W163 ML Quality/Reliability?

[agent006]

Evening,

I'm on the lookout for a tow car for my trackday BMW. I'd narrowed it down to a Discovery TD5 of some sort, but am hesitant because of reports of cracked heads on the TD5 and the disaster that was my old RangeRover. However I've just discovered that some of the ML series have a 3.5tonne towing capacity too, so they're suddenly on the radar as an option.

All I know about these is the terrible reviews when they were first released, and that Mercedes had rust problems through the mid-late 90s. Are they actually any good? Reliability is my primary concern as my A2 has been a disaster too despite the intention being a cheap runabout while I recover from the losses from the RangeRover. So I really need something that's not going to cost me thousands a year in repairs.

I'm looking to spend between 5 and 6 thousand, and engine choice is fairly free as even the ML500 has roughly similar MPG to a TD5 Discovery. Pointers, advice and warnings welcome.

[agent006]

Thanks both. Insurance look reasonable. Tax band L though for a facelift model, which is £440+ from 2012. 270CDi looks the best bet, faster and more economical than a TD5 Discovery. Various talk of gearboxes not taking too well to towing seems to be the only mechanical problem I've seen with any regularity.

[agent006]

jshell said:

Think they were facelifted in 2001/2.

Yep. Facelift neatly coincides with the higher road tax.