[Thomas J]

Hi guys

I'm looking to buy a Mercedes ML320. I live in Denmark and am going to import a car from Germany...

The thing is; I've found an american car (imported to Germany 10 years ago), and am wondering what the differences are...??

Of course it will have the mph speedometer - but what else is changed from the european model?

I'm specifically wondering about these codes:

494 California version, version for USA/California/Canada (? 01.01.1996)
- what is that in details?

634 elimination of first aid box (? 01.08.1977)
- does this mean "no first aid"?

636 elimination of warning triangle (? 01.03.1973)
- does this mean "no triangle"

840 elimination of all-wheel drive 4 x 2 (for cross-country vehicles only) dark tinted glass (? 01.10.1994)
- does this mean "no 4x4 allwheel drive"?

Looking forward to your expert oppinions!!

Soon-to-owner-of-a-cool-ML
/Thomas J

 

[sin0822]

the last one means it eliminated 4x2 and is all wheel drive or 4x4 all the time.

ANd it means the back glass is tinted.

 

[Thomas J]

OK, great! Thanks... I hope someone can tell me about the "California Version" issues...

/Thomas

 

[Jexpert]

Hi guys

I'm looking to buy a Mercedes ML320. I live in Denmark and am going to import a car from Germany...

The thing is; I've found an american car (imported to Germany 10 years ago), and am wondering what the differences are...??

Of course it will have the mph speedometer - but what else is changed from the european model?

I'm specifically wondering about these codes:

494 California version, version for USA/California/Canada (? 01.01.1996)
- what is that in details?

634 elimination of first aid box (? 01.08.1977)
- does this mean "no first aid"?

636 elimination of warning triangle (? 01.03.1973)
- does this mean "no triangle"

840 elimination of all-wheel drive 4 x 2 (for cross-country vehicles only) dark tinted glass (? 01.10.1994)
- does this mean "no 4x4 allwheel drive"?

Looking forward to your expert oppinions!!

Soon-to-owner-of-a-cool-ML
/Thomas J

Hej Thomas,

Jeg har importeret en ML500 fra USA og umiddelbart bider man mærke i følgende ting:

I USA kan bilradioen kun tune på ulige decimaler på radiofrekvenserne. Dvs. at du kun kan høre radiostationer som ender på .1, .3, .5 osv. (Ret irriterende, da man i Europa bruger både lige og ulige decimaler), Hvis du importerer en nyere ML'er (2002+) får den den sandsynligvis med et MCS system, hvor de europæiske modeller kommer med COMAND.

Alt står naturligvis i miles og fahrenheit, som du selv nævner.

Jeg har hørt rygter om at forhandleren kan ændre disse vha. af deres udstyr, men jeg ved ikke om der er hold i dem.

Mht. de andre du spørger om, kender jeg dem desværre ikke, men jeg mener at der findes en oversigt på en russisk hjemmeside. Prøv at søge på google.

Held og lykke med ML'eren, det er en fed bil! :thumbsup:

 

[Thomas J]

Hey Jexpert!

Grineren at få et svar på dansk! Ja, jeg glæder mig til at få købt een hjem - nu må vi se om det blir amerikaneren, eller hva...

Det med fahrenheit og mph på km-tælleren er jeg overbevist om kan ændres; det er jo elektroniske tal, så det må være en computer ting - og på speedometeret står der både km/t og mph, så det er fint nok for mig...

Mht. radioen - man kan vel bare montere en ny radio, eller...? Bilen har "boet" i Tyskland de sidste 10 år, så der er en mulighed for at de der ting måske er ændret allerede...

ML500... lækkert!! Det må være drømmebilen...!!

Jeg kender godt den russiske side - man kan få alt at vide om sin bil via stelnummeret; tjek det ud:

http://www.mbclub.ru/mb/vin/index.html?lng=eng

...jeg må lige undersøge siden nærmere for måske at få svar på de andre USA/Europa spec's!

Tak for svar - fed ML500 dér!

/Thomas

 

[Thomas J]

And for those of you, who do NOT understand danish:

I'm still looking for answers regarding the USA vs. Europe spec's of the 1998 ML320...

Thanks in advance!

/Thomas

 

[DrX]

I recommend that you look for an MY2002 or later ML320. Before the 2002 upgrades the previous series were plagued with issues. These were addressed by a major revision including 1100+ new parts.

You could get lucky as I'm sure there are hundreds of 1998 MLs that have run perfectly. The risk is up to you.

Personally, I'm very satisfied with my 2002 ML320. The only failure it had was the e-box fan which is a known design flaw. It also looks a lot better than the previous models.

The USA versions have empty spaces where the first-aid kit and warning triangle normally reside, but you can obtain these parts from MB or e-bay.

I'm not sure what that 840 code means but all MLs have 4x4 all-wheel drive, all the time.

 

[Thomas J]

Hi DrX

Thank you for your answer... I would definately prefer a MY2002... if I had the money!!

Cars are very heavily taxed here in Denmark; The price for a MY1998 is around 300-350.000 Dkr (54-63.000 $) - and that's for a cheap one! ... and the difference between a MY1998 and a MY2002 is around 150-200.000 Dkr (27-36.000 $)... so as you can see, the MY2002 is pretty expensive - at least for a 30 year old musician like me!

So at the moment I don't have a choice - if I want an ML, it has to be the earliest possible (the tax depends on the production year)... and the one I've found is actually a 1997, so I'm hoping to get a low tax on the car.

The car was imported to Germany 10 years ago, is 1. hand, and has 68.000 km (42.500 miles) on the clock, and a full service history - so I'm hoping for a good car where some of the known problems already has been fixed... but yes - I realize, that it's a gamble...

Thanks again!

/Thomas