Bi-Xenon lights vs Regular
 

Guys.

How bad is regular lights vs Bi-Xenon. My dealer offered me to trade in my one year old 2011 GL350 for 2012 with the same MSRP for $3000. The only thing that car is missing is Lighting package, which today is only Bi-Xenon lights. The new car is my wife's favorite color - black. Any advice ?

Thanks.

I have only spent 3 weeks with the Bi-Xenon lights on our GLK. It is really tough for me to drive our Volvo now. Bi-Xenons are the way to go. And they are mucho scarce on 2012 MLs.

Wayne

Stock halogens are really bad. If you upgrade with an HID kit or better bulbs combined with better aiming, the lighting can be really great. The stock halogens with factory aiming is downright scary to drive at night. It is really that bad!

I was absolutely shocked the first time I drove my GL at night. It happened to be while driving the car back after purchasing it some 500 miles away. The highbeams were on whenever I could safely use them without blinding oncoming motorists.

Yeah the stock halogens aren't exactly considered "good". Even though I still don't have HIDs or Bi xenons, I upgraded from stock Halogens a while ago since they were pretty horrendous.

Since then and for the time being, I have these bulbs called PIAA Xtreme White 4000K special bulbs. They aren't HIDs or Bi xenons but they're noticeably brighter and better (and whiter) than stock Halogens and get the job done pretty well. Noticeable difference between the bad halogens and this upgrade. Still wish I had full HIDs though sometimes.

I drove a demo with standard halogens. It was a deal breaker for me, but I live in rural areas with the bi-xenon being the only light on the roads. If you lived urban, I think you could live without, but there is a big difference.

I have both and can easily say that Bi Xenons are much much better. As an analogy it is to lighting what stereo surround sound is to sound. It just doesn't compare to mono.
Of course it all depends on the deal you are getting also. If you are trading to similar car with zero miles sans lighting package for $3000 maybe the way to go if you have racked up significant mileage, otherwise I don't see it. That's my .02 cents

Thanks to all for your advices.
I think Lighting package will be "a must" option for me. Just drove my daughter’s C class yesterday, which has regular halogens - it’s like night and day.

P.S. Seems like my dealer was able to find the car I want with Lighting package for the same 3K.

A,
As you know, I had an '11 GL without the lighting pkg then got another '11 a couple months ago with the lighting pkg. My opinion is hold out for it. If there is one really noticable difference between the vehicles the light upgrade is worth it. Also the blind spot assist is really better than I expected. Pretty seamless after only a few miles. Have a happy holiday season!
Regards,
C

Thanks, happy holidays to you also.
I totally agree about Blind Spot Assist.
For me "a must" options shoud be :
P2, Lighting, Blind Spot, Parktronic, Trailer Hitch. Anything else is optional.

Has anybody tried LUX HID KIT from Xenith Xenons? How difficult is the installation on 2008 GL?

Not sure about your question but there are a few excellent posts on HID conversion for the GL.

I had the same reaction. I ordered it because it was relatively cheap and my wife thought it was a good idea. It turns out that it's a really great, extremely useful feature.

My only wish is that it worked while towing.

- Mark

You can get aftermarket HID xenons installed by a professional auto accessory shop for abot $300. I did it on my GL350 with standard halogen lights. Had them for about 1 month and they are much brighter. Once you go xenon, its hard oto go back to halogen.

You can also do a kit on your own for under $50. I've had no issues with my HID conversion.

I have a 2007 GL which I'm trading in tomorrow for an E 350 Coupe that has the blind spot assist. I've always put one of those little bubble mirrors on my driver's side mirror. Will the blind spot assist eliminate the need for that little mirror?