Despite the initial hate that was imposed upon the early W163 cars for not being boxy or aggressive enough, there's a reason you still see them on the road all the time: They're fantastic and reliable. Known to push 250k miles with relative ease, these tough little SUVs were Mercedes' first foray into the civilian SUV space (as the G-wagon was based on a military vehicle platform) and they've held up with the same military strength as the predecessor.
This 2000 ML320 offered for sale on Facebook Marketplace out of Pembroke Pines, FL is a fantastic example that will surely get snatched up soon. Showing only 50k miles and claims of a 1-owner history, this ML320 is the bottom performance trim of the bunch, but wins us over with its excellent condition, low mileage, and killer color combo. In what appears to be Everest Green Metallic (Malachite) paintwork over sand interior, this classic combo looks excellent with the monochromatic paint scheme on the bumpers that was introduced in 2000.
The car appears to be sporting some aftermarket sliders/step-bars but they don't offend or seem too out of place on the car at all. The center console armrest/lid shows some signs of wear and looseness but nothing that can't be corrected or simply lived-with.
The seller doesn't indicate knowledge of an accident history, but if this one is clean and damage free, we'd recommend taking a closer look. There's a lot of nostalgia growing around these SUVs as the vintage SUV market takes off, so act quickly if you want to find a treasure before they become collectible. While you can find W163s fairly easily, its much more difficult in this condition and this color combo.
With claims of new tires, battery and alternator, the $5,500 asking price seems very hard to argue with. While we probably would have preferred a cheaper price on the stock tires (so we could maybe put some BF Goodrich KO2s on the car), we're willing to bet anyone with an eye for appreciation will do extremely well babying this thing for the next couple of years... while having an excellent, reliable, fuel-efficient, nostalgia-era SUV to enjoy all the while.
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