gegori

So I am looking on getting a new GLK350 in white and wanted the lighting package + Multimedia (the Nav+4 is a joke) since my C300 has the P2 with Bi-Xenon lights. No dealer seems to have them. One dealer in MD tells me that there is only 1 in NJ. What's the deal with MB? You can get Audis and BMW's with xenons and most Japanese cars have them standard. The dealer says that customers don't want them. I find that hard to believe. Any thoughts?

rmfnla

I had the same experience when I got my GLK.

I would have been very happy without heated seats and the entertainment hook-up for the rear passengers but those were on almost every car the dealer had while none of them had Xenons, and I didn't feel like waiting for a special-order car.

Heated seats in Southern California? Who makes these decisions?!

NYCGLK

yea usually xenons come on very loaded cars and are hard to find, but they are worth the effort and price imo

Spooner

Mine was the only one I found in 2 months of looking with it.

GouLuKat

Same thing for me, no one had the Xenon Pkg, I was told the same thing, buyers prefer the Premium Pkg with the Pano roof instead of the lighting Pkg, I think it should be standard equipment but....

n5160u

It is the dealers that order vehicles for inventory without the lighting package that are the cause of this shortage of lighting package equipped cars. They do this because they feel that buyers won't notice the lack of xenons on the stealershp floor, but will notice the lower MSRP. The same holds true for the leather package. The dealers won't order for inventory a leather package equipped vehicle.

Most dealers have several vehicles in the order pipeline at any point in time. They are allowed to change the content of the order up until the last week before the actual production date, so although they cannot change a GLK order into a C300, they can change everything else. When I special ordered my GLK they took a standard GLK already scheduled for delivery to them with only the pano roof as an option and changed the color while adding every option package except keyless go that I wanted to the order. The car was built the next week and took about a month to get shipped to the dealer. The car I received was exactly what I wanted and for the price I was going to have to pay, I would never consider buying another vehicle any other way. For almost 50 large, it doesn't make any sense to settle for anything less than exactly what you want. Good things are always worth waiting for.

Spooner

It really is ridiculous that it isn't standard. I had a MKV GTI and it was standard in that and cost half as much as the GLK. They were leveling but didn't turn. They should make leveling standard, then maybe the turning feature an option.

gegori

Thanks for all your replies. So at the end, I ended up getting a Artic White GLK350 with P1+Multimedia. I wrote to MBUSA and complained about the lack of the Bi-Xenon availability and they just told me it was a built to order option. I then informed them that the issue was finding GLKs on the lot that already had them and MB was "nickel and diming" its customers

Blaster

We are picking up ours today - I held out for one with 319 lights pack, in addition to P1, 320, 873, right color, etc. - dealer ultimately had to dealer trade for one that had just arrived at a dealership 1,000 miles away and bring it in on a truck, as by the time I was ready to buy, this was literally the only one with the options set we wanted in the pipeline anywhere, including those on the water, at port, etc. My local dealer at least, is going to start spec'ing the units they order for stock with 319 more frequently going forward they said. They also hadn't seen a GLK with leather yet in the 2.5 years these have been out- that appears to be even more rare than the lights.

Spooner

Mine must be the unicorn of GLK's as I have leather and lighting package

balticgreen

A few months ago, a local dealer had a GLK that was truly a special order (not just a regular factory order from the normal options) that had Cuprite Brown paint and Savannah Beige leather. It was gorgeous but that's the one and only GLK that I've ever seen with leather. I'm not sure what the exact story was on that car. As a special order, it wasn't just an allocation. Someone had to order it and then I guess they backed out of the deal because it was for sale on the lot with all the other cars.

I'd say so. I have a C Class with the Lighting package and... get this... mbrace. Talk about rare! I dealt directly with the sales manager and he commented that they see very few cars of any class with the Lighting package. I had looked at GLKs and MLs too and never saw one of either class with the Lighting package. Then I did my introductory mbrace call and the mbrace rep even said, "Wow, a C Class with mbrace. This is a first for me." So I think you and I both have unicorns, just of different colors.

NYCGLK

when I was looking for mine one of the choices was 55k+ glk with almost every option (including xenon, leather, rear DVD etc.).

I wanted (media, P1, xenon). Dealer found my car on the ship going to Colorado (had desired options plus appearance package and hitch). He was able to intercept it as it wasn't individual order.

