so, i have been looking for an upgrade to my 1996 yukon.

have trialed the 2005 versions of these vehicles.

how do i say it? why does anyone buy this benz bit of junk? rattles. supremely bad bit of finish. not an inexpensive vehicle, but a cheap one.

this srx is a much better bit of kit. i almost thought it to have been the benz product.

equivalently priced.

but what i don't know is the long-term durability. this srx is so new as to have no history. and the ml series history is ugly, based on my experience, i have never encountered such a rattle-prone vehicle.

tell me o gurus of the benzes, what say yee?

If your heart is set on new I'd try another ML to see if they all suck, and if so, probably go with the Caddy. But American iron is not intended for 10 years of use as a rule. Alternatives might be the big Toyota/Lexus SUV. Another alternative would be a mid to late 90s iteration G wagon. I’m told they are almost cheap at the cost, an excellent value, and supremely well built. I'm going to be retiring one of our SUV's in a couple of years and will most likley get a late 90's G as a replacement.

This said, the ML is going with a new chasis in '05 or '06 and it is never a good idea to buy a first year iteration of *any* vehicle....

__________________
...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

i know that it will sound heretical, but i had the damndest experience with a 2000 lexus lx470. after 1100 miles, the dealership bought it back from me for the price i paid for it.

suffice it to say that the dealership kept screwing around so badly with this vehicle. my argument for the buy-back was that if it was the lexus claim that the dealership/the service was the major feature of the line, then i had been a victim of a deceptive trade practice. in light of the documentation, they couldn't defend themselves.

there was one horribly negative design aspect of the vehicle, however, which made it completely unsuitable. in fact, ever since, i have marveled at how anyone tolerates this situation.

firstly, when i bought the car, i was 6'2" and weighed 175lbs. in good physical condition. from 1994 - 2000 i had rented various lexus vehicles[SC400, LS400, GS400] when visiting LA. i was always impressed by their quality of construction. i was always impressed by the seats in those cars[as opposed to my opinion that honda offer the worst seats in the industry]. and seats are important. they were always one of the principal reasons that i have owned benzes for years. when you spend anything other than a few minutes driving, seat quality becomes a very desirable feature.

anyway, after a short test drive, and based on my experiences with other lexus models, i acquired this lx470. now, i had never had any back problems, but shortly after i started driving this lx470, i began to experience extraordinary back pain. and i noted that the driver's seat in the lx470 did not offer the ranges of adjustment as did the driver's seat in the lexus models in which i had spent some real time driving.

eventually, i ended up with a friend's tai chi sensei, dr wu, for some acupuncture[this should tell you how pained i was - first time that i had ever done that and i hate needles]. and i achieved relief. and for some time after that treatment, i drove my old 1986 560sel. no back pain.

feeling better, i started driving the lexus lx470 again. within days, i was back to dr wu for another round of needles. relief. i was beginning to suspect that the source of my complaint was the lx470. on this visit, i had driven the lx470 the 60 miles to dr wu's ministry. though i had no back pain leaving dr wu's, by the time i returned to conroe, i was in pain.

i exchanged the lx470 for the 560sel, returned to dr wu's for another bit of needling. and never drove the lx470 again. since then, driving my yukon, my benzes, or any other vehicle, i have never experienced any similar back pain.

in my experience, the driver seating in the 2000 lx470[shared with the toyota lc]was the worst that i have ever encountered. i also think that you would never determine this before purchasing that model based on only short term test driving.

possibly, by this stage in the game, toyota has improved that seat design. but based on the extraordinarily inept service dept that i experienced[at a dealership owned by the major toyota/lexus importer] i doubt that i shall ever be owning a toyota product.

and the way it is going, i may never acquire another benz product. and that is also a servicing issue. to be discussed at another time.

slanz

albert
1979 6.9[52k]
1986 560sel[255k]
1987 560sec[90k]
1995 e320cab[15k]
1997 c140[36k]
1996 gmc yukon[105k]