A few weeks of Mercedes ownership (GL, E, A, GLC content)
Discussion
I have a 61-reg GL (X164) and my wife has a 62-reg E (W212).
My GL hasn't been quite right since I bought it but I wasn't sure how it *should* have been. The air suspension has a number of settings - you can raise it up for off-road use (it's actually a fairly useful off roader, and has centre and rear diff lockers as well as low range) but it has never been able to reach the upper height. It would stop, with the dash claiming the compressor needed to cool down by the time it had reached the 2nd stage (out of 3). OK, it was obvious something was wrong but I didn't know whether it was because the compressor was on its way out, there was a leaky suspension-bag, or a failed sensor.
Then more recently, the dash reported issues with the SRS airbag on one side, and I could hear a harmonic "thrumming" noise from the exhaust at crawling revs that echoed through the cabin. The car needed looking at.
I booked it into Solihull's Merc centre, and they replaced the compressor, sorted the SRS airbag out (faulty under-seat sensor) and replaced my exhaust back-boxes (they shouldn't have broken down at 50K miles but who knows how the previous owners looked after it?). They also advised me that it would need front disks and pads soon, and possibly rear pads. I declined those at that time as the cost of the work to date was somewhat more than £1600.
A couple of weeks on, and I noticed a clunk from the front suspension when I braked very hard. This pushed my decision to take it back to Solihull for the brakes work, and to look into the clunk. As it turned out, their technician recalled something from a Mercedes bulletin about torquing up the suspension, which totally cured the clunk, and while they had it they replaced the front and rear disks and pads, and the parking brake cable because the outer cable was frayed.
I also asked them to replace the 7G-Tronic fluid as the car was approaching 60K miles, and contrary to the "only replace the fluid once, at 30K miles" advice from Mercedes, I like to replace mine *every* 30K miles as I tend to keep my cars well into the 100+K miles territory.
That was another £1800 in total.
In stating the costs, I make no complaint about the value for money. The jobs needed doing, and I'm aware of Mercedes' rates. And ultimately I now feel that I have given the car every excuse to last the next few years. I love the car, and I'll continue to maintain it at (almost) any cost.
During those two visits, I was loaned a car. The first time I received an A180 automatic which is about as different to my GL350CDI as you could imagine, however it was a complete laugh. It was like driving a roller skate. It was fast, handled poor road surfaces well, turned into corners with hilarious amounts of grip, and was nicely spec'd inside. It had a soft carbon fibre dash - really unusual but looked very contemporary - and those "sports" seats which were incredibly comfortable. And it only used 40 quid of petrol in the sort of time frame my GL would have used £100.
During the second visit, I was loaned a GLC250, a 2-litre turbo petrol 4-cylinder. I kind of groaned a little when I started it up, expecting it to be gutless and needing revving to get any decent motivation out of it but bloody hell, it was quick. I have since discovered these things produce a little over 200bhp and given the GLC is 3/4 tonne lighter than my GL, it accelerated well, and had an almost unflappable turn-into any corner. You could just arrive at your corner, far faster than is usually decent, and throw it around. It hangs on, with no sliding or any fuss at all.
I must declare that I used to own Caterhams (plural) and 400+bhp TVR Cerbera, so I'm no stranger to power and speed.
During the snow earlier this year, my wife got her E350CDI stuck in the road outside our house, unable to get it up the pavement onto our drive. I ended-up towing her car with my GL until we were close enough to the garage doors where the drive is flatter for me to unhook from my car and pull on the tow rope until she was in her usual parking spot.
Although we subsequently changed her tyres for winters (we got caught out by the first snowfall, having left her winters in the shed for too long into the winter), and even acknowledging that winter tyres are like night and day compared with the "summers", she decided she wanted a 4WD car next. And her E-Class is now 6 years old so we decided we'd swap it this year.
In looking for a replacement for the E-Class, we visited Mercedes in Worcester and central Birmingham, and discovered the GLC250 petrol is so new to the market that there are no second hand ones available (we prefer to buy "nearly" new), and we discovered that a nicely-spec'd GLA250 petrol was very nearly as expensive as a V6 diesel GLC... so we've selected a nice-spec GLC350CDI from their on-line catalogue and paid a small deposit for them to bring to the showroom from their stockyard. We're going back again this weekend to have a look at the actual car, and for my wife to have a drive. It'll have 50-ish bhp more than the GLC250 I borrowed, and although it'll be heavier too, I expect it'll absolutely fly.
Looking forward to Saturday.