Blaster

Yes, ours was originally a special order that someone backed out of before it arrived. Went from a priority 1 to priority 4 last week and my sales manager grabbed it. We feel fortunate, as it has black leather in addition to other options we might not have gotten otherwise, such as mbrace, park assist, etc. I know I don't have some type of collector's item in any sense, but wonder if MB could tell us just how many similar cars are out there, as this is the only one I have seen like it in 5 months of looking. Might make the coming years of depreciation more bearable.

rmfnla

More like the white elephant; MB Tex is so nice I have never wanted real leather, even in the MBs I have had that had it!

That being said, I'd take it if it meant getting the Xenons...

Spooner

Yeah I just wanted the lighting package, the leather was just a bonus. Funny thing is I don't think the dealer even knew it had it-I noticed it right away as the stitching was different from the other GLK's I had driven.

rmfnla

You are probably right; leather is pretty rare on the lower-priced MBs.

The good news is you got the Xenons; I'm jealous!

arklab

First time posting here, great place!
Just last night I picked up my Special Order GLK 4matic, and my eyes are still crossed - almost as much paper work as a house.

Anyway, I used MB of Laguna Niguel, and they do have a few with lighting package just about all the time.

As an aside, I noticed a tag hanging behind the seat (ordered heated leather), and I'm not sure yet but I think it mentioned something about a "salvaged leather material" or some such.
I'm probably wrong about this, and can't check until after work - so disregard for now.

If someone really wants lighting package, I understand it can be ordered from inventory.
They also have a green one with memory on the passenger seat, too.

lkchris

I would be one that wouldn't want HID lighting and the following describes reasons nicely. Doesn't apply to everybody of course.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...dvantages.html

rmfnla

Yeah, but the Bi-Xenons are so damn cool and that is more important than anything in that article!

gegori

Daniel Stern has a point but in terms of the color temp but there are other advantages of HID lights. My previous C300 had the HIDs and the main benefit was the total lack of any dead spots on the beam pattern and the beam pattern is much wider than stock halogens. On my dad's 2003 Audi, the HIDs are 5000K bulbs and are more bluish and some people may say that it tires out the eyes more than a 4300k bulb. Mercedes uses a 4300K HID bulb and I think it does a very good job in terms of brightness. Now I must say that on the GLK, the standard halogens have the true ECE beam patterns so the cutoff beam is much more pronounced than the HID beam pattern. They are very similar to my old school Hella 5x7 H4s I used to have in my Saab back in the 80s. Those lights were great.

For now, I'll have to get some OSRAM nightbreakers and test them out.

NYCGLK

1. The color argument makes no sense to me. I'd rather see farther than be able to tell white from yellow with more certainty.

2. False or not, but I do feel much more comfortable driving at night with xenons compared to non-xenon C300 rentals I've had.

3. I see the point that your eyes adjusts to too much light and see worse further out, but what you can see with high beam xenons seems much further out than with halogens.

4. Most xenons swivel in turns, which increases lighting of the actual road in turns significantly.

jonnyrt

I too am upgrading my MKV GTI for a 2012 GLK and agree, for a vehicle that costs double these luxuries should come standard!

venchka

Lisa built a Unicorn GLK as well. Everything you have plus 4MATIC, a hitch, mbrace, Keyless go, probably something else I'm forgetting. And mud flaps as soon as it arrives.
We don't have the AMG package (Appearance instead) or Parktronic.

danmor

I just picked up my 2012 two weeks ago and really wanted the lighting package. Dealer searched all of US with no luck and nothing on its way. I didnt want to special order because of the time involved so I settled with P1, MM, heated seats, parktronic in silver. I've been buying Mercedes for 20 years now since I was 20 and its always been tough to get all the options from a dealer ordered car. They generally try to keep certain price points and Mercedes is crazy with their option cost and lack of standard features. They have improved over the years as competition dictates. I have an 07 E350 with complete Nappa leather so the MB tex in my GLK is easier to live with!

venchka

If it is an early build 2012 GLK, you probably got the real MM package with DVD/CD changer. All of the MM equipped 2012 GLKs on the lot in Tyler, TX have the changer. Build-It-Youself in October gets the single disc player. Such is life.

Wayne
A pocket full of MP3s waiting on a GLK. CDs? Who uses CDs?