I was inspired by all the activity in FL so I happened to check Benz Warwick and they had a selection of CPO GLB250s as well as a 2017 E400 wagon. That was enough for me to want to go and after some convincing, Jamie came with.
The GLB was modestly equipped (as opposed to minimally). 49k or so, $24k or so. We didn't call ahead or anything. When we arrived and talked to a salesman, we asked if we could look at the GLB250 first. He pointed behind us and I was confused at first. It was right on the showroom floor! It turns out the reason they did this is because they had dropped the price multiple times (inventory approaching 60 days old) and the last stop before wholesale is putting it on the showroom floor. He said they usually go within days after that.
It was very clean and presented well. I really like the packaging of the GLB. I think it is probably perfect for Jamie. We do not and have never needed a school bus but we do appreciate a commodious second row, as well as a useful cargo area. This has those things. I also like the efficiency of the powertrain. "226" hp and 8 speed DCT work well with the under 2 ton weight. Most FWD-based crossovers with this interior space are over 4000 lbs now.
I drove it first. Laggy throttle in comfort mode but I think we'd get used to it. Overall it drove nice and had most of the agile feel of the GLA, but a little less so due to the extra weight and wheelbase, as expected. Then Jamie drove. She liked it. She didn't have any complaints about the power unlike her Malibu. I think this would work for us.
FWIW, the CPO would cover it through August 2026. We would probably want to do the next service at the dealer just for warranty purposes and that's fine.
For some reason the white balance is off and this looks white. It's Iridium Silver like my two current cars.
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Then I asked to look at the E400 wagon. For that, he took us to the back lot but it's not just a lot, but a whole repair facility. The Penske compound is sprawling and I didn't realize how many shared resources there are, including the detailing facility, but it makes sense. Anyway we arrived in the GLA and this was my first impression:
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Not the end of the world but for only 107k and like $25k, I guess I was expecting it to be level...
It was also covered in pine needles and hadn't been detailed though they did have photos of it, so I'm a little confused. We started poking around and the more the salesman talked the worse it got. He said the rear suspension repair was quoted at $2500 (obviously I could beat that by a long shot as DIY). Then he said there was some kind of oil sensor issue that would throw the CEL sometimes. It did have a sticker but he said the car was 100% as is and they were going to fix absolutely nothing on it. Damn. That's really no better than buying it anywhere else at this point and what's worse is, it wasn't a good value at all. Even if it was mechanically sorted it would probably be an average deal, no better. Maybe even slightly below average.
Nonetheless, we had driven there and I wanted to check it out. The interior is REALLY nice. The seats are great. The wood trim is great. I love a designo car. Sadly it only had Premium 2 so it was missing a lot of goodies, despite the lofty $78k MSRP in 2017. Aside from a great interior and exterior, everything else was kind of disappointing.
Still, I asked for a test drive. He agreed to drive it around the Penske compound only so we did. The engine sounded fine at least. It had the characteristic crack in the touch pad thing. Being a Premium 2 car, it also had the down market gauge cluster, not the full LCD one. Not the end of the world on that one but maybe odd given the special color and interior. If it was more sorted and a better price it may have been a different story. The color and interior are great and probably worth giving up Premium 3.
So I drove it around a bit. It was great and better than I remember the other E400 I drove once upon a time. Even at 25 mph I could tell the steering, throttle and everything was just so satisfying. I could easily see daily driving one of these. I don't know that I want to give up my S-class for one, though. I assess a real wagon tax and I don't really care about the wagon thing. So maybe I should look for a sedan. E400, E450 or even E43. The wagon is cool but I don't want to pay extra for it since I already have a truck.
As for Jamie I did have her drive for a couple minutes. She liked it but then concluded that she absolutely wants a crossover type vehicle next. The E400 was the car-like experience that I really like. For her, not so much.
Anyway, the dealer wouldn't come down more than $200 or $300 on each and gave me the sheets for both. He said the GLB250 would be gone in days once it went to the showroom floor and he was right: I just checked and it's gone.
I registered to get e-mails on both. Their system works like this: When they get inventory, after being unsold for some time, Penske will basically demand that the sales manager adjust pricing. So they do. He showed me in their system. The GLB250 had experienced like 5 price drops, with the last one being the largest. The E400 was newer inventory. Apparently you can snag something for wholesale cost if you are willing to gamble and potentially miss out (or just have poor timing). I feel like if you held a gun to my head, my price on the E400 would be like $19k as is. It could go for $22k but I don't see $19k. I think they have too much into it and are hoping someone can't live without the color combo (which is amazing).
In conclusion, I think it makes more sense to wait ~2 more years for Jamie to finish her 13th round of schooling at which point we'll be less than a year from Ian being 16. We can begin shopping for a GLB250 (or whatever), and prepare to hand the Malibu down to Ian. Sometime after that I can figure out why my plan is for my stuff.