Hi MBWorld, I am a recent new owner of a 2015 GLK350 4Matic. I drove from WI to St. Louis to get it. Used car market is a b. 84k miles black with appearance package. The car seemed good on sight but I did not test drive it. I rode with the sales guy from Pappas Toyota from the back of the lot to the front, that's all. As I was leaving, I noticed warped rotors, and later a clicking noise on acceleration and cyclical vibrations at speed of 80-85. When I got home I noticed the cigarette lighter was stuck and the middle back seat belt was stuck. Under the hood the air intake was unclamped and the engine air filter housing connection was backwards and not clicked in. I noticed a ton of micro scratches on every single door handle pocket and area. Did wolfman own this SUV? I called a real dealership and setup an appointment at Knauz International Auto for an inspection. They quoted me for over $14k in repairs including a new transmission. One tire had nail in it so they quoted all 4 new tires. Three wheels were "bent" and showing a little rotational variance in the video. The front engine cover seal was leaking oil down the front. The front rotors were warped. Service A was due as well. I told them the stealership in St. Louis gave me a powertrain (engine, trans, axles) warranty. Warranty said they will not cover engine seal and needs evidence for transmission work. I had to agree to pay $900 something for a trans service to collect evidence. Now they are reviewing data and will get back to me today hopefully.
I called St. Louis and the GM doucher said they employ over hundred people and have one guy prep the used cars at a flat rate. They have been doing this for 30 years and will not change. He said they cannot make cars like-new because it costs too much. I asked him for help in paying this because none of this was disclosed. He said they don't pay for wear and tear items. I really have the worst luck with vehicles.

Have a great day everyone!

 

Sorry to hear of your problems, but I wouldn't attribute it to luck...

 

Another GLK I was eying up was for sale but the dealer did not have service look at it yet so I waited over a week for them to get back to me. Still no service then a couple days later the sales guy said it sold without service looking at it. The used car market is a sellers market. If you don't buy it, someone else will. With limited inventory and an SUV no longer made is challenging.
My GLK was inspected by their service and reported on CarFax at least. I would hope a respectable top Car Guru dealer would not sell a broken down vehicle. From the quick ride-along, I didn't notice anything major so I thought all was decent.

 

Your supposed to get a vehicle inspected BEFORE you buy it. , 900$ for a trans service for what? , doesn’t it shift right? Even that price is excessive. A few things your making an issue that are not.

 

Correct, it's called a pre-purchase inspection. That WOULD be a good idea but as I mentioned the seller's-market, this one would have sold before I did it. Or I would complete the inspection and then they sell it to someone else before I can make a deal. $200 for nothing. I expected to find a few things wrong with any used Mercedes, and I would be okay with that.
The $900 was for them to open up the transmission and check for damage.
I'm surprised the dealership didn't offer to patch the nail tire instead of suggesting getting all new tires.

 

Maybe that would have been a better idea.

Really sorry for your misfortune but it seems largely self-inflicted. Car dealerships have a horrible reputation for a reason. By the sounds of it this car has not been maintained and it has probably been severely abused. The long-term prognosis will likely be pretty grim even if you fix the stuff that was found. Getting whatever you can from the dealership and unloading the car would seem to be your only reasonable option.

 

Indeed a good option. Besides the warped rotors the vehicle drove just fine. Accelerated fine and shifted smooth. I am surprised the current dealership found burnt fluid and metal shavings. These must be good transmissions.
I like the idea of dumping it karmikan thanks for the idea.
Every state has different used car sales laws. In WI, there is legal recourse for selling a used POS as a dealer. In MO, they have to pass a safety inspection including emissions in order to sell it. Wonder what they have in Canada?

 

In Canada it varies province to province but I believe a 30 day warranty from a used car dealer is mandatory nationwide.

 

Most GLK350s are quite reliable. Ours went 155,000 miles with only routine maintenance, except for the “warped” brake rotors. Sorry to hear that yours isn’t one of those.

Here are some truisms:
Be wary of used Mercedes Benzes for sale at other brands’ dealers. [Many of these weren’t well maintained. Learned this the hard way.]
No one at the dealership is you friend. [They’d like you to think so, but your money is their target.]
Dealers like to pad recommended repairs. [You didn’t buy it there. Some of them “chum the waters” to get you to bite. Been there, too.]

The Toyota dealer sold a warranty that doesn’t cover oil leaks, and wants proof of transmission failure the brand dealer???
The Mercedes dealer recommends 4 new tires because one has a nail in it, and wants $900 for diagnostics ???

Wow!

All dealers are not created equal. That includes MB dealers. Some would like you to come back. Others couldn’t care less. Both the one who sold you the GLK and the one servicing it sound like the second type.

I don’t know what consumer remedies are available in your state, but most treat car sales separately from regular purchases. Some have full refund periods, others have specifics regarding disclosure and warranties.

 

consolidation is that GLK is one of MB's most reliable models. If you can find a good dealer or independent shop to fix the issues you might be able to break even 'long term'.

Warped rotors are common issue, so that likely would have happened with any other GLK. Strangely, the middle seat belt was also stuck when I bought mine brand new. Dealer had to replace it.

 

Cars and houses are better left alone for another 12 months. I'm afraid to ask what you paid for it.
Buying 7 year old Benz without test driving it and relying on dealership to fix it is pretty stupid. You buy 3 year old RAV4 in that case, which is also stupid because they essentially don't depreciate.
Bent rims/ warped rotors / worn tires / deferred maintenance is part of the game with used car.
First, thing you do is assume nothing was done and do full maintenance. Time to learn to DIY and save a few thousands.

 

OP also has the updated engine and 4matic which makes matters worse (from a maintenance repair perspective). For the paint, detail it. See if warranty covers warped rotors - if not, replace them and pads. Fix the little connection/clamp issues which should be easy/cheap/free. Shame about the front cover leak, expensive lesson learned, but assess how bad the leak is and go from there. Interesting findings about the transmission, you said it shifted and drove fine, but shop found metal shavings. Some are expected, and if the transmission shifts fine complete the service and drive the car. If dealer replaces it, great, new transmission and torque converter, but if it functions fine service and forget it. What's also strange is that the shop even checked the fluid to begin with. There's no easy dipstick to use. This means they almost assumed you would service it (unless they were going to just drain a super tiny bit and examine it but that's not very useful). It sounds like they dropped the pan. Have the shop do an oil change and brake fluid flush if you don't know when it's last been done. The dealer should replace the tire with the nail in it, maybe chip in to straighten wheels. Test drive your damn cars!

I love my 2011 GLK and would love a facelift model, but don't want to lose the bulletproof engine reliability. Up to 210k miles, probably one of the highest in the country. Interior looks like it has 5k miles. Bought for 4.2k pre-pandemic. I couldn't even buy a 97' Rav4 for that right now.