Out of the gate, I don’t really focus on MPG - more on the best car for my needs.

We actually liked the XC90 - nice fresh, airy interior and didn’t seem too much smaller when we parked it next to our GL. End of the day my wife didn’t want to drive a Volvo and I didn’t want a 4 pot sewing machine engine.

Can’t comment on the MDX. If you want reliability with some luxury go Lexus - don’t they have a new 7 seater RX coming out but prob smaller than a GL.

On the need to use the third row, my answer would be based on how often do you need to do that?

You said you have a forward and rear facing car seat - how long until the fwd facing kid is in a booster as they are easier to move. As mentioned above you won’t be able to put the car seats on the outboard middle row seats and access the back. There are 2 options you could consider that we did:

1. Put the car seats next to each other (ie one in the middle). If your kids are that small maybe they won’t mess with each other too much. Then your rear seat passengers can access the rear through the single flip up seat or only one goes back there with the other sitting next to the car seats.. And it’s really not that hard to step up and get back there.

2. Keep the car seats on the outboard seats and have Nanna ride in the middle and either your wife or pops hops in through the back with the power rear seats split. Sounds funny, but we did it for infrequent use and my wife liked the peace and quiet back there.

Or just buy a minivan - but there was no way my wife was going to drive one.

On CarMax - we bought a Cayenne and got the 5 year Maxcare Warranty. I’ve used the warranty at a Porsche dealer and it was seamless with minimal deductible out of pocket. I would highly recommend it when buying any expensive German car that is out of Warranty - and I get to drive it for 5yrs / 100,000 miles worry free!

Also on CarMax they tend to not value options when pricing their cars - more just year and miles, so that’s how you can pick up a great bargain on a highly optioned car. Just run the VIN through a decoder like datamb.com. Also to pay a minimal fee to get a car transported to you really opens up your options rather than just a local market. Do a FaceTime walk around where the car is located, decode the VIN and if you like what you see pay $149-$400 across the country to get it transported to you. If you don’t like it, walk away.

This may not be helpful as dated, or may be helpful as you’re looking at used cars - but here were some of my thoughts when figuring whether to buy a GL550 a couple of years ago. I had a GL450 before that:

https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...ml#post6526410

Best of luck!

 

Note: Today I drove with 6 humans in my GL. Granny and I in the front seats, mommie and infant (rear facing child seat, passenger side) in the 2nd row, and niece (in college) and 5 yr old (front facing child seat, passenger side) in the 3rd row for a Home Depot, grocery and Costco run.

I use the 60, of the 60/40 split seating in the 2nd row, for egress. I do have the one touch 2nd row seats.

 

If you keep cars for a while, a Tesla model X may not be a bad idea - base model with very few options or a used one.. I think people can go in the third row without folding the second row seats.

I tend to keep cars for a while and I have 47200 miles on my Model S. Went to the repair facility at about 35000 because they called me and said they haven't seen me or the car since the day I bought it - do I mind bringing it in for just a look-see.. maybe change brake fluid. I took it in.. they changed brake fluid, cleaned brakes, changed cabin air filter, and recommended I think about changing the tires. Those tires were never rotated - wore very evenly. I got the tires changed at 39,000 - wearing very evenly still.

Liberating in a way that I don't have to think about oil changes, transmission fluid, DPF, Adblue, etc.. only if money was no object..

Just looking at practical side of things..

 

So nice in this world when a decision can be made concisely to end deliberations....

If you seek out a GL with the following option your decision is made: Power EASY-ENTRY for 2nd row seats. Option Code 843. You'll know the car has it if there is a button on the top of the second row seat as below.

This is a confusing option for consumers and dealers alike because all GLs have a power folding 2nd row. In my car, as in most GLs, there is no EASY-ENTRY feature. So to get in the 3rd row you have to lift a lever on the 2nd row seat bottom then pull up on a red handle that then folds the whole seat up with some power assistance and moves the front seat forward a bit automatically. Its a luxurious power assisted process and much easier than most 3rd row SUVs, but the feature I'm talking about goes a step further. With Power Easy-Entry, all you do it lift 1 button and the car does the rest.

