2001 or 2002 ML 270 ?

[royye]

Hello there ML Benz owners & the rest of Mercedes Benz aficionados!!!

A few advice / thoughts on buying a used ML270 please.

I'm a bit confused and at the same time cautious with regards to purchasing my first Benz. I've seen quite a few ML's through the weeks & within my budget of £3k to 4k. I've seen online adverts of 2001 ML270 with 81,000 miles priced at £3,500 and a 2002 117,000 miles also the same price of £3,500 through car dealership/ 2nd hand car dealership.

Due to work & family commitments, I've not been to able to see & test drive these vehicles but I might try to go end of this week or perhaps next week and hopefully buy my first ML by then all being well.

So now the difficult decision to make...will I choose the ML 2001 with low mileage of 81k or the 2002 ML with higher mileage of 117k BUT with new facelift / upgrades? How much shall I haggle ? Or the starting price for me to haggle? And finally, the realistic price that they'll sell to me?

What do you reckon guys? Any advice will be greatly appreciated indeed.

Decisions??!!! Decisions!!!??

Kind regards.

Roy

 

[dinoy]

there is a different i think 2002 is facelift model and command more monies and probably better choice search the forum u will find others answering this question before.

 

[jonnyboy]

I know the interior is nicer on the facelift, am I recalling correctly that the suspension was tweaked a bit for ride quality too?

 

[Dee James]

I had the same budget as you when I started looking, the facelift is a much nicer car and it's worth noting a lot of the potentially expensive jobs that will need addressing seem to crop up at around 100k miles so a higher mileage car is more likely to have had work done. My advice would be go for a facelift with good history and receipts for work done. A search on here will point you in the right direction in terms of known issues if you haven't already done so. As regards haggling there are plenty out there so if it was with a dealer I would be quite cheeky, you never know . . .

 

[royye]

Thanks guys...after careful consideration & with the help of this wonderful forum & all your helpful advice here, the new facelift model of late 2001-2002 is my choice if I were to buy my first ML270.

I am excited but at the same time cautious. Looking forward to my test drive & haggling time

Roy

 

[Dee James]

Thanks guys...after careful consideration & with the help of this wonderful forum & all your helpful advice here, the new facelift model of late 2001-2002 is my choice if I were to buy my first ML270.

I am excited but at the same time cautious. Looking forward to my test drive & haggling time

Roy

good luck in your search Roy, buy well and you won`t be disappointed - i don`t know if you`ve seen it and it is a quite away from you but there`s a really nice one owned by a member on here in the for sale section that`s worth a look . . .

 

[mattc]

This has got to be worth a look. LINK

 

[Dee James]

This has got to be worth a look. LINK

that`s the one Matt

 

[royye]

Thanks guys!!! I've seen this great looking ML!! Shame it's not 7 seater coz I could've snapped it now !! Correct me if I'm wrong but in sure this is a 5 seater, isn't?
Anyway, got the reg & V5 certificate numbers of these 2 vehicles I'm fancying buying & the 2002 has got "oil leak" advisory & 4 worn tyres !!! The 2001 has got "leaky oil" advisory from 2012 & again '13 but last MOT September 2014 hasn't got it anymore.
any advice please guys?

 

[royye]

And also the 2002 ML hasn't got FSH service history apart from 6 MOT certificates apparently it was "lost" whereas the 2001 ML has got service histories.

 

[Dee James]

Thanks guys!!! I've seen this great looking ML!! Shame it's not 7 seater coz I could've snapped it now !! Correct me if I'm wrong but in sure this is a 5 seater, isn't?
Anyway, got the reg & V5 certificate numbers of these 2 vehicles I'm fancying buying & the 2002 has got "oil leak" advisory & 4 worn tyres !!! The 2001 has got "leaky oil" advisory from 2012 & again '13 but last MOT September 2014 hasn't got it anymore.
any advice please guys?

check the tires carefully, if they are worn on the edges it could be the tie rod and track rod ends have corroded together so the front wheels couldn`t be aligned hence uneven wear then the fronts being swapped to the back and the whole process starting again . . . i managed to source new tie rods and track rods for a bargain £50 delivered and the alignment and fitting came to about £180 so worth factoring in to your offer as is the cost of tires. If you do change the tires following advice on here i changed to 235 x 17 x 65 `s - much better ride and much quieter.

Any mention of where the oil leaks were coming from?

 

[Dee James]

And also the 2002 ML hasn't got FSH service history apart from 6 MOT certificates apparently it was "lost" whereas the 2001 ML has got service histories.

if it was me i would tread carefully with that one, at the very least get it checked by an expert - if it`s hiding something and needs work it can get expensive fast

 

[royye]

http://motinfo.direct.gov.uk/internet/jsp/ECHID-Internet-History-Request.jsp

This is a very valuable source of info regarding the MOT of a used vehicle. It's free of charge guys -- just enter vehicle registration number & V5 certificate & or VIN number & it'll generate the past MOT's up to the present & it'll tell you what was wrong with the car. It won't show major repairs though apart from the obviously replaced or repaired highlighted MOT failures

 

[Dee James]

Motoring : Directgov - MOT history request

This is a very valuable source of info regarding the MOT of a used vehicle. It's free of charge guys -- just enter vehicle registration number & V5 certificate & or VIN number & it'll generate the past MOT's up to the present & it'll tell you what was wrong with the car. It won't show major repairs though apart from the obviously replaced or repaired highlighted MOT failures

my ML came with a print out of all that info the previous owner did, came in handy when i was looking to see what work had been done

 

[royye]

Hi Dee James, I checked it online as the ML's are located 45 miles and 67 miles respectively from Sheffield. Like I've said on the beginning of this thread, I haven't got chance to travel all the way there until this weekend. At least with these infos from MOT on hand before I test drive vehicle, at least I've got the basis for haggling price down.

 

[royye]

Here's the latest 2 years MOT for the 2001 ML (2013 & 2014)

View attachment 48978

 

[royye]

2011 mot

View attachment 48981

 

[royye]

2012 mot

View attachment 48982

 

[royye]

2013 mot

View attachment 48983

 

[royye]

Here's the ML 2002 MOT 2011

View attachment 48984