A relatively cheap Mercedes ML
Discussion
I clearly can't get enough of 3.0 Mercedes diesels as I'd already got a 350 CDI CLS Shooting Brake when we decided to swap MrsC's XC60 D4 AWD for a slightly heavier car so we could tow a horse box (I apologise for the unnecessary imposition other motorists have to put up with for my wife & friends causing traffic chaos). The XC60 was a great car with reasonable handling and a gruff but sporty sounding engine but the towing capacity was light for what we needed.
Our choices were therefore a VW Touareg/Porsche Cayenne 3.0 diesel, a Disco 4 3.0 or an ML W164. We'd had a couple of VWs way back when they were launched and they were good cars but I wanted something mechanically simple and also reliable (that meant the Disco was off the list straight away!!!) which also meant no air suspension. Everything on "the list" with the exception of the ML was technically more expensive to buy as you'd be buying an older car with similar miles compared to the ML for the same money (the sting in the tail for the ML is £710 pa for the road tax). My wife did try my patience briefly with the suggestion of a Ssanyong Rexton (suggested by an unhelpful friend who is in the motor trade) which of course would get a much younger car but would be a nightmare to get parts for given how scarce they are - I had to assert myself on this one as there are times the car would need to be used to go to places where I admit I would be embarrassed to be seen in one
So, with a budget broadly of what we'd get for the XC60 selling privately (£6-6.5k) I started looking at a W164 but since I wanted to buy from a dealer unless I found a unicorn car for sale privately it was making it a bit harder (the car would be one of the last before the face-lift). I'd have liked a 350 CDI for the extra torque but I really wanted a car with full leather and xenon headlights which meant the Grand Edition version aka a run-out model was my target and there seemed very few in 350 version. It's a lottery buying cars that were once pretty expensive but are now circa 12 yrs old as you don't know truly how well they've been looked after.....
Of course no self respecting person with OCD for clean cars buys a black one but my CLS was black & I was under some pressure to get another car as our 7.5T lorry had been sold & horsey women can be quite impatient
The spec on the car is 300 CDI Grand Edition; metallic black with black full leather interior, heated seats, xenon headlights, navigation and a reasonable service history. The dealer up in Manchester wouldn't budge on the £6,295 screen price but would service the car (it was due), put a matching tyre on as it had a random winter tyre on one wheel & fix the inoperable boot lock. I didn't expect the dealer to get it serviced at a Merc specialist (which they did) plus they found a broken rear spring and then it threw up a ABS warning light which eventually took 4 original manufacture wheel speed sensors to get it fixed. The garage had a bill for £700 in the end.
I've subsequently had a specialist drop the gearbox fluid as it was overdue and we've fitted a towbar (more on that later!!)
Our choices were therefore a VW Touareg/Porsche Cayenne 3.0 diesel, a Disco 4 3.0 or an ML W164. We'd had a couple of VWs way back when they were launched and they were good cars but I wanted something mechanically simple and also reliable (that meant the Disco was off the list straight away!!!) which also meant no air suspension. Everything on "the list" with the exception of the ML was technically more expensive to buy as you'd be buying an older car with similar miles compared to the ML for the same money (the sting in the tail for the ML is £710 pa for the road tax). My wife did try my patience briefly with the suggestion of a Ssanyong Rexton (suggested by an unhelpful friend who is in the motor trade) which of course would get a much younger car but would be a nightmare to get parts for given how scarce they are - I had to assert myself on this one as there are times the car would need to be used to go to places where I admit I would be embarrassed to be seen in one
So, with a budget broadly of what we'd get for the XC60 selling privately (£6-6.5k) I started looking at a W164 but since I wanted to buy from a dealer unless I found a unicorn car for sale privately it was making it a bit harder (the car would be one of the last before the face-lift). I'd have liked a 350 CDI for the extra torque but I really wanted a car with full leather and xenon headlights which meant the Grand Edition version aka a run-out model was my target and there seemed very few in 350 version. It's a lottery buying cars that were once pretty expensive but are now circa 12 yrs old as you don't know truly how well they've been looked after.....