With grandparents in the 3rd row, I'd say your decision is made. The GLs third row is the most spacious of all three and the easiest to access with the feature mentioned. Its also a larger vehicle than the other two. Just extend the warranty as far as possible.

Good luck
DRP

 

Agree the Easy Entry makes it very easy to get into the third row. We have it on our 550. I do want to note for you the issue with those seats when using a booster or for small kids that was on some of the older models (I don’t know about the newer ones). Ours is a 2015 and needed a fix.

Basically with the power seat, the headrest is powered and differed from the non-powered one in that at its normal upright position, it sticks out, which can make it hard for fitting that forward facing car seat / booster or can push against a small kids head.

There is a fix which means taking out the locking pin and takes about 15 minutes that I did for one of my seats. Again, maybe they fixed this on the newer models. I’ll try to find a link to the post, but just so you are aware.

Edit: here’s the link. https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...drest-fix.html

 

Thank you all for all the great suggestions, I will definitely search carmax and the extended warranty that you guys suggested. My local dealer has 3 Gl450 all sold date of 11/14 except for one which is 2/15, but priced at around $49000-$51,000. None of them have the exterior color I want and don't have lifting package, he did say that it can be installed by third party, can it be done and who much? will it void warranty?

Tesla Model X sounds tempting, as I am a gadget guy and love new stuff, but its too expensive for me. I love the look of the GL/GLS, but wish they would have made it truly a S class level. The reason I keep coming back to the Gl is the price of a CPO get you a lot of car.

 

My 2015 GL 350 just turned 3 years old and 52,500 miles. Love the diesel! Plenty of power and it has a nearly 700 mile range. Great over the road vehicle and it's a vault when considering safety attributes. And diesel is much cheaper than premium gas. It's my first diesel and I'm gonna keep it until the Germans sort out the diesel gate issues and start selling them again in the USA. Right now only BMW has a diesel variant (X5) which is a great vehicle but a bit small compared to the others. I'd also recommend you look at the Audi Q7. It's newly designed for 2017 and already I see some CPO's out there. The MDX is a good choice but I'm not enamored with the Japanese brand. A CPO Lexus GX might be worth considering. Forget the Volvo! Nothing but trouble.
Of all the choices I'd look for a CPO GL 350 (preferred) or GL 450 and model year 2015 or newer. A CPO (2015) can be had for mid to high $40's.
Just curious.........why have you not considered a Tahoe or Yukon?

 

Sent you a PM

 

I just went to another dealer and he has three GL's CPO. Out of the three one does not have the options I am looking for the other one is diesel so did not look at that, and to my surprise I test drove the Gl550, it the color combinations and has all the options I am looking for except power easy entry, however, with manual lever handle, it wasn't that bad. Its a 2015 CPO with 48,000 miles and is listed for $58,000 ( too high for me), is its high considering its GL550. The CPO warranty ends 5/2020 and I can extend the warranty until 2022. He said there is very little negotiation as they price it to the market, bs I guess.

Anyways, there was also an Audi dealer close by, so decided to test drive the Q7, to get a back to back drive feel. The Q7, felt very quick and it was very nimble, very car like, I liked it a lot. When driving the GL550, it had plenty pf power and was ready to go when you set on the gas, but you do kinda feel the size, with the Q7 this wasn't the case, you don't feel you are driving a 7 seater, plus the interior is updated and modern with lots of gadgets ( like gadgets and shiny things)

The one thing that I felt thought with the GL550 was how nice the ride was, it soaked up all the bumps etc and its hard to describe just felt relaxed in it. The Q7 was more sporty, if I can say that for an SUV.

I have to now try the child seats and see who they fit into both of these cars and then see what I want to do.

 

Why not try the diesel? If it has the options you want give it a test drive. I love mine!

 

The Q7 is nice, I haven't ridden in the most recent version but a friend of mine has the previous Gen in the TDI format. The 3rd row was really small almost like having a 3rd row in a Nissa Pathfinder.

 

Have you looked at the Infini QX80? Their CPO prices are pretty good. We had a 2008 GL450 for several years with a LOT of repairs. Not something to keep without a warranty in my opinion, though I know some people have had good luck with them.

