I need help with a GLK purchase decision. I'm five years into my C240 and ready for a new vehicle. No dealer in the (US) mid-Atlantic states (including my own dealer) has on the lot a GLK with the bi-xenon headlight option. My dealer explained that it's just not something popular here. If I want it, I have to order the vehicle. That's fine, but here's the dilemma -

How can I know that the bi-xenon option is worthwhile if I don't have the opportunity to try it before I special order the GLK? I could save a lot of time and certainly some dollars purchasing the car off the lot. I don't want an HID after-market option or a modification.

I'm the first to admit that my night vision is terrible. I avoid night driving to the extent possible. My C has horrible road lighting despite multiple adjustments to the headlight angle and height. As far as turning corners - forget about it - I just can't see.

I'm thinking that bi-xenon would at minimum be an improvement over the standard, but I half to wonder how much so. I live in an urban area where the majority of streets and highways are lit.

One other thing I can't figure...seems to me the bi-xenon option places the LED daytime running lamps in the fog lamp position. If that's the case, where are the fogs? Am I missing something?

Any help, insight or advice would be much appreciated. In the interim, I'm borrowing from my dealer a GLK tomorrow evening to take out on a night drive. Maybe the standard lighting will be sufficient?

 

I have had HIDs on my last several cars. But not on the GLK.
Why?
Well the HIDs were on most of the cars that I bought out of stock. And the one that I ordered, I didn't feel like poring over an options list half the afternoon, so I told the Guy I wanted every option except AWD. So I got HIDS.
They are better than Halogens. But you already knew that.

But I didn't get them on the GLK.
Because I try not to drive at night. Of course, sometimes I have to. But usually it is local.
I find the GLK Halogens to be more than adequate in town.
Pretty good on rural roads.
And lacking a bit on the interstate.
I feel like I am overdriving the Halogens at 75 MPH at night, whereas with HIDs (At least Cadillac's) I felt safe.

So, all in all, I am very satisfied with the Halogens.
Of course if I was going to do a lot of night driving on Interstates, I would have nothing but HIDs.

 

Thanks RedRover. I really appreciate your insight.

I hope others with an opinion or experience will chime in as well.

 

A quick search in Navstar shows the following dealers with GLK with
Lighting Packages in stock all in the mid-atlantic.

Euro Motorcars Mercedes (Bethesda, MD) has 3 in stock
Pohanka Automotive Group (Salisbury, MD) has 2 in stock
Mercedes Benz of Alexandria (Alexandria, VA) has 1 in stock
Mercedes-Benz of Wilmington (Wilmington, DE) has 1 in stock
American Service Center Mercedes-Benz (Arlington, VA) has 1 in stock
Mercedes-Benz of Tyson's Corner (Vienna, VA) has 2 in stock
Mercedes Benz of Baltimore (Baltimore, MD) has 1 in stock
R&H Motor Cars Ltd. (Owings Mills, MD) has 1 in stock

Most of the above cars are fully loaded GLK with MSRP between 46-50k but all of them have Lighting Packages, so if you want to test drive a car at night to see how bright the bi-xenon headlight are those car will work.

Tell your dealer to search in Navstar option 317. More than likely the salesman you are dealing with is being lazy and does not want to look in Navstar and just sell you something they have in stock. I do not know where you are located at all otherwise I could give you a more specific list of dealers with cars in stock. I see 113 GLK either at VPC or dealer show rooms in the South East region within 100 miles of zip code 20066 and of those 113, 12 do have Lighting Package. So while that might not be a very popular option some dealers do have cars with that option in stock.

 

WOW cyberjak - THANK YOU. I was just at my dealer yesterday (in Bethesda) and was informed none were in stock, although a few were on the way (customer factory orders). All but two of the dealers (Wilmington and Salisbury) you listed are nearby, so I'll be making lots of calls tomorrow. If needed, I'll buzz up to Wilmington, or down to Salisbury, each about 100 miles away, just to check out the lighting package.

