Trailer

My production date is tomorrow. I sure hope I don't have another 8-12 weeks to wait.

KYBRIGGS82

Damn.. My 2012 GL350 was ordered, ready to ship and I was sent a copy of the vehicle build sheet including the vehicle indentification number so I could secure special from my credit union but there was one problem. Instead of steel gray as ordered the vehicle was painted iridium silver in error. So unfortunately my excitement has been postponed with a replacement vehicle being re ordered with a delivery date of December. Ah so close but now so far away. Damn.

FastMoneyPlaya

Have you guys tried searching dealer inventory through AutoTrader.com? I went to my local dealer on Saturday and he located a GL350 in his system that was the exact color and equipement that I was looking for. Unfortunately, the vehicle supposedly got sold and my deal fell through. I checked AutoTrader.com and found two dealers within 15 miles who had inventory and wound up buying the car Tuesday and took delivery yesterday. Plus I got a nice deal since I was buying from their inventory. The funny thing is, my local dealer couldn't get the car from the guy 15 miles away because supposedly they aren't part of the same swapping network. So AutoTrader saved the day for me! Got the exact vehicle I wanted and didn't have to wait around.

lester11590

Trailer, do you have any news on your delivery date?...I have been given a production date of Dec 1st, and delivery before xmas. However, I have read a few other posts about delivery delays due to the bi-xenon headlights, so I'm a bit worried.

Trailer

Build date was oct 6th.... I heard on the 17th it was on a train already.
Its going to take 2 1/2 weeks by train and customs (Canada)

lester11590

OK, good luck. I'm in the US so hopefully it is a little quicker

Trailer

Are you sure you are taking about a 2012, not a 2011??? I could see 2011's still on a lot. 2012's just began production.

FastMoneyPlaya

I bought a 2011 GL350 Bluetec. I don't recall if there were any 2012's on the lot a couple of weeks ago, but that doesn't matter much to me - the new body style will be out for 2013 anyway. The dealer could have ordered me a 2012 exactly the way I wanted it, but it would have cost me about $3-4K more and I would have had to wait several weeks to take delivery. I searched Autotrader.com and found the exact vehicle I wanted sitting on a lot a few towns over. I bought the 2011 since I'd rather save several thousand dollars, and take delivery right away instead of waiting around for a more expensive 2012 to arrive. I took delivery two days later and only had to drive 15 miles to find it!

So far, I am really happy I bought a diesel since I have gotten ~22mpg combined in over 1K miles of driving. The power is quite adequate, and I wish every SUV on the road was a Bluetec diesel since they consume about 40% less fuel and pollute less than gas - it would be a huge savings to our environment if the entire nation got on board. I calculate I will be saving about $1,600 in fuel annually, so that makes it about the same cost as buying a junkier Suburban over the life of the vehicle (I always buy my cars and keep them for several years rather than lease them and turn them over every three).

The vehicle drives much better than the LR3 we got rid of, however the LR3 is better in off road situations. The only thing I don't like about the Benz is that the Navigation/Phone/Command system sux compared to my Audi. I'm also not crazy about the run flat tires since I feel more secure having a real spare tire in the trunk. Otherwise, the styling and build quality of the GL is the best.

aeggroup

I just bought a good alternative IMO to a spare tire. I think it should work fine for us :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...X%3AIT&vxp=mtr

BTW ....this one cost about $70 and MB original TireFit Kit ( according to my dealer ) would cost me about $350.

FastMoneyPlaya

That's a good idea. I've been meaning to buy a couple cans of Fix-A-Flat just in case...

LEOSOPHIE

Continental Tire also makes one suitable for run flat tires for $79 at tire rack and is made in Germany for what it's worth.

mdadgar

It's not suitable for the 20" run flats on the GL, unfortunately:

http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/...kit/20size.jsp

- Mark

DCubed

The GL350s released on the 10th for retail release, the first cars should be arriving at the dealerships right about now as when they were made available for retail they were all still in Alabama and needed to be railed to the appropriate rail heads (so cal is in Mira Loma) and then trucked to dealers from there.

MelanienScott

Picked up a 450GL last week, white, beautiful.