2001 or 2002 ML 270 ?

[royye]

Ml270 2002 mot 2012 View attachment 48985

 

[royye]

I'm sorry guys to trouble you with all these photos. Just wanted your valuable help. If I were to buy these 2002 ML now with Sept 2014's advisory which reads: 08/09/2015 Advisory Notice issued - All Brake pad(s) wearing thin;All Tyre worn close to the legal limit;Oil leak;Tyres starting to perish. So to start with £600 tyres; ? £500 breaks, expensive oil leak repair,etc etc...tbh I don't have money to spend yet !!! And on to of that NO SERVICE HISTORIES!!! I think the 2001 ML is better don't you think or shall I still get the new facelift model? I'm confused!!! Ahhhhrgghhh!!!

 

[jonnyboy]

Welcome to the forum.
I would suggest that your first job is tell us your budget.

In terms of whether the one on here is a 5 or 7 seater that can be overcome fairly straightforwardly:-

 

[Dee James]

I'm sorry guys to trouble you with all these photos. Just wanted your valuable help. If I were to buy these 2002 ML now with Sept 2014's advisory which reads: 08/09/2015 Advisory Notice issued - All Brake pad(s) wearing thin;All Tyre worn close to the legal limit;Oil leak;Tyres starting to perish. So to start with £600 tyres; ? £500 breaks, expensive oil leak repair,etc etc...tbh I don't have money to spend yet !!! And on to of that NO SERVICE HISTORIES!!! I think the 2001 ML is better don't you think or shall I still get the new facelift model? I'm confused!!! Ahhhhrgghhh!!!

my advice would be look for a facelift car, they are much nicer but not that one - sounds like it needs too much work and the lack of history would make me question what else it`s hiding . . .

When i was looking for mine i wanted a 7 seater as well until i saw one and realized i would have to take baby seats out of the middle to let people in the back and there would be very little room left for buggies etc. I`m not the talest man in the world but i would n`t fancy traveling in the back for any period of time either. It does depend on your particular requirements but worth thinking about, do you really need those extra seats?

 

[Dee James]

Welcome to the forum.
I would suggest that your first job is tell us your budget.

In terms of whether the one on here is a 5 or 7 seater that can be overcome fairly straightforwardly:-

Op said the budget was £3-£4k

i`m pretty sure the one on here is a 5 seater

 

[royye]

I've got 2 kids 1 nearly a teener & the other is nearly 2...the pram is a nightmare on my Mazda car. The reason I wanted this ML is of course the attractiveness & the 7 seater. I don't want an MPV coz they're expensive & out of my budget.

 

[royye]

The 2001 ML is still my choice at the moment but I keep on hunting for one with the new facelift model. In fact I've seen a 2003 ML270 with 111k miles priced at £4,290 with FSH. It's outside my budget but I'll have a look as well.

 

[Dee James]

The 2001 ML is still my choice at the moment but I keep on hunting for one with the new facelift model. In fact I've seen a 2003 ML270 with 111k miles priced at £4,290 with FSH. It's outside my budget but I'll have a look as well.

Mine is a 2003 with FSH over 2.5k in recent receipts and 115k on it when i bought it late last year. I knew i had some money to spend on tires and alignment but even with that my initial outlay was still well bellow £4k so even though mine is a 5 seater i would think there will be some wiggle room in that £4290.

Check your pram will fit with those rear seats in as well, the first 7 seater i looked at i realized i would struggle to fit my daughters one in . . .

 

[gIzzE]

Oil leak is probably the swirflaps being knackered, the 270cdi engine is notorious for it, the spindles holding the flaps in place wear and oil leaks down the block.
The oil also drips onto the swirl flap motor and causes it to go into limp mode.
The flaps can get ingested into the engine as well, so be aware of this issue.

It is a mammoth job, as you have to remove the manifold and fit a new one, or plug the spindle gaps and remove all the flaps.

It can take around 12 hours to do, well that is what the professionals advised on here, it took 16 hours on mine, luckily at an agreed price.



Not trying to sell you mine, but you do realise you can retrofit the rear seats, they come up on eBay all the time. I was going to buy a set fit one and then sell the other, just having 6 decent seats would have been enough for me.

The fixings for the 3rd row seats are only around £150 each side new from Mercedes, and often people selling the seats only for £100-150 a pair.
And people sell the whole lot for between £3-500.




