rayleiwu

I'm in market for 2009 Mercedes-Benz GL320 BlueTEC, if you have bought it recently, please tell me what you have paid for it. The CarsDirect.com shows MSRP/Invoice/Target $69,135/$64,957/$59,135, for following configrations, I'm just wondering if anyone had got deal close to that.

Black/Black
Premium I Package
Full Leather Seating Package
Running Boards
Trailer Hitch (Class IV)
Pre-Wiring for Rear Seat Entertainment

Baron11

Good luck none the less. I am sure you can get a new 08 for that price. I have not seen 09s discounted by that amount. But also remember you have the possibility of getting 1,800 from big brother on the 09 as long as you don't pay any AMT on your taxes. Long story, look it up if you are interested.

Bryan

Baron11

You can get an 09 here locally for 59,816. Similar options +/- a few. Fredericksburg Va Mercedes. I thought the one they were offering was a leftover 08, its not its an 09.

Bryan

zoink

I think you could shave couple grands off carsdirect.com price. Just locate a dealer w/ one you want and bring the carsdirect.com printout.

Good luck!

AlsAMG

MB is offering $10K marketing support this month, so you should be able to get one for at least $15K off MSRP for an '09 GL's.

rayleiwu

Thanks! AlsGL550. This is great!

Baron11

but with greater difficulty on the 320. Good Luck.

rayleiwu

Hey guys - please keep me posted if you know any dealership (national wide) who are willing to do the [Invoice] - [MB Rebate for the month $10k].

This is the config I'm looking to buy,

GL320BTC
Black/Black
P01
550 Trailer Hitch
846 Running Boards

w/ or w/o 846 - Rear Seat Entertainment

Thanks in advance!

blackberry

Wow, did not know about this 10K deal. Just bought fairly loaded 2009 GL MSRP $74580 for $67500. Now I feel bad

rayleiwu

All right. Bottom line is: MSRP - 20K

[Quoted from edmunds ... thanks collman!!!]
... There is a 10k rebate from MB, plus a 2k fleet incentive rebate, and you should get close to 8.5k off msrp. So if you can get them to around 18.5k or 20.5k(with fleet rebate, if u qualify) off, then you should be happy with that deal....

zoink

MSRP - $20K???

So taking out rebates, you're looking at $4K under invoice?
If you don't qualify for fleet rebates (which I believe the dealer would say that to your face), you're looking at $6K under invoice?

That's a little stretch and requires a lot of luck, IMO.

What I think reasonable is $1-2K under invoice + $10K rebate... so $11-12K under invoice or $15-16K under MSRP --- $69K MSRP for $53-54K.

If you're OK w/ this price, I think I may be able to get you one at that price (assuming the dealer has the car). Just let me know and I'll check w/ my salesman.

Where are you located, BTW?

Either way, I feel lucky I didn't spend $49K for an '08 (almost ). Otherwise, I would've kicked myself already

rayleiwu

Yes, please check with your salesman! Thanks in advance! zoink.
I live in Seattle area and don't mind to get the car shipped over from other states for a good deal.

zoink

No problem... I just sent an email to my salesman and I'll PM you once I've got the reply.

43221B

I just bought almost the exact car you are looking for. Black/Black MB Tex, running boards, and P1. I would tell you how much I paid but I bought before the $10k support from MB was out. You are now in a totally different market. Three weeks ago I wanted $7k to $8k off and I had two dealers (in a nice way) tell me that if I could find the car that I wanted and the dealer to sell it to me at those prices, I should go get the car myself, so that's what I did. They wouldn't deal.

