TamZ

Oh my goodness...$50,000. And not only the money, but the time you must have invested in getting it back and forth to the dealership for all of these repairs.

I simply just do NOT have the time to deal with these types of repair things with a brand new car. That is why we got rid of our 8 year old vehicle with 120,000 miles--we wanted a reliable car. I'm in nursing school, I have 3 kids in 3 different schools playing 3 different sports! I need a safe car I can count on. It is a major hardship for me to be trying to schedule getting all this taken care of...how in the world did you do it?

This has me stressed out beyond belief, mostly because I still can't wrap my brain around the fact that we spent literally $70,000 on a vehicle that seems to be falling apart before my eyes!

They say I have patience--You sir, have even more than I do!
T.

njb8199

Tam,

I'm not as stressed as you are because I don't have the life you do. I work part time, I don't have kids, etc. so its not a fair comparison.

But I do drive past 5 or 6 MB dealers that are much closer to me to go to one that treats me well (EuroMotorcars Germantown). All the others are a bunch of a-holes that couldn't find their heads if it was shoved up there.

I live in the city, I park on the street, I tow cars, boats, and trailers full of crap. The GL takes all the abuse with aplomb. When my family comes into town, we can all fit in the GL COMFORTABLY. Remember, that's the operative word.... COMFORTABLY. So I am willing to put up with the idinosyracies, and that's why I've got a 2011 GL350 BTC on order.

As for the $50k figure, its not that hard to get up there when you're factoring in the cost of parts and labour at retail. At cost, it'd be much less.

Considering you've had the transmission dropped, new turbo, etc. I'd say you've easily blown past the $50k retail threshold. I'd even dare to say that you're close to $100k considering the LA area's typical $175-200/hour dealer labor charge.

TamZ

Well then I'm sure that MBUSA probably wants to throw ME off the Grand Canyon as much as I want to throw this particular GL off the Grand Canyon then. I'm rather clueless when it comes to imagining what the repair costs have already been on my GL, I guess!

Through all of this, I still can't imagine a different car I'd want more than the GL (Obviously, that is why I chose the GL.) I haven't given up on the GL in general, but I think it's fair to say I have GIVEN UP ON THIS ONE.

njb8199

Manufacturers (and dealers) prefer doing "trade assists" than lemon law buybacks.

Why don't you bring up a trade assist with your regional rep?

(disclosure - I grew up in the car biz)

My partner has a 2011 BMW X6 3.5; I wont even drive it. I won't even go near it. I ride in it only under protest because after 1 FABULOUS BMW, the two subsequent BMW's were lemon lawed (and dealer service got worse and worse as they were bought out by big dealer groups); and don't get me started on Audi. I had three consecutive Audi's lemon lawed and I'm pretty much persona non grata at any metro DC Audi dealership. So what I've gone through with my GL pales in comparison to what I've dealt with with Audi and BMW.

Owning a MB is the lesser of the three evils, I guess.

TamZ

I recorded the sound...it's not the greatest, I had my daughter shifting for me (which is nerve wracking, she's only 14 but drives tractors, etc. all over our ranch, however, thinks the way you shift on this car is crazy. (She drives a beat up old Isuzu diesel ranch truck, with a manual transmission..hehe).

Here is the youtube video of the sound. It's a creaking frog sound to me. My husband says its more of a squeal.

Any ideas? It just started doing this today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Je3peyDi6c

mdadgar

- Mark

TamZ

lol..I already know I have a fully dysfunctional relationship with my GL. LOL...I love it when I look at it but hate it when I drive it. It sure LOOKS pretty sitting there, though. Sigh.. (Hmmm.I wonder if my husband thinks this very same thing about me LOL)

spdracer53

if you are engaging different gears like going from park to reverse/drive, or going from the drive position to the park position... then its normal.

but if you aren't doing anything and its making those sounds while parked and on, then its abnormal.

TamZ

It DOES NOT do it when I drive it, it just started doing this today when I'd take it out of park into drive. From Drive to park. Or to Reverse as well. I just found it odd as it's never made the noise before (and trust me, I've been driving without the radio on long enough to notice it LOL!)

I will wait and see what the mechanic says about it. My husband thinks somethings up, as it has never made the noise like this before. He was at this workbench in the garage and heard it the minute i put it into park.

Admittedly, now I am overly sensitive to just about everything in my car, I'm so worried something major is going to happen. Maybe I need to do like that previous poster said and lay off the caffeine! LOL! But, I will just keep driving it until it falls apart around me

spdracer53

confident this is one noise/issue you don't have to worry about.

TamZ

Cool..I'll try to be "zen" with it then hehe...

TamZ

You all will be so glad when either this car is 1) fixed or 2) I get a new one...so you can stop having to see this thread pop up everyday!!

Sorry guys
T.

spdracer53

You know my lemon/buy back via pm's... so if mbusa's willing to buy back my ml500 with what the general public would deem to be minor issues... then you have hope!

Hopefully you sent the letter via certified mail and can start counting down the 30 days until they give you a response.

TamZ

Yes, it's been sent off. Now..it's hurry and wait, I guess.

My husband said that I should stop posting every single little problem here, people will think I've lost my mind I guess you just have to put yourself in my shoes when it comes to my vehicle. It HAS about made me lose my mind.

Although, I must say when listening to the video, I am still AMAZED at how QUIET the diesel motor is. I think THAT is amazing.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!
t.

njb8199

Sounds like you're another Kent Christensen MB fanboi.