Of course no self respecting person with OCD for clean cars buys a black one but my CLS was black & I was under some pressure to get another car as our 7.5T lorry had been sold & horsey women can be quite impatient
The spec on the car is 300 CDI Grand Edition; metallic black with black full leather interior, heated seats, xenon headlights, navigation and a reasonable service history. The dealer up in Manchester wouldn't budge on the £6,295 screen price but would service the car (it was due), put a matching tyre on as it had a random winter tyre on one wheel & fix the inoperable boot lock. I didn't expect the dealer to get it serviced at a Merc specialist (which they did) plus they found a broken rear spring and then it threw up a ABS warning light which eventually took 4 original manufacture wheel speed sensors to get it fixed. The garage had a bill for £700 in the end.
I've subsequently had a specialist drop the gearbox fluid as it was overdue and we've fitted a towbar (more on that later!!)
I knew when we bought the car there were 2 manufacturer's safety recalls which supposedly couldn't be done before we picked it up....a driver's airbag and a brake booster. The airbags were on back order so the local main dealer did the test on the brake booster and it failed which confirmed the car was in need of a replacement - a courtesy car was provided and it was sorted the next day. We then took it back for the airbag 4 weeks later.
I'd decided on cost terms to get a specialist to do the gearbox fluid change (it was about 60% of the main dealer quote) as it needs specific kit to do it properly. In true service specialist behaviour i.e. trying to upsell, they gave me a list of things to be aware of when the gearbox oil service was done. They said it needed all discs/pads (£500/axle) as they were just below manufacturer spec, it had a worn headlight leveller adjuster, would need a new hand brake cable soon, had a broken exhaust clamp and the propshaft bush was worn (as OEM you can't apparently get the bush on its own so a complete section of the propshaft is @£1k plus fitting!!). Needless to say, it is my intention to only use a specialist if there is no other option and my local guy says there is a propshaft specialist who can just replace the bush for relatively little cost
My local garage have also said they can do all the brakes for less than the quote for one axle from the specialist which isn't a surprise
Thoughts so far....it doesn't handle like the Volvo did, but the upside is that with a horse trailer on the back it doesn't bounce about like the Volvo as it is heavier. MrsC broke the drivers door window switch (£16 replacement from Fleabay) and I let my local guy faff about changing it There is an occasional yellow EML which isn't showing up on the diagnostics but it doesn't affect performance so this could be a sign it needs a new battery due to age. We had a towbar specialist fit a towbar and whilst doing it they found signs of a previous factory fitted kit underneath but with no swan-neck or the electrics so we continued with a new kit. I've also just fitted 2 new front tyres & it apparently needs an inner track rod (about £32 plus labour and then a 4 wheel alignment check).
Insurance cost is less than the Volvo, mpg is worse (circa 30 mpg without the trailer on) but it is a nice place to be although it definitely isn't fast!!! The road tax cost is bearable.
In PH terms the car looks good from about 10ft away but I'm not worried as MrsC is a typical horsey lady whose not concerned at keeping it clean (she says I do it so well she'd never try and match my OCD).
