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I have the opportunity to jump on this 2014 ML for a cool $9k. It's a one owner car with extensive service history as well as mileage being decent at 116k. It seems like a good deal to me, but these cars are a little before my time and a lot older than I typically like to own. With that being said, the economy sucks right now and being in something cheap for a couple years would help ease some of the financial sting as long as it isn't going to nickel and dime me (or a lot worse) to death.
To those who have had them long term please share your thoughts.
Catch up on all maintenance if you don’t have solid documents indicating when it was done.
Engine concern area is chain tensioner check valve and oil in harness from cam magnets and cam sensors. Tensioner engine affected numbers are posted on this site. A fix is available. Oil in harness is expensive if it has saturated the harness. If caught in the early stages it can be fixed with new magnets and sensors.
Check the harness for oil and scan for codes.
7G transmission is not a great box when new. Fluid changes are a must.
The rest of the platform is good. I would try to negotiate new tires and brakes, or a price deduction based on remaining life.
Catch up on all maintenance if you don’t have solid documents indicating when it was done.
Engine concern area is chain tensioner check valve and oil in harness from cam magnets and cam sensors. Tensioner engine affected numbers are posted on this site. A fix is available. Oil in harness is expensive if it has saturated the harness. If caught in the early stages it can be fixed with new magnets and sensors.
Check the harness for oil and scan for codes.
7G transmission is not a great box when new. Fluid changes are a must.
The rest of the platform is good. I would try to negotiate new tires and brakes, or a price deduction based on remaining life.
Thanks for the info!
PO had the diesel particulate filter, rear main seal, and rear diff. service done in November. Fortunately, I do have dealer access to it's records going back to 2018 when we first saw the car.
Tires are about 80% and brakes feel good without any noise but it hasn't been inspected yet. This was a trade-in at my dealership so the price is the price without negotiation if I'd like to take it.
If it's had the US mandated recall done, all of the troublesome parts have been swapped now. I am rolling the dice on one myself and so far it has been great. Wife loves it and I love the mileage and torque. Be sure it sees a highway often so the particulate filter can burn off the stuff it collects.
If it's had the US mandated recall done, all of the troublesome parts have been swapped now. I am rolling the dice on one myself and so far it has been great. Wife loves it and I love the mileage and torque. Be sure it sees a highway often so the particulate filter can burn off the stuff it collects.
Not necessarily. Only the emissions components were replaced. The extended warranty was great but I'm still reading about other issues. The diesel forum reads like a soap opera.
Not for nothing, I've got $10k worth of receipts for the warranty work on mine from the previous owner. Pretty much the entire exhaust system gets replaced (DPF and Cat) as well as the AdBlue injection system, EGR, etc. It's a huge relief to know that all of the most troublesome pieces were replaced *and* come with a Federal 4-year 50k mile warranty extension.
Hey we all roll the dice on a used Benz. If you can get a Bluetec cheaply enough, I think it's worth it.
YMMV of course, but I'll be enjoying the hell out of this thing.
If it's had the US mandated recall done, all of the troublesome parts have been swapped now. I am rolling the dice on one myself and so far it has been great. Wife loves it and I love the mileage and torque. Be sure it sees a highway often so the particulate filter can burn off the stuff it collects.
I rarely see the highway, usually once a month for a short stint. My commute is 7.5 miles each way of back roads, enough to get the engine to temp but not a lot more. Will I be inviting issues?
Yep - both my mechanics advised me not to buy the vehicle if it was only going to be used for short trips. That spells trouble for lots of vehicles but it goes double for these.
I rarely see the highway, usually once a month for a short stint. My commute is 7.5 miles each way of back roads, enough to get the engine to temp but not a lot more. Will I be inviting issues?
The scenario you describe is exactly how NOT to use the diesel engine. A DPF regen will never have a chance to complete a cycle and issues will consider themselves to have an open invitiation.
I love my ML350 bluetec (and the torque, as you've noted) but am careful in how I use it (just put 200 miles on it this morning). I have a gasser for short trips. Drives the wife nuts that I won't let her use it for her 8 mile commute, but so it goes.
My grandfather was a farmer but also a bit of a car guy. He owned two of the famous GM diesel 350's in his Oldsmobile 98s in the 80s. While the general consensus was that the motor (a hastily converted gas motor and not GM's finest hour) was a piece of garbage, he ran two of them up over 100k miles and never had a single issue. I think a lot of that was his long experience with diesel tractors, trucks and farm equipment. Meaning you warm them up properly before any large throttle load is applied, you don't try and rev them like a gas motor, you stay on the oil changes religiously and most importantly you use them like a diesel likes to be used - constant load and speed (ie highway miles).
My own ML came from a good friend who mostly used his for long trips up and down the east coast with very little around town and short trips. Even with the occasional short hop, he was also sure to get it on the highway for another long drive before too much time went by.
Look at where diesel has been used forever - trucks, ships, generators, etc. Any place where a steady load at constant RPM is the norm.
I think many of these MB diesels fared poorly in the hands of people who blast right out of the driveway, soccer moms doing 2-5 miles at a time, and the rest who thought a 10k oil change interval would be fine.
The scenario you describe is exactly how NOT to use the diesel engine. A DPF regen will never have a chance to complete a cycle and issues will consider themselves to have an open invitiation.
I love my ML350 bluetec (and the torque, as you've noted) but am careful in how I use it (just put 200 miles on it this morning). I have a gasser for short trips. Drives the wife nuts that I won't let her use it for her 8 mile commute, but so it goes.
Originally Posted by TripleDown
Time for a quick story...
My grandfather was a farmer but also a bit of a car guy. He owned two of the famous GM diesel 350's in his Oldsmobile 98s in the 80s. While the general consensus was that the motor (a hastily converted gas motor and not GM's finest hour) was a piece of garbage, he ran two of them up over 100k miles and never had a single issue. I think a lot of that was his long experience with diesel tractors, trucks and farm equipment. Meaning you warm them up properly before any large throttle load is applied, you don't try and rev them like a gas motor, you stay on the oil changes religiously and most importantly you use them like a diesel likes to be used - constant load and speed (ie highway miles).
My own ML came from a good friend who mostly used his for long trips up and down the east coast with very little around town and short trips. Even with the occasional short hop, he was also sure to get it on the highway for another long drive before too much time went by.
Look at where diesel has been used forever - trucks, ships, generators, etc. Any place where a steady load at constant RPM is the norm.
I think many of these MB diesels fared poorly in the hands of people who blast right out of the driveway, soccer moms doing 2-5 miles at a time, and the rest who thought a 10k oil change interval would be fine.
It sounds like good buy or not, I better pass.
I can make my daily commute be spent on the highway but it is only going to extend the distance by 4 or 5 miles.
I had been driving this one for the last 5 days or so. I've been careful not to treat it like a gas car- light throttle load until beyond operating temp, letting it idle at corner store stops, etc.
I think many of these MB diesels fared poorly in the hands of people who blast right out of the driveway, soccer moms doing 2-5 miles at a time, and the rest who thought a 10k oil change interval would be fine.
Pretty much this, I bought my 14' ML350 Bluetec with 156k when it was 3 years old... all highway miles and regularly maintained. Sitting at 256k now, other than the NOX sensors failing (before the AEM stuff came about) I have had non-engine related issues but nothing that was diesel specific. Drive them on the highway mostly, change the oil at 5k and they fare pretty well.
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