LEOSOPHIE

This is good news, the more problems you have the sooner MBZ will have to recycle this monstrosity!

mdadgar

Unbunch your boxers - it was a joke.

But since you brought it up, I'll say out loud what everyone else here is thinking: if you lemon-lawed 3 Audis in a row, and 5 cars total, the problem ain't with the cars.

- Mark

TamZ

I'm willing to admit that at this point, even *I* keep wondering if it's "me" and not just the car!! But as my husband reminded me last night, so far, every complaint I've brought forth about the car has been a legitimate problem. Even the wind noise, they admitted was more than they expect from a GL--they just can't figure out how to fix it when they don't know where it's coming from.

I honestly believe I *do* have a problem car..the problem now is, I'm hypervigilant about everything. I'm trained to pay attention to the little details in my profession. It's hard to shut that off So far, as my husband has also reminded me, it hasn't left me stranded--yet. Until then, I trudge on until a decision is made.

But I'm sure quite a few people are reading MY thread and wondering the same thing about me. And I swear, up until this car, I've never had a problem with cars. We've been extremely lucky in that sense.

For now, I'll just enjoy the little frog that makes his presense known anytime I throw it into gear

T.

StevethePilot

I'd be surprised. I'm on my (I think) third windsheild, without any significant wind noise.

StevethePilot

So this was after the mysterious drop in the front end that you had your husband slide, unsuspecting, below your multi-thousand-pound truck?

Just askin'.

StevethePilot

I think it's safe to say that a) not "everyone else here" is thinking that and b) no matter who the person is, if the car doesn't qualify for the lemon law then it won't be bought back under it. Considering three were Audis, which aren't known for being much more highly reliably built than ... certain other manufacturers, it's not so terribly strange.

mdadgar

5 cars across two manufacturers?

You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. But to me there's a definite trend there.

Although at the end of the day I don't much care either way.

- Mark

njb8199

1997 Audi A4 2.8 - electrical issues (trade assisted to A6)
1999 Audi A6 2.8 - electrical issues (trade assisted to allroad)
2001 Audi allroad - electrical issues, navi issues, air suspension issues then I said hasta la vista Audi

2007 BMW X3 - transmission issues (GM sourced transmission; well known issue)
2008 BMW 328cic - transmission issues a'la X3

I still DO have a BMW in my household. A 2011 BMW X6 3.5i.

But I'll stick to my MB's now that Volvo is under Chinese ownership.

njb8199

:-D

Sorry but that guy really gets to me. He thinks that MB can do no wrong. Believe me, I've got battle scars from just about every car I've owned.

I'll admit maybe I'm a glutton for punishment but I really don't put up with BS unless I LOVE the vehicle. I love my GL, even though it still has niggling issues here and there but the biggest reason is that my MB dealer treats me like royalty. The BMW and Audi dealers couldn't care any less about customer service and that plus the poor quality of the product just soured the brands for me.

TamZ

Hehe..I never gave that much thought. Poor guy!

It has never done that again and I really think that happened because of the weird angle and crappy (potholey) road I was on. I haven't given THAT another thought, as far as the lowering goes. (shocking, I know. LOL!)

It was raining today here in Southern California, and we can't work our guys in the rain, so my husband was home today (yea!). On our way to Costco, we zoomed through the MB dealership to say hi to our 'friends.' I had them listen to the noise and he said it's normal Something electrical, yadda yadda...(he lost me at normal..that's all I wanted to hear!) and said others complain about it too. Some are louder than others, too. He says mine is actually quieter than some he's heard. So..I'm over that noise now I sort of have an admitted hairtrigger now on this car but after all these hassles, want to make sure I catch EVERYTHING before warranty, in case they decide not to buy back the poor thing.

He talked a bit about the sway arms that my car is needing and it sounded to me, from what little I could hear from their conversation, that there is a problem with these sway arms. I heard something like they have like TEN on order??? And apparently the part that is needed is inside..(I think he said a bushing?) but that you have to order the whole part from Germany, you can't just order that part. Something about my car being the 3rd or 4th car he's had them replaced on so far. I sort of glazed over as they talked about the mundane stuff--I was more interested in the frog noise, which I have found out is normal, even though I swear I never noticed it before. As my husband reminds me, I have to have SOMETHING to worry about.

SOMETHING GOOD ABOUT MY CAR, since I've been hard on it lately. As I said, it's raining here today. Aside from the fear that my airmatic may fail at any moment (due to the compressor issue), I do feel like the GL is a safe, heavy car. I always felt "safer" in my H2, being bigger than most. As far as feel of the car, etc..I do feel safe in a GL. It drives well in the rain. I also appreciated today the fact that when I put the car in reverse, it automatically wipes the back window with the wiper so I can see. So even though I seem to have a love/hate relationship with MY GL in particular, I have to admit, I do still love a GL.

So see..there ARE many good things I love about the GL in general. I thought I should throw that out there

P.S. As for thinking things about anyone on here, I simply try not to do that. I certainly hope I can be afforded the same, as I can only imagine how I 'come off' sometimes, always on here complaining. As I have learned through various internet forums, when something is going wrong, people are more likely to get on here and complain about it, you don't always hear all the "good" things just the "bad" things. This goes for the Mom's group I frequent to the car forums I joined. (MB, Z, etc.) My husband just thinks I am an internet nerd with nothing to do. But whatever

T.