O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

I found a beautiful black ML430 with the rare panorama option (nearly turns into a convertible), but the reviews are that the quality of the gear system that drives it is hit or miss. If hit, you'll never have problems. If miss....... it'll hang wide open and cost you 5 grand.

To have the feature though....... there's nothing like it. It is wild and extremely attractive to be able to peel your roof all the way back and drive in the sunshine.

I have the chance to get one right now and it is so tempting, but the quality on the gears in the panorama roof are hit or miss from what I hear.

I really like this ML and it's making a tough decision that much more rough.






The second problem......... he wants my CLK430 in a straight trade. I don't see any way this could be a good idea.....

UDel

Stay away from ML Mercedes, they are absolutely horrible. Quality and reliability wise they are among the worst of any car out there and even for a Mercedes they are really bad and one of the main reason Mercedes was at the bottom of quality/reliability lists for awhile. Everybody I have known who has owned them had to get rid of them because of all the problems, my cousin had one and it gave him a bunch of problems and he had to get rid of it. Don't let the low prices of these vehicles on the used car market temp you because there is a reason they have such horribly poor resale. Even sitting in them you just feel the cheapness and cost cutting all around and they do not feel anything like a more expensive Mercedes like a E class, S class, SL, CL.

Koma

iTrader: (3)

Not for the CLK, B. Definitely not for the CLK.

ToyotaFan

I"d say, wait for used examples of the W164 M-class.

While it's not as good as the RX, FX or Range Rover Sport, it is a huge improvement over the W163 (Still has room for improvements though.).

Oh, and I'd recommend the Turbo Diesel V6 model, we have one & it has very good fuel economy (One full tank of fuel can last for 1.5 - 2 months!). My RAV4 will only last for one or two weeks on one full tank, considering that I don't drive it that much.

Quality problems? Ours is still problem free (Touch wood.), it depends on the batch I guess.

TF

Tangerine

How high is the priority level for the panorama roof?

Does the car come with any sort of warranty and maintenance records?

And are you feeling lucky? LOL


So you know 1 person with a Mercedes that had issues??

Well all of the people I know with a Mercedes are happy with their vehicles, none had major issues just a few bugs. Mercedes took care of them and were content with their purchases. Stop generalizing. O.L.T owns a Mercedes him/herself so he/she already knows what its like owning one...

Solo_D33A

FYI the Pana roof doesn't open the entire roof, it only open the front sunroof, and store it on top of the rear sun roof, it's just a sunroof and the back instead of the usual metal and headliner, it's another sun roof that doesn't open, but ridiculously large ones at that.... also from inside, you'll find the pana's much smaller than you'd expect if you've seen the piece of glass from above.

I loved our old C320 coupe's pana a lot, gives a very different feel than other sunroofs.

BTW. our coupe's not without problems, especially when it got close to 3 years old, some times the pana doesn't open, Bi Xenon's auto leveling stuck in high beam mode... And our older 97 E class have even more problems when we traded it in for the C.

The pana have a problem that was on you tube, the roof doesn't operate, and after Mercedes mechanics checked over the car, they want to charge 600 for it, the owner then left to see a shop for that problem, they found it's just a rock stuck in the tracks.

So go ahead and think for yourself.

"life's a lottery, be lucky."

MugenRD1

The C class / E class panoramic roof is different from the ML.

Here is a picture :

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

That is what I was gonna say, it opens all the way up! "This ain't no sunroof" said the car dealer......

It makes a huge difference.

RX_330

If it means trading in the CLK, don't do it. As much as I love my '02 ML, it's true about the panorama roofs, and IMO it would be a downgrade.

Solo_D33A

Was the ML's really called Panorama Sunroof? It just looks to me a sunroof that's larger than normal...(Kinda like Pontiac's G6, but their's glass, thus they can be called panoramic) as the definition of panorama's 'a complete view in every direction', which the ML's sunroof doesn't provide?

BTW
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w163...unroof-ml.html


I wonder if it's possible to install Panorama like the C and E's onto a Lexus, I like the idea of the panorama, though it's heavy.

RX_330

I think it was called skyview. Although if you use the definition you gave, none of the panorama roofs on the market could be called that.

Solo_D33A

I don't think any car can provide that definition... areal atom would be close.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

This from the guy that didn't know what we were talking about 2 hours ago? LOL...........

I've seen that, hence where this very thread came from..... yet 5 people on one thread on the entire internet will not quite sway my decision.

Solo_D33A

Haha, I never saw a Pana Roofed ML in Canada, thus I thought you were talking about the pana's like those on E and C. Thus I was relating and using my C's Pana.

Well, after I saw the picture by MugenRD1, I'd say nay, if it's not glass, since if you've got a glass roof, you'll at least have something when you closed it, but that... neh....

Tangerine

Page not found from the link. MBWorld.Org is better =)