Hey guys, It's been a long time since I've been on here. I'm looking to add another Merc to the fleet.

For the same price and milage I have the option to get either a 2015 GL550 or same year GL350. I don't care about gas milage, but I do care about maintenance. I have an '07 CLS550 and I had no idea they changed the motor to a bi turbo V8, that's insane. I really wish they had kept it NA for reliability. I was really drawn to the GL550 because of the power. I'm just reading more and more about the horror stories of repairs. dropping the motor for starter motors, turbo lines, engine and transmission mounts, $7K turbo replacement costs, wtf? No thanks. It's at about 125K kms for each of the trucks, so I would think some repairs would be coming soon. Is the GL550 really that bad? Is the GL350 any better? I've never owned a diesel but I've read these are pretty reliable. Any issues I should look out for at the 125K kms mark? Are parts just as prone to fail and problematic on the diesel? I want to tow a trailer, so I'm assuming the diesel still has a whack load of torque. The Diesel model also fortunately doesn't have airmatic. I've experienced enough repairs with the CLS Airmatic to know that I don't want to own another benz with that again. I kept the airmatic on the CLS because it barely gets driven, whereas my GL will be a daily. I can't stand the other GL's (A, C, E, etc), I think they look like soccer mom SUV's, and this one looks big and a bit menacing. Much more masculine. I've worked on and have owned loads of turbo cars in the past (SAAB, Volvo, Audi, BMW) so I'm quite familiar with repairs and problems. However, I've never had to drop a motor/tranny to work on one, which is really dumb IMO. Does the same need to happen on the diesel model or is everything accessible through the engine bay? If they use Garrett turbos I have a guy who rebuilds them so I'm not really worried about replacement costs, only labour.

Any critical rust areas I should look out for as well? I live in Ontario, Canada where they flood the roads in a sea of salt water in the winter months. Will definitely get yearly rust proofings. I won't be able to get either of them on a hoist because they are listed at independent dealerships. I want indies because I can trade in my 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon tax free and pretty much not have a pay a cent for the trade. My Truck is way easier to sell for the dealer than a GL.

thanks guys!

Bry

 

The 2 cars from the ads.

white is the 550, black is the 350. The 550 looks damn good with white on black rims though. I believe both have an AMG package? I love the styling.

 

I say go for the bluetec.
The fuel efficiency is absolutely amazing.
I own a 2012 r350 bluetec with 336000 km, I am also in Ontario.
Couple of comments:
1) most important is check the VIN on Canada bluetec website, to see how much bluetec warranty is left. This is valuable. I got the timing chain replaced for free for my R350 at 301k, for free. The emissions stuff being covered is an additional piece of mind.
2) the diesel engine has a famous oil cooler seal leak, always look for it on inspection
3) oil burning due to stuck piston rings (please do oil changes at 6000km, and you should hopefully avoid this issue) but this is a HUGE issue with buying used because you don't know how the previous owner treated it. So, there's a ton of bluetecs in Canada with seized engines at 200k. The principle reason for this appears to be the long oil change intervals of 15000 km which mercedes recommended from the factory. Short city trips where inadequate dpf regens are happening is another factor that leads to this.
3) if you are using the car for short city trips, go for the gl 550. If you are doing primarily highway, the bluetec is way superior and you will love the fuel efficiency.