btshep

Guys

I have a 2007 ML350 on order since the first week of October and should be accepting delivery this week. It was a hard decision to pick out a model at first and to be honest with you I am still losing sleep over this. I am curious as to what you choice, thoughts, reasoning, and opinions would be between the ML350 and CLS550. I would like some serious replys and insight on this. I never knew this would bother me as much as it is. Lastly do you guys think I made the right choice by getting P2 instead of P3. My sales rep said that the dealership doesnt really deliver them at all really with P3. He went on to state that if i was ordering a car he would recommend it but not for a suv. It was not a matter of the them trying to put me into something on the lot or something they could get in from another dealer. The ML was goin to be a factory build either way. I didnt have the luxory of being able to test drive them both ways. Is the difference so major that I should not accept my ML and have it reordered with the P3.

DUTCH

As answered on the other forum, get an ML320 CDI with Airmatic (P3), and you'll never look back.

btshep

only reason i didnt got with the 320 is there is no place remotely near me that has the correct diesel so that was out due to convenience issues. when i look at the cls it reminds me of a mid life crisis type car bein in my 20s i dont know if i am ready for something like that that leaves me torn between P2 and P3 airmatic or no airmatic. for those that have driven both is the difference noticeable

sosh

I have the same situation with diesel fuel as I would have to drive 20 min just to refuel. Airmatic is well worth the cost, go for it.

btshep

if i go for the airmatic i would have to have the car reordered as the one with the P2 is due to be delivered to the dealer this week or next. if the airmatic makes for a drastic difference i would have to reorder it and have a new one built for the second time

btshep

sales rep told me i really didnt need the airmatic in an suv and went with his advice and order it to be built with p2 not p3 and i dont know if i should be regretting that choice or not

DUTCH

Regret it!

DUTCH

Did you look seriously? I had the same worries. Now that I have the 320CDI, every station I pull into has ULSD.

I just passed 1000 miles, so I'm starting to step on it a bit more. When that Garrett turbo kicks in, it definitely pushes you back in your seat. I feel quite certain that it would outrun my G500 both off the line and in a running start; and 26-28 mpg on the highway beats 14-15 mpg every time.

btshep

why will i regret it dutch have u driven the ml both ways ??

yes i really did look no where to be found in my area

sosh

Do whatever it takes to get Airmatic. Could be the difference of your liking the car or not!! Your sales person took the easy way out to earn a quick commission!!

btshep

how do u figure it to be an easy way out? that would make sense i think if he was putting me into something on the lot but thats not the case i dont understand what you mean by that. i was buying that day back in october when i ordered it. This is the 10th car we will be buyin of this particular sales man. I firmly belive that a quick commission was not involved. It had to be a factory order based on the color and options i wanted so it was up to me as to how it was spec'ed. He told me his opinion on it and i followed his recommendation at the time. his honest opinion was that the airmatic was not worth getting on the ml although he recommended it on the sedans that have it as an option

DUTCH

I think this guy has made up his mind. No sense arguing any further. Now we see one more reason that there are lots of different options. . . . . . . . . kind of like opinions.

btshep

dutch,

i am not arguing. just very very very unsure. just trying to pick peoples brains. I wish i had the chance to test drive both ways but i never did. i am thinking of maybe doing that this week and refusing to accept delivery on the ml that was built for me until i do. it might be the only way to put my indecisiveness to rest.
Does anybody know for sure if the new upgraded exterior package does not any longer come with the smoked tail lights ?

DUTCH

When I ordered mine, I test drove only a standard suspension 320CDI; and it was adequate.

I ordered Airmatic based on the comments and opinions here and on other forums. I am super glad I got it! It's way more than adequate!!

2thdr

...you jerseytuffguy. I am currently about to leave an '04 M3 and order a ML320. I wish that I could have tried out a vehicle with an airmatic suspension before ordering. There is one on the dealer's lot here, but they will not let that one out for test driving.

I have yet to do my homework on the airmatic, but here in Canada, the ADS shocks are only available with airmatic, so its a bit of a no brainer.

As Dutch said, though, I would really look into the ULSD and go for the ML320. I test drove the ML 350 when I first came to a Benz dealer. Going to a ML 320 was a completely new experience with all the available torque.

sosh

If this is the 10th car from the same salesman and you wanted to order the car the salesman assuming he knows his products should be able to answer many of the questions you have posed here. If he was unable to answer he certainly has the resources to get the answers. Anyway good luck with whatever you end up with.

eddietr

FWIW, my wife and I did some test driving this weekend. We drove a 320 with airmatic and a 350 without.

We thought the airmatic suspension was substantially better in both comfort and handling. And we didn't see any tradeoff.

I don't understand the logic of recommending an air suspension for a sedan and not an SUV. Certainly on the Touareg and Cayenne the air suspensions are a big improvement over the steel springs. From the test drives, it seems the same is true for the ML.

Just my $0.02, but I know how tough it would be to have to re-order and wait all over again. Good luck with whatever you decide. Either way, you still have a great vehicle coming.

cogtooth

I have never had airmatic in a vehicle, and don't miss it at all. I chose not to get it after reading as many owners with mechanical airmatic problems, as there are owners who swear by it. Search the main forum for airmatic problems, as some of the owners of MLs have not had their cars out of warranty and had to face the various problems, yet, when they have to pay for them. Adding more features to a vehicle that has unknown reliability may not be a wise idea, especially if you are interested in transportation and not bragging about features.

sosh

There have been very few Airmatic problems and those that existed were with Very early production ML's. I have had mine since Sept 05 and its been perfect. No one has had to pay for any repairs and perhaps down the road they will but thats called maintenence. Even if you do not have a vehicle you will still have to get your shoes resoled. Your logic is beyond me. With that kind of thinking I am surprised you purchased a vehicle let alone an MB. Guess some people just go thru life avoiding the good things as they are afraid they might like them or may have to spend a nickle to fix them??

cogtooth

A simple search of "airmatic problems" yielded 183 threads for various MB vehicles, not just ML 164s. Not many are actual problems, of course, but many hardly seem trivial to me, and certainly would be foolish to not take into consideration if you are adding airmatic. The various problems have been continuing for years if you check the date of the threads. I certainly would have not written, knowing that I was most likely going to get slammed by the airmatic fanatics, if I did not believe the posters with airmatic problems, but giving advise is what a forum is about. Wasting precious time having repairs to a vehicle concerns me much more than the cost of a vehicle, but some of these threads also talk about some pretty expensive "maintenance". Here's some postings by owners with much more experience on the subject than me, but there are plenty more that can be found on other sites, also:

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...matic+problems

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...matic+problems

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...matic+problems

eddietr

I think it's just a personal choice and depends on your priorities. I'm by no means an Airmatic fanatic. I've never owned an airmatic mercedes, and in fact I ordered my new car with ABC, not airmatic.

But, like I said having driven the ML with and without airmatic, I personally would pay the extra up front and if necessary deal with the maintenance hassle, because I think for me the ride and handling was that much better.

But as someone else said, that's why we have options. In fact I wish we had more such choices in the US bound cars. Different people have different priorities.

sosh

Like I said, do you go barfoot because you may have to resole your shoes?? Of the 183 threads how many are actual faults and not questions?? How many are duplicates of the same problem?? Also some of the other models with airmatic are really different systems. The potential maint expense is a small price to pay for such a great feature. If maint cost considerations are such a factor with you perhaps you should be driving a Ford Focus.

ShoremNJ

I have the airmatic and love it. Without it it seems to ride on what would be my comfort mode. My bro-in-law does not have it and it deffinately feels bouncy.