing me" there is a cap on the number CAV decals issued for 2015 by the DMV in California. Since I need both the license plate number and the VIN to complete the CAV decal application, your posting makes me a bit nervous. Just wondering whether some California dealerships "stock up" the CAV/HOV decals by applying for the decals before the car owner receives his permanent registration from the DMV and sell the decals with other electric or hybrid cars from their inventory?

 

[AznFamilyBEV]

I also received a rejection notice from the CA DMV -- but the reason given was that the dealer had already applied for and received the stickers for my vehicle. The problem is that the dealer was not the same as one that leased me the car. So I guess it's common that Bay Area dealers pull stock from other parts of the West and my B-class actually came from a dealer in Fresno. Now I've been trying to reach someone from that dealer's business office all the way up to the General Manager, but no one is returning any calls! I even submitted a complaint to MB USA customer service, but no progress there either (though they did send an email that they are 'working on the issue'). I don't know if I'll even receive my stickers at this point. I have to say that this type of nonsense is damaging to the MB brand.
Anyone else have a similar experience?

Out of curiosity, how long did it take until you received your CA registration and plates?

I am still waiting for my CA plates, after having started my lease on a new BCED longer than a month ago. In the meantime, the dealership called me "informing me" there is a cap on the number CAV decals issued for 2015 by the DMV in California. Since I need both the license plate number and the VIN to complete the CAV decal application, your posting makes me a bit nervous. Just wondering whether some California dealerships "stock up" the CAV/HOV decals by applying for the decals before the car owner receives his permanent registration from the DMV and sell the decals with other electric or hybrid cars from their inventory?

I think there is only cap on plug in hybrids

 

[rdavis0521]

Mine has same prefix, and I've had stickers for 8 months. As suggested, double check the motive power on your registration. I've heard of other vehicles being denied because of that being incorrect.

 

[surferboy]

I did get a copy of the registration submitted to DMV and it clearly spells out Electric as motive drive. I re-submitted once again the doc alongwith the copy of registration and print out of the ARB website. Lets see if I am second time lucky.
Thank you all

 

[fishn4life]

...So I am curious to know if anyone on this forum from California who have their VIN sequence starting off in WDDVP9A have had the white decals approved ? and if not what did they do to get it fixed.Thanks so much

Mine starts with the same VIN, but I got my stickers from the dealer (MB of Escondido).

http://www.mybclasselectricdrive.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=171

Hi,

Just leased a B class at Escondido as well. Really impressed with the whole experience! I'm glad I came across this forum, not a whole lot of people are familiar with the B class so this forum will help out. Still trying to collect info on perks of EV, didn't even consider HOV....

 

[rdavis0521]

If you are interested and are on Facebook, there is a fairly active group the for the B-Class

https://www.facebook.com/groups/218424681699164/

 

[fishn4life]

Not a Facebook guy, but thanks for the heads up.

Also, for anyone who purchased or leased at M of Escondido, I was just told by Amanda that they take care of obtaining the white tag for you when the plates come. It's taking 10-12 weeks right now because Sac is backed up, but I was assured the white tag is on its way.... We'll see

 

[Comanchepilot]

Only a government can invent a scheme whereby a car is entitled to a benefit by matter of right - such as a white sticker - and make you apply for and wait during an 10-12 week process = instead of simply creating a web page, entering a VIN and license plate number, paying a fee and then printing out a temporary pass valid for 90 days you put on your rear window until they send out the stickers.

How bureaucratic does it have to be?

There is no limit to the stickers.

There is the same expiration date for all of them.

Every vehicle is entitled to the stupid things - there is zero reason to have a 12 week wait for something that is ministerial - is there ONE person doing this in Sacramento? If they simply created the same system they have to renew registration - it would be automated for the most part.

 

[rdavis0521]

Also, for anyone who purchased or leased at M of Escondido, I was just told by Amanda that they take care of obtaining the white tag for you when the plates come. It's taking 10-12 weeks right now because Sac is backed up, but I was assured the white tag is on its way.... We'll see

Most MB dealers do not know this (and probably many owners as well). The car dealer can actually pre-order white stickers, based upon VIN number. They do not need to wait for plates. Dealers that are EV savvy, like Carson Toyota will have white stickers for their RAV4 customers at purchase time.

I made my dealership aware of this while I was waiting for the initial release of the car, and I received my stickers long before my plates arrived.