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M Class considerations

Palfrem

Palfrem

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 11, 2005
Messages
2,965
Location
Solihull, near Birmingham
Car
W124 E36 AMG, G 300 GEL his, SLK 200 hers
When I put my lovely E36 to bed for the winter (or maybe sooner the rate I'm racking up the miles - I've done over 3500!) I have been considering entering the world of the 4 x 4.

Looked at a used Landcruiser today but it's just too brutal and imposing

I like the Defender but no auto box.

Range Rover and Disco, hmm - need convincing.

Touareg - waaaay too dear!

Cayenne - cheap enough to buy a huge petrol engined one now but....

ML looking OK and there's a bit of a rarity factor in comparison to RR & RR Sport. Plenty of reasonably priced ones in MB network too it seems.

Any experience / advice please chaps?
 
I've just done this as you know Palfrem... I've had a fair few 4x4's in the past...so here's my verdict....
I also looked at Range Rover Supercharged Sport, Cayenne Turbo, Toerag V10...

The Range Rover is everywhere and your either a gangster, Essex wife or just a general Mummy wagon, I also couldn't get on with the interior.
The Cayenne was a natural choice for me coming from a 911, these can eat engines with bore issues and also gearboxes...
The Toerag V10 was very expensive to maintain if it went wrong and just personally didn't do it for me
There are lots of the above on the roads.... I wanted something rare and different, the W164 ML is by far the superior model, especially in 63 guise. I was in no way going to come back to Mercedes after the luck I had with my previous money pit cars, but after a drive in my mates 320cdi I was hooked and the hunt was on for a 63....
This was hard to do as the spec I wanted was like rocking horse shxt to find... Patience (which I dont have) was needed and a call to a prestige dealer I always keep in touch with yielded a car coming in in the next few days....
And now it's mine.... It's awesome in every way, rides lovely on the air, is fully loaded, looks the business and what I like is it's rare!!!

Enjoy your search..... Cheers Greg
 
Palfrem said:
Range Rover and Disco, hmm - need convincing.

Any experience / advice please chaps?
Click to expand...
Worth checking the WhatCar and WarrantyDirect reliability survey which shows Range Rover as achieving the title for the most unreliable car on sale in the UK of all makes and models (not just 4x4s) and not just this year but every single year for ten years in a row.

Very pleased with my ML which has now done over 30k miles without missing a beat. I get 31-33 mpg on a run. Very comfortable, roomy and a great 4 wheel drive estate car IMO.
 
hawk20 said:
Worth checking the WhatCar and WarrantyDirect reliability survey which shows Range Rover as achieving the title for the most unreliable car on sale in the UK of all makes and models (not just 4x4s) and not just this year but every single year for ten years in a row.
Click to expand...

New survey just out, nothing has changed!
BBC News - Japanese cars are 'most reliable' used car brands in UK

Mercedes in the bottom 10 too, saw a ML a few months ago, 2008 reg, bottom edge of rear doors rusting away already.

Russ
 
For a mummy wagon mrs dsl's dodge nitro is hard to beat it was 12 months old with 6k miles and cost £15k with leather, big wheels, big stereo, nav and easy p ack boot - bargain.
Not The last word in sophistication but who cares its been über reliable and still on 3 original tyres at 25k (amazing)
Mb 2.8 diesel ain't fast or frugal but has been reliable.
 
Approved Used 2006 MERCEDES-BENZ ML320 CDI for sale

Having recently driven a similar vehicle and finding myself liking it a lot - I'm giving this one some thought. Good spec and seems cared for.

Of course I've not seen a Cubanite coloured car since I spotted this. How gold is it?

What does the team think about price. There seems to be a lot of variation for similar cars.

It'll also be bought sight unseen - dangerous?
 
I had an ML300 Sport last year.

Lovely cruiser, but reminded me of driving the Chrysler 300C I rented last time I was in Florida.

It averaged 29-30 mpg of mixed driving. It ate tyres at a rate of knots.

It was comfortable for 5 adults, the boot was simply huge.

The 7g gearbox was not good though and it made pulling out of junctions a bit of lottery and would also complete some pretty heavy and jerky gearchanges..

Overall I liked it, but I feel more comfortable driving the C class I have now.

