Palmball
MB Enthusiast
I'm posting this in the General section because the thread is as much about the car as the detailing but a big thanks the Michael at Gemclean for shoehorning me into his schedule (so much that he worked well into the night!) to give my ML a spruce up and gtechniq coating.
I'm sure Michael will add some detail on exactly what he used but from memory, the bodywork went through a process of washing, decontaminating and claying before finally being treated to a coating of gtechniq's new(ish) Crystal Serum product followed by two coats of Exo V2.
Michael then put some new aerospace product on the lower parts of the body and the back end which supposedly stops tar sticking to it, which is fairly handy on white car with such a big back end! All I can say is that I washed it this weekend for the first time since it was coated and it virtually cleaned itself with just a jetwash (and Developer, I now have a resin filter and WOW....the ultimate in laziness
)!
Michael did similar prep on the wheels and then treated them with gtechniq C5 - I don't think it's quite a slick as Swissvax Autbahn wax (which is a PTFE coating for wheels) but it supposedly lasts longer. Michael also deep cleaned the wheel arches which look brand new, as well as a quick detail of the engine which I thought looked fantastic, but he apparently needed more time on it
I'm actually amazed just how much needed to be done to get a car with just 14k on the clock to the standard I want, but it's now looking great and is outrageously easy to clean.
I'm also so, so glad we didn't choose the Range Rover Sport in lieu of this car because in person, this ML63 AMG's wider arches, massive (and very deep) front end, quad pipes and 21' wheels make it look so much more contemporary and it has bags of presence on the road. It's also much bigger car than I thought - in pictures it doesn't look like it, but it's actually bigger in every dimension than the RRS. It's so big my missus struggles to get in it (unlike the RRS, it doesn't go any lower but it usefully does go higher!) - I've already got the side steps to fit which not only means she can get in it without destroying the seat bolsters, I reckon they make the car look better.
I'm either really getting old (definitely can't be that), or more likely I'm just after something different to the usual 'sports' cars I tend to have because, I have to admit I'm really enjoying this car much much more than I thought I would - as a car for rocking around in, commuting, travelling up and down the motorway etc. it's one of the nicest cars I've ever bought.
It's comfortable (and I mean properly comfortable) and it's exceptionally refined with very little road or wind noise, yet you still get that AMG background noise It has a kind of rolling gait that makes it feel like an unstoppable train on the road - the air suspension keeps it very isolated and smooth but unlike most SUV's, it's underpinned by real firepower, grunt and huge traction so it just rockets away fem everything else.
You then expect it to roll about in bends but the active roll bars means it has virtually no body roll - OK, it's not agile or particularly dynamic but the lack of roll just adds to the feeling of comfort. The brakes and steering are typical AMG fare....superb. In fact, of all the cars I've had I reckon AMG do some of the best steering and brakes in terms of responsiveness and feedback.
Sound...every AMG needs it's own sound section, right? Well, the good news is that it the 5.5 biturbo still sounds like an AMG, just with the volume turned down to 7. It's definitely less 'thunderous' than the 6.2, but it's still more so than almost anything else and loud enough (outside at least) to create giggles, especially on start-up.
Economy is appalling and it's easily the joint worst car we've had (with the Maserati and V10 M6)....yes, even the SLS sips noticeably less! It even has an eco button, stop start and....it's still sh!t. A £125 fill up gets 300 miles in normal driving (15mpg), maybe 400 on a run (19mpg). AMG claim 29mpg on the extra-urban....impossible I say, because even resetting the trip and coasting it only does 24!
The wood trim's gotta go and is being replaced next week with, I think, black ash wood. It's not cheap but a lot better value than buying the next cheapest ML63 (this car was thousands less than every other one on sale). I might also have to do something with the audio system - it's actually bloody amazing considering it's the base system (especially if you compare it to BMW's base systems) but I reckon a simple amp and speaker upgrade could have it sounding better than the HK upgrade. The only thing I'm not overly happy about is theres a few more interior 'noises' than I thought there would be (could be down to the USA build?) - there's the odd buzz and creak here and there but I'm systematically tackling them so it's no biggie.
