Used Car of the Day: 2001 Mercedes-Benz ML430
If you want to get into a Mercedes-Benz cheap, just wait 20+ years for depreciation to kick in.
OK, that's a bit harsh. But here we have an example of a cheap-but-old MB SUV.
This 2001 Mercedes-Benz ML430 has some issues, but it's also attainable at $3,600.
The bad seems to be that a few warning lights are on, the power steering seems to not work when idling, and the key fob doesn't work. There's also an issue with the blend door that seems to keep the heat from flowing, so maybe Snow Belters should avoid this California car (unless, of course, you're willing to fix it).
The good? It has all-wheel drive, apparently drives well, low range works, some key parts have been recently replaced, and all the interior electronics apparently work. It also recently passed the state's smog check.
There are over 164K miles on the clock.
If this sort of thing tickles your fancy, check it out here.
[Images: Seller]
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Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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$3600 buys it, another 10k keeps it running. I'd rather an Explorer or TrailBlazer with 200k on the Odo for the same money.
A family member was given an ML of this vintage by another family member. It seemed like a nice gesture until the repair bills came flooding in.
I do remember that the car needed a replacement fuse box - and I also remember saying that I've never heard of a car fuse box failing and needing replacement.
The car was gone shortly after that.