I made the move on Saturday and ordered a Steel-Gray GL350Bluetec with Black interior from Ray Catena Mercedes in Edison, NJ. I am excited at the prospect of getting it. I ordered every option except for the UV glass and heated steering wheel. I was holding off on the rear seat heating til my wife talked me into that and the rear climate control for when people in the back are complaining its too cold, or the dogs are back there and its not cold enough! Can't fight city hall. There are some options that arent in the brochure like Adaptive suspension which I got because I liked it in my ML500 and one on the interior that combined Black with Cashmere and Black with Ash. I was curious to see what it looked like but they were unable to produce any pictures of it so I played it safe and ordered Black. I saw a month old Steel Gray 2010 GL450 with Cashmere and the drivers seat was already showing some grunge. This was a salesmens demo car. Carrying dogs and band equipment makes for dirty interiors and if this guy got this interior this dirty in a month wearing the three piece suits every day. I know I'm going to be cleaning this thing constantly with the lighter interior colors. Fuggedaboutit!
I ended up getting about 6% off list on the truck and options. They bagged me for a $250 special order charge. I wasnt sure about that one but I wasnt going to let it be a deal breaker. One thing I didnt like was not being able to lock in a finance rate until the truck is actually delivered. It may not be the current 2.9 for 36 and 3.9% for 66 months that it currently is. Again I took my salesman at his word on this as I have always been treated fairly by Ray Catena Mercedes. My brother told me this was also the case with his 05 E550.
I didnt get a lot of accoutrements like the chrome door handle inserts and other things because I figured I could shop them from the parts department later at a deeper discount then I could get them for at purchase time. I already have a pet net for my wifes ML500 which I am pretty sure fits the GL too. I havn't driven a 2010 but had the opportunity to drive 09 versions of the 550 and 350. I was determined not to buy another gas guzzler(the ML gets around 14-15 in city driving and about 19 highway if your not heavy-footed. Besides, I have always been fond of diesels since driving my dads old 83 300TD wagon. It had tremendous turbo lag but once it got going it was super. I just came back from Greece and got a spirited ride in a diesel E class taxi that amazed me with the acceleration it had on the roll. The vast majority of taxis were diesels and usually had at least 500K kilometers on them. Diesels really have come of age with BMW touting them as performance vehicles and campaigning them as race cars. Witness Audi hammering the competition with there diesels at LeMans. Mercedes has more experience with diesels then any of them. The only thing I'll miss is the smokescreen my fathers car used to spew out. It was great for repelling tailgaters, but not to good for air quality!
Another issue I was mulling over was whether to buy the extended waurantee to get another 3 years and 50K miles that would up total warantee time up to 84 months and 100K miles. I see MB price for a factory warrantee to do this is about $4400 bucks. I purchased 2 years and 50K from Continental insurance for about $1900 for my ML and it was accepted by Ray Catena according to service manager I know there. Is the factory warrantee worth the extra bucks and why? I figure its as good as the underwriting company rating. Would love to hear some opinions on this. I heard some discussion of loopholes in the factory warrantee where if you exceed your 50K before 4 years, the extra coverage you bought wouldnt kick in until you entered your 5th year. Is this true? Pretty disengenuous if it is.
They quoted a delivery time of 8-10 weeks. I can't wait!
__________________
MikeK
1976 BMW 2002
1995 M3
2004 R1150RT
2006 ML500
1994 Grand Cherokee 5.2 V8
I emailed 30 dealers and took the best offer to my local dealer who was reluctant to offer it untill I forwarded the e-mail from the dealer with this offer to him. Once he saw the e-mail he offered me th deal except $100 more. If you want a copy of the e-mail PM me.
Hi,
I'm interested in the email too. I sent you a PM. Thanks.
I got my GL350 BlueTec today from Benzel-Busch, NJ. Paid only about $400 over invoice (verified). Not a bad deal. I drove it home to Staten Island - enjoyed every inch of the road - the car is AMAIZING!!!!!!! I and my family drive Mercedes for many-many years - it's a best SUV I've ever seen!!! Mine has P1, P2, Xenon/LDC pkg, Rear Entertainment, Running Boards, Trailer Hitch, Wooden Steering, Parktronic. Irridium Silver / Black Interior. I want to install rear mud flaps (front won't work with running boards) and put in floor liners.
I made the move on Saturday and ordered a Steel-Gray GL350Bluetec with Black interior from Ray Catena Mercedes in Edison, NJ. I am excited at the prospect of getting it. I ordered every option except for the UV glass and heated steering wheel. I was holding off on the rear seat heating til my wife talked me into that and the rear climate control for when people in the back are complaining its too cold, or the dogs are back there and its not cold enough! Can't fight city hall. There are some options that arent in the brochure like Adaptive suspension which I got because I liked it in my ML500 and one on the interior that combined Black with Cashmere and Black with Ash. I was curious to see what it looked like but they were unable to produce any pictures of it so I played it safe and ordered Black. I saw a month old Steel Gray 2010 GL450 with Cashmere and the drivers seat was already showing some grunge. This was a salesmens demo car. Carrying dogs and band equipment makes for dirty interiors and if this guy got this interior this dirty in a month wearing the three piece suits every day. I know I'm going to be cleaning this thing constantly with the lighter interior colors. Fuggedaboutit!
