I'm new to the m-class forum...have a question, hope it can be answered. I see that some MLs have fender flares and others don't. At first I thought maybe they were aftertermarket, then I saw my 58 year old female neighbor's has flares. Are they a factory option? Also, I'm looking to buy a used ML, and have been looking at some 1999s; are they reliable? I currently drive a 2001 Cherokee and although it's been reliable the ride really sucks....rough, loud, and many vibrations. Last question, I promise, is the fuel economy that much worse from the 430 over the 320?

thank you
Len

ps. sorry to be a newbie!

 

If you're looking at used ML's, I would suggest sticking with 2000's and newer. There were many changes made in 2000, mostly interior upgrades. Side airbags were added, and the overall quality of materials and look was vastly improved.

Fender flares are available from the dealer, they will require painting if you want them to match the car.

Gas mileage? I had a 2000 ML320, now I have a 2003 ML500.
The mileage is basically the same, as long as I keep my foot out of it. It is more tempting to stomp on the V8, just because it's there!

Generally, the ML's are very nice vehicles, as least I think so. That's why I bought another one.

 

To answer your question about the fender flares - the 98 and 99 ML320's, which had the gray-colored exterior trim (bumpers, rocker panels, etc.), had gray-colored fender flares. The same OEM flares are available for newer MLs in the various colors.

However, note that those OEM ones are pretty small - just a little expansion around the wheelwell. I'll see if I can quickly find a pic.

The other OEM MB solution is the AMG fender flares that come with the ML55AMG and the ML Sports Package. They are thicker - more aggressive, and the rear ones extend a bit back - I'll post a pic soon for this as well.

The third option is to go with aftermarket flares. Some are the size of the normal (non-AMG) OEM flares and some are huge (a lot bigger than the AMGs) and make the car very aggressive-looking. One example of the latter is the Lorinser Widebody kit (new version known as Lorinser FO-1).

I'll post some pics of each soon.

 

First pic of the Lorinser:

 

2nd Lorinser pic:

 

I own an '02 with sport package. I think the '02 improvements plus the AMG bolt-ons make for a very handsome vehicle, not to mention an excellent one. I saw an auction price of $33k for the very same vehicle with 22k miles. I don't know your budget, but that was a $44k vehicle a year ago. SUV's are dropping in price as fast as gas goes up. Good luck.

 

One more (slightly older) pic of the Lorinser:

 

Here's the current MB Sports Package:

 

Kind of off topic but this was the original MB sports package. It was shown at auto shows and even brochures and dealer samples were sent but at the absolute last second the package was reduced to the smaller fender flares that are in the current sports package.

 

2nd pic of the orig package. I'll try to scan my brochure for better pics soon.

 

I purchased a 2003 ML500 Sport. The "sport package" includes the flares. With the flares, there is no option for mud-flaps. I owned a 1999 ML430 and had the Benz-flaps on that one. The flaps protect from stone chips MUCH better than the flares. MBUSA has no plans to design a flap for their own flares. My dealer is repainting my rear flares and installing 3M Chip Guard at their cost (post cinder season).