ddruker

First hi everyone. I've been hanging out on the X164 forum for many year - I've got a 2011 GL350 that is coming out of extended warranty next month. It has has enough problems that I'm skittish about owning it without a warranty in place.

I'm looking at replacing it with a 2016 GL350 CPO with 28,500 miles. Here is the specific truck I'm looking at right now -> GL 350 I use the current GL as a family long distance driver plus I tow a 30 foot airstream, hence the desire for the diesel.

I reviewed the service history the dealer has provided. So far only two things bother me. The truck came in with an "aggressive pull to the right". They adjusted the alignment, toe, camber etc and say it's now fixed. I'm wondering in your experience how big of a red flag this is - my GL has pretty massive front steering members - it would take a pretty big impact I think to throw off the alignment that badly. How concerned should I be about this? Anything else I should ask about it or dig into?

The other thing is they just replaced one of the tires - said it came in with a nail. That leaves the truck with 4 tires with 5/32, 5/32, 6/32 and 10/32 of tread depth. I asked them if Mercedes has a spec for variance between tire tread depth in the GL series, and they ignored it. Any thoughts if this is a problem?

Any of you have a black GL? How hard is it to keep clean? I'm used to silver and I can it it pretty dirty / dusty and it stilll looks ok...

Any other major things I should be aware of moving from a 2011 to a 2016? Keep the floormats and the roof rack crossbars?

NaviTimer1

I don't own a 350 but there's some interesting articles regarding the x166 diesel engine: https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...015-gl350.html

-The GL's are very heavy SUV's, I jumped the curbed once and the front alignment was way off. I was a bit perplex since it’s an SUV, it should not have a problem going over stuff (It was fine after an alignment). Does it have ride height? Visually check if one side is higher than the other. Also, take it on the highway at different speeds, odd behaviors are more apparent for tires, suspension and alignment (look for vibration or side pulls).
-I can't comment on the tire depth since I don’t know the CPO standards. Check the rims, are they curbed? That's a good indicator on how well the previous owner maintained the GL and how well the CPO inspection went.
-Black does get dirty quick, if you leave it out side. Having a good detail helps preserve the clean look.
-Not sure how different the floor mats and crossbars are from the previous Gen.
-The major things on the x166 GL are the electronics, check as much as you can (Ride Height, Auto Soft closing doors, LED turning lights, Pano roof etc.). Ask for the ODB report, look for any active codes.

IMO the CPO GL should be in very solid condition – for the most part.

That CPO looks flawless - keep us posted & best of luck on your purchase.

ooklaa65

i can help you a lil bit if you like as i just traded my 2010 ml350 for a 2015 gl350(pretty much fully loaded) with only 23,000 miles on it. My dealer put 4 new tires on it so for your dealer to be dicking around with all different tread heights I would not accept it. PLus in my opinion you dont drive around a awd suv with different tread depths. You can pm me and we can exchange numbers if you like. Do you know what services have been done and can that be verifieds threw service paperwork?

DaveW68

I have a black GL550 and have owned many black cars. Dust and dirt are more noticeable on any black car, especially compared to white or silver. But when they are clean and polished, nothing looks better than black.

I'm taking my rig to a professional dealer to have the paint corrected and professional grade ceramic coating done in April or May. From what I understand, the truck will stay looking cleaner for longer since the surface is so slippery that dust just blows off as soon as you start driving it. Also, dirt has a harder time adhering to the ceramic coating. What I'm looking forward to most is the easier cleaning procedure on a ceramic coated vehicle. No need to ever wax or polish....and cleaning is as easy as attaching a bottle with cleaning soap to the hose, soaping the vehicle, then rinsing. You can also use a leaf blower to do all of the drying instead of a chamois or microfiber towels. That should cut cleaning time in half and be much less labor intensive.

anothercar

I had a 2015 GL 350 that I just traded for a new X5. Drove the GL for 60,000 trouble free miles.........mostly highway. Had it for 40 months and loved it. One of my all time favorite vehicles. No good reason for trading it other than I wanted a new diesel powered SUV and BMW is the only game in town as far as German makes go. Mine was black and always looked good. The GL is one of those vehicles that looks particularly good in black vs white or that ugly green/gray that Mbenz has.
Get new rubber on it........buy the ELW from Talfel Motors in Louisville and you'll have many pleasurable years of service with it.

Daveh5525

I just bought a 2016 GL350 a month ago, it had 26,600 miles on it. The dealer put all new rubber on it as MB CPO did not allow the GL to be sold with tires close to being worn out. It also came with new floor mats as original were dirty. I can send you the paperwork.

ddruker

Guys many thanks for the info. I had a bad experience with the sales reps at the dealership (Fletcher Jones in Newport Beach, CA) so I am going to pass on this one.

