monizzle

Hey everyone I'm in the market for a suv in the 10grand range and have been considering almost everything out there (other than domestics and japanese cars for the most part), after coming very close to purchasing a Land Rover Discovery (Yeah, I KNOW), I've turned to the ML350, it's never been my favorite look, but it's growing on me and I have some plans for it. The 2003 ML I'm looking at has 90k miles, is fully loaded and close to 10k from a non-MB dealer. I hear these cars are possibly problematic but I have a family mechanic and most issues with these cars seem to happen before 40k miles. I drive at most 10k a year as well and this car will eventually become a 3rd car used for hauling things mainly. What say you Mbworld?
I'd like to hear actual testominials and advice as opposed to one word answers.
Thanks everyone!

timdf

I'd suggest you do a lot of research before buying any ML regardless of age, mileage and condition.
To answer your question the market has dropped dramatically for these SUV's and I'd offer well under trade.
$8k tops and even that might be generous - KBB doesn't truly reflect the price they're going for - especially one with that mileage whose transmission is possibly nearing the end of its life.

The factor in 1-2K per year for maintenance and up keep - even at an indie shop.

All that said - it sounds like your set on buying it, in which case good luck and we'll doubtless be hearing more from you :-)

monizzle

Thanks for getting back to me, yeah dealers don't want to budge, but we'll see what happens, thanks again for the input!
Was your ML430 giving you issues?

timdf

I bought it brand new and kept it for 9 years putting about 90,000 miles on it during which time it was in and out of the shop every couple or three months for something - it was a royal pain the a$$.

Great when it was running ok - but otherwise a nightmare.

The final straw was the PAS hose pump coming adrift for the 2nd time which nearly caused my wife to have a serious accident - it came off on a corner at about 50MPH.

An ML with no PAS is very hard to steer.

We sold it a couple of weeks after the PAS failure, plus I figured the tranny might go out at anytime.

Yes - dealers won't budge as they need to cover warranty costs which are significant on the ML.

Good luck.

Franman

fuuuuuuuugly truck (there's two words)

Marshall_K

That's what you'll need to drive a second hand ML. TimDF is not joking on the maintenance costs either. I use the ML as a daily driver /hauler and for that purpose it is great. The PAS problem is a known gremlin that you really should think twice about. That problem in inexperienced hands (first time it happens) could be near fatal. We have had many of the minor issues (moonroof sound baffler breaking, door lock adjustment) but PAS is the biggest mechanical issue so far.

If you are considering an ML,
1 - Do your research --here, www.benzworld.com, and many others
2 - Find a good indy mechanic that you trust.
3 - invest in some tools and get mechanically adept yourself
4 - try to get an extended warranty
5 - haggle like hell on the price

I do like my truck but I have had it since 05 and now I pretty much know what I'm dealing with.

good luck