Really great info. Thanks again.

 

It is very possible some of them are at VPC and destined to go to those dealership I listed as I did not pull up each car and verify where it was located or if it was marked Priority 1(means customer order car) vs Priority 2(dealer stock order car). I just search option 317 and cut and paste the name of the dealers showing those cars on the ground at either VPC or dealer showroom.

So like your local dealer claims all the ones they have coming in with lighting package are pre-sold that could be the case with some of the ones showing in Navistar. But just so you know when the E-Class Cabs came out every car was marked Priority 1 in the system no joke, and about 2/3rd of them were not really sold, dealers some times mark cars Priority 1 if it is high demand car or a car with high demand options because they do not want other dealers calling them trying to dealer trade for that car, because they know they can sell it easily. And considering their are only 12 GLK with light package in Mid-Atlantic region that could be the case on some of those cars. So definitely worth a call to all the above dealers to find out if any of those cars are available.

 

In Europe is the Intelligent Light System (ILS), available as an option. We went for it on our 2010 model, as I my night vision is terrible as well (at an age of 40 one needs 2 times the light in comparison (in general) with the one 20 years, and the one at 60 needs 5 times -!).

The ILS have four "modes" of operation, and you will see how it works on a video on this link:
http://www4.mercedes-benz.com/manual...ience/ils.html

- and in writing:
http://www4.mercedes-benz.com/manual...html#d10e11617

The cornering mode is to me the most significant feature, and going from halogens to Bi-Xenons (as we have had from our former car on), is an improvement as well.

Note that the Cornering Light mode used to be an option to the ILS - and still may be.

The negative part is (here at least) the price of the xenons (however do they last longer) compared to halogen bulbs, and the mechanical devices supporting the ILS. The more gadgets - the more will Murphy love it.

However may the daytime driving lights be deactivated/activated by the Multifunction Display.

With regard to LED daytime running lamps and/or fog lamps do I not know, in lack of details on the 2011 model. If your dealer cannot tell either, would an approach to ours be an option, if so wished.

 

Right-o. Surely my dealer would have offered these to me if they weren't pre-sold. Still, I'll discuss your findings with him. If he plans to sell me a GLK, I'd hope he would do the legwork to find models whereby I could compare base vs. the lighting package.

Thanks again for all your assistance.

 

Thanks GLKKa2H - I was familiar with the instructions/information you linked in your message. I'm not certain, but I believe in the US the lighting package isn't entirely the same as the Euro ILS. Regardless, I'd welcome any improvement over my C-Class experience. The only way I can know for certain is to drive a bi-xenon-equipped GLK at night.

 

It costs the dealer money to do a dealer trade, just so you understand, no dealer on planet earth is going to do a dealer trade so you can "Compare" a feature. Most dealers are not going to tell you to goto XYZ dealer to see a feature either because once you walk into the other dealership and show any interest in that car, that dealer will be less willing to give up that car in a trade because they will think if you want the car, you should buy it from them over buying it from your preferred dealer.

So you can not blame your dealer for refusing to do dealer trade so you can see how lighting package works/looks in use. It will cost them money in forum of transportation plus either another car or out right purchase of that car from other dealers inventory at a cost above their normal purchase price from Mercedes directly. So if you were a dealer would you dealer trade a car which could ultimately end up costing you real dollars and end up being a loss down the road, so a customer can see 1 option? And if your were the salesman would you tell a customers we do not have the car, go to another dealer to see the option you want because I do not want to make any money on the deal? More than likely not.

It is very common for dealers to trade car, if a customer has put down a deposit etc as they know the sales is going to happen but I doubt many dealers are willing to chance or worse yet take a loss just so you can see an option which you may or may not like.

I thought you said the dealer told you their were no cars available for him to dealer trade, in an effort to sell you something off his lot and he was just being lazy and not looking in Navistar but no offense you seem to be semi unreasonable about what you expect or want. You personally would not spend your money or time doing something that ultimately may end up loosing you money. And why should the dealer do the same?