I'd decided on cost terms to get a specialist to do the gearbox fluid change (it was about 60% of the main dealer quote) as it needs specific kit to do it properly. In true service specialist behaviour i.e. trying to upsell, they gave me a list of things to be aware of when the gearbox oil service was done. They said it needed all discs/pads (£500/axle) as they were just below manufacturer spec, it had a worn headlight leveller adjuster, would need a new hand brake cable soon, had a broken exhaust clamp and the propshaft bush was worn (as OEM you can't apparently get the bush on its own so a complete section of the propshaft is @£1k plus fitting!!). Needless to say, it is my intention to only use a specialist if there is no other option and my local guy says there is a propshaft specialist who can just replace the bush for relatively little cost
My local garage have also said they can do all the brakes for less than the quote for one axle from the specialist which isn't a surprise
Thoughts so far....it doesn't handle like the Volvo did, but the upside is that with a horse trailer on the back it doesn't bounce about like the Volvo as it is heavier. MrsC broke the drivers door window switch (£16 replacement from Fleabay) and I let my local guy faff about changing it
There is an occasional yellow EML which isn't showing up on the diagnostics but it doesn't affect performance so this could be a sign it needs a new battery due to age. We had a towbar specialist fit a towbar and whilst doing it they found signs of a previous factory fitted kit underneath but with no swan-neck or the electrics so we continued with a new kit. I've also just fitted 2 new front tyres & it apparently needs an inner track rod (about £32 plus labour and then a 4 wheel alignment check).Insurance cost is less than the Volvo, mpg is worse (circa 30 mpg without the trailer on) but it is a nice place to be although it definitely isn't fast!!! The road tax cost is bearable.
In PH terms the car looks good from about 10ft away but I'm not worried as MrsC is a typical horsey lady whose not concerned at keeping it clean (she says I do it so well she'd never try and match my OCD).
mdk1 said:
Following, looks a fair chunk of metal for the price.
It's a 2011 3 previous owner car with 113k miles. It had a Mercedes service history print out to 70k miles and we could see it had been serviced by a local garage in Manchester since but hadn't been serviced annually but on mileage (I guess it was used as a family car by the cr4p under the rear seat!!). I will get the oil dropped annually as it'll probably only do about 4k miles each year but towing will give it a harder life and at least I know it had a service before we picked it up. With a private plate on, it does indeed look a lot of car - I saw an 09 Cayenne diesel at a local garage but with 130k miles and 10 owners for £700 more but even knowing a good Porsche techie it put me off although maybe when we replace the ML in 2-3 years I might be a bit braver!!! I also checked the MOT history before I bought it as some have had corrosion on the rear subframe reported before but there were no indications on this. I also only buy used cars with a spare key for practical reasons (you'd be surprised how many don't have them).
So the ML had been running ok albeit with an intermittent orange EML that would pop up sometimes and then go off (with no loss of power etc.) and we think it is a dodgy sensor as it wasn't showing on the STAR system when the gearbox fluid got changed last Autumn - it does it randomly btw.
I was walking past it yesterday and thought I could see a possible tiny oil patch on the drive
upon closer inspection part of the undertray has a nice layer of oil....oops!! I popped it down to my mechanic who'll look after it now and the diagnosis is fortunately not the usual oil cooler seals, but the seal on the oil filter housing to the block apparently which has probably cracked with age (phew!!) I'll get the seal changed and the engine and undertray steam cleaned next week (pics to follow). An OEM seal is about £11 so it is pointless considering an aftermarket one & my mechanic charges £65/hr so it shouldn't be too bad.
On my list of preventative maintenance is a slightly more time consuming job....changing the propshaft bush which I'll sort also when the oil leak is being done (it's a take it off/send it away to a propshaft specialist for replacement/re-balancing) and maybe put some new front discs/pads and a brake fluid on at the same time as well.
MrsC says she prefers her "tank" as she calls it, to my CLS - it's all about the visibility when driving as she's seen a few cars lost in the blind spots for HGVs on the motorway and it'd be pretty difficult to lose an ML I remind myself that for what I paid to buy the ML and the maintenance so far, I'm still significantly ahead of what a year's worth of PCP payments would be on a nearly new say GLC from a main dealer
The pic below shows the oil filter and the dampness on the block behind
I was walking past it yesterday and thought I could see a possible tiny oil patch on the drive
upon closer inspection part of the undertray has a nice layer of oil....oops!! I popped it down to my mechanic who'll look after it now and the diagnosis is fortunately not the usual oil cooler seals, but the seal on the oil filter housing to the block apparently which has probably cracked with age (phew!!) I'll get the seal changed and the engine and undertray steam cleaned next week (pics to follow). An OEM seal is about £11 so it is pointless considering an aftermarket one & my mechanic charges £65/hr so it shouldn't be too bad.On my list of preventative maintenance is a slightly more time consuming job....changing the propshaft bush which I'll sort also when the oil leak is being done (it's a take it off/send it away to a propshaft specialist for replacement/re-balancing) and maybe put some new front discs/pads and a brake fluid on at the same time as well.
