sun_dance

Hi folks,


I may be joining the MB family soon and am looking at a 2013 GLK250 Bluetec 4matic (white exterior, black tex interior), which is fairly loaded and still under the factory warranty. It includes the following options:

• Heated Steering Wheel
• Heated Front Seats
• Keyless - go
• Harman.Kardon Sound System Dolby 5.1
• Premium Package
• Lighting Package
• Multimedia Package
• Sport Appearance Package

It's got just under 19K miles and is in great condition, the only major issue was a new torque convertor installed, under warranty. Do you think $38K is fair on it?

lpmaui

I paid $45 new. Why buy used at that price?

bugelrex

too expensive for used. I purchased a new 250 for 38k with just nav, heated seats, trailer, keyless

should be major discounts with new style around the corner

sun_dance

Ok guys, really appreciate the background info. I thought it was a bit higher and actually I found one as close with even more things (i.e. tow package) and a model year newer (2014), for LESS. $34K. I think I'll ask the original person for $33 or less and see what happens.

LesF

seems high to me. I paid 41 for a loaded used one in 12/13 which I later traded in for a new one in 14.

Diabolis

IMHO the interior changes for the 2014 model year were a big improvement (the 2013s have the newer engines, but still the old cluster and indicator & cruise control stalks in the wrong place). At that price point you can get a 2014.

Gt. Dane

I believe the 2013 and 2014 Bluetecs are the same.

CBR Dude

I'm out. Bob can answer all questions about the Bluetec technology.


Have a great day ladies!

Bob338

WOW! Couldn't disagree more!

I've been a Benz Diesel owner since '77, along with gassers. Gasoline engines have far more problems than diesel. They also wear out quicker. Only 'extra' cost can be the price per gallon which is usually higher, but the maintenance is always significantly lower. You don't have to time, change plugs and points, and correct ignition problems. I've owned two BlueTecs and NEVER had an engine problem. The rest of the car is the same for both though I've not had problems there on either. One '78 300D ran 400K miles with never a problem and I now have a 2.2 diesel that has 150K miles, burns no oil and only problem under hood has been a regulator on the alternator wore out, and 32mpg. Try that with gasoline.

The cost of the diesel fuel may be higher but the mpg and operating costs are waaaaay lower.

I'm not sure I'll ever own another gasoline engine in a car or pickup.

fabbrisd1

To the OP - frankly buying a recent model Mercedes - you should look at availability of Mercedes Certified from a MB dealer - that changes the original 4yr/50K new car warranty - to 5yr/Unlimited Mileage - meaning bal;ance of original 4yr warranty (which expires earlier if you hit 50K miles) - adds one full year on top from original date in service with 1st owner - and removes the 50K mileage cap and goes to Unlimited Mileage for that total 5yrs.

You can ALWAYS use 3rd party value guides - such as edmunds.com - to see what the realistic buy price is.

The new revision to the Mercedes Certified program - removing the warranty mileage cap - is frankly a GREAT thing...

Diabolis

That is certainly a possibility. I was briefly considering a CPO 2013 GLK350, and while it had the direct injection engine, it had the old cluster and the reversed cruise and indicatior/light stalks, hence my belief that the engines and interior did not change at exactly the same time. Seeing as the Bluetec first appeared in 2013, it is quite possible that they all had the updated interor from the beginning. If that is the case, I stand corrected.

CBR Dude

1

Alex Bel

The initial cost for my 2014 GLK2014 is $500 less than corresponding GLK350 would be.

I do not have any issues with my vehicle so far and happy with her.

Bob338

Your dissertation is fraught with error and clearly shows a lack of knowledge and experience, and a bias against diesels. The OP was inquiring about one particular vehicle and you respond with opinions, to which you are entitled, but with little or no experience.

Out of curiosity what diesel SUV and truck have you owned? I am not aware of any diesel SUV until Mercedes came out with theirs. And was your problems with the diesel truck with the engine or other parts of the truck? What make and model?

While I have the experience and expertise to work on most cars, I've been at a stage in life where the only ones on which I work are the older Mercedes, and all are diesels, and that is for pleasure. Never had to work on any diesel motor, nor on any fuel system on any Mercedes. I have everything involving oil and grease done for me and pay for it. It's still cheaper for diesel maintenance than for gasoline.

