Hi,
My GF has a 1999 ML with 187K miles on it! The water pump went out, I'm going to replace it for her. Unfortunately she has no idea on what the maint. status of the car is.

I'm recommending she get a newer vehicle, and she loves her old ML so much she wants another!

I'm looking at a 2002 at a dealership with 67K miles, and they seem to have gone through it pretty well new tires etc. It's very clean, looks to be garage kept. Looks like we would be able to pick it up for ~13K.

Also I found a 2001 with 23K original miles on it for $11K. But apparently it has some damage to the bumpers or whatnot, and we both like the styling on the 2002 better with the projector headlamps etc. (try finding those for a C Coupe...I had to kill someone to get mine. he he)

Yesterday we made a 4 hour RT to presumably buy a 2002 with 67K miles from a private party only to discover it had cloth(!) seats ( I thought C Coupes were the only car in 2002 from MB to have cloth seats!) and missing all the rear headrests. Damn! And that one was only 10 grand, and no electric seats either. The GF was big thumbs down on that one, much to my anguish. I left my kidney's somewhere out on I 680 near Sunol.
(Car was in Concord, and I'm in Santa Cruz....and if you know 680 you know what I mean...POS highway with huge dips and ruts, and with my stiff suspension...arrrgh!)

So I'm curious on your guys opinions. I'm leaning towards the one at the dealership, though not "Certified" they did replace a tranny seal, top up the tranny fluid, put new tires, change the oil etc. and it's very clean. And I won't need to be drivin' her all over the bay area to look anymore.
She doesn't want to go herself, feels as a woman she'll get screwed which unfortunately is a valid concern even in this day&age.

Also if anyone happens to have a link handy on the DIY of the water pump, that would be awesome. The mechanic wanted 4 hours of labor...then I bought the water pump and saw why. Geez, no less than 30 bolts + removing the pulley, fan and alternator. Arrgh!

As you can see I'm not new to the forum, and I've done a few things to my C Class. so go easy on me for asking what might be construed as a stupid question?. I value you guy's experience.
Let me know of anything I should keep my eyes open for.

Thanks.

 

In my opinion, the newer the better. Between the two choices I would get the '02 if I just had to have another Benz. I have an '03 with 50k miles and the only big problem I have had was a failed alternator which also killed the battery. I had a '99 previously and had to replace the catalytic converters but had that problem occur under warranty. That was its only major problem. I had around 90k when I replaced it. From what I see Benz cars are fairly reliable cars certainly with less problems than domestic brands. Not as reliable as Honda/Acura and/or Toyota/Lexus - my next vehicle will be one of these - but fair. As to your water pump problem google "Mercedes Benz Forums" and search the other forums that come up. You might find an answer there.

 

Thanks for the reply.
I eventually thought to search on "DIY m112 mercedes water pump"
and got a really good DIY on another forum.
I'm fortunate to have sufficiently impressed the local mercedes indy guy to allow him to loan me the special wrenches required for the job.
(All my mods and post warranty repairs are DIY)

I'm a little underwhelmed with the lack of response here in the ML forum....if you ever buy a W203 you'll find my name attached to many correct resolutions and DIY's over there.

But again, thanks OttoBon100 for taking the time.

 

Thanks for the reply.
I eventually thought to search on "DIY m112 mercedes water pump"
and got a really good DIY on another forum.
I'm fortunate to have sufficiently impressed the local mercedes indy guy to allow him to loan me the special wrenches required for the job.
(All my mods and post warranty repairs are DIY)

I'm a little underwhelmed with the lack of response here in the ML forum....if you ever buy a W203 you'll find my name attached to many correct resolutions and DIY's over there.

But again, thanks OttoBon100 for taking the time.