I am thinking of putting the 17s back on and taking the Alpine nav system out and a Pioneer Dab and bluetooth double din unit in and advertising it for £2700, that is without the crease on the rear wing done, I was quoted £230 to have that done, but can't see the point as it is a 12 year old car now and not too bad at all.

 

[royye]

Hi folks!!! Sorry for not replying as I've been very busy with work & family commitments.

Truly appreciate all your help esp. your precious time answering my queries and also the rest of the guys out there who needs your expert help / opinion. This forum is indeed heaven sent. Thank you very much.

 

[royye]

Mine is a 2003 with FSH over 2.5k in recent receipts and 115k on it when i bought it late last year. I knew i had some money to spend on tires and alignment but even with that my initial outlay was still well bellow £4k so even though mine is a 5 seater i would think there will be some wiggle room in that £4290. Check your pram will fit with those rear seats in as well, the first 7 seater i looked at i realized i would struggle to fit my daughters one in . . .

Every time I look at a 2nd hand MPV to buy, the first thing that puts me off is the price-very expensive for a 5-6 year old car!!! Hence I come back to ML. That's why prefer the 7 seat coz of all the right & wrong reasons.

 

[royye]

Oil leak is probably the swirflaps being knackered, the 270cdi engine is notorious for it, the spindles holding the flaps in place wear and oil leaks down the block. The oil also drips onto the swirl flap motor and causes it to go into limp mode. The flaps can get ingested into the engine as well, so be aware of this issue. It is a mammoth job, as you have to remove the manifold and fit a new one, or plug the spindle gaps and remove all the flaps. It can take around 12 hours to do, well that is what the professionals advised on here, it took 16 hours on mine, luckily at an agreed price. Not trying to sell you mine, but you do realise you can retrofit the rear seats, they come up on eBay all the time. I was going to buy a set fit one and then sell the other, just having 6 decent seats would have been enough for me. The fixings for the 3rd row seats are only around £150 each side new from Mercedes, and often people selling the seats only for £100-150 a pair. And people sell the whole lot for between £3-500. I am thinking of putting the 17s back on and taking the Alpine nav system out and a Pioneer Dab and bluetooth double din unit in and advertising it for £2700, that is without the crease on the rear wing done, I was quoted £230 to have that done, but can't see the point as it is a 12 year old car now and not too bad at all.

Hi there! Thank you for your time. No disrespect but as much as I want your precious / beloved ML , I prefer the 7 seater as my budget is so restricted at the moment. I've had 2 new cars last 6-7 years paying an expensive monthly premiums through PCP / HP, but now I'm fed up of it. It's just money down the drain!! I've saving up to 3-4k to buy my first ML...I hope I get one that has & is being cared for. I hope I won't regret owning one just like a money pit...but with all your tips I know how to check & haggle price down accordingly. I am & will forever be guided by all your wisdom, knowledge,skills, experience & the like. I am petrified but at the same time am excited to own one hopefully the soonest!!

 

[royye]

Just an update on my first ML270 hunting experience. Over the weekend & today I went to test drive a 2001 pre-facelift model 121k mileage 5 seater & late 2001 facelift model with 99k mileage 7 seater.
The silver ML I tested last Sunday was in pristine condition inside & out considering its age with minor rust on the wheel arches. It drives ok. It has some service history & no major repairs that I could see apart from usual wear & tear repairs on failed MOT's. It's £3,450.

 

[royye]

However the 7 seater I tried today in Sheffield on a "reputable" 2nd hand car dealer was in bad shape. The advert was misleading to start with- "99k miles" but on inspection 107k, "service history" but they couldn't provide one; MOT March 2016 but still not been done. The car was £3,450 with bad rust / pitting / bubbling on paints on usual places & don't even want you to haggle price. Sellers were very pushy, arrogant & ignorant!! Loads of repair works inside & out- dodgy body / rust; Leaky engine & perhaps blown turbo diesel injectors; broken plastic trims inside; broken side bar & the like !!! The list goes on!!! In short it's a money pit yet the other young seller keeps on insisting its a "14 year old car" but I bloody not effing stupid!!!

