I have purchased a new license plate for my 1998 ml 320.
Two of the screws on the tail gate will not turn ( one is turning in the nut ) my question is if I remove the inside tailgate cover is the plate nuts accessable. Can I buy the nuts and screws from the dealer or just use a dremel to cut them off ?

Use whatever method you want to get the old inserts out. A dremel would be fine. The holes through the tailgate itself are a hex shape, so if you drill, you want to be careful not to get the hex holes rounded out with a drill.
The dremel is fine, but the part inside the tailgate will drop to the bottom inside the gate, so will need to remove the interior trim panel to fish out the old pieces.

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I have had this problem 2 years in a row. The easiest way is to take the trim panel out, dremel out from inside. the new inserts are about a dollar a piece, but you need a special tool to get that installed on to the tailgate.

As a preventative measure, either you switch to plastic/nylon screws or lube the hell out of the metal screws with anti-seize paste before screwing them back to the holes.

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98 ML320 (gone but not forgotten)