OK, I had to see what kind of criticism I was going to get for the Ford comment. In answer to above, yes I went new; 2005 Eddie Bauer Edit. AND it even came with a set of Michelin Cross Terrain tires. I ran those tires on my ML too and loved them. I guess I really cannot speculate as to what my experience will be like with this vehicle as the only Fords I've ever owned have been Mustangs. I've got an 03 SVT Cobra too and never had a problem with it....actually never had any significant problems with any of the past 4 Mustangs either so I'm hoping for the same reliability here. I actually wanted a VW Toureg as my SUV but Consumer Reports rated its predicted reliability 139% below average so I steered clear of that model....heck the ML is only listed at 80% worse than average so I'd hate to see how the VW would work out.

I've been eyeing the CLK320 to replace my SVT Cobra so there's a possibility I may not be completely out of the MB business...we'll see if the dealer is willing to work with me since my service advisor is quite aware of the problems I had with the ML. Maybe they'll feel bad for me and offer me a deal I just cannot pass up....