Parents forced into new car, which one?
 

So financial woes (impending foreclosure on second property, why the hell did we buy that thing anyways :confused:) have brought us to the conclusion that we should purchase a new car before our credit score takes a skydive off the empire state building. We've narrowed down our choices between a GLK350 and the Acura RDX. Even though were leaning towards the Acura since we've had a wonderful experience with our current 04' MDX, there would probably be benefits to having 3 Benz's in the stable. My parents have made their conclusions and I've made mine, but I'm still undecided. Both of our closest family friends have one of the cars we've chosen, but it seems the GLK may be the way to go. I've done my research, and I've came here to ask a few questions.
1. Do you feel the interior is cheap? I feel that way whenever I see photos of it and when I saw a close friend's brand new GLK when she bought it mid-November.
2. Rear leg room, this was a problem I saw in the various reviews of it I watched, is it that bad? Especially coming from a mid-sized SUV where legroom seemed just adequate?
3. Do you feel it would be more worth it if we went for a 1-2 year old ML or GL? I've sort of considered that alternative, especially since there a good deal on a 08' ML550 with 46k.

Without getting into discussion how financial woes leads you to decision to buy a brand new car, which is worst financial investment, here is my take.

1. a little bit, but what do you want from 40k car, it is sturdy. 2 years later and no rattles, that's more important to me

2. I (6ft) have sat in back seat behind 5ft 5in driver with plenty of room for my knees.

3. Depends what you need the car for (big vs. small size and agility). Keep in mind that new cars usually have better financing terms, but take a dive in resale in 1st year. I would take MDX over ML, but GLK over RDX.

Well, I know that the GLK along with its competitors will hold its worth over the years, so I'm leaning towards other things like amenities. Compared to the RDX, I think the GLK is superior, although I'm not to happy with the interior or its size. Which is why I brought up the ML, which I think at least, has what we need, big space to haul things around, and agility isn't a very important thing in this decision, nor is power very much. I'm taking a test drive later this week so maybe my opinions will change.

Who is the car for you or your parents?

My parents, but I figured since I know more about cars than them and since I'll be driving it around too I should have a good say in it.

Some good answers here.

One, the acura styling is well... :puke:The grill has been equated to a can opener. If you like it that's what is important. Even the die-hard afficionados for Honda are complaining about their design direction. They are building truly ugly cars.

In fact, most of the sport utes and mini vans come from the school of supository design. I'm sure styling is one of the things that draws people to the GLK.

Wifey really liked the ML and I liked the Bluetec motor. But it was a lot more money than the GLK we got, and I like the size. It's easy to drive and park. I sold my Duramax crew because we sold our boat and didn't need a big tow vehicle. Yes, I could have kept it and used it like a car, it got pretty much the same mileage as the GLK. But ride and manueverability were HUGE motivating factors to trade off. And keep pretty much the same payment. Niether one of us would be considered 'large', so the car feels plenty roomy. BTW, the ML styling is almost mine-van looking, the newer ones being a LOT more attractive than the earlier ones.

You said handling and agility weren't important, that may lead you to the ML. Same power train for the GLK in a compact package, so performance, handling, and power are amazing. The driving is what sold me on the GLK. The rest of it becomes an aquired taste, which BTW, I absolutely love this car. Once of the finest out of a couple of dozen cars over the years. But I'm partial to MBZ and I will say upfront that I'm biased towards them anyway.

I can't speak for compaing interior styling to Acura or Lexus as I don't care for japenese cars so I never really looked at them. The RX is said to be very plush, as is Audi. The Benz is nicely done and very well engineered. It is probably typically european-austere compared to the others. Sure is comfy though.

I also really like how BMW builds cars, but it was going to be a bit before the new X3 came out. I just couldn't get past the looks on that one either though. Now if it was a sedan or coupe, then yeah, woud probably have to be a BMW. They drive even better than the benzos.

All of this is subjective though and just my personal opinion. They're all good cars so you really can't miss. Whatever appeals to you most. Personally I have to actually like the car I drive or I'm constantly looking for a replacement. What do they say, beauty may be skin deep but ugly is to the bone? :D

IMO nothing like getting deeper in debt just to get something that does nothing but depreciate:smash: Makes a lot of sense to me.:nix:

Well, its either buy a new car or keep our current 100k+ Acura for another 4 years. Were not that bad in debt, hell we could afford the GLK even if I kept the property we want to let go of.