 

The dealer is not even going to send you over to another dealer to try one. That's marketing 101. 90% chance you will never come back. I'ld rather order one for you.

 

Correct because it costs them nothing to order a car with lighting package as they are allotted X number cars per month and they are obligated to buy those cars no matter what, they can not say to MBUSA sorry, you know the GLK are selling a little slow this month, I do not want the 14 you allotted me but just 6 vs dealer trading costs them money. The reason dealers do not mind dealer trading for cars, is some profit is better than nothing which is why the dealer giving up the car marks it up a bit over what he paid MBUSA and the dealer getting the car does not mind because otherwise he would not be able to make the sales so some profit is better than nothing.

 

I have HID on my GLK. I'll never buy another car without HID

 

^^ What he said.

 

Thanks everyone for your comments and information.

I'm putting this thing to rest. Going to order the vehicle rather than try to find one on the lot. It'll be Borolo Red with the lighting package

 

Do *me and my family* a favor and get the best lighting you can. This should be a no-brainer for you.

Thanks, we appreciate your cooperation.

 

My friend has xenons on 07 Mazda 3. I think xenons/LED should be standard on all cars. But xenon package makes it hard to find a car on a lot. Cars with xenons were too loaded (55k+)

 

Good choice Iggier!

I am from Canada and when I bought mine, the only one at the lot that I liked was with Bi-Xenon option. My wife was a bit reluctant but I chose it anyway. haha! Now we never regret what I chose!

I live up on the mountain and need to drive on a highway with no light at some parts. I can tell you the HID is so much better than the normal lighting I had (a 2007 mini cooper). Also the headlights will follow my steering wheel to turn a bit left or right to make me see better of the curve. I can see a lot farther and clearer now. When I turn right or left at the corner/intersection, the ILS will lit up another light to make the driver see clearer about the corner. This feature shocked me a few times that I thought there was another car closing by on my first few days.

Not to mention this option includes the LED taillights (not sure about US) which makes the car a bit more...umm...prettier...

 

Well...according to the MBUSA website, the lighting packing includes LED taillamps, but on the pre-purchase specification printout from my dealer the lighting package doesn't indicate this .

I'm still trying to figure out the location of the fog lamps since it appears they're displaced by the LED DRLs.

I've read that US laws prohibit ILS, though the lighting package as described for the US seems to be pretty much the same as for Euro or Canadian

Waiting for an MB tech to call me so I can obtain answers.

 

Iggier, I ordered my 2011 GLK350 2 months ago, and am set to receive it tomorrow or Wednesday. When I ordered it the Lighting package did not mention the LED tail lamp turn signal. I knew it was in the package on 2010, so I figured it became standard.

Now that 2011 is out on the website, I see the lighting package still has led tail lamp turn signal included, so as long as you order the package you should get it.

Also, when I ordered the car, the LED DRL was not specified in the lighting package, so I thought it was going to be an option. But I'm glad it is uncluded.

 

 

FYI - for anyone who might wonder. Just spoke to a tech from MBUSA. The lighting package in the US eliminates the front fog lamps, replacing them with the LED daytime running lamps (the single rear fog lamp remains). In addition, rear turn signals are LED though the brake lights are conventional.

 

Shak, what other options did you go for???

The options I wished I'd went for:
Keyless Go
Bi x lights

 

Only options I got were the lighting package and running boards. The running boards look great, but I knew they were a pain in the butt before I added the option. Unfortunately according to my company's car plan if the manufacture of the vehicle offers running boards, it must be equipped with it.

I love the lighting package, driving at night is so much for fun than in the day, lol. Since this was my first vehicle purchase (previous have been hand me down or parents - for college) I wanted to keep the cost of the vehicle as low as possible and opted not to go for P1 or keyless go.

I opted for a more basic GLK than a pretty nicely loaded Acura RDX. I'm pretty happy with my choice!

 

If your driving mostly at night,go for it, if not save the extra dough plus they are more expenssive if you have to replace them.