ML320 - MB SUV - Who had/has one?

[cab83_750]

Looking to purchase a perfect condition, 50K mile, 2004 MB suv. In searching the web, this appears to be a bad purchase. I know that it gets high teens as far as mileage, but I am more concerned about reliability as my love of my life (daughter) would be driving it.

Any reliability issues?

Thanks in advance.

[the]

How much are you looking to pay? I have a friend in your area who can get those from Mercedes Financial (lease returns) for cheap! Probably can get you an '05 or '06 still under warranty for close to what you are going to pay for that '04.

[MRM]

Can he get S Class too? I've been coveting a nice 2003-2006 S500 or S55.

[the]

yeah. SUVs and S class are going for cheap right now. He can give you a pretty accurate quote for just about any MB.

[dd74]

Try to get a ML 320 diesel. The mileage and power will be much better. Otherwise, in regard to the old gas version ML's, I haven't heard too many terrible things about it.

[daepp]

I have a 2001 ML430. Not sure when they did the major changeover to a unibody.

The 1998 to 20XX ML's were built on a very stout boxed ladder frame. In fact, an 01 ML430 just won the Paris/Dakkar race.

My ML never left me. It weighs 2.5 tons and has 8 air bags. My 16 y.o. daughter drives herself and her sister 16 miles away to their high school. I feel blessed that they have a very safe vehicle to drive to school on our chaotic So Cal freeways.

As far as reliability, I'd say it's only average. It's a V-8, so mileage is only around 15. But I cannot emphasize enough that it is a very solid, safe vehicle.

I don't know that much about the unibody ML's. AFAIK, they're just as safe - but you might want to chech out benzworld.com!

[aigel]

Price a brake job on the thing. That's what I did and decided to pass. The later ones reliability is okay - but certainly not stellar. I think you can do better ...

George

[the]

Originally Posted by aigel

Price a brake job on the thing. That's what I did and decided to pass. The later ones reliability is okay - but certainly not stellar. I think you can do better ...

George

What's expensive about the brakes? The pads are around $100 for the front, same price for the rear, that includes the sensor.

Mercedes rotors are dirt cheap, usually in the $50-$60 range.

[RWebb]

you want statistical data - try COns. Reports


but... I had a '99 ML430 -- nice power, all the powertrain was good - the BEST traction system ever (at taht time) - it could pull itself out of slick ice with just 1 wheel

terrible paint & interior quality - the entire headliner fell down once when I hit a bump -- my Golden Retriever was not amused!

AND hat sort of thing is sfaety issue - driver distraction


plus the regional rep. was an A-hole so I made it very clear to the MB dealership that I was unhappy - turned out MBUSA fired him so I imagine others were very unhappy too

ther service writer was nice guy but you can't stay live as a luxury brand like that - no wonder Lexus made such huge inroads.

I'm sure it will be safe for your daughter. Can she afford the gas??

[Jagshund]

As previously stated, I would recommend looking at Consumer Reports and other resources for long term issues such as build quality and reliability issues. MB has, in recent years, become the German Cadillac- and I don't mean that in a good way. Both MB and BMW have been trying to keep up with Lexus and have done a miserable job of doing so.

No offense to MB owners intended.

[aigel]

If the daughter is close and you can DIY, it may be ok. But go ahead and price brakes at the dealer.

George

[the]

MB had some quality control issues in the early 2000s. I would avoid anything from around 2003 or earlier. The 05s and up have been much better.

Anyone who takes a 4 year old Mercedes to a dealership for service is going to get what they deserve (i.e., a raping!), just like at a BMW or Porsche dealership. The last time I was at an MB dealership in Cal, I noticed the shop rate was $150/hr.

Like BMW and Porsche, though, in places like metro So. Cal., there are lots of excellent independent shops which are much more reasonable.

But, a MB, Porsche or BMW is generally going to cost more to maintain than a Honda or Toyota, for sure.

[cab83_750]

Originally Posted by dd74

Try to get a ML 320 diesel. The mileage and power will be much better. Otherwise, in regard to the old gas version ML's, I haven't heard too many terrible things about it.

DD74,

That is basically what I hear. The 320 diesel is more reliable than the gas version.



As for gas mileage, relatively speaking, the ML320 would be very good ---- compared to my LandCruiser at 11MPG!!!!