I ended up getting about 6% off list on the truck and options. They bagged me for a $250 special order charge. I wasnt sure about that one but I wasnt going to let it be a deal breaker. One thing I didnt like was not being able to lock in a finance rate until the truck is actually delivered. It may not be the current 2.9 for 36 and 3.9% for 66 months that it currently is. Again I took my salesman at his word on this as I have always been treated fairly by Ray Catena Mercedes. My brother told me this was also the case with his 05 E550.
I didnt get a lot of accoutrements like the chrome door handle inserts and other things because I figured I could shop them from the parts department later at a deeper discount then I could get them for at purchase time. I already have a pet net for my wifes ML500 which I am pretty sure fits the GL too. I havn't driven a 2010 but had the opportunity to drive 09 versions of the 550 and 350. I was determined not to buy another gas guzzler(the ML gets around 14-15 in city driving and about 19 highway if your not heavy-footed. Besides, I have always been fond of diesels since driving my dads old 83 300TD wagon. It had tremendous turbo lag but once it got going it was super. I just came back from Greece and got a spirited ride in a diesel E class taxi that amazed me with the acceleration it had on the roll. The vast majority of taxis were diesels and usually had at least 500K kilometers on them. Diesels really have come of age with BMW touting them as performance vehicles and campaigning them as race cars. Witness Audi hammering the competition with there diesels at LeMans. Mercedes has more experience with diesels then any of them. The only thing I'll miss is the smokescreen my fathers car used to spew out. It was great for repelling tailgaters, but not to good for air quality!
Another issue I was mulling over was whether to buy the extended waurantee to get another 3 years and 50K miles that would up total warantee time up to 84 months and 100K miles. I see MB price for a factory warrantee to do this is about $4400 bucks. I purchased 2 years and 50K from Continental insurance for about $1900 for my ML and it was accepted by Ray Catena according to service manager I know there. Is the factory warrantee worth the extra bucks and why? I figure its as good as the underwriting company rating. Would love to hear some opinions on this. I heard some discussion of loopholes in the factory warrantee where if you exceed your 50K before 4 years, the extra coverage you bought wouldnt kick in until you entered your 5th year. Is this true? Pretty disengenuous if it is.
They quoted a delivery time of 8-10 weeks. I can't wait!
Congrat on the purchase! You'll love this truck!
Hold off on the warranty. I just added a 60,000, 5 year package to my 2007 GL450 for $4400, so I'm now covered until 105,000 miles. As long as you buy it before the factory warranty, you'll get a decent rate. Buying it now is a little premature IMO, as things may change for you over the next 4 years.
Thanks for the comments. I am on Staten Island too Andrew. You must like the GL around here. At least you can drive over potholes without losing your car. We are definitely not known for our good roads here. I have an ML500 with air suspension that I really like that my wife drives and I can't wait to get this truck. I have been pounded by SI roads in my M3 and am looking forward to the comfy ride and mileage that beats my M3 by a country mile. How do you like the power of the diesel? Do you find it pretty quick on the roll? I know they quote 9 seconds 0-60, but I don't think that tells the whole story. I got a ride in and E class taxi in Greece this summer and on the roll when he pressed the accelerator you really could feel that wave of torque. Quite satisfying I must say, and this guy passed plenty of cars on the way to the airport!
I am curious about where you got the warrantee Sheff. Was it a factory extended warrantee or aftermarket. I have a Continental Insurance extended warrantee on the ML and my buddy in service at RAy Catena tells me that they take that policy. Some are a horror story. I havnt tested the Continental policy yet. It doesnt kick in til 50K. It goe for 3 more years and 100K total miles. I hope there are no "gotchas" with this policy. I'll find out soon if anything goes wrong. So far nothing but a compressor and relay for the air suspension and a couple of little things. Better then the BMW's have been doing in my family!
I purcahsed the warranty through the dealer, but its a Nissan based plan called Quality Guard. I checked with my service advisor to get his take on which plans had the best coverage and were the easiest to work with from his perspective. The plan was $4055 for 4 years, 60,000 miles and has a $50.00 deductible.
It seemed pretty reasonable and covers most non wear and tear items.
There are some options that arent in the brochure like Adaptive suspension which I got because I liked it in my ML500 and one on the interior that combined Black with Cashmere and Black with Ash.
I ended up getting about 6% off list on the truck and options. They bagged me for a $250 special order charge. I wasnt sure about that one but I wasnt going to let it be a deal breaker.
They quoted a delivery time of 8-10 weeks. I can't wait!
I just ordered a GL350BT today. White with Cashmere leather. P2, lighting, leather, PARKTRONIC, ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, heated wheel, hitch, and 3-zone. No rear seat entertainment because no kids and my dog doesn't watch DVDs.
I asked my dealer about the adaptive suspension. He could order it but he couldn't explain it. How is it different from the stock air suspension? He did tell me that they would add a $250 special order fee and he also said it would delay production by about a month.
My build date is Jan. 15 (they are changing a truck they already had in the order queue) and he says I should have it by the end of January. I didn't know the GL was built in Alabama but I guess it makes sense, they don't use big SUVs in Europe much.
I know Ford, GM, etc. diesels have lots of aftermarket options for performance upgrades. Is there anything like that for Merc diesels?
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Purchased 2010 GL350 Blue-tec 
Andrew 
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