very fast

ride very bumpy. not reliable

Drove the ml 55 11,000 kms across australia mainly on sealed roads after 8 months. the vehicle broke down on Sydney Habour Bridge. After 3 days of inspections, the dealership found metal filings in transmission oil.

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lexus 470 (very good), ml 270 cdi (electrical and drive train faults)

Great in snow, easy to see surrounding traffic

Repairs are frequent and costly

Despite the high cost of repairs, my wife loved her ML320 until the engine block broke at the passenger side motor mount. With just over 50,000 miles on our well maintained car that looked new, the part of the block that the engine mount bolts into just broke. One bolt of three was left. The technician noted that the remaining bolt (factory installed) was cross-threaded. Although the car is obviously out of warranty we had hoped that Mercedes Benz might repair or help with the repair of what is a rare and peculiar defect. Our local dealer quoted us $10,000 to $11,000 to repair. A factory rep inspected the car and determined that a fender-bender (which I informed them of) from the summer of 1998 had caused the engine block to break. Keep in mind that this was 5 years ago and the engine, drive trian, frame or any part of the under carriage was absolutely untouched or damaged. Any mechanic or body person I asked about this factory diagnosis said it was ridiculous. Even the service manager at the local Mercedes dealer told me that this was not possible.

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We also have a 2003 C320

- Nice ride - Good braking system - Comfortable roomy interior

1. The driver window control broke. 2. The sunroof has been worked on twice. 3. The shift know split. 4. The paint has not held up well. 5. The gauges for the engine continue to come on and will often reset themselves to turn off. 6. Plastic parts on the car come off or have become warped. 7. Engine oil light will come on when the car is half a quart low on oil. The car seems to burn oil and the dealership cannot find anything wrong. 8. Several of the electrical systems have been replaced.

The SUV has been in the Dealership 16 times in 4 years for warranty repairs. This is the 3rd Mercedes that I have owned and the worst car that I have ever owned. The last time that I took the car to the dealer it was 3,000 out of warranty and they did fix the sunroof at no charge. They wanted to charge me to look at an engine indicator light that comes on and off. I did not pay to have the indicator fixed.

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Landrover Discovery Chevrolet Blazer

Reasonable power and gas mileage. Many standard features. Roomy. Good sound system. Good ergonomics. Love the heated seats.

Sometimes harsh ride. Occasionally quirky shift program causes jerky upshifts. Poor resale value.

The vehicle has held up very well overall. I find it a comfortable, roomy, and versatile all-around performer. Accelaration around town and on the highway is good. It handles quite well for a truck. It is a pleasure to travel in. The sunroof is a must buy option! The cargo area holds a lot of stuff. On the down side, I had to rebuild the air conditioner at about 125000 miles. This was a $1500 expenditure. I am unable to get replacement keys that match the locks and ignition for my particular vehicle and the dealers are unable to tell me why. Some of the lights in the instrument cluster have developed a faulty contact and go out intermittently. The rear seat belts no longer retract properly. The plastic in the cargo area cracks easily because it is very thin. Mercedes Benz dealers are somewhat arrogant and the service department could be better organized and personable.

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ML430, Chevy Suburban, Ford Expedition

If you can ignore the rattling noise then you would enjoy the ride. Also, because the bonnet (hood) slope down you have a clearer view of the road in front.

MB service managers have very poor customer relationship skills. Different MB service center can have different pricing cheapest materials use throughout the car The car rattles all over, especially the back door. The sun roof rubber is not secure and constantly falls out. MB does not have a solution. The locking switch only last on average 2-years. $400 each time you need to replace it. Don't be fooled, the only leather is the seat. everything else that looks like leather is plastic. test it yourself.

I trade my ML320 for a Land Rover. I have to beg them to take it as a trade. MB of America is aware of many faults but claim they don't have the R&D budget to resolve the problems. It's is a shame that MB of America do not have a general office you can call to resolve any issue the dealer do not want to address. I purpose that ALL MB managers go and take some training from Honda. there is a reason why they are #1.

None

None. Avoid at all costs

This truck should be an embarrassment to MB. In 20,000 miles I have experienced faults with the GPS, CD player, general electric system, transmission, rear gate, fold down seats, emergency brake release, battery, brakes and other parts. These faults do not appear to be assembly related but are based on poor design and poor quality materials. In other words, we can’t blame this on poor US assembly but on poor MB design and execution. The design of the vehicle is unbelievably poor. The windows are slow to raise and lower, the transmission shifts poorly and slowly, air leaks through the steering column and the rear gate is too heavy to lift. Ride quality borders on the dangerous. A six hour trip (first and last in this thing) was completely exhausting due to having to fight to keep it on the road. Gas mileage is predictably poor but the vehicle comes with only a 17 gallon usable tank. This equates to a 250 mile highway range. The trip computer blinks “fuel” when the level is low instead of telling you how much mileage is left when it is most important to know. The rear fold down seat (drivers side) requires that the user pull a lever in the opposite direction of seat travel and another upwards while moving the seat forward, all at the same time. Did a two year old design this truck? Every visit to the dealer for service (and there are soooo many of these), requires a 4 day wait for parts. The dealer was for the most part arrogant and/or condescending. In addition, they seemed genuinely confused by my complaints about the vehicle. e.g., “What’s wrong with having to replace brakes at 15,000 miles, my C-class needs them every 9,000!” At least half of my complaints were returned with comments like: “that’s how its supposed to function”. Also, every service trip for multiple items usually meant 1 or more items would be forgotten/ignored. Are all MB products this poor? I seem to have paid for the three pointed star product but received the 5 pointed star product instead. I finally gave up a traded it for an X5; only to discover I had lost $20,000 in value in less than two years. I ordered the X5 and made deal to keep the ML for another two months until delivery. When I picked up the X5, the BMW dealer told me they had lost another $2800 since we had closed the deal. So much for the famous MB resale value.