[ChemMan]

I have had a couple ML320's. If they had their services etc, they are excellent especially in the winter. Fairly easy to work on. I had a 98 that did not have a problem until after 150,000 miles. After changing the catalytic converter, it ran great again. I would be sure to get a ppi done. There is a lot of diy info on benzworld.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by the

MB had some quality control issues in the early 2000s. I would avoid anything from around 2003 or earlier. The 05s and up have been much better.

Anyone who takes a 4 year old Mercedes to a dealership for service is going to get what they deserve (i.e., a raping!), just like at a BMW or Porsche dealership. The last time I was at an MB dealership in Cal, I noticed the shop rate was $150/hr.

Like BMW and Porsche, though, in places like metro So. Cal., there are lots of excellent independent shops which are much more reasonable.

But, a MB, Porsche or BMW is generally going to cost more to maintain than a Honda or Toyota, for sure.

Agreed. My major question, is she going AWAY for college, or is she still in high school? If she's local where you could handle any repair needs, then it's ok. But I would NEVER send my daughter away to college with a German car, unless you just want to hand her a stack of blank checks. For starters, you don't want to chance your daughter's car stranding her in a strange town, and German cars just don't have the reliability of the Japanese. Then, you don't want her to blow her tuition money to repair a Mercedes. Parts and labor are always much more on a German car. Not to mention, if she keeps this car post-college, then she'll be driving an OLD German car. Not good.

Personally, when my daughter is of driving age she will be driving a Japanese car. Unless the Germans have caught up on the reliability front by then. If you want to spoil your daughter with something a bit nicer, I'm sure you can find a good deal on a Lexus RX, Infiniti FX, or Acura MDX. But out of curiousity, why buy her a SUV that gets crappy MPG and won't hold it's value?

[TerryBPP]

I'm driving one right now and loving it. Its a 98 with 78k miles and rides like brand new. I was going to sell it but am having 2nd thoughts.

[javadog]

I bought a '98 when they first came out. There were only a couple of issues that we had with the car. The early fuel pumps were crap, we went through several of them. The wife got stranded a time or two as a result of this problem. Some of the 3.2L engines developed a problem with oil consumption. We ran synthetic oil through ours and changed it more often than most people and it still started to smoke a little. We unloaded it and bought a 2000 E320 wagon. That also started to burn a little oil eventually, so it got sold, too.

Read up on the problems these cars can have and see if you still want one. They are not cheap to fix.

JR

[126coupe]

When my daughter turned 16 I opted against a high center of gravity type suv.
It seems these young drivers dont have enough experience in an emergency situation.
What I mean they tend to "jerk" the wheel putting the suv in a possible roll over situation. It seems it happens all to often that teenage drivers are involved in roll over accidents. My .02

[speeder]

There are so many better ways to keep your children safe than putting them in a 5k lb. SUV, IMO. People can die in those vehicles, too. As Minkoff suggested, they do not handle like cars.

I'd put her in a late-model Acura or some other good Japanese car w/ all of the modern safety features like traction control, latest version ABS, etc... They are safe cars.

A brake job on any car at the MB dealer is going to be painful, plus they always want to replace the rotors when they have minimal wear, etc... That was my experience, when ex-GF had a new Benz. They need to feed the beast which is their zillion-dollar facility and make a profit, you are an important part of the equation.

[daepp]

I respectfully disagree. There is no substitute for sheet metal. What percent of an Acura is plastic? Having been rear ended twice in the ML, I've seen what's under the bumper covers. It's a solid piece of heavy gauge steel channel. It's a real bumper.

As for rollovers, the ML has a state of the rollover and traction control, and having driven it off road on some very aggressive trails, I can tell you it works. It applies a brake on the opposite side of car which forces is back down on the ground. Both its effectiveness and its simplicity impressed me.

There will always be a possibility of (16 y.o. girl) driver error, over correction, etc. In any vehicle. But the chances of surviving an accident are also better in that car.

And finally, what about the accidents that are not your/her fault. I was rear ended by a Suburban in the ML. The guy was going approx 15 to 20 mph and never hit his brakes (I honestly thought I'd been hit by a big rig!). The seat belt pretensioner deployed, I survived, and the rear hatch still opened, closed and latched.

I am truly impressed with how stout that car is. But don't get me started on ride quality...