The problem you are going to find is that there are very few Black on black cars left with those options. I'm very familiar with the inventory in the Midwest, East, and Southeast. Three weeks ago there were only 3 cars in those regions that had what you are looking for. I know two of them at least are now sold. If you are willing to take white or a car with many more options (I wasn't), you will have much better luck. As you are probably aware, just adding a few options will make the MSRP go way up. Having the dealer install the boards or hitch will erode any discounts because you are going to pay a premium for parts and labor. For my needs, I didn't want any additional options but I had to have the color and options that I got. If you have small children that are still in car seats for instance, the Rear Seat Ent. is right at footrest level. Bad combination. I would rather not have a device in my car than to have one that was broken or damaged. If I had older kids, it would be a great option.

Be aware that Adblue refills are anywhere from $220-$300/10,000 miles. So don't plan on saving much on fuel at these gas prices. I still like the diesel though because you don't make many trips to the pump (I've been twice) and the greenies at Whole Foods can't criticize you for driving a big SUV. I think the engine has an awesome sound when accellerating. It sounds like a big rig when you're on the throttle but is then totally quiet when at cruise. Tons of torque too. Just a little turbo lag which takes some getting used to. I was sort of indifferent before purchasing it but now am really glad I did.

Good luck, I have 1005 miles on mine with no initial problems. Most of the problems that the 07 and 08s have apparently been corrected. The new nav/command system is easy to use, I think easier than the touch screen system that is in the Toyota/Lexus products.

43221B

By the way, one of the problems with having a car shipped to you locally is that your local dealer has to have a car that the other dealers are willing to take. Typically I was told, they want to exchange a 320 for a 320. My dealers only had white 320s and the dealers with black cars did not want them and would not do an exchage. If you are willing to take a white, you will get a steal.

rayleiwu

Black/Black is just the basic combination. I'm open to other colors such silver even white too. so this is not a problem for me. The dealers seem to have most of them in black here in northwest. And good thing(or bad) is, as I abserved, GL seems to be the least popular among the luruxy trucks, popularity seems go like this in Seattle area: X5(really not a fullsize) > RangRover > LX > Q7 > Escalade > GL. for example, there was only one GL out of there after I have seen 30+ RR or 20+ LX either on the road or in parking garages.

StevethePilot

The way to avoid that, of course, is to buy directly from the dealer who has the car, and have them ship it (or, better yet, learn your new car on the drive home - can you imagine driving 1000 miles home, with two gas stops along the way?)

Not that I've done that, but I've thought about it.

43221B

Stevethepilot, that is exactly what I did. It was great.

43221B

I agree with popularity order you came up with. It's the same here in the Midwest. Exclusivity is a good thing. There usually won't be another GL in the same parking lot. I was interested in the LandRover but it doesn't have three rows, which is what I needed. It has been out for a long time and I think that is why you see more on the road.

The X5 3.0 is cheaper, hence more on the road. It is a great car and I would own one but it doesn't have three (real) rows. Also, put the X5 and the GL side by side and in my opinion, it doesn't have the fit and finish that the GL does. It just looks cheaper. (my parents have one) The MB Tex, again in my opinion, looks better than the BMW leather and feels the same or better. The funny thing was that I didn't really think this until I had mine pulled up beside my parents car with the doors open on both.

The LX is too new, too expensive, produced in low quantities and I didn't even bother to price one out at a dealer. But I think it would be a great car to own. The greenies in the Northwest wouldn't like you though.

The Q7 is nice, just a little smaller than what I was willing to compromize on. Sort of like the X5.

The Escalade, in my opinion, this is only my opinion, is tacky. It has too much cheap chrome. Further, do you really want to buy from GM (Government Motors). Sorry for getting political, but the union that the government just bailed out supported the politicians in the last election that are about to raise your taxes by more than what one of their SUVS will cost you. Apparently the union doesn't think we need the money to buy their product.

As far as the color, black is by far the most popular color here, they just have sold all of them. The white ones just don't sell. If you get on Cars.com you will see tons of white ones. Quite a few priced right around 68,000. I didn't see many with boards on them though.

rayleiwu

Hey guys, just bought this one for $51888(I asked for a lucky num...) + doc,lic&tax, this included the corporate feet, I think this is decent deal.

