Have I lost the plot completely?

[gbjeppm]

We currently have a Honda C-RV on a 54 plate registered in Dec 2004. It is the exec model with leather seats and sat nav, and it has done approx 26,000 miles.

There is nothing wrong with it although it has not been trouble free, as Honda are supposed to be. It has needed quite a few things sorting including a wheel bearing, but all done under warranty, which has now expired.

Anyway, the car will do no more than 4k miles per annum.

I was thinking that as we do so few miles, and that as the price of petrol ML's is coming down big time, a facelift 2001 ML320 could be picked up for under £7k, so I would expect to even put some money in the bank.

I also don't expect the MPG to be that horrible, the CRV struggles to do 25 anyway, will the ML be siginifcantly worse than that?

The other thing is the wife, who will be the daily driver thinks it is a good idea, I think she is a bit fed up with the plasticky feel of the Honda.

So am I going mad, or does the fact that we do so few miles, mean that I can get a great car for a bargain. Any buying advice welcome on the ML is welcome, but from reading on here the facelift ML seems to be pretty reliable. Also what toys are a must, I am not worried about comand, or phone, as I am happy to put that in, and use it as a bargaining point if they are missing.

I think must haves are parktronic, folding mirrors and sunroof!!

 

[st4]

Alternatively you could PCP a W164 ML.

 

[verytalldave]

No. You are not mad. It sounds a fine idea to me. But expect a car that is 7-8 years old to have a bug or two. Mercedes arent problem free as I sure you are well aware from reading this forum.
Honda is a good brand but Mercedes are in a different league. Quality with a big Q.
Choose well. Pay more for a low mileage one owner model with FMBSH if possible and avoid "bargain" basement cars. They will have a financial sting in the tail. And when you do bite the bullet and realise the dream, come back and post a few photos.
COMAND is a great option and I would advise you to think again. It DOES add value to the car and it is damn useful as well. Parktronic, leather. auto wipers and xenons if you do allot of night driving are good options. Sunroof is a great option, but difficult to find. Its an expensive option and not many owners went for it. My W203 (see avatar, left) has a sunroof and it is worth a the wait and searching.

 

[gbjeppm]

Dave

Thanks for the response, as you can see from my avatar I already know MB quite well, so swapping the Honda to MB is all about quality and feel.

I have had a quick look at a couple today, and although not perfect, it still seems you can get a lot of car for the money.

Does anybody know if the post facelift cars are more reliable than the pre facelift ones? I read somewhere that the early ones are not so good?

Also the 320 changes to the 350 in 2003, does anybody have a view on whether the new engines is worth holding out for? I have the 320 engine in my W208 and love it.

Thanks in advance all.

 

[verytalldave]

If your finances can stretch to it, go for a facelifted model. Loads of little tweaks and improvements, many not apparent at first glance. It is worth the extra. It seems that reliability is better, but of course, this varies from car to car and how much care the previous owner(s) took. I would get one from a trusted indie if I was you. Somewhere like Carlians for example.

 

[Andy W]

I have had my 2002 ML270 for 21 months, in that time it has cost me a MAF, brake light switch (last week) and a set of pads and I still got change out of £200 by fitting them all myself.

Facelift is a must, lots of things were improved, most cars also have lux pack.

Make sure it has a decent set of pads and discs as these seem to wear out quicker than an ordinary car because of the ESP.

They are a good practical car with decent off road performance and can be picked up quite cheaply.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Another happy ML270 owner here.

Generally, the later the car, the more reliable it's likely to be. There's a step up in price, but I would go for a post- rather than pre-facelift car for that reason. The tweaks to both interior and exterior are nice too.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

Definitely go for a facelift model late approx 2002 onward (indicators in mirrors, restyled bumpers etc.)

Also consider the family pack makes it a 7 seater (occassional rear seats and opening rear windows), this really helps with the future resale.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

If you find a car with family and/or luxury pack, remember to tell the seller you didn't really want either, and therefore don't really want to pay extra, and so will need to reduce the price to reflect if you are to buy.

If you find a car without family and/or luxury pack, remember to tell the seller that you really wanted both, and therefore will need to reduce the price to reflect if you are to buy.

It's always a buyers market - but now more so that any time in recent years.

 

[gbjeppm]

This one hits a lot of boxes, and its an inspiration special edition

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...M+CLASS&min_pr=&max_pr=9000&max_mileage=60000

Any thoughts on what I should be paying for this? Actually in comparison to some others I have seen this looks well priced, but it is a buyers market, and nobody I think will be paying screen price?

is the 350 more economical than the 320?

