I'm seeing several posts on the GL, ML and R forums that are making me wonder about build quality out of the Alabama plant. Paint defects, missing seal on seat seams, crooked hood inserts, exhaust rattle, loose trim pieces, etc. While these items are not major (except the paint) they do make me wonder about attention to detail. And if there is some underlying problem with their production process down there. Are these issues we're seeing just isolated occurrences are do they suggest a pattern?

We tend to hear about problems much more readily than we hear about perfect vehicles. So, I'd like to hear from all GL owners out there. Did your vehicle arrive in good shape with no build issues at all? Have there been trips to the dealer to resolve some type of build issue or oversight? What's your overall impression of the build quality?

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...ison-index.htm

Dont know if that url will work if you do not have a subscription to CR or not. If not, basically it shows that the reliability ratings of the e, cls, s, clk, and sl classes are all at the VERY bottom of the list---if not very close to the very bottom. No info on GL though....but it does not appear promising based on that.

The link asks for a login. But I've seen various articles on JD Powell surveys that rate the reliability of MB pretty low. But Nissan also rates pretty low, and I've owned two completely problem free Nissans.

Thanks for the replies so far...but just a point of clarification...I was asking specifically about vehicles from the Alabama plant (ML, R and GL only). Also, I was looking for manufacturing defects at delivery, not long-term reliability.

My GL arrived to me without any defects. There is no exhaust rattle or paint defects, the plastics match up pefectly, theres no wind noise, the doors all close perfectly and align properly. In fact I can't think of anything that would suggest the build quality is any less than the German mercs that I have. Probably the interior of the E-class is of higher standard (plastics, textures etc) but not put together any better. That said time will tell if rattles and squeaks start to appear as milage increases.

our ML arrived with quite a few defects. The seals around the second row windows had to be replaced before the car left the dealer. I also found interior trim pieces on the B pillar to be loose, turns out, it had to be "snapped" into position and it wasn't. The driver's door edge was rubbing near the front wheel well, which removed all of the finish down to bare metal, turned out to be a loose plastic trim piece which had to be re-fitted. I don't know if these are design related or due to poor assembly, but I don't have anything good to say about the American plant either way.

its an unfortunate fact of life. Doesn't matter what vehicle you buy, sometimes you get a lemon, or a messed up one. Most of the time the vehnicles are fine. That is why there are lemon laws, legal recourse, etc.

Not to horrify you, but check out this site:
http://www.mercedes-benz-usa.com/ the official community where consumers can share thier ownership experiences with others online.

Its a compliant site specific to MBZ where folks can vent their frustrations.

My first GL (that was crashed) - didnt have any of these defects the replacement has. They are like two different cars indeed.

It's because I have had two of them in the past month that I had something to compare.

Anyway - dealer will take care of everything tomorrow, and the build IS better than AMC in the 1980's. But yeah, you wonder.... For this type of money, the dash should line up and the inserts shouldn't pop up on one side, and the exhaust shouldn't rattle.

I've got a small alignment pull also... But on the flip side - has anyone driven a Caddy lately? The plastic bits fell off on the rear door in the showroom as I was looking at them. They get 13mpg. Doors that arent aligned, so - all said this GL is still better built than a GM.

Took delivery June 16, 2006. There were no defects or anything the dealer had to correct. The vehicle has been absolutely flawless. Reading this board everyday, makes you just sit back and wait for the worse. But so far so good.

driven in a total of 5 different GL's, 2 premier editions and the rest were early builds (first month of production). All tight as a drum, only one had a small rattle in the b-pillar trim where you can adjust the seat belt up and down. I feel that the GLs are built better than the MLs I have ridden in.

Just wondering since you said you got the replacment from FJ in Las Vegas. Could this GL (I assume it is a 320CDI) be one of the demos dealers get from early production runs? I was there maybe three weeks ago and they said they did not have any and expected their demo copies soon? I could be totally off base with this but I was there Sunday looking at the lot stock of GL's and they had no diesels anywhere to be found.

This wasnt a demo - Diesels only stay on the lot for hours, not days, and I have never heard of a dealer putting one into demo status - when it could be sold within hours of hitting the pavement...

Just a thought...hope they took good care of you with the fixes.

My dealer had a black cdi demo, thats the one I drove before I ordered mine.