Hello,

Thought I'd share my build over the summer of 2021. After being involved in collision with our 2010 ML350W4M. A Camry mistaken the gas pedal as the brake pedal after jumping the curb. And went full speed into our car. Thankfully, no one one injured, but no airbags were deployed.




On the hunt for a new Mercedes, almost bought a 2016 E400 but ended up getting a 2015 ML400 with 117,000KM. Car had been in fair condition from its two previous owners. The vehicle was once treated very well. I believe the vehicle was traded in at a Mercedes Dealer, but because it was involved in a minor collision the car was wholesaled to a used car dealer via auction? Car had brand new Michelin's but with the 19's.




After purchasing the vehicle, a laundry list of items needed to be taken care off.

Issues:
30+ Dents around the car (Due to the previous owner's children and narrow driveway I assume) There were creases and sharp dents
Service B (Brake Fluid, Spark Plugs, Engine and Cabin Air Filter, Wipers and Oil)
TIming Covers Leaking
Cracked Drivers Side Wood Trim
Command Knob Completely Dead - Found out that aftermarket wiring for the rear entertainment system caused this issue
Rear Bumper Was out of alignment from previous collision ($6000 claim but I believe a body shop ripped off insurance based off a negative $2000 for the damages that occurred)
Rusty Trailer Hitch - Along with Missing Hitch Cover
Rotors and Pad Slap (Causing Grinding Noise)
Missing Locking Lug Nut Key
Front CV Axle Leaking
Clean and Grease Panoramic Roof - Done at Dealer


First, getting the car certified.

New Brakes all around and Oil Change to begin with. No photo

• Akebono and Bosch Ceramic Pads were used, along with Zimmerman Rotors all around
• 5W-40 Molygen and a Mann Filter I believe was used

Next Filters, the date stamps are from 2015 and appear to be original to the car? Car was serviced at MB in the beginning of its life, surprised by that. Also new Cabin Air Filter, not pictured but new Hengst Blue.Care Filter, along with Pollen Filter. New Wipers and rear wiper I got for the 2010 was fitted, was just 4 weeks old.





Next Command Knob, removed all the accessible aftermarket wiring and dropped the car off to MB House in North York (Toronto)





After two weeks, and a retrofit and accessories (more on this later) Car was reassembled. Aftermarket wiring installed with a mix of wrong fuses caused a list of issues with wires burning in the car and apparently could have caused a fire, are fixed now.

Next new Xenon Bulbs, the bulbs were fine, but were getting old. Manage to find a set on Facebook Marketplace for genuine Osram Xenerc Cool Blue Boost, after research and confirming that they're genuine they were fitted, and aren't too blue in realize, they're more white with a tad bit of blue. They're a lot whiter then the photo below! Do be alarmed!!!




Next, map update. V19 2020 Maps installed. $100CAD for license and already had the usb for my other car.






Rear bumper was removed to realign the corners. Refitted to the best of the Mercedes Body Shop's ability. Trailer Hitch was nicely recoated. Carried over the hitch cover from the 2010, since it was not on the car.



Transmission Service was also done, don't have photo unfortunately. Toronto Automatic Transmission is a great place to get this done. Highly Recommend.

Drove the car for a little while. And introduced it to its new life.




Front CV Axle along with Timing Covers, and Spark Plugs were done.





Cosmetics now:

After shopping around for dent repair places and extensive research, I settled with Xpress Dent Repair in Mississauga, Ontario. Highly recommend them and did an amazing job. Yes, all the tape marks are dents, including the roof. Also New 20" Wheels. One needed refinishing - Leprecon Rim Repair. License Plate bracket is broken? Not sure how you can break it, but it is and still is broken. but I managed to just use the top holes for the rear lol.





New Wood Panel - Don't have a photo, but the panel is pretty easy to remove.




Now Modifications, here's the list.

• Retrofit Running Boards (Car is for my parents, so they need them)
• ILS+ Coding
• 20" AMG Style Wheels - Including the correct lug nuts
• Retrofit Cooled Heated Cup Holder
• Tint Front Windows
• Winter Wheels
• Coat Hanger Accessory
• Roof Rack

New to me wheels, in realtively good condition, other then one refinished when the car that came off them was CPO'd - Off a 2015 ML350 Bluetec totalled - Got a set of lugs nuts off a 2010 GLK - Which are the same to be fitted on install. Bled the brakes at the same time. - At MB for Brake Light Bulbs - went out.


