fhrstephen

First post... I know I'm going to buy a GLK soon, but I've been fighting with myself over some of the options... also have some comments in general about the GLK's features, which I'd be curious if others agree with or not... so it's a bit of a hodge podge post...

1) I like how the car drives, and how it looks on the outside... and I like the price. I'm however not as happy with the interior options. I chose the flat black exterior, and I'm deciding between tan+wood and black+aluminum. I don't care for the wood much... I liked the matte finish wood that you can still find in photos of GLK's online, but which I think never actually were sold. I'm leaning towards black+aluminum, although I find it a bit bland... and don't like that Mercedes did not match the aluminum on the dash with the aluminum on the doors. My dealer said that the textured looks the dash aluminum has, was meant to match a design on fabric seats the car was originally going to have, before they switched to MBTex... no idea if that's right.

2) I'm going to get the Multimedia and premium packages. I chose the multimedia package over UMI, for the bigger screen... but I'm bummed UMI comes with free traffic, and multimedia does not. I also think that the UMI has better iPod integration... although I've convinced myself to forget my iPod, and just put my songs on an SD card into the PCMCIA slot... which will work, but is non-ideal... using the iPod would be better. Compared to the Sync system in the Ford Edge however, the Mercedes bells and whistles seem pretty poor. In the Edge, you can connect your iPod to the car, and play songs by saying the title of the song... pretty slick compared to the GLK. Too bad the sync system is in a Ford, and I want a Benz. =)

3) Does anybody have a link to photos comparing how the stock lighting looks compared to the lighting package? I think I'll get the lighting package, but photos would be great. Have trouble finding the time to go to the dealer these days.

4) Planning to also get heated seats and parktronic as well, despite already having the rear view camera.

5) Can anyone comment on whether the aluminum roof rails match the trim on the side of the car? My dealer was trying to tell me that the rails were made to match, yet to me, the rails look like they have a flat finish, where the side trim looks like chrome. Seemed like the GL has chrome rails... not sure why the GLK doesn't as well.

6) On price, my plan is to print out the carsdirect pricing, and go to my preferred dealer and hope he'll match/beat it... any suggestions to that
strategy?

Thanks for any comments.

NYCGLK

1) not sure what your question is, but I can relate how you feel. When I sat first time in the GLK I didn't like it either. After owning car for a while it's nice clean and simple. So no regrets getting black with alum. Also alum on the passenger side still matches better than wood.

2) I think new GLK comes with traffic if you get P1 and MM packages, so you should get it. SD through PCMCIA works great, put your music on 16GIG SD card and forget about it, instead of connecting ipod everytime.

3) Xenons look great, and lighting package is nice with swivel and corner illumination functions. Also LED rear turn signals make look a bit more up-to-date

4)Not sure what your question here, I was gonna get parktronic, but i think it ruins look in front on lighter colors. After getting used to the car, I don't regret not getting it. Unless you live in europe it's not necessary.

5) no, rails are alum not chrome. They match wheels, and I think look better than if they were chrome.

6) Not sure how pricing changed, but when I was buying, getting car for invoice price was very common, and many got GLK for under invoice (esp. when 2k factory rebate was in place) Since MB has reduced supply I have not idea what prices are like now. You might better off getting better deal on taking car of the lot, but you won't get exact options.

Hope this helps and welcome to GLK forum, apologies for misspells as I don't feel like re-reading the post.

MBRedux

Sounds to me that you have already answered your own questions!

fhrstephen

Yeah, I've been deliberating every detail for the past 2 weeks, and I may have read every post on this forum already.

How easy is it to navigate through thousands of songs when they are on the SD card? I assume they are sorted in folders by artist and album, like in iTunes? I guess then there is no playlist ability... what about shuffle?

With MM package, traffic comes by paying Sirius for it... not sure I'd want to pay for it... but that decision can wait. With UMI it's free over FM.

Thanks for the responses.

JT01

I've been driving mine for over a month now. I bought the one that showed up on the lot from a Saskatchewan dealership that morning so I wasn't able to pick my options... wasn't really an issue though cause the one on the lot was loaded...

I wasn't going to pick many of the options my GLK has (specifically: leather, keyless go, BiXenons and Sirius Radio) but now that I have driven around with these options... I absolutely wouldn't change a thing. In fact, I would pay more than I paid if I had too.

BiXenons especially, for both safety and look.

You gotta think about it, you are buying a brand new Benz! The more things you opt out on, the more you may regret it in the future. I don't like ripping up my vehicle to add aftermarket stuff and so what if you got an option you don't really appreciate. You may later on and it may even help with the resale... bottom line, you have it.

