Hi there, I went to check a GL450 2008 (gas) with 137,600 km from a dealer yesterday.
The car was there since three months and he had to start it with a booster. It appeared to be in good condition but I noticed the following things:

- Chirping sound (for sure from the belt)
- when I pressed the air suspension button the movement was very slow and then I heard that the air suspension compressor pump of the suspensions stayed on for about 2-3 minutes.
- also, I had the feeling that when air suspensions where pumping, one side was higher and one side was lower, but then they got to the same level. I’m not sure if it was just my feeling though.
- Later when I was driving I pressed again the air-suspensions button and it was working fast (contrary to when the car was just turned on). But while the drive was smooth when in high mode, when it was down I could hear crack sounds from suspension for every imperfection/bump of the street.
- during the drive the engine felt good otherwise.

Other two things:

- the car had an accident on the back of $2,200 damage and the glass for $909 plus in 2015 air suspension front Sturt replacement.
- I connected my odbII scanner and I got a long list of error codes (see below in PDF) but the dealer told me that it’s normal when the car has been off for a long time and that then the errors clear after the car is on for a while, but I’m not sure if this is true.

Also, the car has a very bad after market side-view mirror. Do you know the cost of a good replacement?

The cost of the car is $11,900 (CAD)

What do you think ?

Thanks!

 

 

May be something as simple and inexpensive as sway bar bushings, rack and pinion bushings, or sway bar end links.

If you can, negotiate some additional money off the asking for all the unknown bumps and "suspect" air suspension.

 

I say get rid of the airmatic immediately. Do the airmatic to spring conversion. I got mine from Suncore for under $500. Airmatic is going to be a constant pain. Not worth the trouble especially if it goes out when you're on the road somewhere and it's dropped so low you can't drive it.

 

I second that

 

counterpoint, if you do this you might as well buy a Chevy Tahoe.

a well taken care of airmatic system will be relatively trouble free for 80-100 k miles if you use quality parts and replace them before they fail.

 

I hate when people say things like that . The fact is MB and many other luxury cars are over-engineered. I would gladly do without air-ride in my S90 T8, S550 Coupe, GL and every other car owned. Plenty of luxury cars do not have air-ride and guess what? They drive just fine. While I agree you buy a luxury vehicle for most of the over-engineering (soft-close is a great example), but then there are headaches that don't justify the luxury or cost (airmatic).

​​​​​Maybe some don't mind being stranded on the side of the highway with a high mileage vehicle whose airmatic strut or air compressor failed. But I'm willing to bet if he bought or is considering a high-mileage luxury SUV then he probably wants to keep the maintenance as cheap as possible. Airmatic and all other air-ride struts are like hard drives in a computer. It's not a question of if it will fail but when. I'd rather take that unnecessary drama out of the equation personally. But that's just me. Obviously that can't happen with a computer hard drive but like airmatic to spring conversion you can replace a mechanical hard drive with an SSD which has no moving parts and extend the longevity of your PC. Can you tell I'm in the technology field?

​​It's my opinion but I've never seen value in air-ride unless you're towing or carrying heavy loads and need it to level out. Yes the vehicle can drop lower at high speeds but my guess is the handling difference is negligible at best. Or at least not worth the hassle of replacing an air strut, 2 months later another. Oh wait look the 3rd went out. Wait Compressor is out. Oh now the 4th. It's like playing wack-a-mole. Arnott has made an entire business out of replacing Mercedes air shocks.

At 137K I say convert it unless you don't mind the trouble or cost. They WILL GO Out (multiple times). if you aren't towing or carrying large heavy loads for extended periods of time delete that ish.
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By the way if we are getting real, most cars nowadays have caught up to the luxury brands in terms of technology. Hell sometimes exceeding. My Volvo S90 T8 is a great example. Never liked Volvo but the S90 made be step out, twin-turbo V8 aside I have more features in that car than my 2015 S550 Coupe. The head unit is better, the autonomous driving is better, the Bowers & Wilkens optional sound is better, the mobile app is light years better than MB. Luxury cars like MB are really becoming status symbols and nothing more. Does the S550 Coupe turn heads? Fk yeah. But surprisingly the S90 T8 turns just as many heads with equal if not better features with a smaller price tag. So don't knock Chevy (though I wouldn't drive one or anything else American for that matter).

 

I've got close to 350k miles on my current Airmatic vehicles. Maintaining it is not much more expensive than a standard shock and spring setup and the ride qualities are much better. Not in terms of feel but when you have a heavy load, trailer, or lots of passengers the Airmatic really shines by keeping the car nice and level and easy to control. I recommend never using a dealership for air springs or shocks unless the vehicle is still under warranty. The aftermarket ones, in my experience, last longer than the MB units and are a fraction of the price.

 

It really boils down to what cost/benefit ratio are you willing to achieve. You can bet your bottom dollar that the 08-12 GL With 120k on it that you pick up from honest joes car lot is going to need every single airmatic bag and compressor replaced the second you buy it.

Yes, Arnott are making good money supplying this aftermarket, but for what you get when you buy arnott parts it is totally worth the hassle for me. Two rear bags and a compressor is about $500 and about two hours of DIY time. Add two non-ads struts up front for another three hours and $1200 and you have a durable (and to spec) suspension for under $2000 - with a lifetime warranty. I don’t spend another dime on bags or compressors for as long as I own the car but I do recognize the time commitment.

for me and quite a few people here, that is a benefit that is worth the cost, but not worth the risk of unknown handling characteristics of a sprung setup.

Edit: I also have a similar vintage ‘Burb and there is no comparison between the two, ride quality wise.