Frostytel
Active Member
Currently own a CL500 and I'm looking to get a ML to carry my fishing gear and the dogs etc any advice on issues to look out for ...... Cheers all
Tel
Tel
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2005
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- 28,919
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- Mittel England
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- Smart ForFour AMG Black Series Night Edition Premium Plus 125 Powered by Brabus
Buy the latest you can afford/justify/find, and try to find one with evidence of having been well looked after.
Look very closely for black spotting on the bodywork behind the front wheels, and black streaks down the near side if the engine block. Avoid if you find it.
Look for evidence of broken rear springs and weaping rear dampers, as these must be replaced as a single unit ("strut") and they're expensive! Avoid if damaged.
Look for rust around the wheel arches, behind the sills, and around the boot lock. Avoid if excessive.
Or if it's otherwise good, don't avoid, just haggle hard and go in with your eyes wide open.
Look very closely for black spotting on the bodywork behind the front wheels, and black streaks down the near side if the engine block. Avoid if you find it.
Look for evidence of broken rear springs and weaping rear dampers, as these must be replaced as a single unit ("strut") and they're expensive! Avoid if damaged.
Look for rust around the wheel arches, behind the sills, and around the boot lock. Avoid if excessive.
Or if it's otherwise good, don't avoid, just haggle hard and go in with your eyes wide open.
kid-jensen
MB Enthusiast
Talking about W164s Diesels here....
The front differentials on 2006-7-8 have suspect bearings that tend to ruin them. Listen out for whine/rumbling at about 58mph....if you can hear it, expense is not far away.
The 7-speed can have problems that show up in crashing into first when you come to a stop. There's a possiblilty an oil change will fix it, but usually not. Probably doesn't need repeating that ALL Auto transmission work is expensive.
The motor that controls the swirl flaps in the inlet manifold is prone to failure caused by oil leaks from the oil cooler joint above it. Avoid any car that has evidence of oil leaks, they are never cheap to fix and nor is the swirl motor.
Interior looks a bit utilitarian if you don't go for the wood inserts. The older W163 was much better in this respect, but (IMHO) the exterior styling doesn't do it for me, and the handling of the older version is much more truck-like (AMG Excepted).
Apart from that, they are great cars. If only the government didn't stick you with £485 "Road" tax...
The front differentials on 2006-7-8 have suspect bearings that tend to ruin them. Listen out for whine/rumbling at about 58mph....if you can hear it, expense is not far away.
The 7-speed can have problems that show up in crashing into first when you come to a stop. There's a possiblilty an oil change will fix it, but usually not. Probably doesn't need repeating that ALL Auto transmission work is expensive.
The motor that controls the swirl flaps in the inlet manifold is prone to failure caused by oil leaks from the oil cooler joint above it. Avoid any car that has evidence of oil leaks, they are never cheap to fix and nor is the swirl motor.
Interior looks a bit utilitarian if you don't go for the wood inserts. The older W163 was much better in this respect, but (IMHO) the exterior styling doesn't do it for me, and the handling of the older version is much more truck-like (AMG Excepted).
Apart from that, they are great cars. If only the government didn't stick you with £485 "Road" tax...
Vlad
MB Enthusiast
I think the poster is wanting a W163 270
OP
OP
Frostytel
Active Member
looking for a diesel ....sounds scary already
- Joined
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- 28,919
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- Mittel England
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- Smart ForFour AMG Black Series Night Edition Premium Plus 125 Powered by Brabus
MOZ
Active Member
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2014
- Messages
- 146
- Location
- Knaresborough,North Yorks
- Car
- W163 ML270 Inspiration, Leon Cupra TDI
There is lots of info on this site about ML270's and what to watch out for and common problems so do a search and you will find all sorts of good tips and info.
In terms of build quality the consensus is that the facelift model ( circa 2002 and later) is the better vehicle.