In the past I've owned Range Rovers so I'm used to something a bit more roly poly. In this respect the ML kind of slots in between a car and an a 4x4 for driving style.
 
Red C220 said:
I had an ML300 Sport last year.

Lovely cruiser, but reminded me of driving the Chrysler 300C I rented last time I was in Florida.

It averaged 29-30 mpg of mixed driving. It ate tyres at a rate of knots.

It was comfortable for 5 adults, the boot was simply huge.

The 7g gearbox was not good though and it made pulling out of junctions a bit of lottery and would also complete some pretty heavy and jerky gearchanges..

Overall I liked it, but I feel more comfortable driving the C class I have now.

In the past I've owned Range Rovers so I'm used to something a bit more roly poly. In this respect the ML kind of slots in between a car and an a 4x4 for driving style.
Click to expand...
Mine's done 28k on a set of Continental tyres -no problems on that score. And all 4 have worn very evenly.

The seven speed box had a software update last September which I had done free by local MB dealer on my ML and it has transformed the experience. Now really smooth changes, very responsive and no jerky changes at any speed.
 
Thats a real comfort spec Palfrem... I'm loving that colour... IMO its all a bit light inside for me.... Mine is very black both inside and out :-)
It's all personal preference, the 320cdi I went in of my mates was lovely and that's what made me get an ML... I personally love the big engines so have always had V8's
It's very reasonably priced too IMO

Cheers Greg
 
hawk20 said:
Mine's done 28k on a set of Continental tyres -no problems on that score. And all 4 have worn very evenly.

The seven speed box had a software update last September which I had done free by local MB dealer on my ML and it has transformed the experience. Now really smooth changes, very responsive and no jerky changes at any speed.
Click to expand...

Mine had worn all 4 Contis (evenly) in under 14K miles (20" rims).

Glad to hear the software update sorted the gear issues, it was the main reason I got rid of mine.

It was a very nice car though and I would have another.

I'm really not keen on the new version though.
 
I saw and sat in the new version yesterday and it looks really good in the metal.

Palfrem the one you have been looking at has a tasty spec IMO. I love memory seats as my wife drives too so always changing position. The light grey interior looks really good and the mileage is very low. Price looks good for low miles and good nick and good spec. Enjoy.
 
I do fancy it Hawk - need to be convinced perhaps.
I just feel I need it to be a bit less expensive for a 6 year old car...
 
Not yet Mr B.

I'd like a bit of pencil sharpening from the dealer - He's not had to do anything to it other than wash it and touch up a stone chip on the bonnet. It's 15K to next service, taxed and MOTd and all the tyres are OK.

The previous owner swapped it for another ML. So I reckon it maybe owes him £13K ish plus cost of MB warranty.
 
Its very basic looking and cubanite is not the most popular colour for an ML.
With a W164 I think it has to be the Sport of Edition-S, they look a different car compared to the SE.
 
Palfrem said:
Not yet Mr B.

I'd like a bit of pencil sharpening from the dealer - He's not had to do anything to it other than wash it and touch up a stone chip on the bonnet. It's 15K to next service, taxed and MOTd and all the tyres are OK.

The previous owner swapped it for another ML. So I reckon it maybe owes him £13K ish plus cost of MB warranty.
Click to expand...

Well if you go to WhatCar valuations they value it at £17k from a dealer, in excellent condition, with that low mileage, and 16k private sale. And £15k part ex. Still looks good value to me especially bearing in mind COMAND and memory seats. The choice between SE and Sport is pretty personal. I wanted SE but could not find one with memory seats so went for Sport. But the SE has more sensible wheels which give a better ride and more grip in snow and mud and don't get kerbed so easily. Much quieter at cruising speeds too than wide low profile tyres. Also cheaper to replace. Also on the SE you get leather seats which are not standard on Sport. No difference in performance. Sport is just bits of trim. If you want running boards can easily retro fit.

For £3 you can go to the Glass's Guide website and plug in all the details to get a full valuation. But What Car are often pretty close.
 
This one looks pretty OK to me. What's the main difference twixt Sport & SE?

Cubanite not my first colour pick perhaps (at least it's not black) but was it ever thus in the world of pre-owned transport
 
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