 

So I just came back from local dealer, they have a 2015 GL450 with all the options expect the panorama moonroof, it even has leather seats in brown which looked really nice. Original MSRP was $83,000, was listed for $51,900 CPO.
I think its a bit high, I still have until Monday to decide, but is this a good price? miles were 33,000, CPO warranty will be over 11/2019.

They are not really negotiating the price, wife and I liked the ride and space, but still thinking if I should go with the more sporty Q7?
Also, what would be a good price on this car, $48,000 is it fair?

 

51k seems like a fair price to me. I don't think your dealer will negotiate down to 48k. When I was looking for the GL this summer what I found was that the dealers would only negotiate in hundreds ($500) not thousands. As I'm sure you have realized, these SUVs are not easy to find used, with all the options you want. I believe leather alone is 3k upgrade over MBTex. I would pay this price

 

If you don't ask the answer is always no. We were in the final stages of buying a '14 GL450 CPO. Dealer offered us 21k in trade for my '13 Durango. My wife spotted a little notice that the dealer would give KBB value for a trade. So she said Hey, what about it? Salesman disappeared for awhile and came back to say they would give us 23k, the mid range KBB value. We also noticed from the Carfax that they had the GL on their lot for 2 months. Mentioning that may have helped. Just as we agreed to the deal, the salesman said another customer just came in to take a look at out GL. May have been a ploy to make us feel better......

 

I am going to try and see if they will come down any lower, their doc fees is high too at $380.
What about extended warranty, should I buy it from them? can i buy it later and whats the lowest price I can get the 2 year extended warranty for?
How would I know it CPO certified? will they give me any paper work?

He said they will shop for financing and try to get the lowest rate for 60-72 months, should I get my own financing? he said that I will have 5 days to get my own financing if their rates are too high? will my credit get 2 enquiries or will it be 1 enquiry?

they did say the headrest can be removed after a technician looked at it, but I was able to put the child seat and the top part goes under it, so for now I will be ok, will need to remove it in a couple of years?

Anything else I should know before I make this big (for me) purchase? getting a bit nervous buying an german car and maintenance of what it would be. Will have to look at independent mechanic, but I doubt there are that many in my area.

 

We have 2 '14 CPO's. GL and ML. We bought the ML last year and opted out of the extended CPO warranty. Same this year for the GL. Salesman will tell you they are giving a 15% discount if you buy right away, but only good for 30 days after sale. If you search this forum you will see lots of posts about long distance sales of MB ELW's and CPO extensions (not the same thing). Since we were new to the MB brand we felt we needed to be sure we'd keep the car(s). We are likely to, so as the CPO warranty deadline approaches we'll go extension shopping.
Yes you will get CPO paperwork. When you enter your VIN on Mercedes Me, your CPO warranty will show up.
Can't help with the financing or child seat issues.
The service costs at the dealer are high. No doubt. I used to do my own maintenance but no more. I got the B service done on the ML recently and used an MB competitor's ad to beat down my local dealer. Still very high cost though. But I feel that is the price you pay for a loaner when you need it. You can certainly go to an independent mechanic and save money without jeopardizing your warranty. However, over many years of getting dealer service, the service writers know who spends money with them and who doesn't. So when a needed repair could be classified as not covered by warranty, they usually do cover it. There's a lot of discretion, real or imagined on my part.
One thing on the car that I would look at closely are the running boards. MB's aluminum is crappy. The anodized aluminum trim on my 50 year old GTO looks better than the running boards on the GL and ML. The CPO process says cosmetic repairs will be made. So take a good look at them. If they look bad, tell the dealer you think you should get new ones. Also look at the tires. You can sometimes get new ones thrown in if the ones on the car look worn. Good luck.

 

Not sure what your timeframe is but have you checked out the coverage of the new Subaru Ascent? Due summer 2018. You can get captains chairs for the 2nd row for easy access to the third row.

Yes yes, I know it's more downscale than most vehicles being discussed here.

 

 

Isn't maxcare thru Carmax only?