My GL hasn't been quite right since I bought it but I wasn't sure how it *should* have been. The air suspension has a number of settings - you can raise it up for off-road use (it's actually a fairly useful off roader, and has centre and rear diff lockers as well as low range) but it has never been able to reach the upper height. It would stop, with the dash claiming the compressor needed to cool down by the time it had reached the 2nd stage (out of 3). OK, it was obvious something was wrong but I didn't know whether it was because the compressor was on its way out, there was a leaky suspension-bag, or a failed sensor.
Then more recently, the dash reported issues with the SRS airbag on one side, and I could hear a harmonic "thrumming" noise from the exhaust at crawling revs that echoed through the cabin. The car needed looking at.
I booked it into Solihull's Merc centre, and they replaced the compressor, sorted the SRS airbag out (faulty under-seat sensor) and replaced my exhaust back-boxes (they shouldn't have broken down at 50K miles but who knows how the previous owners looked after it?). They also advised me that it would need front disks and pads soon, and possibly rear pads. I declined those at that time as the cost of the work to date was somewhat more than £1600.
A couple of weeks on, and I noticed a clunk from the front suspension when I braked very hard. This pushed my decision to take it back to Solihull for the brakes work, and to look into the clunk. As it turned out, their technician recalled something from a Mercedes bulletin about torquing up the suspension, which totally cured the clunk, and while they had it they replaced the front and rear disks and pads, and the parking brake cable because the outer cable was frayed.
I also asked them to replace the 7G-Tronic fluid as the car was approaching 60K miles, and contrary to the "only replace the fluid once, at 30K miles" advice from Mercedes, I like to replace mine *every* 30K miles as I tend to keep my cars well into the 100+K miles territory.
That was another £1800 in total.
In stating the costs, I make no complaint about the value for money. The jobs needed doing, and I'm aware of Mercedes' rates. And ultimately I now feel that I have given the car every excuse to last the next few years. I love the car, and I'll continue to maintain it at (almost) any cost.
During those two visits, I was loaned a car. The first time I received an A180 automatic which is about as different to my GL350CDI as you could imagine, however it was a complete laugh. It was like driving a roller skate. It was fast, handled poor road surfaces well, turned into corners with hilarious amounts of grip, and was nicely spec'd inside. It had a soft carbon fibre dash - really unusual but looked very contemporary - and those "sports" seats which were incredibly comfortable. And it only used 40 quid of petrol in the sort of time frame my GL would have used £100.
During the second visit, I was loaned a GLC250, a 2-litre turbo petrol 4-cylinder. I kind of groaned a little when I started it up, expecting it to be gutless and needing revving to get any decent motivation out of it but bloody hell, it was quick. I have since discovered these things produce a little over 200bhp and given the GLC is 3/4 tonne lighter than my GL, it accelerated well, and had an almost unflappable turn-into any corner. You could just arrive at your corner, far faster than is usually decent, and throw it around. It hangs on, with no sliding or any fuss at all.
I must declare that I used to own Caterhams (plural) and 400+bhp TVR Cerbera, so I'm no stranger to power and speed.
During the snow earlier this year, my wife got her E350CDI stuck in the road outside our house, unable to get it up the pavement onto our drive. I ended-up towing her car with my GL until we were close enough to the garage doors where the drive is flatter for me to unhook from my car and pull on the tow rope until she was in her usual parking spot.
Although we subsequently changed her tyres for winters (we got caught out by the first snowfall, having left her winters in the shed for too long into the winter), and even acknowledging that winter tyres are like night and day compared with the "summers", she decided she wanted a 4WD car next. And her E-Class is now 6 years old so we decided we'd swap it this year.
In looking for a replacement for the E-Class, we visited Mercedes in Worcester and central Birmingham, and discovered the GLC250 petrol is so new to the market that there are no second hand ones available (we prefer to buy "nearly" new), and we discovered that a nicely-spec'd GLA250 petrol was very nearly as expensive as a V6 diesel GLC... so we've selected a nice-spec GLC350CDI from their on-line catalogue and paid a small deposit for them to bring to the showroom from their stockyard. We're going back again this weekend to have a look at the actual car, and for my wife to have a drive. It'll have 50-ish bhp more than the GLC250 I borrowed, and although it'll be heavier too, I expect it'll absolutely fly.
Looking forward to Saturday.
Edited by Watchman on Thursday 17th May 19:04
I have a problem with the email address associated with this account so my apologies to Greenmantle who has sent me a question about tyre sizes. I will have to answer here.
He asked me about wheel and tyre sizes. When searching for a GL to buy, different individual cars have either 275/45 tyres or 295/40 tyres, all on 21" wheels.
My own GL has the AMG VI style wheels - the Americans know them as the wheels off the GL550 I think. They are a quite simple 5-spoke "star" design which I like although I do not like the fact that they restrict my tyre choice.