In one of my lifetimes I was a senior executive for a large company operating mostly cars with a few diesel trucks thrown in. Because of my mechanical interest even as a pre teenager (I'm sure long before you were born!) I specifically assumed handling of the fleet. Diesels are cheaper in the long pull to operate. I also have kept detailed records of mine as I've owned them, along with the records for the gassers, and I can tell you unequivocally diesels are cheaper to own and operate. Why do all truckers and most heavy equipment use diesel? Your opinions are just that, with obviously little or no experience.

DEF is cheap. (The only thing I do on mine!) Oil changes are the same cost and frequency. Not sure about your mention of water/fuel filters, or why. You have them on gassers too. I never said anything about torque or power. Mileage is usually higher so that the cost of fuel for operation of comparable cars, is about the same, or slightly lower for the same vehicle. Torque is much the same just usually at lower rpm's than gassers and I never mentioned that.

Visit the many forums dedicated to diesels and you might have a clearer picture, and particularly those dedicated to M-B.

Recent diesel problems across all makes, including trucks, has been mostly with DEF and it's not only one manufacturer, but that isn't mechanical as it deals only with the exhaust system and is something imposed by the governments and 'global warming' lunatics.

Certainly you don't seem to have the experience with the GLK which is what the OP asked.

ningster

this guy owns a gasser GL550, but has a lot of trashtalk for Bluetec...


1. 350 Bluetec is a totally different engine from the 250 Bluetec.... matched with different transmissions too.


2. Diesel is cheaper than regular gas from where I live (California)

CBR Dude

2

ningster

so you had horrible luck with diesel, yet we're the stupid ones....

Diabolis

Sorry CBR, but I too have to disagree. I am sorry to hear you've had bad experiences with your diesels (and I am also curous as to what they were - AFAIK MB was the first to bring oil burner SUVs to NA as Bob338 also suggested), but the overwhelming majority of diesels engines are by far more reliable, longer lasting and cheaper to run than their gasoline conterparts.

Bob338

Quite accurate!

You initially said two diesels. What were they? VW's? If M-B's, models? Where did the third come from? The discussion here was about Mercedes. And the employee of that firm told you to stay away from them? That wasn't Mercedes I'm certain. Identify the cars PLEASE!

I'm holding this in my hands, had read it and reviewed once again. Nothing negative in there about diesels that I can find, and the only negatives I see relate to the '12 ML's. Not other years. They also recommend staying away from the GL's as used cars, but no evaluations for the used GLK diesel, and for the new ones both the gasser and diesel are highly rated! Last sentence, "Reliability has been above average for both V6 and diesel versions." p. 55

Please cite pages in CR to which you're referring. I found nothing and certainly not the doomsday scenario you paint.

Unfortunately YOU are very correct about that one thing! Who's full of ? Don't use all your duct tape!!! It won't work!

Bob338

Hey CBR Dude, why did you pull your last post? A bit embarrassed from calling everyone here stupid?

Diabolis. Thanks for quoting his post in yours. He's run out of duct tape, put his tail between his legs, and disappeared from where he should never have been in the first place!!!!

Here it is again:
By CBR Dude: He's gone and hopefully he never comes back to a forum on a car he knows nothing about.

The OP is gone also so I'd guess this is the end of this discussion.

Huskies22

Hey a great site it cargurus.com You can also use truecar.com both are free and of no cost to you.


Cargurus will show you how well it's priced over or under and truecar also does used cars. There is additional discounts if you belong to other groups, such as: USAA, AAA and some others.


Would also suggest to pulling your own CARFAX report. Don't let the dealer pull it as they can be photo shopped. I've seen some pretty convincing reports waiting on the dash of some cars, only to pull my own and see a difference.


Also just saw a torque converter at 19K? Does this signal more issues down the road?

Huskies22

Hey Bob you seem pretty knowledgeable on the GLK250? Do you have a diesel? When you're done with the tape could I get your response to a few questions below. Sorry could not resist the run on words.


My wife is wanting one, but can't decide if I want to hold off on the new Honda Pilot coming this summer. Also looking at the new Lexus NX.


What is your experience on this model. I don't want mixed model reviews from your other Mercedes' that you have had or currently have, just the GLK. I'd like to hear what you have to say. How long have you had it? Did you buy new or CPO? Known issues? Model year? Current mileage? Issues that you have had? Would you recommend one to a friend or family?