Cars after 1st quarter 04 should be built with galvanised panels ( previous to this they weren't - even tho every other vehicle manufacturer seemed to be), however when I was looking for mine even the late 04 and 05's had rust bubbles on panels, around the boot handle and wheel arches, I was after a later model for the galvanised panels but decided they were no better than the 2003 model I ended up with.
Mercs are renowned to have rust issues especially wheel arches, areas around the boot handle etc.
Ml270's have a reputation of being money pits, my experience is that they can be but if your handy with the tools and are happy to do most jobs yourself the parts don't tend to be as expensive as you might think and you can save yourself a fortune in labour costs.
However go in with your eyes open, I bought what I still consider to be a very good example with 73k ( most are around 100k to 130k) and I am constantly finding niggles and issues to put right ( I am intending to keep it a long time so am trying to get it in as good nick as possible ) if I had paid to have an Indy do the work I have done in 9 months of ownership I would estimate it would have cost me at least 3 grand rather than the £800 it has cost (with more stuff still to do) and that's without the common big problems of inlet manifold and injector leak issues,which will no doubt bite me at some point in the future.
As bobby dazzler says rust, inlet manifold leaking oil from the swirl flaps into the flap motor is something that at some point is likely to bite. Also as he mentions rear springs Commonly break and can be a nightmare to replace so costly.
njector seal leaking causing Black Death build up is very common - not bad if caught early, so make sure you take a torqx set and take the engine cover off (size 30 torqx I believe but may be wrong?) to check the injectors for signs of leaking and Black Death and also check around the underside of the inlet manifold with a torch - if very oily likely to be needing sorting soon - long job so costly if you can't do it yourself circa £800 to £1500 if Indy or stealer does it
Thermostats are a weak point and are a common failure- easy and cheap to change if your handy. Give it a good test drive and let it get up to temp, it should regulate at between 80 and 90 degC, commonly they fail open and run cold so if the temp gauge only gets to 55 to 70 after a decent run it probably needs replacing ( mine constantly say at 60 before I changed it)
Fuel delivery and starting, the fuel pipe seals and o rings dry out and let air in over time causing bad starting issues,cheap seal and oring replacement usually fixes it. Sometimes the hard plastic girl pipe or the plastic plug in connectors break and need replacing, cost about £35 each and there are 3 of them but may never need changing.
Check the rear seat folding mechanism works, a common issue is the cable pops out of its end stop under the rear seat which is easy to fix if the seat is up but if it pops off with the seat folded down it can be a nightmare.
Electric front seats can play up ( usually just a loose connector plug in the module under the seat, just needs pushing back in.
Check the low/high range is working correctly ( needs to be in neutral to swap- button is near the stereo to the left ) if the low range light flashes a number of times after the engine fires up, this indicates a problem, it should only flash when in neutral and you press the button to swap, where it will flash : homes then stay on while in low range, do same to swap back and you should hear the change motor clunk.
If this doesn't work it's not the end of the world. Usually it's just the swap motor stuck and can be released by knocking if with a hammer ? It's on the transmission under car and easy accessible. It's easy to replace if need be.
Check history and ideally get one that has had the automatic transmission services with an ATF and filter change. They were originally a sealed for life unit, but Mercedes have changed this to a recommended change every 50 to 60k miles, looking at circa £200 to £300 for this to be done.
They allegedly eat brakes pads and disks which can be costly, Indy or stealer will want circa £800 to £1100 to do all 4 corners, if you can do it yourself - pretty easy then you can get good quality disks and pads for around £200 to £350 dependent on what manufacturer you want. I haven't had mine long enough to know if the eating brakes is true. I did change disks and pads all round a few weeks back but I don't know how long the old ones had been on, we only do 4000 miles a year in ours so I can't believe they will get much hammer.
