I have a 2010 GL 550 with 72,000 miles on it. Has AIRMATIC and ADS. Vehicle has always had niggling suspension issues with clanking and creaking on turns and bumps. Some fixes were made during warranty and under extended warranty which ended October 2016.

But repair bills have been piling up in the last 3 months > $7,000 at dealership mainly relating to suspension issues. Now car is back at dealership and am looking at a total of $6,000 if I were to perform all their recommendations.

Looking for advice. Am in Hollywood and the closest dealership is Mercedes of Beverly Hills where the car has been taken for most of its life, except for one service.

Recent Repairs (> $7,000)
08/17 - Making a clanking sound when turning right - Replaced left front axle boot $1,026 (Labor $800, Parts $200)
09/17 - A/C not cooling - A/C Compressor and Expansion Valve $2,550 (Labor $1,500, Parts $1050)
12/17 - Front Suspension dropped - Replaced front and right shocks and left rear suspension air bag $3,500 (Labor $1,200 Parts $2,300)

Car came back from December service and I immediately heard a creaking noise on turns. Took it to the dealer, they couldn't reproduce so brought it back. Problem got more noticeable and I took it back and now they can recreate but am looking at a much bigger bill as follows:

New Recommendations ( > $6,000)
Fail - Replace left front axle - $1,885
Caution - Replace right front axle - $1,640
Caution - Replace left and right lower control arms - $2,570 (to solve for suspension making creaking sounds over bumps)

Any advice on following points would be appreciated:

1. Do I have any standing to try and get these issues replaced under warranty though it has expired? I reported the creaking noise over bumps multiple times while under warranty and it is listed on my Service Invoices. But multiple dealerships were never able to find the issue, the struts were replaced a couple of times. Now I get a control arm replacement recommendation when its out of warranty. Seems to me these issues were persistent but no one identified them.
2. Any recommendations on an independent facility in the area? I assume they would charge less vs. exorbitant dealer rates. I have shopped around a bit with my other ML and C32 but have not found anyone I totally trust.
3. Should I fix the most obvious problem and just sell the car? The car is in otherwise great condition, very well maintained and engine has been great. I was holding out for the 2019 GL but I don't know that I can keep this vehicle going for much longer at this rate.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

First, welcome to BMWorld. You will find the people on here very helpful.

My 2009 GL450 has 140K miles and is great (this is in the harsh weather of the midwest with hot summers, below zero winters and tons of road salt for the snow). It does need tender loving care now and then but the parts are cheap and easy to install.

I'm assuming you're not too handy with a wrench (not meant in a bad way). I'm asking because most if not all of those repairs are pretty easy to change with basic 'man' tools and a floor jack.

The "recent repairs" could of been done yourself for about $2k or less in parts.

Regarding the "new recommendations", I suspect some of that is just being recommended as a way to pad their wallets, either way it would cost you only about grand and a few hours in your garage to do them yourself.
I highly recommend just buying a $4 can of silicon spray and just spraying all of the rubber components on the front suspensions/steering including the lower control, arms, upper control arms, sway bar links, tie rods, sway bar bushings and anything else with rubber. It cured my creaking sound over bumps immediately and some other GL owners on this site,

Unless you are handy with tools and comfortable under a car I would suggest you sell your Benz because it will always need some degree of work. I've replaced my rear shocks, idler pulley, both air filters, water pump, differential fluid and trans-axle fluid. It cost me a total of $350 in parts, 3 hours of my time and a case of beer. I will be doing the tune-up when the weather breaks and it will cost me about $100 and an hour of my time. I do my own oil changes for about $50 with Mobile 1 synthetic and 30 minutes of my time.

My point is that unless you have a full warranty or deep pockets, fix it yourself or sell it because the dealer will bleed you dry. Indy shops aren't too much better. I stopped going to a mechanic decades ago.

 

You need to find an independent mechanic to lower your labor costs. None of this stuff requires a dealership and any shop that works on European vehicles will be able to do the work. I'm not from the area, but you should be able to locate a shop with a few Google searches (and reading the reviews.)

 

What color is it? I'm looking to buy a "broken" car. You won't have to fix it.