Several people I've talked to say they are "OK" entry level Mercedes and they would buy something else after they were done with this model and it would not be another Mercedes. Are you a die hard Mercedes buyer, meaning you'll buy another one regardless of it's reliability? I've never owned a German car. My parents had a ML and swore they would never own one again. The ML is not the GLK, I know that! They went with the Lexus RX350. This is something we will use for a long time. So I don't want something once I'm done paying for it to be a rolling bucket.

Bob338

I'm no more knowledgeable than any other owner and while I've studied my car pretty thoroughly and gotten quite exasperated with some of the complaints that are clearly 'operator error, I come here to read, learn and gain more knowledge.

I'd suggest you do a 'search' here and read everybody's opinions of theirs, keeping in mind that for every person that posts a problem, there's probably 100 or more out there with no problems, like me. You'll get a much broader view of the model if you read all the opinions.

Choosing a car is just like choosing a wife. Nobody can do that for you. All our needs are unique. I'm quite happy with mine. Never a problem and I don't expect any. I'd never tell anyone to buy what I buy nor would I recommend.

You can point and click on my name, go to my page, and read all my posts of the past. I've covered about everything you've asked, and then some.

The information on my cars is on the avatar. I picked up my 2013 new in Germany at the factory. And I'd buy another in a heart beat. Read, then make up your own mind. Good luck.

Diabolis

Yeah... at least he had the good sense not to keep fighting for a lost cause. On the C63 forums, we have had a few outstanding citizens that start calling people names just because they ask a question that they don't like the answer to, and when presented with facts or irrefutable proof that they are wrong, they switch to hurling insults of the lowest variety. The duct tape comment was just a "love nibble" in comparison.


My grandfather, uncles and father have all had several diesel Mercedes cars back in Europe since the early 70s. While not nearly as clean-burning or fast as the current batch, they have all been reliable mules for many hundreds of thousands of kilometers. My sister is still driving my grandfather's old W123 '84 300D - 30+ years later it has done over 500,000 km and is still chugging along. Sure, there is usual wear and tear for a 30 year old car, and over the years it has gone though many oil changes, valve adjustments, clutches, pads, rotors, tires, numerous hoses, light bulbs, four or five batteries, two timing chains, alternators, master cylinders and power steering pumps, and one radiator... but the engine, tranny (manual) and body are all still solid. And, I am quite certain they've never had to change the spark plugs either.

Diabolis

There are two things you need to consider here.

First, the cars that Mercedes made during the Chrysler years were indeed of a much lower overall quality due to the higher profit margin expectations by Chrysler. Mercedes used to make 12% profit on their cars, then joined forces with Chrysler who wanted to make 32%. Seeing as they coudn't raise the price by 20% and still stay competitive, they had to make everything 20% cheaper. The same thing happened with Volvo during the Ford ownership years. Mercedes cars made from roughly 1999-2009 are definitely two notches below in terms of quality when compared to any other generation. Since the divorce from Chrysler, MB has been working very hard to rebuild their reputation for quality, so cars made in the last five years are probably the best in their respective market segments as the profit margin was intentionally shrunk to single digits in order for MB to build a better car for the same amount of money. The GLK is a product of the "back to quality" generation, whereas your parents' ML was a product of the Chrysler era.

Notwithstanding the above, any European car - when PROPERLY AND REGULARLY MAINTAINED with quality parts and service - will likely provide a better driving and ownership experience than the competition. Europen car cuture is considearably different from ours as people there tend to be much more proactive and religiously service their cars at the prescribed intervals using only OEM parts and service. Here we tend to have a much more reactive attitude and service our cars only half as often or when somethign actually fails, call the dealerships "stealerships" because we are too cheap to pay for scheduled maintenence, OEM parts and trained labour (I am sure in no small part due to the ill-conceived Magnuson-Moss warranty act in the USA), and then we moan, b!tch and complain about it. People buy premium luxury vehicles and then cheap out on maintenance and service, so of course the vehicles aren't going to last. If you buy a premium car, expect to pay for premium service. Over 80% of all issues with high-end German cars are due to inadequate mainenance. If you want to spend Toyota money on maintenance and service, then you should buy a Toyota instead of a Benz. If on the other hand you want a vehicle that puts a smile on your face every time you sit in it, is a pleasure to drive because it wasn't designed by someone that has no notion of aesthetics, the controls aren't binary and they give you feedback, then you should expect to pay a little more to properly maintain and service it. Yes, as Bob said, choosing a car is like choosing a wife. What he didn't add is that the happiness and satisfaction you get out of your marriage is usually also directly proportional to what you put into it in terms of "maintenance and service".