Last summer I strayed from CarMax and bought a 2021 Mercedes GLE63s AMG, a Certified Previously Owned (CPO) hot rod SUV I found in Santa Fe, New Mexico after a nationwide search that went on way too long. The whole saga was posted here. I’ve now put 8,000 miles on the car despite only one short road trip to North Carolina, and the experience had left me undecided on whether I love the car or whether I should sell it and start anew. Some unexpected repair expenses had me leaning towards selling, and will get to that later.
First, I want to document (in case any of you are IRS agents) that this is in fact a work “truck” and I frequently use it as such! Even my drive to Fort Liberty, North Carolina was for work! For the record, I only refer to it as a truck to make my family cringe.
That said, it’s a performance SUV first and foremost, and the fat summer tries have caused me some trouble. In July I picked up my first giant nail in one of these beefs and had to replace it – for $600. The tire was only available at the Mercedes dealership. Thought that was unfortunate since I’d really rather have all seasons on the vehicle but now I’ve got sunk costs. It got worse. Picked up another nail in the opposite rear tire a month later, and sunk another $600 for a new one. Thinking these high performance tires attract nails I started to explore just replacing all four with all seasons, only to find out nobody, but nobody, carries them. Pirelli makes a set sold through Mercedes dealers, but they are out of stock until spring (at least). Turns out the 22″ diameter is the problem. There are options for 21″ rims, and the GLE63 was sold with them too, but that means I gotta buy four new rims and four new tires. That’s a $3,600 proposition. Seems silly, but so does an AWD SUV I can’t drive in the snow. No room at home to store the summers. Still negotiating with Tire Rack on 21″ tire and wheel combos, and the weatherman is calling for our first snow this weekend. Looks like my BMW M3, with all seasons, will be my go to car?
Twice when I had the GLE63s at the dealer they’ve tried to fix the clamshell center console doors. A single button triggers both opening, except in mine only the left side opens regularly. Mercedes said it’s a known problem. The fix, not so much. The third time the dealer replaced the entire center console storage bin. Likewise, when I pointed out a fender flare was loose and the rear bumper molding had a 1/4″ gap on one side, the service manager agreed to order completely new pieces, have them painted to match, and installed. These fixes were done at no cost under warranty. In two weeks the GLE63s heads back to the dealer for Service A and a recall to replace the fuel pump (Mercedes learned the plastic fuel pump impellers fail). We shall see how that goes.
Back in 1993 I attended the US Air Force War College in Montgomery, Alabama, and while there the State of Alabama was courting Mercedes to put their first US assembly there. Alabama won the competition over rival states by donating the land and using the Alabama National Guard to clear it. We joked at the time that the new ML SUV’s to be built there would come with optional gun racks. I drove a Merkur XR4ti at the time, never imagining that 30 years later I’d own a luxury Mercedes SUV from the same plant.
Anyway, I wondered if some of these misfit parts were the result of assembly in Alabama, and not Stuttgart. Then I wondered about the hand-built AMG motors – were these shipped in from Germany or were they being made in Bama too? The service rep said he’s visited the Alabama factory and yup, motors made there. Disappointed. But not convinced. So I popped the hood all by myself and found the signature plate below. The engines are made in Germany. The umlauts say it all.
In early December the front brakes began to screech. Thought that’s a problem and had the Mercedes dealer check it out. The first answer was we could replace the front pads and rotors for $2,600 and the problem would probably go away. But they also said the pads still have 6/32″ and don’t need replacing right away. No wear indicator on. Maybe they’ll talk to the shop foreman and see what’s up. But they don’t and instead suggest maybe the brakes were glazed when I bought the car. My experience is the service techs are hit or miss on expertise and communications. Ryan the CarMax service rep is so much more conscientious. Replacements by Mercedes are warranted for 12 months, 12,000 miles. GLE63 owners on the forum say they sometimes replace brakes EVERY 10,000 MILES! Not for me, although I am looking into FCP Euro pads with lifetime warranty. Even my local Goodyear store warranty is 24 months/24,000 miles!
The tires and brakes are normal wear and tear items not covered by warranty and expenses are escalating. Before I commit to doing them, I decided to take a shot at selling the GLE63s to CarMax. I figure if they give me something close to what I paid last summer I might just cut my financial loss and start over. Besides, the car was not deeply depreciated and so I don’t feel like I got over on the dealership like I have in the past with CarMax. I miss that, too. CarMax has not had a current generation GLE63 (they have a few 2019’s). The appraisal below tells me they don’t want one. It’s $30,000 less than what I paid just few months ago, and $25,000 less than comparable Mercedes CPO GLE63s’ are selling for right now. CarMax prides itself on offering to buy anything customers bring in, and they will. That said, they can make the price such that no rational seller would ever take them up on it. I’m not.
Pretty sure I’m going to keep the car and love it, although I don’t have a course of action for the tires and brakes just yet. What helps make up my mind is a spirited drive through the rural roads of Loudoun County, Virginia. The audio in the video doesn’t do it justice. I think I’m going to lean into this car and enjoy it. I haven’t seen another one on the roads in the six months I’ve owned it, and that helps me feel a little special. Maybe when I take it to Daytona later this month for, uh, some business meetings around the same time as the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, it’ll feel like a unicorn.
History repeats itself. On New Year’s Day 2024 I tested positive for Covid again, so I went for a rural Loudoun County drive to the John Lewis Memorial Bridge to clear my head before checking into my hotel refuge (my goal this time is to not infect my family). The bridge is on a remote road that crosses Catoctin Creek. Built in 1889, according to the county it’s “a rare surviving example of a wrought iron truss bridge—one of only five still standing bridges built by the Variety Iron Company.” It’s peaceful here. And not unfamiliar.
Three years ago almost to the day – New Year’s Eve 2020 rather than New Year’s Day – I took a short road trip diversion to the same bridge in Etta, my 2008 Porsche 911 CarMax unicorn, after getting the devastating news that I had tested Covid positive. Things were much scarier then, with no vaccines and no Paxlovid. Tomorrow I will load up this Mercedes GLE63s with all the crap I brought with me to my isolation hotel and head home, and if the worst I have to deal with is finding brakes and tires for a badass 600 hp SUV, I guess I’m in a pretty good place after all.
