On the way to Fresno. Weather was bad and we were late landing. Of course, I missed my connection and the rest were booked solid. Went to the rental car counter and all they had left was a Lincoln Towncar and a Mercedes GLK350. After careful consideration, I chose the Mercedes. It was brand new with only five miles on it.

I drove through some God awful weather including snow and torrential rain. The Mercedes handled well and I was doing 70 through the snow and mountains. 75 when the snow let up.

Overall, a very nice vehicle, but it feels and handles a lot like a Honda CRV, not the Mercedes feel I'm used to. I'm not really sure I would pay $40,000 plus for one. Oh yeah, the check engine light came on shortly after I arrived in Fresno. Seems to be ok though. I'll tell them about it when I turn it in Friday.

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99 ML320
94 SL600
92 SL500
95 E320 Cabriolet
87 560SEC
86 300SDL Grease Car
80 380SLC Euro

13 Fiat Abarth
02 Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa
00 BMW Z3
90 Rolls Royce Silver Spur
80 Ferrari 308 GTSI
88 Jaguar XJS12 H&E Edition
99 Land Rover Discovery

I have sat in a few at the dealer and at car shows. They seemed kind of cheap.

I guess you really can't get a good new Mercedes for under $50k.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

It snows in Lower Alabama?

Yep, and it was long drive from there to Fresno!

__________________
99 ML320
94 SL600
92 SL500
95 E320 Cabriolet
87 560SEC
86 300SDL Grease Car
80 380SLC Euro

13 Fiat Abarth
02 Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa
00 BMW Z3
90 Rolls Royce Silver Spur
80 Ferrari 308 GTSI
88 Jaguar XJS12 H&E Edition
99 Land Rover Discovery

Hey, I'm in Lower Alabama right now, there's no snow.

I thought the GLK would be a great wife car- but then they have not brought the diesel version here. Too bad it's VW quality inside.

Are you secret shopping again? Have a good trip and glad you made it o.k. I thought this was another thread about you purchasing another car.

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"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

Did you rent the GLK from Hertz in LA? I'm planning a cruise up the PCH in March, but only the SFO Hertz site had the GLK available. The "second choice" might be a Shelby . . .

Yes, I rented it at LAX. Back in LA now and flying back to DC in the AM.

__________________
99 ML320
94 SL600
92 SL500
95 E320 Cabriolet
87 560SEC
86 300SDL Grease Car
80 380SLC Euro

13 Fiat Abarth
02 Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa
00 BMW Z3
90 Rolls Royce Silver Spur
80 Ferrari 308 GTSI
88 Jaguar XJS12 H&E Edition
99 Land Rover Discovery

I probably would have taken the Town Car given the same choices. There aren't many SUV's I like, and I only like them for those uses that actually require 4x4 and ground clearance.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

The GLK is too cramped.....I'd have probably taken the town car, much more yaht-like...W126 style!

You sure that check engine light was not related to any "driving experience" testing?

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I think the CEL is due to the fact that I can`t get the gas cap back on. I will admit, the 4matic came in handy in the snow.

__________________
99 ML320
94 SL600
92 SL500
95 E320 Cabriolet
87 560SEC
86 300SDL Grease Car
80 380SLC Euro

13 Fiat Abarth
02 Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa
00 BMW Z3
90 Rolls Royce Silver Spur
80 Ferrari 308 GTSI
88 Jaguar XJS12 H&E Edition
99 Land Rover Discovery