Oh well .... I guess off road driving is not for everyone.
;)
Well done and congratulations on your purchase.
David
Printable View
Oh well .... I guess off road driving is not for everyone.
;)
Well done and congratulations on your purchase.
David
The MLs are nice when they are working (a bit like the P38's) but they can go shockingly wrong. My brother had all sorts of trouble with his that e.v.e.n.t.u.a.l.l.y... got sorted by Mercedes but there was a lot of hair pulling. Guess that's why they are relatively cheap these days. V8 goes nicely though!
I know from talking to dealers of my acquaintance at auctions that they don't like them. Dealers have to give warranty and these RR's have acquired a bad name for very expensive failures. Warranty insurers don't like them either which means dealers have to cover a good bit of a claim from their own pocket. I saw an absolutely smik one go through Albion Auto Auctions for $13750 about 18 months ago and two dealer mates said it was probably a retail buyer as a dealer would not have paid 10 big ones.
I have owned a 1999 P38a for just over 3 years now. It is a 4.0 SE (not the HSE) with leather interior, sun roof, factory 16" HSE rims and the 4.0 litre BMW Thor injection system (not the GEM system). It has been a great vehicle and I now use it for work where it gets used as a proper 4WD. It is actually brilliant off road with OK to good road manners. The 4.0 gains 15l/100kms around town, 17l/100kms for city and about 13.5 to 14l/100kms on the open road. Issues include 1. heater core O-ring seals eventually fail ($800 to repair), High-low transfer case electric motor & ECU (starts at $700 if you manage to notice what is happening before the motor shorts & destroys the ECU), engine valve rockers ($800 to repair - BMW notoriously used 10w40 grade oil in an engine that need 20w50) rebuilt the EAS (air suspension) valve block & compressor which cost me $250 & 4hrs, steering box was rebuilt whilst chasing vague steering which turned out to be the slightly worn Michelin tyres. I now run BFG All Terrains (3% larger circumference than standard). It is a great vehicle to drive, looks great, loves to drink petrol, is incredibly reliable (touch wood) and would recommend a 4.0 SE (1999) of 4.0 S over a HSE. :)