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Looking to possibly replace our 2006 Escalade with 130k miles with a MB GL320 Diesel. My father in law has always had MB vehicles and swears by them, I have never owned one. I am a bit scared off by maintenance and repair cost but I cant imagine it being much more if any than our Cadillac.
I am looking for any insight on the diesel engine/trans, any known issues, costly repairs to consider, etc.... Thanks in advance.
I had 2.....both pre-blutec (2009 I think). I bought a new 2007 and it died twice (tow truck required) in the first 30 days. I lemon lawed it and got a replacement. We put almost 50K miles on that one in less than 2 years. Trade in was tough as it was a hundred miles or so from being out of warranty. 70K window sticker, 2 years later the trade value was 1/2 that!
Mileage wasn't awesome, service intervals were stupid but it was a nice highway cruiser. The truck suffered a big mileage drop if you towed anything (even a 1500 lb. trailer). Service intervals were 10K miles (Service A) but when you ask what they do (inspect seat belts, inspect headlights, inspect wipers.....4 pages of nothing other than an oil change). I told them to just change the oil instead of the $400 Service A (in the first service the car was 90 days old.....pretty sure the seat belts weren't worn out yet).
My buddy had a GL450.....airbags (air suspension) were toast at 89K miles and I think were $2000 a pair installed. Then the window switches failed (you have to buy the whole switch containing all four window switches)......he traded the truck rather than get nickel and dimed to death.
I traded for a short wheelbase Yukon SLT......not as many gadgets, 20% less mileage but a way way simpler vehicle to own long term.
The other "kicker" for me.......Mercedes makes the GL (and ML) in ALABAMA! Not exactly German guys in lab coats inspecting the final product coming off the assembly line! BMW makes their SUV's in South Carolina (probably not much better).
I had 2.....both pre-blutec (2009 I think). I bought a new 2007 and it died twice (tow truck required) in the first 30 days. I lemon lawed it and got a replacement. We put almost 50K miles on that one in less than 2 years. Trade in was tough as it was a hundred miles or so from being out of warranty. 70K window sticker, 2 years later the trade value was 1/2 that!
Mileage wasn't awesome, service intervals were stupid but it was a nice highway cruiser. The truck suffered a big mileage drop if you towed anything (even a 1500 lb. trailer). Service intervals were 10K miles (Service A) but when you ask what they do (inspect seat belts, inspect headlights, inspect wipers.....4 pages of nothing other than an oil change). I told them to just change the oil instead of the $400 Service A (in the first service the car was 90 days old.....pretty sure the seat belts weren't worn out yet).
My buddy had a GL450.....airbags (air suspension) were toast at 89K miles and I think were $2000 a pair installed. Then the window switches failed (you have to buy the whole switch containing all four window switches)......he traded the truck rather than get nickel and dimed to death.
I traded for a short wheelbase Yukon SLT......not as many gadgets, 20% less mileage but a way way simpler vehicle to own long term.
The other "kicker" for me.......Mercedes makes the GL (and ML) in ALABAMA! Not exactly German guys in lab coats inspecting the final product coming off the assembly line! BMW makes their SUV's in South Carolina (probably not much better).
Thanks for the insight. After test driving a 450 and a 320 diesel, we decided not to purchase any of them. We felt that the build quality was not impressive and the cargo space wasn't enough for our family. They are beautiful automobiles but not worth the $ in my opinion.
We are going to go with another ESV when we find the right deal.
there's just no way in hell that I would buy a clean diesel with all of the problems that can go wrong from the DPF filter to the EGR and the NOX sensors. if i'm gonna buy a diesel it's gonna be an old shool one with NO emissions crap on it. there more reliable than this modern crap the EPA is forcing manufactures to pump out!! if you think about it our NOX emissions are more stringent to the point of being ridiculous!!
there's just no way in hell that I would buy a clean diesel with all of the problems that can go wrong from the DPF filter to the EGR and the NOX sensors. if i'm gonna buy a diesel it's gonna be an old shool one with NO emissions crap on it. there more reliable than this modern crap the EPA is forcing manufactures to pump out!! if you think about it our NOX emissions are more stringent to the point of being ridiculous!!
You definitely have a point......an out of warranty clean diesel can be expensive!
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