MB Dave

Im looking at picking up a new DD, im looking at GL320/450 at 100k and up. I'm also looking at 7 seater MDX's.

My main concern is reliability, how are these cars with miles? My ML has been crap, are these better?

sak335

I'll toss out my opinion. Buying any car with over 100k on the clock will mean diving into the maintenance records and making sure that everything has been done properly. If the fluids and filters were done religiously then I'd be pretty comfortable with it. Overall condition would mean a lot too, since a car that is cosmetically in great shape generally means that it had an owner that cared for it.


But honestly, if reliability is your primary concern, it's going to be hard to recommend you buy a German anything over a Honda (nee Acura.)


Just my $0.02.

islandbeef

Warranties are your life support for cars such as ours. It's common knowledge that European cars are not maintenance friendly nor are they cheap to repair when the warranty lapses. I've owned a 2008 MDX Tech Package and it was virtually trouble free. Nevertheless, it didn't have the snob appeal or panache a Mercedes Benz brings. So, it's all about lifestyle choice and preference.

Bottom line, it's your money and your time, what is important to you?

BlownV8

If reliability is a concern, get the 450. Too many diesel horror stories with very expensive endings.

islandbeef

Oh yeah, the OEM AMG 21" wheels crack easily and are very pricey to replace. Also, 21" tires are hard to find, pricier than 22" and 20" or smaller. Go for 20" wheels or smaller for a smoother ride, less wallet shock on tire purchases.

If you're determined to stay with 20" or higher diameter wheels, go for OEM replicas. They're about half the price of the authentic wheels.

N_Jay

You keep saying that but there seems to be very little here about the 320/350 that doesn't apply to the 450/550.




Yes, the general maintenance is a little higher.


As for an Acura vs. and MB, the big difference is the MB will need more maintenance, but is maintainable.


The Acura will need nothing till it is not worth fixing.

BlownV8

You must not be reading the same forum. The diesel issues outweigh the gasser issues by 10 to 1 as reported by owners on this forum. Just look down any page and you will see the plethoria of issues and pissed owners paying thousands in repairs on their 350's. Yes, there are some of the same issues with the airbags and tranny but the diesel has issues with the oil cooler/turbo seals, adblue system, timing chain and tensioner issues, and the biggest and most potentially devistating one is fuel contamination. That doesn't even include the increased maintenance items. I will say this. If you are going with the diesel, get the 320. Seem to be much more reliable.

N_Jay

I agree in the 320.
We have had a number of gas engine oil loss failures also.
And we have gas engine cam issues also.
I think you also have people with diesels with more mileage chatting here.

BlownV8

I have never read someone post about cam issues on their personal 450. Was this a 550 issue? I also have yet to read about oil loss failures on a members 450. Now, the cam plugs were defective on the 450's. That's a $15 fix and 10 minuites of time. With mine, there was a slight weep on the exhaust that was more of an nuisance than a failure.

cazzur

Hi

in the Homelands of MB, VW, Audi, BMW Dome 40% of the cars are diesel since 2 decades (not Porsche). I lived 3 years in your wonderful country (back in Berlin since 6 months) but it was always a mystery for me, why in the US cars with modern diesel engine technology are so rare and the people have so many objections about diesel engines. I bought during my stay in Washington DC a 2007 GL 320 CDI with 94k mils and took it back to Germany. This car didn´t have any problems in now 18ooo mls. The GL is very economical for a car this size, save and very very comfortable. I would recommend a diesel with out any doubt. Please have a Look on www.mobile.de Germany's largest car selling web.site. Actual you find a GL with more than 400,000 KM or more than 250.000 mls for a price of more than $20.000.
The V6 320 CDI ist Build into the E, C, M, ML, S and GL and is produced a million times.

Best wishes from Berlin

islandbeef

Americans have problems with diesels because of the stereotypical "higher smoke emission, noise and higher price" of this fuel. Yes, diesels have improved over the years. The extra smoke factor has been eliminated. The higher MPG and torque are great but we leave that to our big rigs trucks and certain service oriented vehicles.

sak335

Diesel fuel costs more than gasoline in most states because of the extra expense of removing the sulfur, as well as higher taxes and the fact that US producers can get better prices for diesel by exporting it. Americans never traditionally drove diesels because gasoline has always been cheap here and they stick to what they know (gasoline engines) rather than experiment with something that scares them (complicated diesels that they remember poorly from the 1970's.)


Having said that, my 40k mile 2012 GL 350 has been nearly flawless, but it's relatively young still. I bought it fully intending to put a serious number of miles on it and I'm not scared to do a little maintenance, in fact, I enjoy it.

alx

i have come to conclusion that mileage is irrelevant on those trucks- more so on the diesel ones.

none of the common failures i can think off is mileage related. maybe only the cv joints regularly quitting at around 100k miles, but those are fairly simple to replace so...

the only differentiator i can think of is that mb recommends a one time tranny fluid change at 37k miles. field observation has lead me to believe that you want to change it after 37k miles again at 100k and then 150k and so on..

cazzur

I agree. A diesel with recommended maintenance work done and average use gives you 30 to 40 % more mileage.
I don't agree with the opinion about automatic transmission. There is no need for more fluid changes than recommended.

Best wishes from Berlin, Germany

N_Jay

I don't see a reason not to go the ATF every 50 K to 70 K miles.
ATF wears as it is heated and sheared in the torque converter.

drgeeforce

BlownV8, I believe the diesel owners on this Forum are more inclined to be more active than gas owners because you are looking at a microcosm. Looking at the issues at BenzWorlddotcom, MBCAdotorg, and most of the other Mercedes forums, the problems are proportional to the number of vehicles on the road. My 2010 GL350 had only one problem that I had to pay money out of pocket, a bad fuel issue, mainly because I bought it used.

BlownV8

It's a microcosm of a larger macrocosm and the results are in line with the sample size. The number of diesels produced in relation to the number of gassers produced is probably 1:10. Given the small number of diesels produced in relation to gassers and given the number of issues reported on this site by diesel owners it is highly likely that the diesel owners will suffer from the same type of failures.

Case in point, you suffered from the dreaded fuel contamination issue as so many others have or will have. Your 2010 diesel is likely to suffer from the timing chain issues others have noted on their 350's or failure in the adblue system. Time will tell so do report when/if you do.

If I were to get a diesel GL, it would be the 2007-2008 GL320. Those seem to be the most reliable.

noud

Only expensive repair i had on my 08GL450 (118K miles) was manifold latch, which was plastic and i replaced it to metal one. Labor and part was around $700. Also steering wheel pump replacement ($800 @ around 100K) other than that just regular maintenance. (oil, tranny oil. minor oil leaks, pulleys making noise and etc). And one rear airbag leak ($250)

I am happy with it.
I owe right now, 98 E430 , 03E500, 01C320, 09ML350, and this 08GL450. So if you ask my opinion in other car brands so i better sit at home than drive something else than Benz.