Also not a problem, but be aware there are some different special editions out there ( inspiration model like mine, and the Special edition -SE model - with Amg Bonnet bumps, which offer a few nicer features) and as a final note. The trip computer is in the light cluster in the roof above the center console, this was an expensive option so not many have it fitted ? If you look up and the lcd area is solid black and the two buttons show a hook and car tow symbol it doesn't have a trip computer, if there is an lcd screen and a mode and reset button then it does ( I didn't know about this and assumed they all had it especially a £50k inspiration special edition bug no !!!! Even my crappy 1996 pug had a trip computer )
I don't want to put you off as I love mine, and think it's a great car and I would buy another but just be aware. As I say if your handy with the tools go for it, but swat up as much as you can on common problems and give the car a good thorough check.
All the best
Moz
In terms of build quality the consensus is that the facelift model ( circa 2002 and later) is the better vehicle.
Cars after 1st quarter 04 should be built with galvanised panels ( previous to this they weren't - even tho every other vehicle manufacturer seemed to be), however when I was looking for mine even the late 04 and 05's had rust bubbles on panels, around the boot handle and wheel arches, I was after a later model for the galvanised panels but decided they were no better than the 2003 model I ended up with.
Mercs are renowned to have rust issues especially wheel arches, areas around the boot handle etc.
Ml270's have a reputation of being money pits, my experience is that they can be but if your handy with the tools and are happy to do most jobs yourself the parts don't tend to be as expensive as you might think and you can save yourself a fortune in labour costs.
However go in with your eyes open, I bought what I still consider to be a very good example with 73k ( most are around 100k to 130k) and I am constantly finding niggles and issues to put right ( I am intending to keep it a long time so am trying to get it in as good nick as possible ) if I had paid to have an Indy do the work I have done in 9 months of ownership I would estimate it would have cost me at least 3 grand rather than the £800 it has cost (with more stuff still to do) and that's without the common big problems of inlet manifold and injector leak issues,which will no doubt bite me at some point in the future.
As bobby dazzler says rust, inlet manifold leaking oil from the swirl flaps into the flap motor is something that at some point is likely to bite. Also as he mentions rear springs Commonly break and can be a nightmare to replace so costly.
njector seal leaking causing Black Death build up is very common - not bad if caught early, so make sure you take a torqx set and take the engine cover off (size 30 torqx I believe but may be wrong?) to check the injectors for signs of leaking and Black Death and also check around the underside of the inlet manifold with a torch - if very oily likely to be needing sorting soon - long job so costly if you can't do it yourself circa £800 to £1500 if Indy or stealer does it
Thermostats are a weak point and are a common failure- easy and cheap to change if your handy. Give it a good test drive and let it get up to temp, it should regulate at between 80 and 90 degC, commonly they fail open and run cold so if the temp gauge only gets to 55 to 70 after a decent run it probably needs replacing ( mine constantly say at 60 before I changed it)
Fuel delivery and starting, the fuel pipe seals and o rings dry out and let air in over time causing bad starting issues,cheap seal and oring replacement usually fixes it. Sometimes the hard plastic girl pipe or the plastic plug in connectors break and need replacing, cost about £35 each and there are 3 of them but may never need changing.
Check the rear seat folding mechanism works, a common issue is the cable pops out of its end stop under the rear seat which is easy to fix if the seat is up but if it pops off with the seat folded down it can be a nightmare.
Electric front seats can play up ( usually just a loose connector plug in the module under the seat, just needs pushing back in.
Check the low/high range is working correctly ( needs to be in neutral to swap- button is near the stereo to the left ) if the low range light flashes a number of times after the engine fires up, this indicates a problem, it should only flash when in neutral and you press the button to swap, where it will flash : homes then stay on while in low range, do same to swap back and you should hear the change motor clunk.
If this doesn't work it's not the end of the world. Usually it's just the swap motor stuck and can be released by knocking if with a hammer ? It's on the transmission under car and easy accessible. It's easy to replace if need be.
Check history and ideally get one that has had the automatic transmission services with an ATF and filter change. They were originally a sealed for life unit, but Mercedes have changed this to a recommended change every 50 to 60k miles, looking at circa £200 to £300 for this to be done.