My wheels are 10" wide and require the 295/40 tyres which restricts me to conventional summer and winter tyres. I'd really like a set of all terrains, like I had on the 19" wheels my old ML wore.
The X166 also has 21" wheels but they are narrower, therefore they use the 275/45 tyres. That said, there were a number of options for both models so please check first.
My GL has quite impressively large front brakes but I am concerned this restricts me to wheels no smaller than 20", and I am further constrained by the ET number of mine which seems much smaller (therefore more offset) than any of the AMG 20" wheels I've seen.
I could reduce the width and recalculate the offset but I like wide wheels - it's the Carlos Fandango in me I suppose. And I do not like aftermarket wheels because they always look fussy and over-designed. I'd really like a set of my wheels in 20" size.
Anyway, Cooper does a nice set of ATs that would fit a 20x10" wheel so my search continues.
Mine below:
He asked me about wheel and tyre sizes. When searching for a GL to buy, different individual cars have either 275/45 tyres or 295/40 tyres, all on 21" wheels.
My own GL has the AMG VI style wheels - the Americans know them as the wheels off the GL550 I think. They are a quite simple 5-spoke "star" design which I like although I do not like the fact that they restrict my tyre choice.
My wheels are 10" wide and require the 295/40 tyres which restricts me to conventional summer and winter tyres. I'd really like a set of all terrains, like I had on the 19" wheels my old ML wore.
The X166 also has 21" wheels but they are narrower, therefore they use the 275/45 tyres. That said, there were a number of options for both models so please check first.
My GL has quite impressively large front brakes but I am concerned this restricts me to wheels no smaller than 20", and I am further constrained by the ET number of mine which seems much smaller (therefore more offset) than any of the AMG 20" wheels I've seen.
I could reduce the width and recalculate the offset but I like wide wheels - it's the Carlos Fandango in me I suppose. And I do not like aftermarket wheels because they always look fussy and over-designed. I'd really like a set of my wheels in 20" size.
Anyway, Cooper does a nice set of ATs that would fit a 20x10" wheel so my search continues.
Mine below:
Greenmantle said:
Thanks for the reply. I am currently on the hunt for a x166 for the wife but I do like your x164. Is that a Saxton 4x4 picture?
John
I'm sort of working up to a GL63. Each car I buy is more expensive than the previous one, and gives me more back at part-exchange time. But even as I write that, I know that within 10 years I'll be retired (if I'm lucky) and with my intention to drive around the world, as much off road as I can, I know already that I will have to consider something less extravagant and thirsty.John
I'd really like a plain-looking G350 for that trip but all the recent ones - those with a 350 engine - are Bluetec and require AdBlue. My current GL350 BlueEfficiency does not require the AdBlue which is one less thing to concern myself with.
A G-Class would be my perfect round-the-world car but I suspect the cost will stop me. You can get so much more GL for your money than G - in terms of spec and size of car, although I totally acknowledge that the G is a far "harder" machine.
I looked for a GL450CDI when I was buying this current one but there were none of any reasonable age or mileage. I really want a V8, and a diesel V8 seemed a good all round compromise.
A GL63 would be a fun pre-retirement car but, if they're still around by then, another 350 might be the sensible mix of outright power vs efficiency. If they're still around in 10 years. Diesels are already proving unpopular as we witnessed by the prices of the GLAs and GLCs with the different engines.
Whatever... I'll never have another 4-cyl engine. I'll go V6 or V8 and when they're good enough, I'll go electric. I had an "experience" with a Tesla Model X that totally turned my head. They're getting better all the time. In 10 years... who knows?
I did buy mine from Saxton. It's a long way from home in Worcestershire but I keep my cars for around 5 years so I think a day out of your life to inspect and fetch the right car - the one you'll keep for so long - is well worth it.
Edited by Watchman on Friday 18th May 23:23
Edited by Watchman on Saturday 19th May 00:39
IMO the GLA is a hateful thing, unsure what it wants to be and not practical. I think the GLC350d is an excellent choice to replace the w212. You'll know the engine is good from the GL, and the 'c' models have really improved in build quality from the first tranche; I went from CLS (x218) to w205 and whilst you notice some cheaper materials they are overall good places to be - rattles have all but disappeared and coming from a w212 I can't imagine you will be disappointed.
I wouldn't recommend any Piano black interior materials as it scratches heavily, try for the black ash if possible.
ETA: I'm not wholly sure the GLA/GLC price simailrities are solely down to diesel/petrol - I remember that Autocar/Express had an article on the top ten least depreciating cars in the UK and the GLA was one of these; now they have just ran a story saying that diesel used prices are stable/on the up. The 350d will always be desirable, especially in a vehicle that can be used to pile on the miles and tow a horse.
