mbthom

I should be picking up the GLK today or tomorrow. The sales guy placed the order after we negotiated the vehicle sales price. I signed an order form but we didn't finalize everything. I'm sure the paperwork will have some extra goodies on it.

This is my first new car purchase. Any line items I should ask them to remove? Rustproofing, generic handling charges, etc? Feel free to leave any advice.

If anything is too fishy I'll just walk away.

kyoshiro

rust proofing = doesn't need to be done imo, it has rust proofing done from factory and extra rust proofing can get real messy as they poke holes and spray in.
Where bouts are u getting it from anyhow? US or Canada?

mbthom

Midwest US

NYCGLK

there might be some fees and taxes tagged on besides the sales tax.

Ask for a free set of rubber floor mats, you might get them.

iewoals

depends on where you are but you may have a doc fee. You might be able to get rid of it. Might not. Depends on how low you are already on the price vs invoice. I'd say don't pay for anything except agreed to price + tax/title/license.

And yes, ask for free mats. They will probably toss in the rubber ones. But hey, free is free.

Good luck.

kyoshiro

+1 to rubber floor mats

cost of 1 set of rubber floor mats = 1/2 the price of the carpets lol

I'd be crying by now if it weren't for them.

Prob see if they can throw in some windshield fluid freebie =p

otherwise i dont see much else, maybe wheel locks? (tho i dont have em) but it really depends whether its garaged or not and whether your areas are shady or not.
I sadly dont know fees in relation to US deliveries so I cant comment on em. The rear cargo mat is also good to have and i dont know if the US bound vehicles have the collapsible box or not cuz we have it folded ontop of the spare tire compartment.

TaxEsq

Dealer convenience and preparation fee...at my dealer in N NJ this was $495, when I asked why they gave me a BS answer. So I motioned to my wife that it was time to go unless they removed it, they didn't immediately, we got up and began tow walk towards the door and before I could get there it was off...and we had a set of rubber mats and a cargo net thrown in. I love buying the art of wheeling and dealing.

MKenM

Keep in mind that when you go to pick up the vehicle the salesman will turn you over to someone who is supposed to handle the legal stuff.

That person not only handles that but he or she is a very slick closer. They will want to sell you all kinds of extras from windshield and wheel insurance to rustproofing, maintenance contracts, paint guarantees against acid rain scratches etc. (they wax the car annually for 5 years) for an outrageous price and many other extras.

Tell them you will think about it. Get the car look at the offers and come back to the forum and do searches on the things that you might be interested in. Most of the stuff is really high priced. But you can weigh it out without the sales pressure.

Enjoy the vehicle!!!

kyoshiro

the only thing that my salesman told me to get was the wheel insurance cuz of our all mighty potholes in Vancouver BC lol

depending on your area, you really could think about it as 20" rims arent exactly cheap, neither are 20" tires

n8nu

If you get the rim insurance read the fine print before getting it. I did get it for my GLK ($700 in Ontario, Canada) and reading the fine print paid off.

In the first week I drove over a curb and scratched a rim quite badly. When I got the insurance the person said 'if you drive over a curb, you are protected.' So I called up the dealership and they said 'oh no, you have to have tire damage as well.' Well the fine print doesn't say that. All the fine print says is 'cosmetic damage is covered...' So in the end the insurance cover the repair of the rim.

And man they did a great job - no idea where the 8" scratch is. Thought I got a new rim out of the deal.

kyoshiro

I actually never got the terms n conditions for my rim insurance lol or maybe i should check my packet/glove box again.

gsrjc

don't take any of the wheel protection or any of that other crap that financing might want to sell you.

MKenM

Well how did you make out? What extras did you end up with?

mbthom

Picked it up late Saturday afternoon. I ended up being stuck there for two hours, mostly waiting to see the next person. Thanks everybody for all the help and the warnings, especially you Ken. I was able to easily and successfully delay my decisions until Monday. It will be much easier to say 'no' over the phone than it is when they hold you hostage in their tiny offices.

They wanted me to bite on interior/exterior care packages, maintenance schedules, and wheel/tire insurance. But they weren't too pushy and didn't append any suspicious fees.

I am considering the wheel/tire insurance for $1000 for 3 years, as I live in a major city with tons of potholes and **** roads.

I didn't get them to throw in the rubber mats, so I'm going to order a pair. Is there a good go-to MB parts supplier online?

Edit: just saw this thread, https://mbworld.org/forums/glk-class...loor-mats.html so I'll prob just get these.

CJBROWN

The wheel and tire insurance thing is a joke. Just drive around the potholes.

If you don't use it you've wasted $700 to $1000. You can get a used wheel take off for a couple of hundred, a new tire for about the same. IF you need to. How often do you ruin a wheel or tire? I've bent one rim in 35 years. Was a custom alloy on my last MBZ and it was $200 for a replacement.

