From Ford to Toyota to MB
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Joined: Jul 2024
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2011 ML350
From Ford to Toyota to MB
Last week we bought our first MB, a 2011 ML350 4Matic with 120k miles. We weren't looking for a MB but one came up for sale in our price range (which is low). Did some research and it looks like they are pretty reliable, unlike the cheap X5's i kept seeing all over Marketplace. It seems to be well taken care of and the previous owners installed new tires and brakes last year and they also said they had all the fluids changed including the transmission before they moved from New Mexico to Washington State. It's not perfect but it drives really well and everything seems to work properly, except the passenger door lock which seems to be a common issue.
Funny story about how we ended up here. Last year we bought a 3000lb boat to take out on the bay for crabbing and fishing. At the time, we had a 2006 Ford Escape hybrid which was a very reliable car but had a low tow limit. Despite that, we used it to launch the boat and it did fine but we knew we needed to upgrade to something with more power and better towing capacity. Earlier this year, I found a low mileage 2002 Toyota Highlander that needed work and a good cleaning in our price range. Most Toyotas are way too expensive and they usually have 200k+ miles on them so we got lucky with this one. We drove it for several months but my wife and i both felt like we downgraded from our Ford so we started looking for something better in our price range that was newer with more features and good towing capacity. That's how we ended with this truck because it checked all our boxes including not being too large for my wife. Our other vehicle is a minivan and my wife thinks it's too big. So far we are really enjoying it and i think once we fix some of the small issues with our new MB, it'll give us many good years of service. What blows my mind is we just sold the old Highlander for what we paid for this ML and the new owner was excited about it. Toyotas might be a reliable car but i personally would never pay what people ask for them.
Funny story about how we ended up here. Last year we bought a 3000lb boat to take out on the bay for crabbing and fishing. At the time, we had a 2006 Ford Escape hybrid which was a very reliable car but had a low tow limit. Despite that, we used it to launch the boat and it did fine but we knew we needed to upgrade to something with more power and better towing capacity. Earlier this year, I found a low mileage 2002 Toyota Highlander that needed work and a good cleaning in our price range. Most Toyotas are way too expensive and they usually have 200k+ miles on them so we got lucky with this one. We drove it for several months but my wife and i both felt like we downgraded from our Ford so we started looking for something better in our price range that was newer with more features and good towing capacity. That's how we ended with this truck because it checked all our boxes including not being too large for my wife. Our other vehicle is a minivan and my wife thinks it's too big. So far we are really enjoying it and i think once we fix some of the small issues with our new MB, it'll give us many good years of service. What blows my mind is we just sold the old Highlander for what we paid for this ML and the new owner was excited about it. Toyotas might be a reliable car but i personally would never pay what people ask for them.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 3,901
Likes: 966
From: Melbourne, Australia
2013 C204 C250 Coupe
Hi @CheaperthanYota and welcome to the family! Thanks for the intro and enjoy your ML. All the best with it 👍