You made a comparison with the Ford Flex. Put it this way... do you really want to be driving around in a Benz that cost more but has a ton less options/luxuries than a Ford? Your not just racing around in your SUV... the engine and construction is the most important but the options go a long way for comfort and pleasure!!

Also:

-The aluminium roof rails look great. Period.
-I prefer the wood but the aluminium trim is ok as well (purely preference).
-You sound like you really care about the audio... spring for the upgraded HK sound. Again, do you really want to rip up your GLK and limit your cargo space for an aftermarket stereo?

MBRedux

ANSWER IS ABOVE.

fhrstephen

Thanks for your reply.

MMI/HK is a done deal. I've decided to go with the lighting package as well.

I guess my point was not that I'd buy the Ford Edge, but that I expect more features in a MB than a Ford... and the Sync system kills everything else out there I've seen... at least for iPod integration.

I think I'm going with MBTex... looks pretty leather-like to me... but still pondering that decision.

Keyless go is one of things that if it were standard it would be great... but to pay $1000 so I don't have to stick the key in the ignition, is hard for me to do... but yeah, it appeals to the engineer in me... very cool.

Thanks.

fhrstephen

Thanks, good to know. Does it treat the internal drive the same as an SD card? Meaning, if 6GB (or whatever it is) is not big enough for my music collection, can I do all the same things with the music on the SD card as on the HD?

Thanks.

MBRedux

yup!

JT01

I hear you bud. I would have NEVER picked this option... especially not for $1000. Now that I have owned a vehicle with it... I don't think I would ever buy a new vehicle without it!! Seriously!!

To me... cooler than the push button start is that the key NERVER has to leave your pocket! Being a married guy up here in Canada, I have both cold weather and a wife. My wife loves the feature cause she never has to go through her purse to find her key (not that I am super paranoid but it does make me feel better knowing how quick she can get in vehicle given that we both live and work downtown). I love it cause I don't have to take my gloves off to get my key out from my suit-pocket when it is effin cold outside!

IMHO... it is the coolest option out there! And also one that not all manufacturers have...

JT01

Another thing to consider is how many GLKs out there have/don't have this option.

It my my guess that most don't. I think this is because of the price and the fact that it is not a common option for most manufacturers.

The GLK is new now but there will inevitably come a day when there are many being sold used.

That said, if you are reselling your vehicle you may not get more for it because of the keylessgo, but, it may help get the sale. Also, should it ever become a standard feature for future GLKs (or even an optional feature for the Ford Flex, for example), you'll wish you ad it.

JT01

Leather or MBTex is purely a matter of opinion. There are definitely differences but the MBTex could probably fool most people. I really like the leather in mine... but if you're going black... the MBtex is very similar to the black leather (IMO).

Save the money on the leather and get the keyless go!! That's my suggestion!

fhrstephen

Yeah, makes sense. I'm in SoCal, so I don't have your gloves problem. =)
One thing I was worried about though is the aluminum trim right next to the ignition... would suck if my keys scratch that up. Will think it over, thanks.

fhrstephen

What interior are these thumbnails from? Looks nice. Your signature says you have wood trim, yet the photo shows aluminum...

JT01

The pics are from mine. Look again... it is wood trim. Even with the wood trim , part of the door handles are still aluminum. Looks sweet!

fhrstephen

So how does that work with the color of the seats vs the color of the ceiling/sides/dash? I assumed if I got tan leather, I'd get a tan interior... you note that you have a black headliner with beige leather... is black headliner with beige leather standard?

JT01

No it is not. I am told the headliner colour can be picked independently (in Canada anyway) but your dealer can confirm this for you.

You are correct though, beige seats typically has beige head and foot-liner as well as beige components on the dash. The black seats (both MBtex and Leather) typically have a grey headliner.

I asked the question when I first joined the forum cause I hadn't seen my interior colour combo before...

fhrstephen

I'm about to pull the trigger and order the car exactly how I want it. Priced it out on carsdirect.com, and my dealer is willing to beat that price, which is already below invoice according to Edmund's... any advice regarding getting a better deal, or should I already be quite happy with that?

Thanks.

NYCGLK

What's there not to be happy about?

kl07rph

fhrstephen, where are you located in the US? I'm having difficulty in Chicago trying to find any dealer willing to take discounts

fhrstephen

Southern California.

Have you tried http://www.carsdirect.com? Their price according to Edmunds is less than invoice... and the dealer I wanted matched it.

Ordered my car a couple weeks ago... will take until end of January to get here. =(

-S

kl07rph

Thanks for the quick reply! Sigh, I wish I was still back in LA; no luck here even w/ Edmunds, but I guess I'll try out carsdirect. I'm guessing you had a great deal from Fletcher Jones or Penske/West Covina? Despite the long wait, I'm sure it will be worth it!