I ended up feeling like they were hiding something. They were ignoring basic questions about this GL 350 even though I repeatedly asked them the same questions multiple times. They also kept refusing to send me the service records stating "privacy concerns" - I asked both the rep and his manager to just get out their black magic marker to hide anything even possibly confidential before scanning and sending over the records - they just wouldn't do it. The sales manager sent me a screen shot showing "no recall campaigns" - and tried to convince me this proved that there had been no major service on the truck. It might have been true - but it just felt sketchy and not at all transparent.

Almost every email from the sales person featured bad grammar and typos - "Here are the information that you requested about the 2016 GL350"

Sloppy or sleazy? I don't know - I just didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling that I wanted before writing a $55,000 check. And I was ready to fly down and buy tomorrow. I didn't want to tell them I didn't like the experience so I just said my wife decided she didn't like the color...

BlownV8

Sounds super sketchy. I would run away too.

fabbrisd1

Frankly - I can understand how both you/customer and the dealership were disappointed/offended.

1. Mercedes "VMI" - which is the Mercedes internal build and service record - Mercedes US has mandated the policy that the dealership/personnel are not to released to any 3rd party - the personnel at a well managed dealership correctly following that clear MBUSA policy. "Most" dealerships I know would explain to you that is MB policy. The fact that a poorly managed dealership - or poorly trained personnel might not understand MB VMI policy - that is not the case here.

2. "Sold and serviced here." "Recommended factory maintenance was done on schedule". "I see no major issues in the service history". "Inspected-Serviced-Passed CPO" - that - and most likely more - were explained to you by the salesperson(s) - and as you pointed out explained by a sales manager as well.

3. I understand from your tone you were quite insistent with the to get copy of the VMI - and I from what you have said the dealer was repeatedly insistent that they are not able to do that - that set a bad tone between both parties.

4. If you have details on the options on this rig - frankly it's very/very well equipped - and at this moment it is ONE of ONLY TWO Mercedes Certified 2016 GL350 with this combination of specifc top options - the other is in Naples and should finish CPO inspection on Monday.

5. Conspiracy - Shifty business - absolutely none. No service issues in it's history - Mercedes lease return sold and serviced there - 2yr/20K ppd service when purchased - both services were done on schedule based on miles - after turn-in/"trade" - one wheel with minor rash that was taken care of - CPO inspection was clean - during Xentry diagnosis during inspection found the NOX sensor not responding to spec (no CEL) - so NOX sensor was replaced under new car warranty - service done - all to the good.

This is rare-in-breed Mercedes GL - unfortunately insisting on the VMI which is not possible under MB policy - served to set a bad tone to both sides.

If this isn't the right-MB-for-you - or if it's not the right time or right price from your side - hey - it's your Mercedes and move on - then the question comes down to move-on-to-what.

But if it is right-MB-for-you - and it is the right time - then go for it - if you do want to move forward - take care of the deposit - I would suggest you tell the dealer you want to take advantage of the March 1.99% MBFS 36 mo financing - leverage it - that paperwork is straight forward completed by email - let the the dealer make their $800 MBFS commission "bone" for writing that $55K note - you have no prepayment penalty - on 2nd month - pay it off - put it behind you - and the dealer gets to keep that $800 - costs you $150 for 2 months interwsst to buy dealer goodwill and to get you lined back up with the mainstream buying process - FYI Fletcher NB is the largest single MB dealer on the West Coast - get in the flow..

Keep the beat !

ddruker

Wow- Fabri you are about 10,000 times more articulate than the guys at the dealer. Many thanks for your note.

I would say I was put off by the email hygiene and lack of attention to detail of the sales person I landed with and then for sure I did not understand their was a formal MBUSA policy for dealers to not share service records of what had been done at their own shop prior to the CPO inspection and service. The sales person and their manager told me this was a local dealership policy, and another dealer had just sent me exactly such records, as part of their normal process. It also seems a bit weird to me - whenever I've bought a used vehicle, I always asked the previous owner to provide records about what has been done to it - so I am surprised this would be viewed negatively.

I received a nice note from the GM of the dealership and when another 2016 GL 350 comes up I for sure would be happy to try them again - I'm sure it's a quality operation and I just had a bad interaction with one salesperson. In the meantime, my 2011 GL 350 with 71k miles comes back from Autobahn tomorrow after having the dreaded oil cooler seal leak re-done for the second time, and the motor mounts and mount arms which were both leaking also replaced, all under extended warranty - so I'm not in emergency mode to have to buy a new one tomorrow. I will probably purchase the USAA extended warranty for my current GL for a year just as insurance - it's transferable, has zero deductible, and only costs about $1,500 so gives me some time to find the right 2016.