GL320BTC
Black/Black
P01
550 Trailer Hitch
846 Running Boards
846 - Rear Seat Entertainment

Got 24.5mpg on the way back from the dealer with 70/30 highway/local, very impressive!!

First thing is to get the door handle inserts for paint protection even though I'm not a fan of the shining chormy things...

Shot me msg if you need the dealer's contact! I highly recommend them.

SPLe320

Great! What was the sticker? What is the "fleet discount"? Thanks.

rayleiwu

msrp was $687xx, couldn't remember exactly
corp fleet is http://www.mercedesbenzfleet.com/

Steve Grant

I just bought a brand new ML320 '09 for 42,500 +tax and Lic. The only option it had was the heated seats, which are not needed in California (Pebble Beach). So far 300mi and not bad.,. Very good gas mielage.

However, I have been having a terrible problem getting a trailer hitch, (min class III-7200 Lbs) since no one makes one and the dealers can't order one. For some reason they have discountinued it. There were some recalls on the earlier models that they had the reweld some at the dealer...??

Does anyone know what the real story is?
Also, are the GL 09 and ML 09 hitches the same?

Thanks
SG

StevethePilot

Take it from someone with the same initials, they're different. I'd also shy away from aftermarket/non-OEM style hitches as they fit differently. I had one SA say it's possible they could be in the way of certain types of maintenance in the rear of the truck later on, but I think that if that is true of an aftermarket hitch it'll be true of an OEM one. Anyway, they also tend to hang lower, which might affect certain incline situations. I know the hitch is damned expensive if you don't order it with the truck, but I bit the bullet and did it the OEM way (post recall).

Steve Gresser (aka StevethePilot)

StevethePilot

I am a huge proponent of the GL. That said, I had an 1999 LX470 that I loved, and that was what I sold to buy my 2007 GL320. It had over 200k miles on it.

My LX was quite the monster. Although off-the-light, my V6 CDI seems to be more neck-snapping, the big Toyota-built V8 roared under that hood when you put your foot down. And the mileage showed it; with the weight of the truck and full-time 4WD, I was lucky to get 12mpg average in mixed driving.

Another problem was that weight. The ride was smooth as silk on the highway, and the auto-adjusting suspension didn't do too bad a job of dropping the truck a bit at speeds, but around the bends it was "hold on tight!" Body sway was significant, to the point of being uncomfortable at higher speeds, and my 1999 didn't have traction control so there were times I worried about losing it, especially in less-than-perfect conditions.

Now, as for off-road, if that were my primary goal I'd go back to the Land Cruiser. Again, I haven't driven the new body style, but my Land Cruiser, LX450 and LX470 all did off-road duty, and they ate the landscape up. Just about anything you asked of it off-road it would do. I several times went out with Cruisers which were modified for major off-road, and while I wasn't doing boulder crawling in Moab, I did keep up with them. I loved the expressions on their faces when they saw that Lexus badge.

Ultimately, there were a couple of issues that made me decide to sell the truck and move on (up). First was its age. Sure, it wasn't an antique but it was starting to show how old it was, with the leather interior staring to crack a little (I wasn't as attentive as I should've been). With so many miles as well, the mechanics had that suspension system on "death watch," and couldn't believe I hadn't had a failure yet. (See my posts on the GL's suspension failures I've already had.) And I have kids who just turned 16. The GL's big enough, and has a lot more safety features. While they're learning to drive, a mistake in the GL will be costly and painful, but a mistake in the LX could've been fatal, at least to anyone we hit. The GL's a lot more forgiving on-highway and I haven't tried anything serious off-road yet. (Why not? It's out of warranty, after all!)

So that's an insider's take on the LX, a great machine made by a company with a long history of excellence in manufacturing and overall customer satisfaction. I'm personally still glad I have the GL. Though I do miss that view, 23 feet in the air ...