Hello

I need to know if the GL (US model not Canadian model) has DRL or it's an opption

thanks

 

Yes, daytime running lights can be turned on in the GL in the US model in the setup menu in the multifunction display. However, it seems to me that it means that the low beam lamps are just burning all the time. There is not another set of daytime running lamps bulbs, it's the low beam lamps. It seems a waste to have xenon lamps burning all the time!

My wife's BMW 325i had a seperate set of bulbs that burned for daytime running lamps that were different from the low beams. When you switched on the low beams the daytime running lamps would turn off.

 

thanks for the reply

In the Canadian model the DRL are standards option

My problem is that I am geting my GL from the US as it's $21.000.00 cheaper then Canada, and in-order to get it to Canada it has to have DRL

I cannot ask that question to MB dealer as the will not sell to Canadian customers

 

I can't believe they can get away with this in today's global economy. Who's getting the extra jack, MB or Canada? I'm with you, it definitely promotes the need find creative ways to beat the system. If I had to pay 21K more, it would have priced me out.

The fact is that DRL is available on the GL's whether it is a seperate bulb or not. Good luck.

 

Try buying a cheeseburger in England. When I was last there, something that cost $2.00 here was £3.50 there and each £1 is now $2. NUTS!

 

And we complain!

 

It's

@ 21k saving you can drive GL for 3 years , sell it and still make some cash

 

355. I also am considering cancelling my Canadian order and ordering/importing into Canada a GL from the US. Below is a letter from MB Canada regarding my inquiry to do so. As you can see they are putting up obstacles; but in the end it can be done. The way MB Canada is pricing their vehicles (especially GL, ML and R which are manufactured in the US anyway) totally goes against NAFTA. There should not be the 25% + difference in the msrp's that we see. If you haven't already done so, take the time to write MB Canada to express your concern.


***************************

Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.
A Daimler Company

October 31, 2007



Dear Mr. ____________________

While the above referenced vehicle was not manufactured to meet Canadian Safety Standards, we herewith
confirm that this US version vehicle can be converted to meet Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. This
certification work involves extensive modifications that require specific Mercedes-Benz special tools and parts and
can only be carried out by an authorized Mercedes-Benz Canada dealer.

If the above vehicle is branded Salvage/Rebuildable, or has been written off due to an accident or other permanent
damage (such as stolen, flood or other water damage), or altered or modified from its original configuration
(emission and safety standards) at the time of manufacture, this Letter of Admissibility is no longer valid. Also, any
outstanding service actions must be completed prior to importation into Canada. To obtain a Recall Clearance
Letter, please contact Mercedes-Benz USA LLC Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-367-6372.

To ensure full compliance with applicable Canadian standards, the vehicle must be inspected by a representative of
Mercedes-Benz Canada, after the completion of the required modification work. A Letter of Compliance will be
issued by Mercedes-Benz Canada, Compliance Department, upon receipt of such an inspection report. The cost of
inspection and certification carries a fee of $500 payable to Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. as part of the dealer work
order. Upon issuance of the Letter of Compliance, Mercedes-Benz will activate the remaining Factory New Car
Warranty coverage in Canada. Only your local Mercedes-Benz dealer can perform warranty work on vehicles
that are properly modified and registered. Modification work done by a non-authorized third party may damage
some of the sensitive vehicle components, which could render the warranty void. Mercedes-Benz Canada will notify
Mercedes-Benz USA of any vehicles that have been improperly modified.

Please note that the compliance modifications and the subsequent certification process may take 15 to 45 days
depending on the availability of service capacity at the local Mercedes-Benz dealer.

If you wish to proceed with the importation of the above specified vehicle, please contact your local Mercedes-Benz
dealer for an estimate of the cost and availability of service bookings.

Sincerely,


Karen Thomas-Lyttle
Customer Relations


Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc., 98 Vanderhoof Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4G 4C9
Telephone (416) 425-3550, Telefax (416) 425-6370, Internet: http://www.mercedes-benz.ca


@ Mercedes-Benz – are registered trademarks of Daimler AG, Stuttgart, Germany

 

Prefo - any idea what they will charge for the "extensive modifications that require specific Mercedes-Benz special tools and parts"?

It does like a bunch of BS. What if I decide to move to Canada? MB Canada won't honor my warranty unless I pay extra?

 

US is a third world country in case you hadn't noticed.

 

<Flame On!>

Nah, that's just New Mexico.

<Flame Off!>

<Duck and Cover>

 

I am wondering if we contact Canadian Ministry of Consumer- Customer protection and point out about NAFTA


would it work

 

I forgot to say that the US Version of the GL is much loaded then the Canadian Version Not even that also lots of adds on obtions available to the US consumer that not even available to the Canadian market.

Now anyone can tell me which side is the third world country ??????

 

[QUOTE=oknish;2491294]Prefo - any idea what they will charge for the "extensive modifications that require specific Mercedes-Benz special tools and parts"?
QUOTE]

The fee of $500 as mentioned in the letter is required before they will "even give an estimate". From speaking with others that have done it, depending on the Model year and Class it can be a just a few $100s to upwards of $5,000. The main concern is the vehicle meet Canadian bumper standards which is 5 mph impact. Not sure what the US standard is, but I am told that not all US models have the 5 mph so that tends to be the biggest cost item to retrofit. Other things are having Daytime Running Lites, the Speedo in KMH and the Child teathers/anchors for the back seats.

