217k is getting up there not so much for a well-maintained diesel engine but for the transmission and all the other moving/rotating parts in the car. Wheel bearings, suspension bushings, fluid pumps, etc. Despite the best maintenance, stuff wears out eventually.
I'll be honest, neither of these sounds like a great deal to me but you're well above my budget for what I'd spend on a car so my opinion is just that, an opinion. Are you dead-set on a diesel? For an SUV you'll have a lot more options and lower prices with a gasoline model. If you're driving 6000 miles/yr that isn't great for a diesel either, unless those miles are a small number of long trips. Gas is cheaper than diesel anyway these days and has fewer maintenance concerns. On Sat, May 20, 2023, at 10:48, Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes wrote: > *If your mechanic says the high mileage car is crap, why bother?* > Au contraire. Mechanic did a PPI and found nothing needs attention. He > said that the extensive dealer service records show that the owner > maintained everything by the book when driving 217k miles (25 k mpy). The > underlying "issue" is how many well maintained miles can an ML 350 bluetec > last before the engine or transmission fails? > > On Sat, May 20, 2023 at 11:41 AM dan penoff.com via Mercedes < > mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > >> Lower miles is almost always more desirable. Higher miles aren’t bad, but >> far more likley to have a need for major service sooner than later. That >> could easily wipe out any savings you get over the lower mileage car. >> >> If your mechanic says the high mileage car is crap, why bother? >> >> -D >> >> > On May 20, 2023, at 11:09 AM, Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes < >> mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >> > >> > Not my words. Meant as a compliment, I suppose. >> > >> > Both are 2014. $12.5 vs. $10.5K >> > >> > The asking price on the 217k ML is non-negotiable. The other has already >> > come down from $16.5K and is not local. >> > >> > >> > On Sat, May 20, 2023 at 11:04 AM Floyd Thursby via Mercedes < >> > mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >> > >> >> What years and prices on each? >> >> >> >> You will probably have to budget $2-3k/yr for maintenance if you are >> >> paying someone to do it. Or if the engine kakks then it will either be >> >> a write-off or will cost A LOT. I'm not sure how "34 service records" >> >> and"perfect cosmetic and mechanical condition" correlates with "it was >> >> driven like sh*t and maintained like sh*t" >> >> >> >> --FT >> >> >> >> On 5/20/23 10:41 AM, Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes wrote: >> >>> We are looking at two ML 350 Bluetec SUVs for possible purchase. One >> >> is a >> >>> single owner vehicle with 34 service records, no reported accidents, >> all >> >>> updates, and in perfect cosmetic and mechanical condition but with >> >> 217,000 >> >>> miles (!). As my mechanic said, "it was driven like sh*t and >> maintained >> >>> like sh*t." >> >>> >> >>> The second has 138,000 miles with one minor accident and three previous >> >>> owners. Service history is less robust and there is one outstanding >> >> issue >> >>> with a "frozen rear ride sensor". It has a few more options than the >> >> other >> >>> ML (360 camera, panoramic roof, rear seat entertainment). >> >>> >> >>> The price difference is $2,000 higher for the ML 350 with 138,000 >> miles. >> >>> Each vehicle rides about the same with no obvious issues. >> >>> >> >>> We do not expect to put more than 6000 miles/year on the vehicle we >> >>> purchase. >> >>> >> >>> How do I determine which is the better/less risky choice? >> >>> _______________________________________ >> >>> http://www.okiebenz.com >> >>> >> >>> To search list archiveshttp://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >>> >> >>> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> >>> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> >>> >> >> -- >> >> --FT >> >> _______________________________________ >> >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> >> >> >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> >> >> >> >> > _______________________________________ >> > http://www.okiebenz.com >> > >> > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> > >> > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> > >> >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> >> > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