In summary, this is a great second car to compliment the SLS with. The ML is actually my other halfs car and it's really useful having something so practical because we run a small business which means we sometimes have to carry loads that in other cars, we'd have filled them with the seats folded. Having an SUV means everything is just swallowed up without even needing to fold the seats....having an AMG SUV means there virtually no compromises! It's so different in every way could imagine to the SLS, yet it's so satisfying in it's own right - I reckon this car could last us into 2015. Just
I'm sure Michael will add some detail on exactly what he used but from memory, the bodywork went through a process of washing, decontaminating and claying before finally being treated to a coating of gtechniq's new(ish) Crystal Serum product followed by two coats of Exo V2.
Michael then put some new aerospace product on the lower parts of the body and the back end which supposedly stops tar sticking to it, which is fairly handy on white car with such a big back end! All I can say is that I washed it this weekend for the first time since it was coated and it virtually cleaned itself with just a jetwash (and Developer, I now have a resin filter and WOW....the ultimate in laziness
)! Michael did similar prep on the wheels and then treated them with gtechniq C5 - I don't think it's quite a slick as Swissvax Autbahn wax (which is a PTFE coating for wheels) but it supposedly lasts longer. Michael also deep cleaned the wheel arches which look brand new, as well as a quick detail of the engine which I thought looked fantastic, but he apparently needed more time on it
I'm actually amazed just how much needed to be done to get a car with just 14k on the clock to the standard I want, but it's now looking great and is outrageously easy to clean.
I'm also so, so glad we didn't choose the Range Rover Sport in lieu of this car because in person, this ML63 AMG's wider arches, massive (and very deep) front end, quad pipes and 21' wheels make it look so much more contemporary and it has bags of presence on the road. It's also much bigger car than I thought - in pictures it doesn't look like it, but it's actually bigger in every dimension than the RRS. It's so big my missus struggles to get in it (unlike the RRS, it doesn't go any lower but it usefully does go higher!) - I've already got the side steps to fit which not only means she can get in it without destroying the seat bolsters, I reckon they make the car look better.
I'm either really getting old (definitely can't be that), or more likely I'm just after something different to the usual 'sports' cars I tend to have because, I have to admit I'm really enjoying this car much much more than I thought I would - as a car for rocking around in, commuting, travelling up and down the motorway etc. it's one of the nicest cars I've ever bought.
It's comfortable (and I mean properly comfortable) and it's exceptionally refined with very little road or wind noise, yet you still get that AMG background noise
It has a kind of rolling gait that makes it feel like an unstoppable train on the road - the air suspension keeps it very isolated and smooth but unlike most SUV's, it's underpinned by real firepower, grunt and huge traction so it just rockets away fem everything else. You then expect it to roll about in bends but the active roll bars means it has virtually no body roll - OK, it's not agile or particularly dynamic but the lack of roll just adds to the feeling of comfort. The brakes and steering are typical AMG fare....superb. In fact, of all the cars I've had I reckon AMG do some of the best steering and brakes in terms of responsiveness and feedback.
Sound...every AMG needs it's own sound section, right? Well, the good news is that it the 5.5 biturbo still sounds like an AMG, just with the volume turned down to 7. It's definitely less 'thunderous' than the 6.2, but it's still more so than almost anything else and loud enough (outside at least) to create giggles, especially on start-up.
Economy is appalling and it's easily the joint worst car we've had (with the Maserati and V10 M6)....yes, even the SLS sips noticeably less! It even has an eco button, stop start and....it's still sh!t. A £125 fill up gets 300 miles in normal driving (15mpg), maybe 400 on a run (19mpg). AMG claim 29mpg on the extra-urban....impossible I say, because even resetting the trip and coasting it only does 24!
The wood trim's gotta go and is being replaced next week with, I think, black ash wood. It's not cheap but a lot better value than buying the next cheapest ML63 (this car was thousands less than every other one on sale). I might also have to do something with the audio system - it's actually bloody amazing considering it's the base system (especially if you compare it to BMW's base systems) but I reckon a simple amp and speaker upgrade could have it sounding better than the HK upgrade. The only thing I'm not overly happy about is theres a few more interior 'noises' than I thought there would be (could be down to the USA build?) - there's the odd buzz and creak here and there but I'm systematically tackling them so it's no biggie.
In summary, this is a great second car to compliment the SLS with. The ML is actually my other halfs car and it's really useful having something so practical because we run a small business which means we sometimes have to carry loads that in other cars, we'd have filled them with the seats folded. Having an SUV means everything is just swallowed up without even needing to fold the seats....having an AMG SUV means there virtually no compromises! It's so different in every way could imagine to the SLS, yet it's so satisfying in it's own right - I reckon this car could last us into 2015. Just
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