Running boards, I went for genuine ones, used though. I bought two sets, one was a bit more in fair condition then how I would've liked them. So I bought a second set of used ones, somehow there were a few for sale, people who took them off when they sold the car and totalled in an accident - to put onto their new ML if they didn't have running boards. Ended up selling one of the pairs and broke even with the price of the other set and made a little bit $ actually. - Note, installing running boards is a bit of a pain, new jack points are needed, and being fragile with the screws on the bottom, some snapped from corrosion? and wrong angle of applying force, best to do when car is jacked up or on a lift.

Completed Paint Correction (Claying, Decontaminating, Compound, Polish) at some point before the running board install, along with Ceramic Coating the Car after all the dents were
fixed. Touched up chips with 792 Palladium Silver. Along with Carpet Extraction and polishing wood trim a bit. Picked up a used set of roof racks for $200-250 with Ski Racks as well. Came off a ML350 Bluetec that was used minimally, owner had an ML that was leased - employee of MB

Don't worry, I realigned the rear wiper.





Retrofitted Cup Holders, they are not plug and play. Vedamio Coding and new wiring harness is needed to my knowledge. ILS+ is coded in and the low beam sits a bit higher, with Motorway Mode as well, just makes it that much more enjoyable to drive. No matrix lighting occurs with the Xenon ILS but can still be appreciated, The headlights swing and move more freely than before. There is also a Menu in the dash now for Intelli. Light System. Typing in Motion for Nav was also enabled.



Front Windows were tinted with 55% Xpel Ultimate - Ceramic Film - Parents did not want it too dark - It by no means matches the rear, and im okay with that. Button Peeling happened, had to buy one new switch because of the tape. sigh.






Coat Hanger ($60-80), new MB Weather Tech ($40) and MB Trunk Liner ($30) were bought along with carpet mats ($50) I got all the accessories from Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji - People just wanting to get rid of stuff.

Distronic Star - Retrofit/Accessory? More of an accessory. - Along with Alignment




Enjoying the car for the summer, drove a decent distance with the car. - Purchased the Genuine Mercedes Roof Box for $125CAD - I had to use it, so I booked a campsite up north.




Small Time gap between these photos



Winter is about to arrive at this point - This Project started in May

It's the end of October now.

Snagged a set of OEM Winter Wheel Package Wheels for $500 - Shreud Negation - and got a set of Bridgestone DM-V2's used but with 10/32nds or so for $450? Before and After cleaning, Lacquer Thinner helps remove stubborn yellowed stains






I'm sure I'm missing some things - Will make an additional post later on.

But here is the end for now, Car has seen an interesting past, but here we are at the end, it's looking like a well rounded 2015 ML400 once again. A bit more KM on the clock, but ready for more.



For my camera people - Nikon D800 24-70mm



Canon R6 70-200mm

 

Kudos on the (re)build, you got a lot accomplished and the vehicle looks awesome!
Curious as to the financial aspect though. After the purchase price, repairs at a dealership etc, was it worth it?

 

Wow nice build thread!! The amount of work you did was awesome. I am also wonder how much is the total for the price for all the modification and maintenance? Will that be enough to lease a new vehicle?

 

In terms of a financial aspect, purchase price was below average, given the condition. Not many repairs or all were done at the Dealer, but overall. It was definitely not worth it . It was a much bigger project than anticipated. I prefer to have gotten a wagon, or something of that nature personally. Resale I'd probably get less then what was put into it.

Edit: After calculating it was just breaking even for what resale value is.

 

Thanks. There is a spreadsheet I have for everything, but off the top of my head close to $5300 (or $4300 CAD once I sell the extra Defender LTX Tires and floor mats off the old car) after reselling the old 19" wheels and winter tires.

For me its was after calculating it now actually. I had things removed off the 2010 ML that I need to get rid off, such as Weather Tech and Rear Entertainment Remotes and Headphones.

In terms of money spent, it was just breaking even for what resale value is now a-days. In terms of time, it was enjoyable to see retrofits come together. Overall, I still don't like the car, but I drive the W212 primarily now, its a big chunky car for me personally, when downtown.

 

Nice build! Looks great.

 

You got it looking great . Looks especially good with those AMG wheels. In fact your winter wheel are the same ones I have on my car now. Mine came off a GL, call double spokes.

 

Also, you should be able to sell the AMG/Sport rockers you took off when you put the running boards on. . People are always looking for them on this site, since many do not like running boards. Looks good though.

 

Nice, they're hard to come by, especially in the US I'd assume. This was a factory Winter Wheel Package in Canada that sold for $4500 with tires?

And to respond to you next comment, Good point, I'm just unsure how I'd ship them to be honest.

If anyone here is interested in W166 AMG Styling Side Skirts in 792 Palladium Silver Paint Code let me know. One has a bit of a mark from removal, but is in an inconspicuous area between the two doors.

 

Put the rockers on the for sale site. Im sure Fed ex can ground ship them. Ive shipped wheels and everything that way. Just sent a set of wheels (4) from St Louis MO to Maine for 275.00 . Have the buyer pay for shipping. Good luck .

 

Has anyone done video in motion?

 

Bumper got scraped the other day, by someone in my household. Majority of it looks like paint transfer. Not mad, the paint on the bumper was not really good to begin with. Maybe repaint during summer?

 

Nice build. You did a lot of work to it. One of my brake lights also burnt out the other day. Luckily it’s super easy to fix and I replaced it on the side of the road by Canadian tire haha. Surprised it’s not an LED brake bulb when everything else on the car is LED. Weird. Those AMG 20’s look good. It’s one of my favourite Oem wheels. I’ll be using them next winter with studded tires.

 

can do you do it in Vedamio or do you need to buy the software? https://dvdinmotion.com/mercedes-benz

I guess if you have kids that want to watch movies then it’s worth it. Here in BC if the driver can see a tv screen then you’ll get your car impounded and huge fines for distracted driving. I guess the command has that two way screen thing so the driver and passenger see different things… I’ve never played around with it.

 

Truck looks amazing!

 

You probably can get away with the dvd in motion website. What you’re taking about is splitview- typically available on S-Class’ and CL-Class’ as an option

 

Small update on the ML,

Car was in need of new tensioners, along with Solenoids.





Check Engine light was on as well - Coming back to a P12500 code for the rear charcoal canister.

Upon filling up the tank one night, the car would only crank with no start - leaving me stuck a few minutes at the Costco Gas Station. Checked the voltage of the battery and it seemed fine. - Must’ve been the canister.

Decided to put on new tires, Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season Plus 3 and did an alignment. The alignment is always a-bit finicky for some reason. The old pirellis were basically finished so it was very much time to have a fresh set. Still have two good MO Pirelli’s though at 8/32nds if anyone is interested in buying them.

Washed; to a certain degree, touched up some stone chips on the front end and shall be sending it back off to my folks.

but nevertheless it’s done. for now…

~150,000km on the clock

 

Check engine light has come back on for eval-related codes. Diagnosed as Bad Purge Valve to be the next potential issue.

Replaced and Check Engine light has yet to come back on.

 

Glad to see this brought back to life. Make sure you dont overlook maintenance items not mentioned like front and rear differential oil replacement, transfer case oil replacement, coolant flush, airmatic filter(s) change (if equipped), aux battery replacement.

 

True, shall do it someday. Aux battery isnt a concern yet, till I can't shift out of Drive. Luckily don't have Airmatic.

 

Winter tires are back on. Bridgestone DMV2 tires, got them for $550CAD or $500CAD if I remember. They were at 10/3nds. Late 18 date codes from last year.

Polished the wheels a little bitm including the centre caps and the lug nuts with a drill attachment.

ML is up for B service.




Winter tires are back on.

 

I love this thread for so many reasons: your photography skills, your meticulous cleaning and detailing, and the fact that you replaced a 2010 ML350 with a 2015 ML400 just like I did. I really just can't wrap my head around your insatiable appetite for all the work!! Someone could have given me that ML400 and I wouldn't want to undertake all that!

Is that you Alvin by the picnic table?

 

I have the same wheels on my 2015 ML. They were off a GL450 and are the same diameter as the stock 19 inch wheels that come on the ML350, but a little wider. I have since put front ML400/GLE calipers and drilled rotors ( ie bigger brakes on it)
I had concerns about the bigger calipers not working but theses Double Spokes worked fine, since they are wider. Its close though

I like what you have done to your car, I can't imagine how long it took you to polished the wheels to get that finish. Are you going or did you put a clear coat after polishing the wheels.

 

Thanks, that is not me at the dinner table, went camping with a bunch of friends

 

I polished them last year, this was more of a touch up polish you could say. Nothing crazy as the heavy work was done before. (Check photos from the original post)

I did not do any ceramic coating on these, other than some SiO2 spray last year. Been Lazy