 

All the best to you whichever way you decide to go. To me it seems like a crime that you can't just buy a car across the border, especially, when your money is as good as the money across the border.

 

See, in the early 80's my brother drove to Toronto, picked up a Volvo, paid a much lower tax at the border than he would've at the dealership (this was back when the US dollar was worth more than the Canadian one) and got a refund check (or cheque) from the Canadian government. So much has changed!

STP

 

It would be great to find out how much it would cost to undergo those "extensive modification." I have heard that depending on vehicle and model, it could cost up to $9000. A friend's 2004 SL was modified to meet Canadian standards for about $6000. I am puzzled as to what exactly needs to be modified that would cost so much. I thought the bumpers nowadays would be the same already.

But I can already tell MB is making things harder. US models (with the exception of the S-Class) come with instrument clusters that are only in MPH and I am quite sure this would have to be changed (even though you can get KM/H digital reading); and climate control dials that are in F. I don't know if this will be part of the modification but I imagine for owner's convenience it would be changed. The cluster alone would cost >$1500 simply because in Canada, parts are also 20-30% more expensive at least, and so is labour. Add the 13% tax (in BC) and you can start getting the picture.

Then on the S-Class starting from the W221, they made it so that you cannot change the cluster to show KM/H, cannot change the measurement units into C from F, the navi into KM instead of mi, metres instead of feet. A simple star computer cannot do this, you need one with engineering mode. In other words, even the dealers in Canada can't do it.

Anyway, I don't think much will change in this regard. I don't expect prices to be on par with the US simply because as always Canadian markets do no have the volume and hence no volume pricing. But yes, the huge price difference is largely still artificial. I can accept if it was 10% more in Canada to cover for the lack of volume and higher cost. Even then, the 16% tax in BC (for cars over $50k) already inflates car prices quite a bit. And then we have only one choice for auto insurance, none other than crown corp ICBC.

Ok that's all the ranting for now. Canadian users if you do end up importing a GL please post here or PM me, I'm interested to find out how much the modifications will cost.

 

I have just completed the process with a 2002 SL500 Silver Arrow (I am picking the car up from the local dealer in 1/2 an hour). Here's the deal:

$250 charge for 'estimate' of modification charges
$500 inspection fee
$2400 modification fee
$3150 total

The modifications included:

Adding DRL module (the drl option was not programmable, so the module had to be physically added)
Modifying the rear bumper to meet Cdn crash standards
Changing the cluster warning lamp that currently says 'Brake' to the international symbol.

Only MB dealers can preform the work, and the work MUST be performed in order to get the car to pass inspection. The letter that prefo attached is simply a 'letter of admissability', which is required at Canada Customs while crossing the border. I called my local dealer in advance, and after speaking with the service rep for some time, he finally volunteered that he would determine the estimate for me, getting info from MB CDA. I still have to pay the estimate fee, but at least I knew the cost of the mods in advance. Had they been any higher, I would have walked away. With all the additional costs (remember 6.1% duty), this was still worth it to me.

If anyone wants more info, post your request or pm me. I'll try to help answer any questions I can. I've probably overlooked something in this posting, so ask away.

By the way, why isn't there a 'Canada' sub-forum?

 

Congratulations Scoop! Pics please

How much did you buy the car for? And how much after it was imported into Canada? So it is GST+PST+6.1%?

From what I gather, the mods are basically DRL (if not programmable), instrument cluster (to get kph and intl symbols), and bumpers. Now why is it that Canada must have a different crash standard? I wonder if later models would still need to undergo bumper modifications.

 

You gather correctly. DRL's on the '02 SL required a module to be added - which apparently is more involved than one would think! Shame it wasn't just programmable. Crash test standards are stricter in Canada (8km/hr vs 5km/hr in the US, I think). Instrument cluster in my case was only to replace 'BRAKE' with (!). My odometer shows both MPH and KMPH.

I understand the DRL's and bumper. The cluster change was unnecessary in my opinion. The $250 and $500 fees are nothing but a cash grab, and MB-Cda trying to deter folks from importing vehicles.

Totals:

Purchase price $29,500 USD (Approx $29,000 CDN)
Duty 6.1% - $1769
Mods: $3150
Safety, E-test, RIV etc: Approx $350
Total: $34,769

I didn't include GST/PST as I would have to pay those on a car here also. For curiosity's sake, the dealer had a '97 SL320 in the showroom with 100,000+ km. Asking price $28,900. I think I still came out well ahead.

I've posted a few pix over in the R129 section - I don't want to hijack 355's post anymore than I already have (and for that I apologize, but I thought this info might prove uselful to him and others). Here's the link:

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-r129/216415-2002-sl500-silver-arrow-questions.html

As I said, I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has. Hope it helps.

 

Nice job Scoop. Now Canada can be truly represented. Maybe we won't need a sub-forum now

 

Back to 355 - what about a pre-owned GL? There are 449 '05-'08 GL450's currently for sale in the US. A US dealer may not sell you a new one - but they'll certainly sell you a pre-owned, I would think.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/search...=1195606217953

I do suggest calling or visiting your local dealer to see if they'll tell you teh mods cost before you do it. Remind them that they'll be getting a rather hefty service job...

Good luck!

 

ALL UK GLs come with off-road package.