We have a '98 ML320 with the third row of seats. They're great for kids or short trips. You do not want to put adults back there on a longer trip. When the third seats are in use you have to move the second row forward a couple inches, so legroom in the middle row suffers also. There's not much room for cargo behind the third row. In return for this inconvenience you get a vehicle that handles much better than all those oversized trucks (Suburbans, etc.) and gets better mileage (my ML gets the same mileage towing a 5,000 lb. trailer, as an unladen Durango or Suburban). I had to buy the seats through the parts department and I installed them myself. All the hardware is there, in the earlier models. I'm not sure they're available at the dealer any more.

The MLs in general are not paragons of reliability, though in this class of vehicle I'm not sure which is. Ours has not been as bad as some others report. Definitely have the harmonic balancer looked at before buying.

Acura MDX or the new Explorers (~2000-on?) also have 7 seats, though I don't know if the Acura can be bought in your price range. For that matter you may consider a Land Rover, which will be less expensive than an ML but it can't possibly be any more reliable. Lousy gas mileage too. My neighbor has a Rover; they love it but it gets 12-14 mpg.

__________________
Lenny

There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games. --Ernest Hemingway

'10 GL550/'04 BMW 545/'99 BMW 323/'98 ML320/'87 VW GTI (race)