Tell me about the ML350cdi
Discussion
We’re looking for a decent 4x4 / SUV for the wife and whilst I would love a Discovery, the budget won’t run to a Disco 4 and I’m too nervous about a Disco 3
Our original searching led us to a Volvo XC90 - cavernous and seemingly reliable for the D5 lump and performance not too bad for only 2.4 litres.
However, a browse around a dealer earlier today threw us a curve ball - we’re really rather taken by a 2010 Merc ML350cdi - 98,000 miles and about £5k of options on it (off-road pack, sport mode and a couple of other things I can’t remember)
It drove nicely and whilst the price isn’t cheap, it’s a very clean dealer car with full Merc history and comes with a pretty substantial aftermarket warranty.
My only two worries are that there’s a service due and it will need tyres in the next six months (265/45 20, so not cheap - I reckon about £175 a corner)
Is there anything I should be looking out for? Any horror stories?
Thanks in advance
Our original searching led us to a Volvo XC90 - cavernous and seemingly reliable for the D5 lump and performance not too bad for only 2.4 litres.
However, a browse around a dealer earlier today threw us a curve ball - we’re really rather taken by a 2010 Merc ML350cdi - 98,000 miles and about £5k of options on it (off-road pack, sport mode and a couple of other things I can’t remember)
It drove nicely and whilst the price isn’t cheap, it’s a very clean dealer car with full Merc history and comes with a pretty substantial aftermarket warranty.
My only two worries are that there’s a service due and it will need tyres in the next six months (265/45 20, so not cheap - I reckon about £175 a corner)
Is there anything I should be looking out for? Any horror stories?
Thanks in advance
Uniroyal RainSport 3 are available for less than £130 per corner, don’t know if I’d trust that weight on those tyres though - do we know if there’s guidelines as to replacing tyres in sets, for the AWD system?
ETA: a quick google suggests around £110 to fill from empty - 95 litre/21 gallon tank!
ETA: a quick google suggests around £110 to fill from empty - 95 litre/21 gallon tank!
The dealer just shot himself in the foot.....
The next service is due on the ML, and as the car has been serviced be Merc from new, I thought I'd check to see how much it would cost to keep up the dealer history.
So I called my local Merc dealer. They said that the 100,000 mile service is a biggy and costs £755. I called the dealer, expecting a bit of fun bartering, but they said nothing.
Even if I baled out to mid-range tyres, the car will still need close to £1200 spending on it in the next four to six months and it just isn't cheap enough to make sense.
However, we definitely like the car, so the search continues....
The next service is due on the ML, and as the car has been serviced be Merc from new, I thought I'd check to see how much it would cost to keep up the dealer history.
So I called my local Merc dealer. They said that the 100,000 mile service is a biggy and costs £755. I called the dealer, expecting a bit of fun bartering, but they said nothing.
Even if I baled out to mid-range tyres, the car will still need close to £1200 spending on it in the next four to six months and it just isn't cheap enough to make sense.
However, we definitely like the car, so the search continues....
Steviesam said:
You could always buy a service plan (my E350 CDI Convertible 2011 is £28 a month and covers all items required in the service) Thats for 2 services over 2 years.
Merc want £82 a month over 12 months for a service plan to cover the next two services on the ML I was looking at....Dunit said:
Try for a Edition 10 version, Our ones came with Command,Full leather seats with memory pack,Low range,side steps, Privacy glass and special 20" wheels.
The ML I looked at on Saturday had Command, plus half-leather, plus the off-road pack, privacy glass, side steps and 20s. Lovely dark metallic blue as wellIs £12,500 too much for a 2011 with 98k miles?
Nigel_O said:
Is £12,500 too much for a 2011 with 98k miles?
Yes. Having said that, I’m apparently wrong. THIS one from a main dealer is ~6 months older, with similar stuff to the one you viewed, although less than 80k, and is a few shillings under £14k...
(And it’s in Dundee)
Edited by OGR4M on Wednesday 21st February 00:48
OGR4M said:
THIS one from a main dealer is ~6 months older, with similar stuff to the one you viewed, although less than 80k, and is a few shillings under £14k...
(And it’s in Dundee)
Yup - I've seen the Dundee car - spoke to your mother about it last night. It shows that the £12.5k car isn't horribly over-priced.(And it’s in Dundee)
I'm considering going indy for the servicing, which might make it a viable proposition, but the indy I spoke to yesterday pointed out a couple of anomalies in the service history - first service was done at 32k and the second and 64k - this can't have been good for the car
Nigel_O said:
OGR4M said:
THIS one from a main dealer is ~6 months older, with similar stuff to the one you viewed, although less than 80k, and is a few shillings under £14k...
(And it’s in Dundee)
Yup - I've seen the Dundee car - spoke to your mother about it last night. It shows that the £12.5k car isn't horribly over-priced.(And it’s in Dundee)
I'm considering going indy for the servicing, which might make it a viable proposition, but the indy I spoke to yesterday pointed out a couple of anomalies in the service history - first service was done at 32k and the second and 64k - this can't have been good for the car
The service plan just give the dealer's a way to print money, At the end of the plan there is nearly allways a short fall to be made up!
Dunit said:
would have the car serviced by a Decent Indy , That way you can be sure your talking to the guy who will be working on the car instead of some humpty on the service counter who has not a clue what really was done on the car!
The service plan just give the dealer's a way to print money, At the end of the plan there is nearly allways a short fall to be made up!
I can vouch 100% for this train of thought - I had one (and only one) experience with a jaaaag main dealer, and when I asked a simple (or so I thought) question to the human sized make-up display on the desk she looked at me as if I’d driven through the showroom. The service plan just give the dealer's a way to print money, At the end of the plan there is nearly allways a short fall to be made up!
Since then I’ve been taking my car to a grotty-looking, dimly-lit workshop in the back end of nowhere and it’s be plain sailing since - and I’m a lot less poor as a result!
ML's are well over priced at the moment.
I sold my 2010 ML350cdi Sport with 70k miles on it 2 years ago and got £10500 for it as a private sale, dealer bids were around £9k.
I was going to buy a 62 plate W166 ML350 with 12k miles on it, this was December 2014 so 18 months old, and it was £24k.
To be honest I wish I had of, that car with 40k miles on it would be worth £18-20k now still.
I sold my 2010 ML350cdi Sport with 70k miles on it 2 years ago and got £10500 for it as a private sale, dealer bids were around £9k.
I was going to buy a 62 plate W166 ML350 with 12k miles on it, this was December 2014 so 18 months old, and it was £24k.
To be honest I wish I had of, that car with 40k miles on it would be worth £18-20k now still.
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