MrsC says she prefers her "tank" as she calls it, to my CLS - it's all about the visibility when driving as she's seen a few cars lost in the blind spots for HGVs on the motorway and it'd be pretty difficult to lose an ML
I remind myself that for what I paid to buy the ML and the maintenance so far, I'm still significantly ahead of what a year's worth of PCP payments would be on a nearly new say GLC from a main dealerThe pic below shows the oil filter and the dampness on the block behind
For those interested in a relatively cost effective tow car, the W164 ML is quite a useful tool (the Kia Sorento is an even cheaper popular option for those not concerned with badge snobbery). It might be old school in terms of tech (no adblue/dpf/stop-start) but it has a 3500kgs braked towing capacity.
Our previous car (2013 XC60 D4 AWD) only had a braked towing capacity of 2400kgs - an Ifor Williams trailer like we have
Is 1000kgs empty before you add our smaller horse at about 600kgs or our larger one at about 725kgs and with both on board we'd be at just over 2300 kgs (too close to the capacity of the XC60). The ML might be less agile as a driver's car but the extra unladen weight is noticeable when towing as the car/trailer run better
the nose of the trailer doesn't bounce like it did with the XC60) and is well within the 85% recommended figures. In real terms the ML is the next category up from an XC60 which would be more akin to a GLC now.
With any tow car it is worth checking the MOT history to see if the rear springs have been changed?- both had on our car & the gearbox fluid change I had done was because I couldn't see any record (not all the SH was with Mercedes and there was a gap of 2.5 yrs) was a belt and braces approach. There's a school of thought air suspension is better for towing but for a car over 10 yrs old it could be painful if the bags needed changing but it was a rare/expensive option on the ML.
Our previous car (2013 XC60 D4 AWD) only had a braked towing capacity of 2400kgs - an Ifor Williams trailer like we have
Is 1000kgs empty before you add our smaller horse at about 600kgs or our larger one at about 725kgs and with both on board we'd be at just over 2300 kgs (too close to the capacity of the XC60). The ML might be less agile as a driver's car but the extra unladen weight is noticeable when towing as the car/trailer run better
the nose of the trailer doesn't bounce like it did with the XC60) and is well within the 85% recommended figures. In real terms the ML is the next category up from an XC60 which would be more akin to a GLC now.With any tow car it is worth checking the MOT history to see if the rear springs have been changed?- both had on our car & the gearbox fluid change I had done was because I couldn't see any record (not all the SH was with Mercedes and there was a gap of 2.5 yrs) was a belt and braces approach. There's a school of thought air suspension is better for towing but for a car over 10 yrs old it could be painful if the bags needed changing but it was a rare/expensive option on the ML.
I run an ML420 Cdi as our family duties, tow car, long distance cruiser. We have had it for nearly15 years and its been simply superb. It’s got the smoothest most rev happy diesel engine ever. 700NM torque makes light work of anything that we tow. No adblue, no dpf. Apart from regular services it’s had the obligatory centre prop shaft bearing, about £165 from memory, the throttle potentiometer failed, and the aux belt tensioner went. So not bad. It’s on its fourth replacement set of the OE Pirelli all season tyres, works out at about 25K miles per set. As it gets older the electrical gremlins are slowly getting more noticeable, it’s a shame because it’s these that are going to kill it rather than anything else. Nothing too drastic yet, just odd error messages. I am at a complete loss about what to replace it with. Another SUV type tow car is a must. The modern diesel equivalents are a bit thin on the ground now. Possibly a new Defender will fit the bill? Just a bit worried about all the extra emissions tech. Oh and Land Rovers less than Stellar reliability record. I keep looking at Levantes especially the Trofeo, could be a left field choice. Will buy at 2 or 3 years old when the initial depreciation has gone and then run it until it dies so it’s an important decision.
