1999 Mercedes-Benz M-Class

ML320 SUV

6 Cylinder 3.2 Liter

Automatic

4jgab54e7xa121755

Gasoline

Vehicle is in very good overall condition given its age and mileage. I am the original owner and know that the car has never been wrecked or dented. My wife drove the car for the first 5 years and I have driven the car daily to work for the last 7 years. My wife just got a new car, so I am taking her old car, and this car has to go. This car would be a great vehicle for a new driver. With the full-time all wheel drive and Mercedes Benz design and construction, it is very safe. Mileage is pretty good too averaging about 15 MPG around town and close to 20 MPG on the highway. The exterior has original paint that is showing its age and mileage (numerous rock chips around the hood and grill, some peeling clear coat on the front bumper as shown in the pictures). The leather seats, carpeting and headliner are near perfect, with no rips or tears. The only interior issue is that the fabric covering the windshield pillars has become loose and is starting to droop. This could be fixed with some spray adhesive. Now for the known mechanical problems. I just had the vehicle dealer serviced. The mileage shown in this add is the last "known" mileage, which was recorded on the last Mercedes Dealers service ticket (see pics) dated 11-Jan-11 (3 weeks ago). When I got the vehicle back from the dealer, I attempted to reset the computer's Flexible Service System indicator, which shows the number of miles remaining to the next service. Unfortunately, the computer is stuck showing the number of miles to the next service at -100 (see pics). This flashes in the odometer window and currently, I cannot get the indicator to show the odometer window. I drove the car for 2 more weeks (about 600 miles) since the date of that service report and it has been parked since my wife picked up her new car. In addition, as shown at the bottom of the service report, the motor/transmission mounts are collapsed. This does not affect how the car drives or operates, but becasue the mounts are collapsed (rubber noise insulators are gone or damaged), the engine noise/vibration is a little higher than it should be. Since I have driven the car daily and this occurs over years, I never noticed the increased noise and the car is still better noise insulated than most. The power steering rack & pinion is leaking. You have to top-off the power steering reservoir about once per month when driven daily. Several years ago, the same thing was happening and I replaced an o-ring gasket between the power steering reservoir and power steering pump, which fixed the problem. The o-ring is inexpensive, but it is difficult to replace. The service report says the valve cover gaskets are leaking. I have not noticed this and have specifically looked for it. I suspect that the gaskets could be leaking near the rear of the engine, but again have not noticed any oil consumption or engine oil on the driveway. The shifter bushings are worn or missing. Again, this is more of a noise issue (linkages rattles) than a mechanical issue. Nevertheless, the dealer has identified them. Lastly, the air conditioning and heating works well. However, the blower fan system has a loose wire or switch somewhere. The blower works more often than not, but occassionally, the blower will not come on when you start the car. Then, when driving, it will all of the sudden come on. There are several good things to note as well. First, the engine was completely re-manufactured to new specifications by the Mercedes Dealer. This was completed when the vehicle had about 120,000 miles on it. The rebuild was required as part of a class-action settlement related to engine oil system failures. Although we never had any engine oil problems, Mercedes was required to rebuild all ML320 engines to settle the lawsuit. In essence, we got a new engine about 6 years ago. The tires (Michelin LTX) were new at the end of June 2010 and have just over 5,000 miles on them. I replaced the brake pads and rotors (front and rear) at the same time and the most recent dealer service report indicates 80% brakes remaining. I also replaced the entire cooling system in August 2010. This included new water pump, new radiator, new thermostat, new fan clutch, and all new hoses and gaskets. I had a slow coolant leak and decided to replace the entire cooling system as a result of the age of the car. I did not want to get stranded in Houston traffic because of a coolant system problem in mid summer. In summary, this is an old car with high mileage. I have tried to communicate the actual condition, with an emphasis on all of the things that may need attention to repair. It has been reliable transportation for my family for the last 12 years. If I had another driver in the house, I would keep it. Unfortunately, it does not make sense to keep a third car when we have only two drivers. Good luck with bidding. I am selling the car "as-is" "where-is". There is no warranty. The Buyer is responsible for shipping and/or pick-up of the vehicle from Cypress, TX (77429). Payment must be cahier's check prior to arranging for shipping.