Discussion
Hi
I currently have a 2013 a6 sline on pcp, nice car but iety 3 kids not a lot of room. I was Iconsidering changing and buying an 08/09 ML as I ve always liked the ml and with finance it should cost me a lot less per month ( apart from fuel and tax increases. Are they a good family car and add they susceptible to any major trouble outside warranty?
Thanks
I currently have a 2013 a6 sline on pcp, nice car but iety 3 kids not a lot of room. I was Iconsidering changing and buying an 08/09 ML as I ve always liked the ml and with finance it should cost me a lot less per month ( apart from fuel and tax increases. Are they a good family car and add they susceptible to any major trouble outside warranty?
Thanks
I ran a 2010 ML450 for a couple of years and it was one of the best cars I have owned.
It was absolutely faultless and after a lot of use and over 30k miles it still felt like a brand new car. Not a squeak or a sound anywhere. It had a fantastic ride and handled everything in its stride so well.
As it was a 450 I was averaging at 25mpg and it just had to go. It's replacement is a CLS 2013. Nowhere near the same build quality or as well screwed together.
I would have another ML of that vintage again without question.
It was absolutely faultless and after a lot of use and over 30k miles it still felt like a brand new car. Not a squeak or a sound anywhere. It had a fantastic ride and handled everything in its stride so well.
As it was a 450 I was averaging at 25mpg and it just had to go. It's replacement is a CLS 2013. Nowhere near the same build quality or as well screwed together.
I would have another ML of that vintage again without question.
All the diesels of that gen do 25mpg.
All I would say is find one with 18" wheels if you can, if not 19s, but the 20's ruin the ride and can put stress on the suspension parts.
Interior is well put together just feels a bit utilitarian, coming from a new A6 I think you might find it a bit plasticky, but then all Mercs from 2009-2014 feel a bit like that imho.
Consider buying a facelift model if possible, so ML350 rather than ML320, don't worry too much about the Nav, on the later cars with the colour Audio 20 you can buy a new Nav unit for it for £300, I can send you a link.
Nav still adds £1000-1500 over non nav cars, so buy new and retrofit.
The wheels sensors can go on them, about £200 to sort out and give abs/aes errors, apart form that nothing major to note.
I have done around 10,000 miles in a 2010 ML350 last year and around 20,000 miles in an earlier ML270, I prefer the interior quality and comfort of the earlier car, but on a motorway the new one feels more planted and is much quicker. The earlier one is very obviously a 4x4, the later one feels like a jacked up estate if that makes sense?
But great cars that seem to be very good value, to be honest if it wasn't for the crappy MPG I would buy the ML350 off the old man, but I put £350-450 in my ML each month and that is averaging 29mpg, I wouldn't want to spend more on fuel. For less money I could be in a 2011 £26000 30d X3 which gets nearly 40mpg and be better off overall each month as I could be in his £16k 59 plate ML350cdi.
Oh, he had an ML500 for a couple of days when his 350 was in, and it was averaging 22mpg, meant the 5 litre V8 was actually costing no more at the pumps, and they tend to come very well specced and really are bullet proof.
All I would say is find one with 18" wheels if you can, if not 19s, but the 20's ruin the ride and can put stress on the suspension parts.
Interior is well put together just feels a bit utilitarian, coming from a new A6 I think you might find it a bit plasticky, but then all Mercs from 2009-2014 feel a bit like that imho.
Consider buying a facelift model if possible, so ML350 rather than ML320, don't worry too much about the Nav, on the later cars with the colour Audio 20 you can buy a new Nav unit for it for £300, I can send you a link.
Nav still adds £1000-1500 over non nav cars, so buy new and retrofit.
The wheels sensors can go on them, about £200 to sort out and give abs/aes errors, apart form that nothing major to note.
I have done around 10,000 miles in a 2010 ML350 last year and around 20,000 miles in an earlier ML270, I prefer the interior quality and comfort of the earlier car, but on a motorway the new one feels more planted and is much quicker. The earlier one is very obviously a 4x4, the later one feels like a jacked up estate if that makes sense?
But great cars that seem to be very good value, to be honest if it wasn't for the crappy MPG I would buy the ML350 off the old man, but I put £350-450 in my ML each month and that is averaging 29mpg, I wouldn't want to spend more on fuel. For less money I could be in a 2011 £26000 30d X3 which gets nearly 40mpg and be better off overall each month as I could be in his £16k 59 plate ML350cdi.
Oh, he had an ML500 for a couple of days when his 350 was in, and it was averaging 22mpg, meant the 5 litre V8 was actually costing no more at the pumps, and they tend to come very well specced and really are bullet proof.
I have an ML320 2008 vintage.
Never gone wrong.
Check rear arch lips for stone chips leading to corrosion. I think it is a fairly standard job to have it rectified and then a coating applied so it doesnt happen again.
Sometimes the power tailgate gets confused. Double lock the car and it resets.
Does about 450 miles per refuel.
MBTex (fake leather) looks like new.
I can see what people mean about plasticky interior. Good for kids though.
SatNav is crap.
Never gone wrong.
Check rear arch lips for stone chips leading to corrosion. I think it is a fairly standard job to have it rectified and then a coating applied so it doesnt happen again.
Sometimes the power tailgate gets confused. Double lock the car and it resets.
Does about 450 miles per refuel.
MBTex (fake leather) looks like new.
I can see what people mean about plasticky interior. Good for kids though.
SatNav is crap.
jdw1234 said:
MBTex (fake leather) looks like new.
SatNav is crap.
MB Tex is a strange one, looks like new for years and then suddenly splits. SatNav is crap.
This is what I was saying about fitting the NGT2.5 system, far more advanced, on cars from 2009 on.
Better to buy a later car with audio 20 and retrofit the new Nav system, the one up to 58 plate was from 2002, so getting very dated now.
Also, Alpine do a superb system for the ML in their Perfect Fit range.
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