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Re: Merc GL450
From: Dan Warlick (edwf430att.net)
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:45:27 -0800 (PST)
I'm still driving the 02 CLK 430 conv. as a daily driver and my wife just got an 09 CLK 350 Conv out of me a couple of weeks ago. I agree the newer Benz's are much better than the troublesome mid-late 90's cars. The only thing I'm not really impressed with is that the new car does not have the "bank vault" thunk when the doors close. They feel more and more like a Toyota these days. However with all the new crash standards and reinforced frames along with the new crumple zone technology it's probably just me. Her 07 E class was a fantastic and problem free car. ----- Original Message ----- From: "E M" <pokiebaron [at] gmail.com> 
To: "Daniel" <edwf430 [at] att.net>
Cc: "FerrariList" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 5:36 PM
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Merc GL450


I have an old Mercedes 300E with 350,000 kms on it.  It's my daily driver,
lives outside in the freezing winters here, and starts first turn every
time.  Valves are wearing a bit now, alt was replaces 11 years ago, most
other things, other than just routine stuff is original.

I'm looking for another used E Class to replace this one, only because it's
getting a bit tired now.

Mercedes had a lot of electrical problems in the mid later 90s, largely due
to a biogradable wiring loom that did as the name implies, just did it way
early than it should have.  Most all of these issues have been addressed,
and quality for most of the newer models is again as expeced from Benz.

If you shop online for parts, many of them are quite affordable.

Ed
911SC

2009/2/24 <rolindsay [at] yahoo.com>


Agreement and counterpoint:

There's no doubt that the Japanese cars are rock-solid and dependable. And
I would never own one. They have no soul.

Rick
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

-----Original Message-----
From: LS <lashdeep [at] yahoo.com>

Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:19:42
To: rolindsay<rolindsay [at] yahoo.com>
Cc: <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Merc GL450


Indeed, this is the kind of stuff that I hear from two friends who broker
highline imports. They do about 10-12 MBs a week (after not having done much 
of anything Q4 2008).

You guys must have a high tolerance for pain.
I would never, ever put up with the electrical (or maintenance) mess that a lot of the German car fanatics put up with. My Honda Odyssey daily driver is 
on another planet with regards to reliability.

Then again, if an Audi S4 was my only car, I'd probably want it to satisfy
a bunch of desires (fun, practical, etc.)

But I don't need that for a daily...just need it to start every morning.
And the Japanese (and *some* V8 powered domestics) are much better at that. 

I currently have seven vehicles to maintain...the other six are
not practical daily drivers and, thus are hilariously fun. The last thing I 
need is for my daily driver to require anything beyond oil changes and air
fresheners.
Jim, is your wife looking for some extra effort for a daily driver? Or does 
she just want it to work right?

LS




________________________________
From: "JAshburne [at] aol.com" <JAshburne [at] aol.com>
To: lashdeep [at] yahoo.com
Cc: ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 4:56:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Merc GL450
I have never had a GL450 but I have had 4 ML versions going back to 1998 (2 
V6s and 2 V8s) and, while I have been happy with all of them for the most
part, I would not want to own one that is not covered by a warranty. I just 
get the feeling that the complexity of the electronics would get expensive
very quickly if something goes wrong.  A friend of mine has an E Class car
that needed a new climate control unit and it was very expensive to replace as the entire dash had to come out. I don't know if that would apply to the GL but Mercedes-Benz vehicles are sophisticated and complicated and this is 
one area where their reliability has suffered in recent years.

Another example, both of the V8s went through rear, that's right, rear
brakes very quickly (less than 10K miles), which was very annoying to me as 
that was on my dime.  This was only on the V8s, the V6s were fine in this
area.  I have no idea whether the larger GL series (all V8 only) has the
larger rear brakes that the V8 ML series seems to lack but I would guess
that it does given the larger size of the vehicle.

Other than that, the ML series is very comfortable to drive, has good
performance and has an outstanding traction control AWD system in my
experience. The Benz seems to lag behind the Japanese in terms of steering 
wheel controls.  The safety ratings in a crash are very good.

I would guess that most of the pluses and minuses of the ML also apply to
big brother GL series.

As a serial owner, I guess that means that the pluses have outweighed the
minuses, but I can't say that I haven't been tempted to look at the Lexus
version.

John

In a message dated 2/24/2009 4:22:43 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
lashdeep [at] yahoo.com writes:

Buy an extended bumper to bumper warranty...



----- Original Message ----
From: "jimshadow [at] verizon.net" <jimshadow [at] verizon.net>
To: LS <lashdeep [at] yahoo.com>
Cc: The FerrariList <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 4:17:11 PM
Subject: [Ferrari] Merc GL450
Anyone own one or got an informed opinion? Used prices are very attractive 
and its time to replace my wifes Honda Odyssey......

Jim
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed
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