Wohlf

Wow, persuasive response. I will send my dealer an email to see if I can still spend $1500 to get more than two center floor vents. Come to think of it, most $35k minivans have rear controls and numerous vents. I appreciate the quick and cogent info. Would you loose your place in line over this feature?

wamochi

that's a tough question.

i suppose you don't know what you're missing if you've NEVER had it, but in your case, coming from a GL that already has it, i would say you will notice it appreciably, especially if you have kids back there. and to be clear - the center vents for the 2nd row are just above bench height. for us, we have one boy on the left and one on the right side, both in convertible car seats, so it does take a little while to get the airflow to their faces without the 3-zone a/c. now it's there just as fast as the driver and passenger.

mine are only 3 and 5 years old and noticed it right away in the new car. we have black interior (and did on our '11 X164) and black headliner though , so it can get pretty hot back there.

i don't think you'd lose your place in line, would you? if it's not being built until August, can't you make a few additional changes now?

you could also go check out a few 450's on the lot that have been baking in the sun and see how it feels without the additional vents compared to what you are used to in your current GL. the majority of 450's sitting on dealer lots in my area don't have the 3-zone a/c either.

patyoung

The extra vents in the back is why I added the 3 zone to the original order. Neither my dealer nor the mbusa web site gives much information on what you get with the 3 zone, so thanks to this forum for making that more clear.

I am still torn on adding the active curve or maybe just adaptive damping. I think when you have this long wait for the build it ends up where you keep adding options.

Elric99

I believe the 3 zone also has a few other perks like better air filtration quality and a mist sensor to help prevent windows fogging up.

ceo2b

I am building a new GL and wanted to put on/off road package on it. But my dealer is asking not to go for it. He is even saying that he will not buy back the car any time in the future or even trade in for a car like this. When I asked to look for within an existing 2013 inventory, he told me that they never keep those types of cars. When I asked for the reason, he could not give much convincing answer but sounded as if such car can not be trusted as the owner might have driven it on all types of terrains which might depreciate the car too much due to excessive wear and tear.

Please advise if such a car with on/off road package will fetch me any inferior reselling price versus the one without this package. If I sell my car after 5 years, would there be any buyers jumping for this car since this one has on/off road package which is so rare to find? Why dealers hate this package so much? I really wanted to have this package. I live in Ohio which has a lot of snow and icing on the road for 6 months in a year and visit West Virginia quite a few times a year which is quite hilly.

I would highly appreciate your response and any knowledge\truth that could be brought forward.

I have posted this question in the other thread about on/off road as well. My apologies for being impatient and posting it again here. I need to know this in detail since there is very few known about this. I am surprised to see on this thread that no one has mentioned anything about this package and none have gone for it either. Wonder why?

Thanks a million in advance.

cookstar

Your sales rep and dealer are both idiots, they have told you one of the stupidest things I have ever heard coming out of a dealership.

your resale price has nothing to do with the offroad package, you will get a fraction of the money you put into any options on any vehicle regardless of the make and model, that's how the system works. You get the options for your needs/wants not for resale purposes. If your thinking about resale right now its better to go bare bones with zero options.

fabbrisd1

ceo - I think there is some misunderstanding between you and the dealer.

Let me try to clairify this for you - if you are wanting a 2013 right now - then please understand that the "off-raod" package is quite "rare" and downright impossible to find in inventory at this late date in the model year 2013.

The "off-road" package is rare to oder for a dealer/inventory unit - and it is most common to order this feature as part of a special-order/custom build.

That said - there are a few "select" AND OPEN 2014 GL's with Off-Road in GKL450/550 that are scheduled to be built end of July/early-AUG.

On a 2014 - either you are looking to secure somehting that is already scheduled to be built - or you are looking to place a special/custom order.

Either way - it's up to you to make the decision and pull the trigger.

No regrets - AWESOME vehicle..

Frankly, Ohio or no Ohio - the off-road package will be nice to have, but certianly not a requirment for heavy snow.

The very best match of suspension upgrades = Off/road + active curve = one heck of a handling GL !

Wohlf

I have that option in a 2007 GL 320 that I am trading in. (you used to be able to get it on the diesel) Two Points:

1- I did not get it for off-roading, I ordered it in case I needed it e.g., getting stuck in snow, pulling out a stuck car, or if I ended up in the ditch. In 6.5 years I never needed it.

2- I am trading the car in now and I don't think it is either helping me or hurting me...the dealer appraiser never mentioned the feature.

patsy1099

I had no idea that the no rear climate control meant no rear vents. Absolutely ridiculous. I don't have it on mine and I wish I had. Big mistake. It really is necessary.

Steve Maislin

The X166 does have standard AC vents behind the center console that provide plenty of volume when you don't have 3-zone. However, I would think that 3-zone could be a bit better as far as putting air directly to the 3rd row. So far, my second row passengers find they have to cut the flow down, even on very hot days in the 90s. The second row vents look just like the dash vents.

