Certified GLS550 buy or pass?
 

Hello everyone

My wife and I are very new to the Mercedes-Benz brand and we are currently looking at a certified preowned 2017 550
It has 51,000 miles on it and they are asking $57,000 for it
Some AMG appearance stuff which feels odd considering it’s not an amg.
I like the V8 option and I like the extra space that we are now in need of.
My questions are 1) does this seem like a good idea? Financially it’s not a big deal but with the age of the vehicle how many miles were put on it so quickly and the costs associated with Mercedes-Benz I have concerns.
2) in order to mitigate some of these concerns there is a three-year unlimited mileage warranty for $4000 That we can purchase. Is that money well spent?

so with that being said and us being new to Mercedes is this a recipe for higher cost of ownership or is this a vehicle that we realistically could spend the next 5 to 8 years in with very little if any trouble ?

Shop around. You might find one more competitively prices. Extended cpo warranty is a must.

Tafel motors with jeff Jackson is the go to guy in this forum.
For that time frame get the newest cpo you can find or get a Carmax car and maxcare warranty for 6 years

I got a better deal than what Jeff was offering on my extended CPO from Cassandra Castro 414-543-3000 ext 115.

Forgive me but is Tafel the place where we should look to buy a warranty or a go to for sales?

The extended warranty is essential ... especially for such a high mileage vehicle. Be sure you qualify before you buy ... IIRC you must purchase before the 4 year/48,000 mile expiry of the original warranty.

The price of the extended warranty is highly negotiable. I was quoted well over $3 thousand by our dealer so I showed them Tafel Motors quote. They didn’t match it, but we settled at $2,700. You could do better if you try harder.

AMG ‘stuff’ on a non-AMG vehicle is to be expected, e.g., the 21” wheels. Get rid of non-Michelin tries ASAP ... preferably part of the sale.

You could get great service for many years from this vehicle, but there’s no way to know without trying. Obviously, any abuse or excessive use will work against that, hence the extended warranty. Our 2015 GL550 is our best vehicle ever, but we drive it less than 7,000 miles per year, service it obsessively and drive it gently ... most of the time, but it is hard to “drive slow” as it wants to run ... those twin turbochargers spool just backing into our garage!

thanks for the insight and I appreciate the reply.

Jeff Jackson and Cassandra are the two best places to get a quote for the cpo elw warranty.

I did did a search for cpo 550. It seems your gls is the silver one in San Diego? It is the lowest priced one nationwide right now.

Thank you. I’ll check it out.

My wife and I are in our GL 550 as I speak discussing your inquiry. My wife reminded me to tell you that with a high mileage vehicle like you are considering its previous service is critical. As you are buying from a dealer they should be able to prove that the necessary service was performed, when and by whom.

Mercedes vehicles are reliable by design although they are highly complicated and sophisticated. As an example ... the engine in the vehicle you are considering has an enormous reserve of oil, which is good. Unfortunately, the twin turbo chargers consume oil, which is bad! We are used to topping up our oil at least once a year between major service intervals, which our dealer performs for free on demand.

I'm not claiming the vehicle you are considering is a match for this GL ... especially as model identification has been removed from the lift gate. It is presumably a "full AMG" GL63.


Nonetheless ... you are considering a serious vehicle with impressive bonafides ... drive carefully and not like this video!

That is an older W204 C-class wagon, not a GL. But it is likely heavily modified.

Well we took the local 2017 for a drive and once over this evening
brakes felt very soft, has a bad vibration likely due to unbalanced tires, has cracked wood paneling and the AWD felt almost as if it was binding

the positives were the immense power of which I haven’t experienced for some time, exterior styling was excellent, the engine and exhaust note was smooth as silk and the ride (vibration aside) was fantastic

I don’t think we will be going with that specific 550

I think all you have to do is change tires to new michelins and vibration should be gone.Thats what we did when we had vibration at highway speeds.Balancing current tires wont help .Unless you are talking about vibration when you hit brakes thats most likely due to warped rotors.

You can get into a 2015 or 2016 with a lot less miles for a lot less money. You definitely have to pay a premium for the facelift that doesn't get you any better performance. And then you'll watch the value drop like a rock when the all new GLS comes out this fall. IMO, it's not worth it. Get a lower mileage 15 or 16 that is still within the original factory warranty so you can add Benz warranty coverage for 3 more years.

1. A dealer's selling price is best checked against a authentic 3rd party value guide - I normally suggest Edmunds..

2. Cracked front door wood trim is not uncommon for 2017 - BUT - please understand cracked wood trim MB will NOT cover under CPO warranty - although under new car warranty normally it can be replaced.

3. Vibration problems with new replacement MB approved tires are quite COMMON - and can be the result of defective/out-of-round replacement tires from the manufacturer. Unfortunately "most" MB techs do not road test CPO vehicles after tire replacement - the OK news is that the tech's can do the proper checking - and replacements-for-the-replacements are done at the tire manufacturer's expense

Hi,
before you buy, have them agree to fix the following.
Airstruts (5k)
sensor network (2k)
door sensors (1250$ per side).

I have a 2011 Gl550. I love it, bought it for $48.5 w/ 26k miles in 2014. I have 95k miles now an it runs great.
Buy the service package from them, it covered an issue with the transmission pan.
Terry

slightly off topic ... but as much as I love love love my 2013 GL450 (bought in 2017) ... holding off for the newer technology in the newer cars (larger display screens, refinements, electronics, conveniences, etc.) ... I'd probably sacrifice the power for these "newer" features ... alternatively, save money and sacrifice conveniences for a used 2014/2015 and drive for a couple of years, then look into a used 2019 ... hope to replace my 2013 in a couple of years for a used X7, possibly Audi Q7 ... hehe, blasphemy I know ... lol

https://mbworld.org/forums/gls-class...ls-oh-boy.html