ML500 (W163) wanted and offroad ability

Had a 5 litre 163 for a few years. Excellent car, no probs in getting around in winter (or at all). Would highly reccomend it. It holds the road better than it should, and is no slouch. Could have sold you mine but I virtually gave it away last October in a hurry as I needed the space for a Lexus 300RX which (now also gone) was nice enough but not a V8. Engine will do stellar mileage but watch out for rust.

I'd go for one without Comand (bloody useless) as it should be a good bit cheaper. Bose is nice but not essential as the basic kit is fine. Linguatronic only recognises Germans!!

hth,

Ian

Hi my advice having run an ML320 for over a year (2002, bought in a hurry from a trader, sadly) is to check operation of the low range before buying. On most they are not used for years hence the hi-lo-range motor packs up, so to get it working you're looking at replacement (last time I checked I think the part was £200+). Typical tell-tale is the transfer case light flashing a few times in the dash when you first start it up.

Other common ailments:

- Oil level sensor (or possibly bad luck on mine!) occasionally tells you oil is -2L, add oil. Oil level was fine. Faulty sensor is fairly cheap (£70 if I remember right?) but needs ~4 hours labour to change as it is a stupidly time-consuming job that requires the engine to be lifted at the front and the fan off to remove the lower oil pan, clean everything up, then re-seal it using the MB sealant and sealant gun (sold only by dealers to my knowledge). Cleaning the bottom end of the engine is not fun on your back so best send it to an MB specialist or stealer or ignore the faulty sensor. On the plus side when working correctly it does measure the oil level without getting your hands dirty and will tell you when your oil has gone low after a long run at autobahn speeds.

-Leaky valve/cam covers (very common to M112/M113), not really a critical issue unless leaking a lot, as the ignition coils are right below them so you don't want them leaking onto the coils/plugs.

-Check full function of the climate control system. Mine came with the electronic system (I think most 02+ ones did) and sadly when you use the defrost button on the front it doesn't divert the air to the screen except for a few seconds (you can hear the airflow go elsewhere), so that button is useless. Manually setting the controls to direct some of the air to the windscreen works better. I'd find one with manual A/C controls if they were available, as fixing the motors/servos involves replacing them, which again takes a few fair hours labour as they are buried in the dash, some you can get to by partial disassembly but others need the whole dash to come out. I think this is the AC out of the old 203 C-class.

Diesels were built in Graz I believe, petrols in the USA. Brake disc wear is common so have a look at the brakes and have the seller replace them or give you a discount if they are almost down to the limit or have a thick lip. Replacing discs/pads is no more complicated than a 463 G if I remember right.

Lovely V8 engine!

If you want offroad ability (i.e. low range and locking diffs), load space and reasonable mileage, go for a 2nd hand 420/450 diesel GL. We've had ours for almost four years now and can only say good things about it. V8 diesel engine pulls better than our G500! The only problem is that the smallest tyre you will be able to fit is a 19" as the brakes are much bigger on the V8 diesels compared to the V6 diesels (which can wear 18" rims). Effectively, this means that you will have a lesser choice of decent AT (or MT) tyres to buy: we ended up going with slightly smaller rolling radius (dare I say it standard RR/Disco size) General ATs. But the car itself is conserably bigger than an ML (extra seat bench in the back/bigger boot) and surprisingly good offroad. They are now also good value as second hand buys: only area of real concern, make sure the air suspension works properly or get the car cheap and buy the MB extended-life warranty package with it. Good luck/Ph