The good: 1999 ML320. 140k miles. 2 previous owners. 2nd owner since 2004. Carfax showed ~4k miles since 2020. Very clean inside and out. Very nice price.
The bad: Virtually no Carfax history from 2nd owner. Arabic last name -- I don't think this dude was turning wrenches in his driveway. It was donated to a charity and then re-sold. Didn't speak to and don't know the actual previous owner.
The ugly: Oil fill-cap was very tight and hard to remove. Looked pretty coked up inside. Signs of oil leaking from valve covers that had gone ignored. Well, 2-owners and only 90k from 2nd owners. Passed emissions check too. How bad can it be, I thought.
I bought it back in late Feb and had driven it about 2500 miles since then. It ran well and most importantly didn't seem to be burning or leaking oil. Though the engine was covered in dried-up oil leak residue it was mostly all dry and hadn't gotten any worse since I'd started driving it. It had a Jiffy Lube oil change right before I bought it (paperwork was included). The oil level hadn't come off the full line on the dipstick at all. So, time to pop the valve covers off and replace the gaskets and reseal the PCV chambers.
This was what I was met with. My almost immediate thought was "Oh Sweet Baby Jesus, what have I done?"
I should have taken more pictures, but honestly I was too shook.
The bad: Virtually no Carfax history from 2nd owner. Arabic last name -- I don't think this dude was turning wrenches in his driveway. It was donated to a charity and then re-sold. Didn't speak to and don't know the actual previous owner.
The ugly: Oil fill-cap was very tight and hard to remove. Looked pretty coked up inside. Signs of oil leaking from valve covers that had gone ignored. Well, 2-owners and only 90k from 2nd owners. Passed emissions check too. How bad can it be, I thought.
I bought it back in late Feb and had driven it about 2500 miles since then. It ran well and most importantly didn't seem to be burning or leaking oil. Though the engine was covered in dried-up oil leak residue it was mostly all dry and hadn't gotten any worse since I'd started driving it. It had a Jiffy Lube oil change right before I bought it (paperwork was included). The oil level hadn't come off the full line on the dipstick at all. So, time to pop the valve covers off and replace the gaskets and reseal the PCV chambers.
This was what I was met with. My almost immediate thought was "Oh Sweet Baby Jesus, what have I done?"
I should have taken more pictures, but honestly I was too shook.
)
