shall i buy a merc ML350 pertol

[wub443]

I have a BMW X3 sport 2006, lovely low millage car, but cant stand the bumpy ride any more! I live in the country with bad roads and going anywhere means being tossed around for 2 to 5 miles before i hit a decent road. Its so bad i prefer to use my clamped out old C240 estate to go out! Looks like its a common sore point with these Sport X3's.

So i'm looking to change to a merc ML350, and my budget means a 60k ish millage example , service history,about 2006 / 2008. But i have been to look at 2 and talked to owners of 3 others and there seemed to be lots of warning lights and things popping up, with owners telling me that it comes and goes and other owners telling me these merc's have very complicated electronics and often show false warning lights etc.

No i know i dodgy car is best avoided and some sellers are dawn right liars. But i am getting the feeling that although these luxury ML are lovely cars, they may suffer unusually high electrical / computer problems?

Does anyone have any experience of these and confirm my worries or give glowing reviews for cars of this millage?

[catman]

As you like your car and you know it well, would it be an easier option (and cheaper) to look at changing the suspension to a more comfortable version?

[The spinner of plates]

I frequently used a first-gen W163 270cdi we had as a pool car.

It was a dog of a thing, with an awful manual box and warning lights on pretty much from the day it arrived to the day it went for repairs (again) and then just never returned - the fleet manager just never wanted to see it again.

Second-gen maybe better, I'm not sure.
Maybe that one we had was a lemon.
But it pretty much put me off ever considering one.

Saying that, my brother has a W164 which I think you are considering.
He says it's been OK but won't have another as every trip to the dealer seems to cost him £1,500 to service and fix minor things that go wrong.

Says he wants a Range Rover next time... obviously a glutton for punishment

[M12MTR]

No. Get a petrol version.

[wub443]

ref changing the suspension on mine, i cant seem to find any where that gives a straight answer. I know i can change wheels and tyres, but i dont think that will fix it and have yet to find someone who has actually done that and can vouch for that plan. Cant to seem to find any threads anywhere about changing the springs and shocks or weather the SE X3 same year was a much softer ride.

[catman]

Even the tyres can make a significant difference. If you currently have big wheels and low profile tyres, changing to smaller wheels with higher profile tyres will help. The same goes for run flat tyres. They are known to give a harsh ride.

You should be able to replace the suspension for the non sport suspension, I would imagine, if the tyres aren't the problem.

[ZX10R NIN]

Some of the early 350's suffered with a balancer shaft issue that's not a cheap fix, if you want an ML500 they have no issues engine wise & fuel wise they're pretty much the same as the 350. The extra torque of the 500 makes them a bit more relaxing.

500

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010014...

There should be no light on if there are then they're not looking after them.

I'm not sure how much you want to spend but there are some good alternatives:

3.6 Touareg SE check the cam chain isn't rattling as they can suffer chain stretching.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010054...

If you want a reliable nice riding SUV for sensible money then I'd say take a look at the Infiniti FX37 S:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009123...

Or there's the fully loaded FX50 S Premium these come with everything 360 Cameras/Air Cooled seats/kerb cam etc & there's a 3mpg difference in fuel.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009023...

Or the X3 sized EX37 GT Premium

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009193...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009214...

The engine is the same one that's in the 370Z & you can have it serviced at Nissan dealers or a decent Indy.

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Wednesday 7th October 20:25

[Miserablegit]

Avoid a 350 petrol as they all had balancer shaft issues from what I recall. Some might have been fixed by now.

I bought one that had apparently been checked over and had 50k on it. The engine went bang at about 53000 miles. Ended up buying a new one but by then the 350 was diesel only. The original one had air suspension that was prone to go wrong - the later 350 had standard springs/ dampers.

Mercedes rep for quality was certainly misplaced around this era.

[wub443]

Hi Miserablegit

what year was your petrol 350? Engine went bang at 53K! i have an old 1999 c240 estate pool car with 167K on it, never let me down, never spent any money on it. Even though i really would like to buy a merc of 2006 -2010, its starting to worry me!

[ZX10R NIN]

wub443 said:

Hi Miserablegit

what year was your petrol 350? Engine went bang at 53K! i have an old 1999 c240 estate pool car with 167K on it, never let me down, never spent any money on it. Even though i really would like to buy a merc of 2006 -2010, its starting to worry me!

As I said in the post above early 350's had balancer shaft issues which is 2.5k fix which was why I suggested going for the 500 as it doesn't have any of those issues.

Google Mercedes 350 balancer shaft.

[wub443]

Ok........... i think that did the trick, No thank you to an ML!

Maybe an X5 has a softer ride?

[ZX10R NIN]

wub443 said:

Ok........... i think that did the trick, No thank you to an ML!

Maybe an X5 has a softer ride?

Look at the suggestions above if you go for an X5 make sure it's an SE.

[Miserablegit]

wub443 said:

Hi Miserablegit

what year was your petrol 350? Engine went bang at 53K! i have an old 1999 c240 estate pool car with 167K on it, never let me down, never spent any money on it. Even though i really would like to buy a merc of 2006 -2010, its starting to worry me!

My petrol was a 56 plate.

[KungFuPanda]

M12MTR said:

No. Get a petrol version.

He IS talking about a petrol version.