They offered me "lifetime MOT" & will fix the rust/ pitting paint & will service it for me apparently only costing £80 (perhaps a dodgy workmanship too!!) and MOT it before releasing to me apparently...but I walked away & got my deposit back!!! I said to them your advert on Autotrader is very misleading indeed & the older bloke said "I don't know nothing about that advert !!!" I didn't even bother to test drive coz it wasn't right for me. I relied on my gut feeling.

The hunt continues...I've got 2 more to see this weekend

 

[Dee James]

i saw a few less than tidy examples advertised as being excellent FSH etc. so i know how you feel, good luck with the hunt this weekend

 

[royye]

The search is over guys! I'm getting the ML 270 2003, metallic black, 7 seater with 111k mileage, 2 previous owners, FSH with all the stamps, service history receipts & just had full service done by new owner last November '14 (new oil,air & oil filter, & new fuel filter, etc. - a saving of £250+ Major Service with MB!!!) The ML is advertised at £4,290 but is sold to me, after haggling very hard, at an agreed price of £3,500 with the factory MB sat nav but £3,700 if with the brand new Sony Satnav / TV. The car for its age is in pristine condition inside & out with stone chips / slight rust on the wheel arches, slight scratches on bumpers, etc. The last MOT advisory hasn't got any major advisory apart from slightly worn anti-roll bar bushes & slightly corroded break pipe. I will definitely buy new tyres before its MOT in November & will use 235.65.17 as per recommended by ML owners here to improve steering & fuel economy. Upon start up, the LOW RANGE signal were blinking but went out straight away & didn't lit up again during road test. I suspect that if this persists,I hope it's an easy fix of resetting it or perhaps changing its motor as its a known fault of ML. Driving wise no rattling noise or vibration or pulling on one side when braking. Engine not noisy or smoky too. The new owner is reluctantly selling but according to him he's just started a new garage & just expanding with another newly opened salvage/breaker business & is wanting cash desperately to keep his new business afloat. According to the seller, before he's bought this ML last November, he's seen & test drive 10 ML's & only bought this one due to no the great condition of the car & no "oil leak" & with FSH. I've check underneath, inlet manifold, injectors, etc of the ML & no signs of any leakage at all. So his claim is genuine I hope. We've both provisionally agreed on the above price & I'll collect next weekend. Thank you all for your input / advice / wisdom & most esp. your free time to advice us. More power to MB Club !! Roy

 

[MOZ]

Good Luck,
I bought my 7 seater last October, 2003 ML270 Inspiration 73kmiles, and love it. I read all the horror stories and exactly like you, we have a 13 year old and a 2 year old so really wanted 7 seats to taxi teenage friends as well as little legs.

They can be a horror story and a real money pit (especially if you are not that handy for DIY repairs) however if you are reasonably mechanically minded you can do an awful lot yourself. The parts themselves are not that bad (just labor charges) and there is a fair bit of room under that bonnet to get in there.

Mine was a good example (with a few known issues that I felt I could fix myself).

I have done the thermostat and coolant change, new auxiliary belt, new fuel lines, oil and air filter service, removed and cleaned the EGR valve (refitted- not bypassed), new Maf sensor, replaced and tightened boost pipes, repaired wiper linkage, and washer jets, new bonnet gas struts, new rear boot light,and fixed the rear seat sliding mechanism all for a cost of around £200 in parts, that little lot, I would guess, would have cost well over a grand if I had had it done at a garage.
Ive just bought a full set of brake pads and disks for all 4 corners for £250 (not fitted yet, brakes apparently need replacing a lot on the ML- I cant comment yet as mine were worn when I bought it so will only know next time I need to change them)

i did pay an indy to give it a good look over to check I hadn't missed anything- I had checked all of the common problems - injector black death, oil under manifold, rear springs, rust etc.and also got him to replace the AFT fluid and filter (cost about £250)

There is not much leg room in the back for the 3rd row passengers (even with the rear seats slid forward) and the boot is tiny with the 6th and 7th seat down, luckily we have a very compact pushchair which only just fits - our old one would no way fit the space (loads of room and fine when the 3rd row seats not needed) but yes not a lot of space for shopping bags or anything when all 7 seats needed.

