Thanks for the quick reply ! I've seen this one, no parking sensors though and that seems like a good extra to go for if poss and just too many miles for me. I'm in Southport, btw. I've got my heart set on a 270 as the consensus of opinion seems to be that it is the best engine in the range, and the 270's are made in Austria I believe and not Alabama ! Secretly, I'm after one that looks as good as yours ;-)
I started down the route of the 270 for the same reasons. BUT, the Inspiration model is better than other variants. I drove a standard ML500 before mine - sure it sounded good, but it all felt quite loose. Test drove my 350 and it felt like a totally different car. If you're doing regular commute then I'd probably choose the diesel (depending on how far your commute is of course). That's why most diesels you see will have the higher mileages. The big petrols do sound goooood though The fact you're after an Inspiration model will make your task harder as they were limited editions. Car Giant in London have an 04 Silver 270 with 41k miles on the clock £9,799 - standard car, not Inspiration.