bigmowley said:
I run an ML420 Cdi as our family duties, tow car, long distance cruiser. We have had it for nearly15 years and its been simply superb. It’s got the smoothest most rev happy diesel engine ever. 700NM torque makes light work of anything that we tow. No adblue, no dpf. Apart from regular services it’s had the obligatory centre prop shaft bearing, about £165 from memory, the throttle potentiometer failed, and the aux belt tensioner went. So not bad. It’s on its fourth replacement set of the OE Pirelli all season tyres, works out at about 25K miles per set. As it gets older the electrical gremlins are slowly getting more noticeable, it’s a shame because it’s these that are going to kill it rather than anything else. Nothing too drastic yet, just odd error messages. I am at a complete loss about what to replace it with. Another SUV type tow car is a must. The modern diesel equivalents are a bit thin on the ground now. Possibly a new Defender will fit the bill? Just a bit worried about all the extra emissions tech. Oh and Land Rovers less than Stellar reliability record. I keep looking at Levantes especially the Trofeo, could be a left field choice. Will buy at 2 or 3 years old when the initial depreciation has gone and then run it until it dies so it’s an important decision.
I did briefly look at the 420CDI but they are so rare and the dealers therefore think they are worth so much more! I wanted a 350 initially but finding one in the Grand Edition spec was not going to be easy & we’d sold our big lorry so I was under pressure for a more suitable tow car - I had been window shopping for a while & I wanted one with good MOT history & that looked reasonably presentable!! I have thought about what I’d replace it with eventually & I think it might be a Touareg or possibly a Cayenne diesel but I can’t quite get my head around the premium for a Cayenne unless it is a 4.2 Having had so many friends have issues with JLR cars it is a place I’ll never go & that's saying something as my Dad was a main dealer in the 1980s for Land Rover....So my local mechanic is stacked out with work at the moment & given I'm not in a mad panic to get the oil leak fixed/new front discs and pads on, nor to attack the propshaft bush replacement it's trundling around doing the normal chores - It only does probably 300 miles a month on average so it's having an easy life but if we get the chance/get our s
t sorted with holiday cover, it'll have a shock with a trip down to Cornwall.
I've had the original wheels on my CLS refurbished as they were triggering my OCD and it's now making me think I need to do the ML's 21s The CLS wheels look pretty good considering the refurb guys said you sometimes can't hide all the corrosion and they've been powder coated rather than diamond cut 
The only downside to the wheel refurb is that'll take about a working week & it'll lead to me then replacing all the wheel bolts or attacking them with a wire brush/hammerite plus a full set of wheel centres....all First World problems!! I hope the lack of kerbs in the countryside might mean a wheel refurb might last for a while!! - could this be tempting fate??!!
Oh, and I think I'll put a new main and auxiliary battery on probably as well just for good measure. I saw a thread somewhere where someone said if they spend £300 a month on maintenence it was still a win compared to the depreciation of a new car - I hope my first year's ownership isn't quite like that!!
t sorted with holiday cover, it'll have a shock with a trip down to Cornwall.I've had the original wheels on my CLS refurbished as they were triggering my OCD and it's now making me think I need to do the ML's 21s
The CLS wheels look pretty good considering the refurb guys said you sometimes can't hide all the corrosion and they've been powder coated rather than diamond cut The only downside to the wheel refurb is that'll take about a working week & it'll lead to me then replacing all the wheel bolts or attacking them with a wire brush/hammerite plus a full set of wheel centres....all First World problems!! I hope the lack of kerbs in the countryside might mean a wheel refurb might last for a while!! - could this be tempting fate??!!