Lojack is another one that sounds compelling. Non-transferable, doesn't prevent damage, doesn't stop a chop-shop, and the car already has an alarm system. Ask your local PD what they think about Lojack. Most of them can't track them anyway. 12 years about they were over a grand, now six to eight hundred. Pretty soon they won't be able to give them away. What a joke.

Paint and interior protection? OMG. How 'bout a can of paste wax and a can of scotchguard. That is if you have fabric which these cars don't.

The maintenance contract for $500? Another OMG. The only service these cars need for the first 30K is oil changes. They tried to tell me I would have a hard time doing it myself as you have to reset the computer readout. OMG. And 10K miles is too long for an OCI - 5-7K is more appropriate. Mobil1 at Wallyfart. For me it's Amsoil in everything I own.

These are all high-profit add-ons for the finance manager - he gets a commission. Some of those guys make a TON of money on stupid people that think they have to have this stuff.

BTW, I see Akebono now has a part number for euro pads but I don't think they're here yet. Can't wait for those. I thought the brake dust on our bimmer was bad.

Okay, rant off. Back to regular programming....

MKenM

Whew Go CJB. OK so I never thought I would need wheel insurance and I agree that for the most part it is a money maker for the dealership. I have bought several Lexus over the years and was never pitched about many of the items that MB tries to sell.

With that said and $950.00 later I have a new rim on mine. So I am still $50.00 to the plus and you are right you may go forever without needing a new rim but when you are young do you buy term life insurance. Same difference you hope you bend a rim and they don't.

The larger the rim the more fragile. At 65 - 75 MPH in traffic sometimes you can't avoid those potholes.

BTW I know some people who have been successful in getting money back for a bent rim from towns who don't keep their roads in good repair.

So.......MBthom what did you decide on if anything?

CJBROWN

There's a factory 20" GLK rim on ebay right now for $275 'buy it now'.

I think the conti 20's are about the same cost.

YMMV



EDIT: Oh, and a 19 like I have for $222 BIN or best offer. $40 to ship (kinda high, they are about 20lbs so UPS Ground should be about $20) When sellers overcharge for shipping I will usually write and ask if I can send a pickup ticket on my own UPS account. I have yet to find any that wouldn't.
Also saw a set of 4 of the factory 20's for $799.

Personally I would rather have 17's on there. They ride better, more selection of tires, you can get something more aggressive for all terrain use, and they are almost half the cost. I'm seriously thinking of a whole set of 17" wheels and tires from Tire Rack and store the OEM's in the shop. The stuff off the C300/350 fit, same bolt pattern and offset.

EDIT 2: BTW, there is a local company to me here in Anaheim CA that chromes stock wheels on exchange. Cheap too, like $675 plus shipping two ways (you ship your stockers back in the boxes). Both sizes. So if you want that bling, they've got your thing.

MKenM

In my case I thought I had a bad rotor so I bought it to the dealer and they found the problem I guess I should have told them not to fix it and waited for an auction someplace and then waited to see if I could BIN or see if I was the high bidder and then wait for it to ship and then hope there were no nicks or scratches. I know you may not see my point but I bought a Mercedes Benz with new Pirelli's

NOT A HONDA with Kelly tires Hhmmmm what about these???



Please forgive the sarcasm but I hope you understand.

CJBROWN

No, I don't understand. But I live n so-Cal and stuff is so easy to come by. There are TONS of ebay listings for these wheels, very easy to get - have one shipped in from a neighboring state/somewhere close by, and have your damaged one changed out.

Just do a quick search on ebay. And no, they aren't scratched and beat up wheels. There are LOTS of take-offs because people put custom wheels on and so the OEM's get to be a dime a dozen.

I know, they tried to sell me the same tire and wheel warrranty, it just didn't make sense. When I buy new tires they always try to sell me a hazzard warranty. I have only had one damaged sidewall in the last 30 years or so, and maybe a flat or two that could be patched from the inside. By NOT paying the $100 the hazzard insurance every time I'm way ahead. If I ruin a tire I'll just buy a new one. People are fooled into buying a road hazard coverage on all four tires but how often are you going to ruin all four??? MAYBE you'll ruin one, and have to buy a new one. And it's always pro-rated, so you're never going to get the full value of a new tire unless it's within the first month or so after you purchase.

You can do whatever you want, I've just proved it's a waste of money. Though I do agree it's certainly more convenient for the typical MBZ owner where they can just drive in and have it covered.

mbthom

Gentlemen, I appreciate your thoughts on the wheel/tire insurance.

I decided to go for it. In my city, potholes are measured in feet (both diameter and depth) and can be completely unavoidable. I know the dealership will likely make out with some $$, but the theoretical ease of getting a replacement is what sold me. I like the AMG wheels so I would never buy an aftermarket set. Perhaps a knockoff that looked the same, but I would question the strength of said wheel.

I didn't consider any of the other garbage they were selling.