bwhitsonjr

Hello! My name is Bryan. Living in Southeast Texas about an hour and a half east of Houston. Been on a midsize SUV search for sometime and I've stopped here to get your opinions, thoughts, comments and personal experience. Thanks for having me!

pjw1967

Hi from The Woodlands. I've owned a 2000 Dodge Durango, a 2008 RAV4, a 2013 Durango R/T Hemi, and now we own a 2014 ML350 and as of 5 days ago, a 2014 GL450.
We came to MB due to my wife's desire to get an SUV. She didn't like the Durango. So she got the ML. It was a CPO with 30k on the clock. Love it. Some complain about the cushy ride, but that's what she wanted. It also has ventilated seats that work quite well. COMAND is not so hot. No touch screen. But sound is good and we don't use most of its features anyway.
I traded in the Durango for the GL. The D had a sport suspension but my body no longer does. So it is very like the ML but larger. Much taller than the Durango but only about an inch longer and wider. No ventilated seats, but the light almond interior is comfortable even in our heat. The GL has 3 row a/c but only halogen headlights which suck. If you go the CPO route, try to get the light package that includes the bi-xenon. You'll find that most CPO's were leased, so the options are all over the map. There is a pretty large drop in the value of the original options. Unfortunately few dealers put the actual MSRP on their websites. So trying to decode what a car actually has is a chore. MB of The Woodlands, does have it on their site https://www.mbotw.com/used-vehicles/...wned-vehicles/ I'm not trying to talk you out of a new one. If you are comfortable with leasing, go for it. You can order a new one and wait for it. I would highly recommend you look at the MB Woodlands site so you can seeing the options and what they cost. Of course MB has smaller suv's, the GLA and GLC, so it's all about the size you want.

bwhitsonjr

Thanks for the reply! I haven't considered the GL series due to cost of repair and size! We are a family of 3 and might not be growing... The ML will suit us fine I think. I don't plan on purchasing new or leasing. I'm going to purchase pre-owned. I will definitely check out MB Woodlands. To give you a better idea of where I'm at. Straight down 1960 to Liberty/Dayton and take Hwy 90 to Beaumont. I live in that area. So it would take me about 1 1/2 to get to The Woodlands. Thank you for providing a link to their website I will check that out. I apprecIate your personal experience with your MB. How do you like it? Any issues thus far? What does an oil change normally run you? She's currently driving an 09 Nissan Murano. She's always wanted a MB. If you think of anything else that might help me, by all means, please send it my way!

pjw1967

MB info is also all over the map. You can see the Carfax for any MB on any dealer's website. The ML we bought was out of Georgetown TX. I convinced the sales person to email me the MSRP so I could compare it to the one we were looking at locally at MBOTW. Wound up concluding a deal via text and email, subject they liked our trade and we liked their ML. Drove 3 hrs to Georgetown on a Friday. Within 12 minutes they had taken our Infiniti M37 for a ride and sgreed they would honor the trade in price they offered. I took the ML out for a serious test drive. All well. We were in and out with the ML in 75 minutes. Only 2 issues. The illuminated running board lights weren't working when we got home, and 2 days later the up/down easy entry steering wheel stopped working. Took it to MBOTW and both issues fixed in one day. No probs since and it's almost a year ago. When we looked at the ML's Carfax you could see that it had always been serviced at the selling dealer. It was not a lease. They told us the sales mgr's wife drove it. Most of the repairs done to it were on the Carfax. Same with the GL though it was a lease. Spent all it's life in Palm Springs, CA and always serviced at the selling dealer. If you go on the MBUSA CPO site https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/cpo and put in your zip at the top, it will bring up the inventory at the closest dealer and then you can search farther out. Almost as much fun as looking for a new one. Happy hunting!!

MJ50

welcome to the forum...

Cardfan91

Welcome to the forum. Our next car is probably going to be a ML for my wife.

PelicanParts.com

Welcome to MBWorld, Bryan. Good luck with your search and I am here if you ever need anything for whatever you end up purchasing.