Can't say that I know any kids that control their parents money unless you are much older than you want me to think. In your last post you said,

"Were not that bad in debt, hell we could afford the GLK even if I kept the property we want to let go of."

Don't mean to focus on your parents or maybe it's your financial woes but you need a Honda Element.:smash:

I don't control my parents cash, I just want them to make a right choice in a investment that they don't know so much about.

CJBROWN, thanks for the input, it doesn't seem that we'll be looking at the Acura, but I think I'll have to consider the newer X3. I mentioned the ML since it fits our needs better than the GLK, we still have stuff to haul around that the MDX we have now couldn't swallow up with ease, long trips we plan to take (with 4-5 passengers). I think the only reason why the GLK was brought up by my parents is because the MDX is apparently too large to drive around.

keeping 100k acura makes way more sense financially. If your parents HAVE to finance a new car, they prolly can't afford a new luxury car. but that's :topic:

If they want newer car of decent size, I'd get 3-4 year old MDX. Don't get me wrong I like GLK a lot, but I rarely use back seats or the trunk.

Well, I trust my parents judgement since this decision has been at least 3 months in the making. I probably never should have mentioned the whole financial deal, long story short, we can definitely afford the new car.

Anyways, I want to get back to what I actually wanted to get back from this thread.

Does anyone else have problems with the rear seats? Plus, whats the ride and comfort like on extended rides? Is the suspension stiff, or soft? I've heard mixed opinions from various reviews.
Did anyone else consider the Q5? What made you feel the GLK was the better choice?
Thats pretty much all I have to ask until I try the car for myself later this week.

A car is a very personal choice, you should really go out and test drive your options and take others' experience only as secondary input. I picked the GLK over Audi and Volvo only because I want something smaller and relatively inexpensive. I have an older ML that served me well through the years for snowboard trips to the mountain in the Winter but I want something more civilized and smaller and the GLK fits exactly my need, it is also very smooth largely because it is basically a C class. I commute to work everyday in my SLK but I am thinking of using the GLK more because of the ride quality. But be warned, when picking the GLK, you should not have any considerations for the rear passengers or cargo space, because they are really limited.

yup as coolboarder said rear seats are probably a bit tight for daily use for real adult-sized people. A 5 year old fits back there fine with the booster seat. But I don't think I'd put adults or even teenagers back there every day. Same with cargo room. If you're looking for either pick another vehicle. If you want a small, maneuverable SUV then this is a good pick.

Exactly.

I bought my GLK for the princess:

Kind of Off Topic; BUT, I think you or you guys should take care of debt or foreclosure first!! This is not a great time for you or you guys to have a luxury or brand new car; especially, if you guys have decided to let one of your or your parent's property go, you guys can even handle what you currently have..

This kind of subject make me angry; see where we, America, are... it's all happend because of selfish American who want to have more and more even can't afford!!

An if You guys can afford to buy brand new car;; don't even worry about credit score; just buy when you are ready with your cash...no need to finance

Well I went with my parents today expecting to come back with a nice GLK, but instead we decided to go with a Q5. CPO, 15K, and we got it for 41K. 3.2 with Premium Plus, MMI, 19" wheels, heated front seats. My parents and I felt it was the better package after test driving both it and the GLK. Apparently the Q5 is selling so well that in the 4 hours we were at the dealer, 3 other people came to look for the exact one we were eying and one customer even tried to test drive one while we were trying to sign the papers. Plus they had no new ones in stock.

that's kind of pricey

We tried to negotiate prices, but it seems 4 other people had tabs on the car and we only managed to get 500 off of the car and 200 added to our trade in. I'm particularly satisfied with the car, the interior color is just amazing, black on cinnamon brown.

Um. I'm with NYC. Sounds like that was pretty high for a CPO? Unless you're not telling us about some options? Because it looks like invoice is 40900 on a new one.

Well as long as you are happy with it. That's all that counts.

It has heated front seats, multimedia package, and I thinkthe cinnamon brown leather brings the price up. AFAIK I'm very happy, salesman was nice enough to notice me admire a white s5 near his desk and offer me the chance to start the car up and rev it. Me being giddy and all, I took up on his offer. But I regret not remembering to tape it.

^lol...if he let you rev R8 it would be something worth mentioning. You could just go and take S5 for a test drive.

I think the point is that your parents could have bought the same car brand new for a fraction more after taking promotional financing into cosideration.