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Discovery, X5, RX300

It does not matter.

Worst value of a luxury SUV.

I have had 2 ML320's - I should have learned from the first one. Mercedes should be embarrassed to have their logo on this vehicle. It is a disgrace. Same problem with both – hits hard in the front – and the dealers just can’t fix it. Problems – the electronic key system failed, the rear view mirror permanently discoloured, the door panel fell off, one of the computer modules failed. Worst vehicle I have ever owned.

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QX4, 4runner,

High-quality Inspiration interior, size, comfort, interior space, truly fold-flat second row seats, Bose sound system, one-touch down and up windows, power rear vent windows, plenty of power and torque, integrated Motorola V.60 telphone, low range gearbox, heated seats, great brakes.

Fuel economy (14 mpg combined), location of sound system knobs and buttons.

UPDATE: After ten months and 22,000 miles, still a great vehicle with no problems. I bought this 2003 ML350 Inspiration Edition on December 2, 2003 with fourteen miles on it (seven of which were my test drive). Scheduled "B" service coming up in 1,200 miles. So far, no problems over lots of miles of city and highway driving. I traded my 1997 E320 sedan to get more hauling room now that I have three kids three-years-old and younger. This vehicle has none of the notable defects complained of by reviewers of earlier models (poor trim level, rattles, engine-transmission-electrical problems, poor dealer service response). Two complaints: First, the fuel enconomy sucks. For years I got 20 mpg combined in my E320, and I consistently get 14 mpg over the same roads in my M-Class. I understand the "more horsepower pulling more weight" argument, but how can Acura get significantly better mileage from significantly more horsepower and a similarly heavy vehicle? Second, the sound system knobs and buttons are far from the driver with no steering wheel controls. One feature I miss from my E-Class: one-touch remote closing of the windows and sunroof when locking. One feature that even the professional reviews don't fully appreciate: The second row seating folds truly flat to the floor, meaning the seat portion drops to the floor, then the back portion folds on top. The new Nissan Quest minivan has a similar system that is getting rave reviews, while the six-year-old M-Class system is overlooked. The advantage is that you gain the extra height reclaimed by the seat dropping to floor height, and you don't loose any load length as you do if the seat portion pivots forward to rest against the backs of the front seats. You get much more load space in the M-Class than in similarly-sized SUVs. I did a thorough review of the M-Class before my purchase and was aware of the model's atrocious repair and quality record. My family has owned Mercedes-Benz since the 1970's so I was also aware of M-B's legendary toughness and long-life. After overnight test-driving several examples of the M-Class (what a great dealership!), I felt comfortable with making the switch to an SUV. I have not regretted my purchase for a moment.

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2002 Chevy Suburban (still have), 1999 Chevy Tahoe, 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Traded 1997 E320 sedan for 2003 ML350.

Explosive Acceleration for an SUV

Very poor quality. Not worthy of other Mercedes. Why cant they match Toyota's quality even though some trucks (i.e. Sequoia,Tacoma)assembled locally

very poor quality. It has been at the dealer 9 times just this year. Interior pieces breaking, brakes,rattles,power steering, windshield reservoir, ESP(Electronic Stability control and low 4 wheel drive engaged while driving 75 at the interstate meaning the ML500 suddenly slowed down and I could not drive over 35 mph for the next 20 mile exit. I drove straight to the Lexus dealer and traded it in to a 2004 Lexus 330. I was shocked at the depreciation.

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Toyota Landcruiser

Bose sound system, the air conditioning, exterior and interior apperance, and the backseat.

The servicing dealer, the 4 wheel drive (we got stuck pulling out a single Seadoo trailer on a half mud half concrete boat launch and had to be towed out. The front wheels would not pull the car out even though they were on concrete. The 4WD wasn't working at all), the radio vaolume control and the build qaulity of the car.

Well, I am not sure what was worse, the car or the fact that the ONLY dealer in Birmingham could not fix the damn car. The car/dealer was a total nightmare. We tried to be patient, but that only seemed to make it worse. We kept the car about 30,000 miles and it was in the shop for repairs (not oil changes, etc) 19 times, so far. Every time it was there it would be there for 3-7 days EVERY time, which is very aggrivating when you have to pay for a rental Saturn. I have never been treated so poorly in my life. We have owned a lot of different cars and I have NEVER seen a dealership that was even remotely close to this bad. I talked to one of my neighbors who used to own a Mercedes M-Class and she had the same feelings for the car and the servicing dealer. The next nearest dealership is 65 miles away, which is very inconvienent to take the car to. I truly have regreted EVERY SINGLE day that we have owned the car. Finally, we talked to Mercedes corporate about getting another car because of our massive problems, but they could have cared less. They only offered us two grand off a new Mercedes - - that was a complete slap in the face. I could go to Ford, GM, or Chrysler and gotten 5,000 off a new car without even asking. We were not willing to continue with this thing and they wanted 15,000 to trade into a brand new car equipped just like ours. I thought that was ridiculous. I don't know what we will do yet, but I can honestly say that I hate Crown Mercedes in Hoover, AL and I would NEVER even consider another Mercedes, much less an M Class. Luckily, my husband and I had purchased a new Jeep Grand Cherokee about 6 months ago and we can still tow our boat and Seadoos around.

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2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 1999 Ford Explorere Eddie Bauer, 2 x 1994 BMW 325I (One red, one blue), 2001 BMW 330I, 1997 Jeep Cherokee, 2001 Ford F-150, 1997 Ford Ranger, 1995 Honda Accord, 1993 Mazda 626, 1990 Acura Legend, 1999 Acura Integra - I think that covers most of the cars that we have owned over the last decade.