Oh, and I think I'll put a new main and auxiliary battery on probably as well just for good measure. I saw a thread somewhere where someone said if they spend £300 a month on maintenence it was still a win compared to the depreciation of a new car - I hope my first year's ownership isn't quite like that!!
So for those who'd like to know what it costs to run a 14 yr old recently acquired 100k mile plus ML, in the 9 months we've had ours I've been catching up on a slight lack of maintenance by the previous owners and trying to make sure the car is reliable/safe. I reckon I'm at approx. £1100 which includes a gearbox service/fluid change, new front tyres, new front brakes/fluid change, replacement driver's window switch, new main battery and auxiliary battery and lastly fixing the oil leak at the back of the oil filter mounting. There's a few minor cosmetic items on top of the figure already mentioned plus the tow bar install (which resulted in the cosmetics needing to be done ) The last maintenance item on the to do list is the propshaft bush.
Hopefully it'll just be a modest annual oil service for a few years from here on
With the exception of the gearbox service which required a specific piece of software, all the work has been done by my local garage which has massively reduced the bill compared to what a "marque specialist" would have charged us. With the exception of the tyres, all the work could be done by a competent home mechanic I suspect with the right tools/patience as it's a relatively low tech car compared to its younger cousins.
) The last maintenance item on the to do list is the propshaft bush. Hopefully it'll just be a modest annual oil service for a few years from here on
With the exception of the gearbox service which required a specific piece of software, all the work has been done by my local garage which has massively reduced the bill compared to what a "marque specialist" would have charged us. With the exception of the tyres, all the work could be done by a competent home mechanic I suspect with the right tools/patience as it's a relatively low tech car compared to its younger cousins.It was time for the first MOT under my ownership....I was slightly tense as I appreciate the wisdom of the guy I use who is now 1 hr away from my house after our move.
The ML had had an intermittent EML which the specialist when running a health check could not see the cause of so Id changed both batteries recently butbit poped up again a week before MOT and went off on its own 2 days before which was useful as otherwise it was going to need the code reader to turn it off.
The car passed the MOT with one advisory - for slight "play" in the lower steering column but interestingly I asked for an inspection of the propshaft after the specialist reporting it needed replacement. My trusted guy said "it looks ok" so that's off the urgent list.
Buoyed by a fresh MOT I was conscious it needs using more so yesterday we took it for a 150 mile round trip to nr the Peak District mainly on motorway/dual carriageways. I was pleasantly surprised to see 34mpg on the trip computer overall.
The ML had had an intermittent EML which the specialist when running a health check could not see the cause of so Id changed both batteries recently butbit poped up again a week before MOT and went off on its own 2 days before which was useful as otherwise it was going to need the code reader to turn it off.
The car passed the MOT with one advisory - for slight "play" in the lower steering column but interestingly I asked for an inspection of the propshaft after the specialist reporting it needed replacement. My trusted guy said "it looks ok" so that's off the urgent list.
Buoyed by a fresh MOT I was conscious it needs using more so yesterday we took it for a 150 mile round trip to nr the Peak District mainly on motorway/dual carriageways. I was pleasantly surprised to see 34mpg on the trip computer overall.
Ken986 said:
I must have missed your earlier posts but that’s a handsome and useful vehicle.
Keep posting if you don’t mind, I have little doubt its of interest to many of us.
I agree, there'll be plenty of people interested in some real world feedback of living with one of these.Keep posting if you don’t mind, I have little doubt its of interest to many of us.
Given my location, I often wonder about wading into the older SUV market as a 'cheap' and reliable year-round daily solution, so threads like these are very helpful.
I bought one when it was a year old and still have it.
Now at 113,000 and I don’t know what I’d replace it with.