You may be dissapointed with the fuel economy too, mine is horrendous, hence the MAF change, thermostat etc, mainly to improve the MPG, but even after that!!! its fine for motorway (getting a respectable 35 to 3 9ish on a sensible motorway run at 70mph, but around town (most of its use) its probably mid teens!! I guess it is a big 2.2 tonne 4x4 with a 2.7l engine at the end of the day, but I was expecting more than that. it maybe that there is still something wrong with mine (injector calibration, turbo/cat?) but it seems reasonable on motorway and runs like a dream - no smoke or any sign of misfire.

There is a wealth of knowledge and helpful people on here, so don't be afraid to ask for advice.
Good luck , and enjoy it, I love mine.

All the best.
Moz

 

[gIzzE]

You may be dissapointed with the fuel economy too, mine is horrendous, hence the MAF change, thermostat etc, mainly to improve the MPG, but even after that!!! its fine for motorway (getting a respectable 35 to 3 9ish on a sensible motorway run at 70mph, but around town (most of its use) its probably mid teens!! I guess it is a big 2.2 tonne 4x4 with a 2.7l engine at the end of the day, but I was expecting more than that. it maybe that there is still something wrong with mine (injector calibration, turbo/cat?) but it seems reasonable on motorway and runs like a dream - no smoke or any sign of misfire.

If you want to see a good increase I would do the following.
Bypass the EGR and decat the exhaust system, then when you change tyres go for a 235 wide tyre and one that is classed as efficient.

Doing the above I saw a decrease in consumption of around 20%, and the car just felt like it could breathe, and the cats were in good shape, not blocked at all.
I then started to average around 29mpg on tanks in summer just doing short journeys.
Where as it was 22-23mpg before that.
Used to see about 380 to a tank, or to the reserve light, so around 72 litres before, and afterwards it was nearer 470 miles to a tank when the reserve came on. Got a best of 518 miles before filling up and the car took 76 litres to fill it up again. So 31mpg.

I wish I had recorded the mileage going down to Bristol, it was all 60mph traffic on the M25 and M4, and the same on the way back along the M5, M42 and A14, the reason being is by the time I got back to Norwich, some 500 mile round trip, I still had 1/4 of a tank left.
I was really looking forward to seeing how many miles I squeezed out of that tankful. However, the next time I got in the car the tank was full again and the obc was showing 660 miles. My wife had filled up and not written it down, she thinks it is a bit sad keeping note.

But removing cats, bypassing EGR and tyres make the most difference to MPG.

Oh, and I always put 1/4 litre of 2 stroke in with each fill up, the times I ran out you could really tell a difference.

 

[Dee James]

The tire change makes such a difference to the car, mine was on worn 255/60/17 when I got it which I changed to 275 because the tire place said that's what it should have. It felt terrible, really noisy and tram lining everywhere. As it turned out my size rim isn't supposed to have 275 at all so I was able to get them to change them for 235/65/17 based on good advise from glzze - totally transformed the car especially after I had the alignment sorted. I had blocked cats and was thinking about doing the bypass but a no one down here wanted to do it so I bit the bullet and replaced them had it serviced and changed the MAF. It's better on fuel now and pretty lively for a 2 ton plus 4x4, next jobs are the thermostat (it sits at about 70 at the moment) and then maybe the EGR delete. The way I look at it is these are complicated cars that cost a few quid when new so I went into ownership with my eyes open knowing I would need to spend money from time to time but it's a lot of car for the money and I plan on keeping it for a while so that's a fair trade off I reckon.

 

[MOZ]

Hi Dee,
My sentiments exactly. I read the horror stories but felt I had enough ability to do most jobs myself and keep the costs down, parts aren't that bad its the labor that hurts.
So felt for a small investment you get a hell of a lot of car for your money (£4k for a car that someone - admittedly quite a while ago- paid circa£40k for. I'm really glad i did, i love it and the fuel economy is just a minor disappointment (I was expecting it to be thirsty just not quite as much as it is) but it was always factored into my decision to buy it. It only does about 5k miles a year or less so not too big a deal, wouldn't have got it for my work commute daily runner :-0.
I too intend to keep it a good while, will probably run it till it dies

Mine is the inspiration model so does have the 275 tyres on, I will definitely look into what tyre reduction I can get away with for my wheels.

Not sure how I diagnose if the CAT is blocked or not, how much did your new CAT cost and did you replace both or just the one in the engine bay?

All the best.
Moz