Quote:
Originally Posted by 71Rcode
What is your opinion of the ML320s? A "lot" of 210s, eh?
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Thanks; and yeah, I've had the whole "It's going to cost WHAT!?!" conversation a few times... "Well, it's German and it sure as hell wasn't cheap to buy, what exactly made you think it was cheap to fix?" Or the ever-popular "These cars aren't supposed to do this, everyone says they run forever." "They do run forever." "Then why is it broken!?" "Er... Because you haven't done an oil change or anything else on it in the past 30,000 miles and 2 years?"
Yeah. Anyhow.
As far as the MLs go... In a word: Run. There are few things that should make you more uncomfortable than shelling out your own money for a ML. Amongst them are Volkswagen products (don't ask; you think this post is long? By the time I get done with THAT the letters on my keyboard will have worn off and I'll have a twitchy eye. Yeah, we did VW/Audi service too. I'm still in therapy for it. The good news is that the doctors say the straitjacket can come off soon if I don't have any more episodes...) and being threatened with being forced to drive a 1992 Suzuki Swift for the rest of your life. A 3 cylinder one. With a miss in cylinder 2 and an a/c compressor that won't shut off, a slipping automatic that intermittently won't go into reverse, and a radio that plays nothing but Britney Spears' Greatest Hits. Turned up to 11. Sitting on a bald right rear tire from Wal-Mart with a tread wear rating of 15,000 and 3 donut spares.
I don't know what, exactly, it is that went wrong with the MLs. I've heard all kinds of theories and speculation, but the bottom line is that in 3 years, @ an average of 25-40 cars/week (total, not 25-40 MLs), I think I met two people with MLs that were happy with them.
You could make an argument that being relatively inexpensive as far as Mercedes go, they attract a different "class" of buyer that
really doesn't expect the ongoing price one pays for German engineering. And that may very well be true; the engines and transmissions aren't really any less reliable in my experience than they are in any of the other C/E/S/etc. cars that used the same 3 valve engines and 5G-Tronics (although the MLs seemed to have a much higher probability of upper oil pan gasket leaks than anything else did, for whatever reason. That's a fun job, too. LOTS of fun. Wouldn't call it a DIY job unless you're the masochistic type; if you are, feel free to enjoy hours [and hours... and hours...] of giddy, gleeful pain and suffering.) But the rest of the cars-the electrical system and such-are just, for lack of a better term, "flaky".
I can only give you one concrete reason to not buy one-they chew through brakes at an utterly astonishing rate. Most of my customers were lucky to hit 20,000 miles on a set of front brakes, I don't recall anyone doing more than 25k. And we were using OE/OEM parts. Other than that, I mean... I can't point at them and go "well all the window regulators will fail simultaneously, then the fuel tank will fall out and the steering wheel will come off in your hands" or anything. They just seem to be more problematic than other Mercedes are.
And I think you'll find that, if you're looking at them specifically for 7-seat capacity, a regular E class wagon would be better. The 3rd row seat in the ML was optional, and while I've never seen a ML with the option, judging by the cargo area behind the second row seat, I think it's probably reserved exclusively for people under 4ft tall that have no legs.
Finally, for what it's worth, I think they're awful to drive. I cannot find a comfortable position for the seat-eventually the angle of the pedals ends up bothering my feet-and the whole thing just feels really cheap to me. It does not at all make me feel like I'm driving a Mercedes.
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As far as the V6 vs. V8 in the 210 goes: The V6 has more room, obviously, but the V8 isn't too bad, I don't think. I've never done any actual work on either one myself, but the 210 certainly isn't packed as tightly as say, the M119 was in the W124-where you open the hood, look down, look at the technician, say "ha, sucks to be you" and walk away.
Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention on the 210s (although this is common in newer cars period, irrespective of brand or model, in my experience); they have fluid filled engine mounts. Over time they crack, leak, and collapse. If the car's got 80k+ on it and it hasn't had them done, it probably needs them.
And the '73 Mustangs were nice cars; the '71-73 has always been my favorite body style--closely followed by the '69-70.
