GLK

The GLK has been pretty good in our survey. In general the first model year of any design tends to have the most trouble, 2010 in this case. Any German car can get expensive once it's 6+ years old. But the GLK is more reliable than most Mercedes, or BMWs for that matter.

Mercedes didn't really stop making the GLK. But they did redesign it, and renamed most of their models at the same time. The new one is called the GLC.

the Older Gentleman next door has a GLX wagon, and he has had constant issues with the transmission.. It's actually been so bad that he has purchased two replacements from a salvage yard, and seems to be swapping transmissions himself every few weeks in his garage.. I guess after you do it once it becomes a 2 hour repair that you can look forward to..

I hear the German/European model with the manual is very reliable..
The USDM one with the automatic is far from it..

ReVolted, is your neighbor's car a Mercedes GLK or a Volkswagen? GLX sounds like a Jetta or Passat trim.

Sorry,
The Mercedes truck thing, it looks like a lifted wagon, has a set of AMG wheels on it, and has the big MB emblem on the front of it.. Honestly think it looks a lot like a shrunken G-Wagon..
Nice looking SUV, but man what a pile..

The GLK was killed off my MB because it frequently suffered from reliability issues, warranty claims, and general customer dissatisfaction. Sales diminished greatly and at a quick rate. Mercedes, in general, are not known for reliability by any stretch.

I have owned a couple BMW's in the past, and they are quite reliable, but once something fails, it becomes either very expensive or a huge headache (which can be one in the same, I guess)

German cars for the most part will give you a headache when it comes to repair. They are known to be quality vehicles, but that means that the little intricacies in their build process reveal themselves when something needs replacing.

Might I recommend looking to the East? The Japanese luxury brands tend to be able to blend quality with reliability, and don't seem to suffer the same level of maintenance and repair costs of their German counterparts. The Acura MDX is the first that comes to mind, followed by the Lexus RX, or even NX if you don't need the extra size of the RX.

Might be worth taking a look.

True on German vs. Japanese. But Mercedes didn't kill off the GLK. They redesigned it after the normal number of years (six), and the redesign happened to coincide with a revision of the naming scheme for all of their models. If the naming scheme had not changed, the new GLC would be the new GLK.

While that is technically true about the GLC replacing the GLK in the lineup, there is almost nothing similar between the two. The body structure is different, the interior materials are different, the powertrains are different, the steering and suspension systems are different, even the frame was changed to add additional strength and also to allow for the additional length of the GLC vs the GLK. Mercedes engineered and produced the 2.1 liter 4 cylinder of the GLK, as well as the V6. For the GLC, there is no V6, and Mercedes teamed up with Renault to produce the new, lighter, and more powerful (by more than 20%) 2.0 liter 4 cylinder.

I do see what you are saying though, but the GLK that was is, for all intents and purposes, a complete thing of the past, as the GLC is such a completely different animal, which is why I referred to the GLK as being killed off.

Probably better off with the RWD version of the GLK from a reliability stand point. The 722.9 transmission has not been the best Mercedes transmission. The 4matic has had some issues with the transfer case (TSB# LI28.00-p-051499) and several owner threads allude that the problem is related to the low pressure of the 722.9. The case has to be replaced with the tranny leading to higher expense if you need the repair. I would not avoid a 4matic, but I would want complete service history showing regular transmission service.

I have a 1993 Mercedes E-class that has been more reliable and cheaper to own than a 2000 Chevy S10. Mercedes are well build and reliable with some caveats.The fewer electronic gizmos the better; buy certified with a warranty and/or complete service history (MBCA club member-owners work out well); avoid the first year of a new model/re-fresh; go for the last year in a model before a re-fresh as most bugs are worked out.

I would not touch a BMW if you gave it to me for free (partly due to all the BMW stories my mechanic tells me). I would buy a used GLK with complete service records. 2014, 2015. I would not buy a 2010 or 2011 based on the caveats above.