Hello and thanks for having such an awesome forum. This is my very first post here although i have lurked unregistered here for a little bit while doing my car shopping. There is a plethora of information on this excellent forum and it has helped me greatly during my car shopping experience.



Of the cars i looked at, the ML55 is one of my top three i would consider buying. It's a 2000 model year with 65,000 miles. The particular one i looked at was in overall decent shape with some not too big issues (hopefully) i needed advice on.

A couple issues i noticed that the dealership said they would address and fix:

- Clicking from center a/c vent. Something about a motor that will be replaced.

- SRS and airbag light was on. They said it was the passenger seat sensor that needed replacing that caused the light to turn on... also as mentioned in the sticky up top.

- Something i noticed and addressed during test drive was a "thud" during sudden acceleration from a stop. I assume it is a motor mount. They said they will have the third party MB technician diagnose it when he fixes the other two problems.

Some things about drivability i noticed:

- When driving over bumps i noticed a small "shimmy". It almost seems like the vehicle is unsettled and seems unusual for a vehicle of this cailber. I have driven many trucks and i do realize they have an inherent "shimmy", but this seemed a little more pronounced. Maybe im just being a little too nit picky but i did not notice this on other luxury SUV's (Lexus RX330/350 Acura MDX) i have driven.

- The transmission shifts like a dream when driving normal. Not a sporty feel but extremely smooth. However i did notice that during wide open throttle the transmission would almost hesitate to shift and would take a while to engage the next gear.

Overall the vehicle looks like it was maintained very well. Exterior and interior was above average for its age which means to me the vehicle was likely maintained well.

Any advice based on what i addressed above or other potential issues would be great. Thanks!

 

"plethora"
you clearly are on the wrong board

i think you are looking for bw.org, not mbw.org

good luck scoring a 55

 

I thought there was a lot of information here...

But ok ill check the others out.

 

it's not the lack of info here, there is plenty of that like you said. some of these folks are brilliant.

it's them thar fancy werds you were using

"plethora" ? are you kidding me? some of these folks ain't so edjumacated

 

You are not on the wrong board. Check out the ML55 section too.
Good luck on the 55!

 

I'd say get a third party MB inspection and once over.

 

There's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes. Buy it.......................... but make sure you've got the funds in reserve to repair it! My 2 cents.

 

I do notice that driving thru bumps the truck feels jumpy. However I believe it is inherent charactistic of the Torsion bar front suspension. Torsion bar dont response as fast as springs.

The Thump sound is the engine mount. - been there

I would do a tranny flush with any used car purchase. it cost about $200 to do a tranny flush at an indy.

Remember w163 ML is a box framed AWD SUV. ML is constructed as a off road utility truck. They are all AWD. Its got a Transfer case and front and rear differential.

RX350 and MDX is unibodied structure.. It is more like a front wheel drive car. if you get the AWD models there is a drive axle to drive the Rear wheels.