I wouldn't recommend any Piano black interior materials as it scratches heavily, try for the black ash if possible.
ETA: I'm not wholly sure the GLA/GLC price simailrities are solely down to diesel/petrol - I remember that Autocar/Express had an article on the top ten least depreciating cars in the UK and the GLA was one of these; now they have just ran a story saying that diesel used prices are stable/on the up. The 350d will always be desirable, especially in a vehicle that can be used to pile on the miles and tow a horse.
Edited by JIMMYJ4ZZ on Friday 18th May 23:35
JIMMYJ4ZZ said:
IMO the GLA is a hateful thing, unsure what it wants to be and not practical. I think the GLC350d is an excellent choice to replace the w212. You'll know the engine is good from the GL, and the 'c' models have really improved in build quality from the first tranche; I went from CLS (x218) to w205 and whilst you notice some cheaper materials they are overall good places to be - rattles have all but disappeared and coming from a w212 I can't imagine you will be disappointed.
I wouldn't recommend any Piano black interior materials as it scratches heavily, try for the black ash if possible.
ETA: I'm not wholly sure the GLA/GLC price simailrities are solely down to diesel/petrol - I remember that Autocar/Express had an article on the top ten least depreciating cars in the UK and the GLA was one of these; now they have just ran a story saying that diesel used prices are stable/on the up. The 350d will always be desirable, especially in a vehicle that can be used to pile on the miles and tow a horse.
The GLA clearly has a market if the BMW X1 is anything to go by. I agree that all of these cars seem to lack the practicality of a conventional car like the C-Class but when owners spend the majority (if not all) of their time in the car alone, then the lack of a boot isn't usually an issue for them.I wouldn't recommend any Piano black interior materials as it scratches heavily, try for the black ash if possible.
ETA: I'm not wholly sure the GLA/GLC price simailrities are solely down to diesel/petrol - I remember that Autocar/Express had an article on the top ten least depreciating cars in the UK and the GLA was one of these; now they have just ran a story saying that diesel used prices are stable/on the up. The 350d will always be desirable, especially in a vehicle that can be used to pile on the miles and tow a horse.
Edited by JIMMYJ4ZZ on Friday 18th May 23:35
When I had that A-Class loan car it was during a week when I was moving a lot of networking hardware and boxes of patch cables around from our offices to the two data centres, as well as dropping my two children to school. I found it extremely limiting but I agreed to take all this kit, in fact I offered because I think like someone who owns a massive truck - the GL.
I managed although it took a second trip but after two days with the A-Class I was starting to think differently.
When my wife, who had the ML before me, decided to change it, we looked at other similar "trucks". I took the ML off her because I put more miles on a car than she does, and as a result I don't mind having something slightly older. My old Scooby was past its prime so it was all good timing, and the ML was essentially a free car by then. Fully paid for. It only had 60K miles on it and it did me for another 60K miles before I decided to change it for an even bigger truck, the GL.
She bought a BMW X6, having enjoyed the ML but wanting to try something else for a change. It was not a success. The X6 drives more like a car, and has many features that are better than the ML - not limited to the split tailgate, more power, more modern SatNav, etc. But in making it drive more like a car, we found the ride too harsh - too crashy. OK, it had ridiculously low profile tyres which couldn't have helped but neither of us totally gelled with it so when it was stolen off our drive one morning, only 6 weeks after buying it, we weren't too sad.
It left us needing a car quickly though so as soon as the insurance paid out, we went straight back to Mercedes and bought the E350CDI which has served her well for 5 years now - the longest she has ever owned a car.
And, let's be honest, that engine in that car is epic. It'll wheelspin in 3rd in the wet and virtually drift on (my) command (not hers - she's quite the more sensible driver). So we kept it and shod it with winter tyres each year but it was never as good in the snow as the ML and GL, and around the poorly-maintained roads where we live (in the middle of nowhere), the virtually "slammed" suspension is too low.
She kept claiming she didn't need the 350 engine or even a car as big as the E, but she wanted 4WD and some ground clearance. So that ruled out the ML.
I quite liked the look of the GLK but that never came over to the UK, so when the GLC replaced it, and did come over here, it seemed an obvious choice. However the GLA also fits her objectives so I thought we might save 10 grand by buying one of those instead. And once she saw one and sat in one, she agreed except there is no 10 grand saving over a GLC... and that's why we're quite likely to pay for the GLC in about 2 hours.