Also should I worry about the towbar?

 

[Andy W]

The inspirations are lovely, they have a few extras over the standard cars, if it is a genuine 30,000 miles and if it has full main dealer service history which it should at that mileage (useful for claiming on the rust warranty just in case) well I think it would be well worth a look, check the discs and pads though.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Blimey, I didn't realise they were that cheap!!

Towing shouldn't be a problem for the chassis or the engine.

However I would question why someone would fit a towbar like that when a removeable OEM unit can be fitted for £300 or so. Looks much better IMHO, and not too much more than the type pictured. Of course if it's been recently fitted, given the cars value the owner could have decided a more cost-effective solution is more appropriate.

 

[gbjeppm]

Well finally after a few months of looking I have sorted myself out. I have done a deal which works for me (the horrible CRV has gone), and pick up the new member of the GBJEPPM merc family on Saturday.

ML500 02 plate with 70k on the clock in primer (silver) with 7 seats, comand and a few other toys.

Yes I know that i should have bought the diesel, but the power and laziness of the V8 just sold me in the end. It will not do many miles, but they will be miles with a smile on my face. And the price just made sense to me in our situation, even if the Chancellor does cane me on the VED.

I did think seriously about Richards, (sorry richard), but it had just done 50k miles too many for me.

Looking forward to finding out the things wrong with it that I did not find when I checked it over. (I did spot that the 6th and 7th seats head rests are missing)

Also need to sort out which phone works with the kit, looks like a 6310, but maybe I will go VISEEO, perhaps Alfie can advise.

I will post pics when I get it.

Here is the spec:

VIN WDC1631752*
Plant 38
Model ML 500
Chassis 1631752*
Engine 113965 30*
Transmission 722666 03
TyresPrimary DB3XA160202020
Rear 02020202
Order 0 2 537 77835
Cab 00000
Delivery date 02.03.02
Dealer Great Britain (537)
Interior leather black or anthracite (261)
Paint 744 brilliant silver metallic (с 1991)
Options M505L engine
241left front seat electrically adjustable with memory feature. only applicable to w 210 when installed in conjunction with code 275. (с 01.03.1983)
242right front seat electrically adjustable with memory feature. only applicable to series w 210 when installed in conjunction with code 275. (с 01.03.1983)
352operation and monitoring system comand (navigation + radio/cassette) (с 01.09.1996)
354antenna on roof centre rear for mobile D-net telephone
antenna on roof centre rear for standard D-net telephone (с 01.10.1994)
461instrument with mileage reading and english lettering (с 01.04.1990)
500outside rear view mirror left and right, folding (с 01.10.1993)
524paintcoat preservation (с 01.01.1964)
613lamp unit, asymmetrical, l.h. traffic (с 01.02.1963)
802Change of year of model, last figure shows new model year
819CD changer - alpine - in trunk (с 31.07.1992)
833
847lateral protection (door step) (for cross-country vehicles only)
3 seat rows (с 01.10.1994)
848elec. side windows (с 01.10.1994)
854w/v 140 e32 (motronic) electronic engine control system (с 01.01.1978)
873seat heater for left and right front seats (с 01.02.1984)
887lockable safe (с 01.10.1994)
984elimination of ownership certificate but with coc papers (с 01.06.1993)

 

[JasM]

Sounds like a good find. Post some pics when you can.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

Good choice, nice spec too! Congratulations, we looked at a few ML500's when getting our ML.

It's scary how much value they've lost now! Thought we got a decent deal on ours but prices now are shockingly low. ML55's are unbelieavably cheap

 

[A210AMG]

Sounds Great.

My colleague had a ML500, only the trip computer put me off...

I choice the ML350, half way house as does 25-28mpg @ 80mph so its almost sensible.


Great car though, is it an inspiration model?

Post some pics

 

[R129mine]

nice!, v8 is great, and i agree with your reasoning

 

[gbjeppm]

Sounds Great.

Great car though, is it an inspiration model?

Unfortunately not, here is a taster, proper pics will come soon.

 

[A210AMG]

Looks like my twin

 

[gbjeppm]

Interesting the ML500 has the same grill as the ML350 inspiration, the vent under the grill though is black on the 500 and silver on the inspiration.

I get the nice wooden gearknob though But plain stitching on the seats

One think i notice though was that the computer above the rear view mirror was showing litres per 100km, rather than mpg.

Now it is definitely a UK car, is that changeable?

Also how do you get to the spare tyre?

Sorry for the questions A210AMG, but new owner etc etc Sorry