They allegedly eat brakes pads and disks which can be costly, Indy or stealer will want circa £800 to £1100 to do all 4 corners, if you can do it yourself - pretty easy then you can get good quality disks and pads for around £200 to £350 dependent on what manufacturer you want. I haven't had mine long enough to know if the eating brakes is true. I did change disks and pads all round a few weeks back but I don't know how long the old ones had been on, we only do 4000 miles a year in ours so I can't believe they will get much hammer.
Also not a problem, but be aware there are some different special editions out there ( inspiration model like mine, and the Special edition -SE model - with Amg Bonnet bumps, which offer a few nicer features) and as a final note. The trip computer is in the light cluster in the roof above the center console, this was an expensive option so not many have it fitted ? If you look up and the lcd area is solid black and the two buttons show a hook and car tow symbol it doesn't have a trip computer, if there is an lcd screen and a mode and reset button then it does ( I didn't know about this and assumed they all had it especially a £50k inspiration special edition bug no !!!! Even my crappy 1996 pug had a trip computer )
I don't want to put you off as I love mine, and think it's a great car and I would buy another but just be aware. As I say if your handy with the tools go for it, but swat up as much as you can on common problems and give the car a good thorough check.
All the best
Moz
MOZ
Active Member
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2014
- Messages
- 146
- Location
- Knaresborough,North Yorks
- Car
- W163 ML270 Inspiration, Leon Cupra TDI
Oh and tax is £285 for a w163 ML270 provided it was registered before 2006 ( March I think) so avoids the bigger£480 tax seen on later models
OP
OP
Frostytel
Active Member
Thanks for the info one and all
OP
OP
Frostytel
Active Member
Thanks moz.... That's a very helpful post, I do most work on my CL myself so don't see this as a major issue, my fishing and friend of many years used to work for Mercedes in spares, and now works for a Mercedes Indy so I'll get them to do the oil changes for the gearboxes ..... Not in a rush so will look long and hard for the right one 
MOZ
Active Member
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2014
- Messages
- 146
- Location
- Knaresborough,North Yorks
- Car
- W163 ML270 Inspiration, Leon Cupra TDI
Great, sounds perfect , in that case don't rush in and get one in the best condition you can and haggle hard, they don't hold their value so worth going in low.
They are a bit wallowy but great cars, I love mine, by the way they are abut thirsty too, generally get late teens in and around town and traffic , up to 30 to 35 on motorway taking her steady.
Good luck.
Moz
They are a bit wallowy but great cars, I love mine, by the way they are abut thirsty too, generally get late teens in and around town and traffic , up to 30 to 35 on motorway taking her steady.
Good luck.
Moz
I'm just after buying a special edition ml270 myself, MOZ has given a really good summary of all of the points. Generally I found all the late models I looked at were generally good and didn't have many of the common problems. I was mainly looking at the injectors and the glow plug light.
MPG wise i'm getting 30mpg fairly easily, I find they drive much better than what I was expecting reading reviews.
MPG wise i'm getting 30mpg fairly easily, I find they drive much better than what I was expecting reading reviews.
having owned an ML55 AMG Designo Edition - 2001, bought with 53k miles in 2009, I would strongly advise thoroughly checking for rust, particularly along the door bottoms. The bottom 2 inches or so of the doors are designed in such a way as to make it very hard to see this, and where you are viewing a black or dark car, even more so.
Mechanically, I never experienced any issues at all with my car, and took it all over Europe, managing 140mph on Autobahn, where permitted - remains today as the quickest I have personally ever driven.
Now looking for a similar car for my 4x4 desiring wife
Mechanically, I never experienced any issues at all with my car, and took it all over Europe, managing 140mph on Autobahn, where permitted - remains today as the quickest I have personally ever driven.
Now looking for a similar car for my 4x4 desiring wife