Edited by Watchman on Saturday 19th May 10:08
Yes. Sort of. We've "agreed to buy". Chap will call my wife this coming week to talk about collection and payment once they had valeted and serviced it. It was really lovely and much larger in real life than the pics make it look.
Drove magically - really torquey like the E-Class. I forget how amazing those engines are because the weight of my GL dampens it a bit. Spec was spot-on too. Had all the extras, including the uprated stereo which makes a big difference.
Think we're aiming to collect in about 2 weeks.
While I was there, I got to drive a C63 with only 80 miles on the clock. f
k ME that's fast - makes my old 410bhp Cerbera feel totally tame. I'm sure I left a couple of 11s on the Digbeth streets - lets say, the sales guy was keen for me to appreciate the car. He turned off all the traction controls and put it into the higher performance mode... whatever that was. I couldn't look while I was hanging onto the steering wheel. 
And finally, they have an all-black G63 for sale... Oh I was tempted to sell the house but the £95K necessary to drive it away made my wife stop breathing.
Drove magically - really torquey like the E-Class. I forget how amazing those engines are because the weight of my GL dampens it a bit. Spec was spot-on too. Had all the extras, including the uprated stereo which makes a big difference.
Think we're aiming to collect in about 2 weeks.
While I was there, I got to drive a C63 with only 80 miles on the clock. f
k ME that's fast - makes my old 410bhp Cerbera feel totally tame. I'm sure I left a couple of 11s on the Digbeth streets - lets say, the sales guy was keen for me to appreciate the car. He turned off all the traction controls and put it into the higher performance mode... whatever that was. I couldn't look while I was hanging onto the steering wheel. And finally, they have an all-black G63 for sale... Oh I was tempted to sell the house but the £95K necessary to drive it away made my wife stop breathing.
Edited by Watchman on Saturday 19th May 20:19
Congratulations, it sounds ideal! Definite positive that it comes with the uprated stereo, the standard one is quite poor. I think the 350d engine in a (relatively, compared to your GL) small package will really allow it to shine. The nine speed gearbox really keeps it in the sweet spot.
C63s are a great drive, fast, and putting the power down is nowhere near as hard or intimidating in the wet as people think, but, honestly, the ride does suffer.
G63s are a different ball game, but could I say I'd take one or recommend one over a RR SVR, or an X5M, I'm not sure...!
C63s are a great drive, fast, and putting the power down is nowhere near as hard or intimidating in the wet as people think, but, honestly, the ride does suffer.
G63s are a different ball game, but could I say I'd take one or recommend one over a RR SVR, or an X5M, I'm not sure...!
I don't have the earnings potential for a G63 but I am going to look for a GL63 when the current one is "done". I could pick up a mint one for half the price of a G63 and, if I'm being honest with myself, my off road excursions are limited in frequency and ambition. I only really need to NOT get stuck in fields and trails.
My GL350 went into Mercedes again today, hopefully for the last time - there was a knocking coming from the front suspension under very heavy braking that they hadn't managed to resolve previously, and a harmonic noise from the exhaust which was annoying at "crawling" speeds.
All resolved now I think - couldn't trigger either noise on the way home. Maybe a few more journeys before I am finally convinced but so far it's good.
Anyway, I had a C220d as a loaner today which was utterly forgettable. That engine is truly awful - there's clearly an emissions "thing" going on when you lift the accelerator because the revs "hang on" for a while afterwards. It would be unfair to call it gutless because it does punt the car along reasonably well but its such a white-goods engine I found nothing remotely fun about it.
To the contrary is my wife's new (ex-demo) GLC350d which is quite incredible. The engine is quiet, hugely grunty, and in contrast to the E350CDI she previously owned, you can glue your foot to the floor and let the 4WD system sort it all out. The E used to wheelspin for some time (with the traction off) which was fun (for me) if a little irksome when trying to punt it into fast moving traffic.
All resolved now I think - couldn't trigger either noise on the way home. Maybe a few more journeys before I am finally convinced but so far it's good.
Anyway, I had a C220d as a loaner today which was utterly forgettable. That engine is truly awful - there's clearly an emissions "thing" going on when you lift the accelerator because the revs "hang on" for a while afterwards. It would be unfair to call it gutless because it does punt the car along reasonably well but its such a white-goods engine I found nothing remotely fun about it.
To the contrary is my wife's new (ex-demo) GLC350d which is quite incredible. The engine is quiet, hugely grunty, and in contrast to the E350CDI she previously owned, you can glue your foot to the floor and let the 4WD system sort it all out. The E used to wheelspin for some time (with the traction off) which was fun (for me) if a little irksome when trying to punt it into fast moving traffic.
FatherTed said:
This one is small, and this one is far away...
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