jpizzle856

My name is Jonathan, I currently reside in KY. I just got out of the Army in April. Since I was medically discharged and am growing older im starting to look into "man" vehicles, ML55 AMG being one of them. I stumbled on a 2001 with 132K miles for 8.5K.

http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/3206967573.html

I was wondering if I could get some in put on what to look for when buying ML55 AMG's, dependability and maintenance upkeep. How are they on towing and MPG? Is this a good deal with price and miles? Any input would help, thank you.

xxGenericSNxx

While it looks like a legit ML55 (brakes, fender flares, wheels, interior wood trim) they have replaced the front bumper with the non AMG variant. Just wanted to let you know that. As a result you have lost the integrated fog lights that the AMG bumper had and the aggressiveness of the stock bumper. Make sure it's legit AMG though by giving me the VIN number if you find it out. I can run that number and make sure it's AMG from factory.

I have an ML430 and I'll just tell you that I get around 15mpg with mostly city driving. If I go on the freeway such as a road trip I may be able to get it up to 17-18.5mpg. So with the AMG version and a slightly larger engine, I'd suppose you can subtract 1-2mpg.

Towing is rated to 5,000 pounds but if the vehicle doesn't have the trailer hitch installed, it's sort of hard to find the OEM one now since the car is long out of production. You may have better luck with an aftermarket one, but I've never been a fan of aftermarket ML hitches because they don't fit perfectly in the factory slot in the bumper. Often times they're under the bumper or if they fit in the factory hole it just doesn't look right when mounted. (kind of funny and sticking out more than OEM). But if you don't care about how the hitch looks/ not as **** as me then no big deal.

Sorry, can't really answer any of the other questions.

jpizzle856

The VIN is 4JGAB74E41A264648

It books for 10.9K.

xxGenericSNxx

Ok so looks like you've got a legit ML55, just a downgraded front bumper.

jpizzle856

I'm trading my 2005 ZX10R with ALOT of mod's plus 2G for it. I told him 1G because of the front bumper, he replied with 1.5K. I found a silver AMG bumper for 470 on eBay. What do I need besides foglights and a paint job?

xxGenericSNxx

It's hard to say. I looked into doing an ML55 bumpe retrofit from the old style and was quoted ~$3k because I needed new brackets and bumper foam on the back. It's hard to tell if it transfers over or not so they wanted me to buy more pieces. I opted not to swap bumpers as it appeared more work than I intended.

So it can be more than just the bumper skin- it could involve brackets and other such stuff.

Also, YOU'RE WELCOME for providing this information.

jpizzle856

Thank you was said in post #1 in advance. But thank you again. I think I'm just going to hold onto my bike, I'm not going to buy a chopped together AMG or pay a retarded amount for a new bumper.

xxGenericSNxx

Honestly I think that's the smart thing to do in this case. When you see mismatched parts it's typically a red flag that there's some sort of accident or possible further damage that the car can have. It also raises the question of why the bumper wasn't repaired with the correct (and better) version and what other corners were cut when doing repairs. I also don't like how it wasn't disclosed in the original listing.

Sorry for being harsh- just nice to get some recognition. Take care!

krazymaan

Ya, I chuckled a bit when he said great gas milage. I can't help to pound my gas pedal down, but when you look at the average mpg's. its between 10 and 14. So if thats considered great gas milage, you got it made. If i am easy on it. Ya, right. you might get 15ish. But brand new it gets between 13 and 19 mpg. Thats what the books say. I also noticed the front bumper right away. Too bad it wasn't the metal flake blue ML55