ABS
Have had repeated ABS faults over the years- after spending a lot of money at the dealer each time I invested in a code reader and replaced the ABS sensors myself at a fraction of the cost. I’d recommend keeping a front and rear abs sensor and a code reader with the car. At one point the car wouldn’t move as the brakes wouldn’t release as a result of an abs fault.
Brake lines
During one MoT test the brake lines split- seems the lines sit in a depression above fuel tank and sit in a puddle of whatever is splashed up there, corroding away.
Command system
We have the grand edition which has the screens in the rear, dvd player and twin tuners. When the command head unit failed I was at a loss as to how to fix it- A connects2 interface and wiring saw it replaced with a kenwood CarPlay unit and the rear system still works separately.
Enjoy- ours has been used on numerous European trips and as a general family workhorse.
I’ll replace with something electric in due course if the tax benefit is still there.
Now at 113,000 and I don’t know what I’d replace it with.
ABS
Have had repeated ABS faults over the years- after spending a lot of money at the dealer each time I invested in a code reader and replaced the ABS sensors myself at a fraction of the cost. I’d recommend keeping a front and rear abs sensor and a code reader with the car. At one point the car wouldn’t move as the brakes wouldn’t release as a result of an abs fault.
Brake lines
During one MoT test the brake lines split- seems the lines sit in a depression above fuel tank and sit in a puddle of whatever is splashed up there, corroding away.
Command system
We have the grand edition which has the screens in the rear, dvd player and twin tuners. When the command head unit failed I was at a loss as to how to fix it- A connects2 interface and wiring saw it replaced with a kenwood CarPlay unit and the rear system still works separately.
Enjoy- ours has been used on numerous European trips and as a general family workhorse.
I’ll replace with something electric in due course if the tax benefit is still there.
When you have a slightly older more cost friendly 4x4, you can possibly do this with less conscience as long as you are careful... 
x28 20kg bags of postcrete, x6 6ft fence posts and a petrol powered post hole borer (over 600 kgs in the boot) - I think it was a touch close to the bump stops but it was far easier than hitching up the horse trailer for the job! I was also quietly optimistic as I knew both rear springs had been replaced in the last few years!
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It'll shortly have its first annual oil service with me having done about 4k miles since we got it at the start of July '24 so I'll be following a sensible time based service regime & the lower steering column can be changed as well.
From a day to day point of view, the power tailgate has decided that mechanical operation has gone on vacation but it is a luxury for us so it can wait until I've done the more pressing steering column job. I've also bought a decent fitted dog guard as my 2 little dogs (one is a Terrier) have been known to have a wander around the car when it is parked up otherwise & I dont want muddy paw prints on the seats!!
PS saw another friend earlier whose bailed out of an Ingenium engined Disco Sport....all was good for about 12 months (a car bought used) before all manner of error lights/loss of power issues They bought a lesser known/more reliable newer Far Eastern brand 4x4 as their tow car.
x28 20kg bags of postcrete, x6 6ft fence posts and a petrol powered post hole borer (over 600 kgs in the boot) - I think it was a touch close to the bump stops but it was far easier than hitching up the horse trailer for the job! I was also quietly optimistic as I knew both rear springs had been replaced in the last few years!
It'll shortly have its first annual oil service with me having done about 4k miles since we got it at the start of July '24 so I'll be following a sensible time based service regime & the lower steering column can be changed as well.
From a day to day point of view, the power tailgate has decided that mechanical operation has gone on vacation but it is a luxury for us so it can wait until I've done the more pressing steering column job. I've also bought a decent fitted dog guard as my 2 little dogs (one is a Terrier) have been known to have a wander around the car when it is parked up otherwise & I dont want muddy paw prints on the seats!!
PS saw another friend earlier whose bailed out of an Ingenium engined Disco Sport....all was good for about 12 months (a car bought used) before all manner of error lights/loss of power issues
They bought a lesser known/more reliable newer Far Eastern brand 4x4 as their tow car.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff