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would you pay $1350 more for a 2014 over a 2012 with similar miles?
I've been wanting a W166 for a while now; it'll be somewhat of an "extra" car that goes to the beach in the summer and replaces my SL as "daily" driver in winter. It will replace a 2006 Lexus RX330 that I plan to get detailed and retailed. ML Prices are still ridiculous but at least there's more supply out there, though Carvana seems to have nearly cornered the market. As much as an exercise as a real shopping guide I made a list of mostly Carvana cars with low price and low miles as my priorities. While my initial preference is a 2015 in white I'm trying to keep an open mind, at least at this stage. Two silver cars on this list have prompted my question, the 2012 at Lexus Watertown and the 2014 at Chambers. All things being equal (and most actually are), would you pay $1350 more for a 2014 that has close to 6000 more miles than a 2012? That's about a calendar year of driving for me. Or, put another way, is $1350 an appropriate amount less for a 2012 to sell for over a 2014?
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Originally Posted by eddieo45
I've been wanting a W166 for a while now; it'll be somewhat of an "extra" car that goes to the beach in the summer and replaces my SL as "daily" driver in winter. It will replace a 2006 Lexus RX330 that I plan to get detailed and retailed. ML Prices are still ridiculous but at least there's more supply out there, though Carvana seems to have nearly cornered the market. As much as an exercise as a real shopping guide I made a list of mostly Carvana cars with low price and low miles as my priorities. While my initial preference is a 2015 in white I'm trying to keep an open mind, at least at this stage. Two silver cars on this list have prompted my question, the 2012 at Lexus Watertown and the 2014 at Chambers. All things being equal (and most actually are), would you pay $1350 more for a 2014 that has close to 6000 more miles than a 2012? That's about a calendar year of driving for me. Or, put another way, is $1350 an appropriate amount less for a 2012 to sell for over a 2014?
I think the history of the car matters more. Which car has the fewest owners? Which car has the most complete dealer service history? What did the selling dealer do to recondition the car for sale? What is the condition of the brakes? Tires?
If your not in a rush I would keep looking. I looked for a full year and finally got a 2012 ML350 bluetec with 14k miles for $26k from a Mercedes dealer in Ariozna
If we are talking about a ML350 gasoline 2012 vs 2014, I will take the 2014 all the time, everything else the same of course.
Why:
updated COMAND
updated cluster
updated M276 engine with chain tensioner issue, see VIN ranges
Likely, not certain, updated CPS version to prevent oil leak into harness mess, see other threads about this on M276/M278 series
etc.
Tires, and brakes are cheap to fix compared to camshaft or harness damage
my 2c
Agree with juanmore40. 2012 was the transition year and they had an older non-color instrument cluster screen in them, the older Command Software (2014 fwd is compatible/upgradable with CarPlay Android Auto). As with any 1st year redesign release, they were working the bugs out of the design and manufacture process for the 2012 model year.
I think the history of the car matters more. Which car has the fewest owners? Which car has the most complete dealer service history? What did the selling dealer do to recondition the car for sale? What is the condition of the brakes? Tires?
There's a reason I said "All things being equal (and most actually are)"...I am in agreement that a choice between two cars where one has fewer owners, more complete service history, and better brakes and tires would be a different choice than I'm tring to make.
There's a reason I said "All things being equal (and most actually are)"...I am in agreement that a choice between two cars where one has fewer owners, more complete service history, and better brakes and tires would be a different choice than I'm tring to make.
Careful.. An unresolved chain tensioner and check valve issue can bring a "time bomb" into your hands. Say, the car has been serviced properly, but the problem has not popped up yet. You will be the one to foot the bill, and if damage to the camshaft adjusters has already started you are in for $800/adjuster x 4 adjusters + labor. Brakes and tires will be like buying ice cream then. Hopefully, no damage to the camshaft themselves.
Properly serviced vehicles have had oil leaks through camshaft position sensor, and oil migrated to the ECU. Sometimes easy to workaround (if cleaning helps), but others have found $3K+ bills to pay.
Summary: check VIN ranges to weed out early engines, then carefully inspect for oil leaks through the harness. Check for moisture in the vehicle (ML are knowns for water leaks, all MB's really)
People typically like to avoid 2012 ML’s simply because of it being the first model year of W166. You’re bound to experience problems as components haven’t received any revisions yet.
But given the car to be 10 years old, It should have most the issues sorted out. There is a Xentry Tips/ Service bulletin for the chain rattle. check to see if your engine number falls into the range. You can get your engine model number from vin decoder sites such as lastvin
Check the condition of the cars and maintenance history. And what the options lists are. - one thing i find important. US cars tend to be very lowly optioned cars for some reason.
Send vin of both cars and i’ll let you know.
People typically like to avoid 2012 ML’s simply because of it being the first model year of W166. You’re bound to experience problems as components haven’t received any revisions yet.
But given the car to be 10 years old, It should have most the issues sorted out. There is a Xentry Tips/ Service bulletin for the chain rattle. check to see if your engine number falls into the range. You can get your engine model number from vin decoder sites such as lastvin
Check the condition of the cars and maintenance history. And what the options lists are. - one thing i find important. US cars tend to be very lowly optioned cars for some reason.
Hey @ml3504matic____ , thanks for the offer, and sorry for the late response; I was travelling and put the search on hold while I sold my "trade". That done, I'm resuming the search and I'm trying to limit my shopping to 2015 models. I agree that most of the ML350's out there are what I used to call "strippies": nothing but the most basic equipment. Most in my original list are sold or pending purchase, and of six 2015 ML350's I'm tracking today from $22K - $26K, 58000 miles - 83000 miles, only one has Keyless Go. It's among the higher miles cars but if there's anything you can find out that's not on Lastvin I'd appreciate it: 4JGDA5HB9FA583829 / Engine 276955 30 811244
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