Kev_turbo

Looking to buy a 'w' plate or there abouts prestige 4x4 e.g range rover 4.6, Mercedes ML430. Looking at £4k ish

The reasons i am looking for something like this are

I will do very few miles in this, it will be a third family car owned as I can't get both kids in my work landrover and the tax man basically pays for it as I can claim 100% of the landrover if I have a second personal car. Because of the low milage the fuel costs do not bother me so willing to look at big petrol engines. I want/need a 4x4 for my hobby of shooting so regular farm track and woodland ride use. I want a toy, I've got a defender for the serious work so want some comfort.

I have seen 4.6 and 4.0 range rovers for between £3 and £4k but air suspension and blocks cracking are making me cautious.

I have also seen Mercedes ML430's in this price range but no nothing about them, can anyone shed any light on these as a used buy?

Any other suggestions?

TIA

Kev

Petem95

Dont know anything specifically about the ML's, but Merc's from that period are actually terrible for rust and I've seen quite a few ML's with quite a lot of rust on!

richs2891

Not many of the ML's have a low range gear box as standard - not sure if this is an issue to you or not ? Think the ones with low range gear box would be winter pack equipped

I would stay away from the Range Rover although they do sound nice in petrol form ! I would be looking at a Land Cruiser personally - though would you class it as a prestige 4x4 ?

Richard

The Zohan

What about a top spec Jeep Grand Cherokee - Nice v8 engine, well equipped and built and can go off road if required.

Had a Land Cruiser in Dubai - they really are great cars, wallow a bit but built well and to last - the Arabs really rate them for reliability (quite imporant when you live in the desert) and off road ability.

The mercs do rust and cost a fortune to run from what i am led to belive. 10 year old Range Rover - unless really low miles and full history then not my choice.

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

you could pick up a nice p38 range rover , they did westminister versions , holland and holland etc around 2000/2001 that were pretty kitted out . even a nice dhse . my mate picked up a oxford blue 4.6 with nappa leather sat nav . 56k full history , 18" hurricanes for 7k a while back and its a lovely car .

the ml mercs are not very good imo

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

you could pick up a nice p38 range rover , they did westminister versions , holland and holland etc around 2000/2001 that were pretty kitted out . even a nice dhse . my mate picked up a oxford blue 4.6 with nappa leather sat nav . 56k full history , 18" hurricanes for 7k a while back and its a lovely car .

the ml mercs are not very good imo

Dave Thornton

I've got a 2000V ML430 and have previously owned several Discoverys (tdi and v8) and both a P38 4.6 HSE and a long time ago a classic RR 4.2 LSE. In many ways, th ML is streets ahead of anything Land Rover made at the time, but it was a long way behind its chief competitor the X5 and later versions are even further behind the XC90 and Discovery 3.

Mine has a low range box but its USP is that it has 7 full seats as it has the family pack. The engine is so much better than the Rover v8 - 25% quicker AND 25% more economical. And the tiptronic box is brilliant. I can't think of a faster 7 seater for £4k. With a separate chassis it feels solid and the reliability is good. Mine has an X in the middle of the chassis number, meaning it was assembled in Austria - that's much better than those assembled in Alabama, however the same cheap plastic is used. There's no rust, but the durability of the interior leaves much to be desired. Also, every 4 years/60k (I think) it needs 16 new platinum plugs @ £300.

I would take an ML in preference to a Jeep and at 10 years old I would say steer clear of RRs.

Kev_turbo

Thanks Dave, just what I wanted to hear.

Is the low range box part of a 'pack'? I don't need the 7 seats but what else would I lose by omitting the family pack? Is there anything to watch out for either to make sure it isn't there or make sure it is (like the X in the chassis number).

Are you looking to sell????

Thanks

Dave Thornton

To be honest I thought they all had a low range box, I thought that there were only 2 packs - a Family pack which was 7 seats (and also 6 electric windows rather than 4) - I reckon about 25% had this as an option and adds quite a bit of value now. And there was a Lux pack which was full leather seats and probably other bits too - I think the Lux pack was standard on the 430.

As with every secondhand car of this age it's very much buyer beware - check every button etc, but there aren't any achilles heels like K series head gaskets etc. One big difference between the ML and an RR is that the heated seats still work after this age! Another thing people say about Mercedes generally is to get a full history.

We were looking to sell sometime between now and next May - it's currently got 91k, FSH, 7k until next service, 4 good tyres and 7 months MoT. I'd have to declare that the aircon needs a recharge and the dashboard lights stopped working a couple of weeks back (probably just a tired connection) but it is in the best colour combo - dark blue with black leather) - if you are serious then I would consider selling (we live near Reading) - PM me.

When polished it looks like this: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref...&id=1378464407