I am at work or I would send a pic.

wamochi

the standard console vents in the 2nd row are adequate, but nothing like the extra 6 vents with the 3-zone package.

the cabin will eventually get cool with just the standard console vents, but when the car has been parked in direct sunlight and the interior is well over 100 degrees, those first few minutes make a difference! after our first summer in the '11 GL450, we really wished we had gotten the 3-zone, especially since we still had a rear facing child.

a car parked in 90*F weather over 60 minutes reaches 133*F inside the cabin http://www.weather.com/newscenter/sp...oriz-plain.css

43221B

I have an 09 without 3 zone AC and my GL has been all over the Southeast the past 4 summers. My 3 kids do not complain about the back being too hot in the summer.

Conversely, Hertz gave me a GL with 3 zone AC a few weeks ago and all my kids did was complain. It was always either too cold or too hot in the back and my kids of course could never agree. I found the front getting cold because my kids had the dial turned down too far. I had to ask my 7 year old (my oldest) constantly what the temperature was set at and why I could hear the blower running on high when it was freaking 62 degrees in the car. I just don't think it is a good option for buyers with small children that are going to mess with the dial. If you have older kids that won't fight over the temp and wont crank the dial all the way down every time they get in the car to cool it down, it would be a good option. On the 2012 rental, I could turn off the 3rd zone but the second my kids turned the dial, it would turn the air back on.

MB should give the driver a permanent option to disable the controls in the second row. Perhaps they did on the 2013? That is the only way I would consider getting it.

wamochi

you can't turn off the controls entirely but you can set the temp and fan speed from the front driver controls but turning off "zone" and then setting it and then hitting zone again and separately controlling your own if you desire something different (temp and/or fan speed).

my kids are still in car seats and can't reach or control the rear a/c so i just do it for them. i have one who likes more air so his vents are all the way open and positioned towards him, while the other son doesn't like as much air so we have the vents closed about 50%. it's nice to be able to customize.

43221B

That is key.

Flyingman

Yep, my SA thoughtfully recommended I add the 3-Zone AC here in Balmy South Florida. These cars are long and with Panorama Sunroof I suspect quite warm in the rear.

patyoung

So my order is about to be locked and I did go ahead and add the 3 Zone and Active Curve. This is what the final config looks like (and with finalized 2014 MSRP pricing I believe):

GL350BTC $63,000
792 Palladium Silver Metallic $720
201 Black Leather
DSL Ultralow-sulfur fuel required. Biodiesel
H09 Brown Satin Ash Wood Trim (SPC) $160
P01 Premium 1 Package $4,070R55 19" Twin 5-spoke wheel
SPC Special Order $250
214 Adaptive Damping System (SPC) $800
286 designo Auburn Brown Leather Package $4,800293 Rear Side Airbags (SPC)
319 Lighting Package $1,390399 Driver/Passenger Multi-Contour Seats w/M $1,100
401 Heated/Ventilated Front Seats $570
413 Panorama Sunroof $1,090
468 ACTIVE CURVE SYSTEM (SPC) $2,900
550 Trailer Hitch $575
581 3-Zone Automatic Climate Control $1,450810 harman/kardon® LOGIC7® Surround Sound Sy $850
843 ** PRICE NOT ON FILE **
846 Illuminated Running Boards $670
848 ** PRICE NOT ON FILE **
889 KEYLESS-GO® $650
996 Parking Assist Package $1,290997 Driver Assistance Package $2,800SUBTOTAL $89,135
DESTINATION & DELIVERY $925
TOTAL $90,060
Pricing is subject to change. Mercedes-Benz reserves the right to make changes without notification.

N'AWLINS

My 2013 GL350 has the power rear quarter windows. believe it was standard since it doesn't show upon P1 or P2 listing.

Wohlf

You forgot
797 : Kitchen Sink

cookstar

good build, congrats

JimBarnhart

Excellent build, well configured, and now the wait....

wamochi

nice! so there isn't such a thing as P2 package anymore?

Elric99

Yes, my salesperson also confirmed those and the side air bags are standard on all 2013/14 GLs.

JimBarnhart

correct, P2 got dropped

fabbrisd1

Paty - just trying to be helpful - and you mentioned your order is about ready to be "locked" -

Plz recheck with your dealer:

1) My experience is that 468 Active Curve at $2900 INCLUDES option 214 for Adaptive for total $2900 total for both.. not $2900 + $800 as shown on your spec sheet

2) I would also recommend you review and consider 50R 20: wheels

3) Consider adding 297 rear sunshades - yes, that's a choice

4) Reconfirm your understanding with your dealer that your Designo interior INCLUDES lower wrapped dash - there have been some order misunderstandings about that, and some mis-entry/mis-confirmation with some dealers on that

Great truck - you will be very happy !

patyoung

fabbrisd1,

Thanks for the feedback.

1. I was told that you have to add both on the 350/450, on the 550 it already includes the adaptive damping so the active curve would only be the 2900. Does that make sense or do you think there is still something wrong with that?

2. I think a few people talked about the wheels above, the reality is that I like the look of the 19s better than the 20s.

3. I don't think we've ever felt the need for sunshades. Even when the kids were infants and we got the portable ones, we never used them.

4. My dealer is going to check on the lower wrapped dash. I would hope that the Designo option includes that. Can anyone that actually has the Designo interior confirm one way or the other?