Salvage auction purchase, 2010 Mercedes ML 350

[RhondaHonda]

I wonder what would cause that fuse to blow? Sounds like you are on the right path to getting things figured out.

 

[GON]

Are the transmission flushes a red flag ?

I don't think so. My speculation is that they are a sign of a car owner that brought his MB in for service regularly, and purchased what the service advisor was recommending.

 

[GON]

I wonder what would cause that fuse to blow? Sounds like you are on the right path to getting things figured out.

RH,

Yes- that is currently the million dollar question..... I will be buying five of the replacement fuses....

 

[Vil_Riker]

I’m always pulling for you that these projects work out. Maybe I should’ve said “you’ve dispelled my preconceived notions about salvage titled MBs at auction.” Having worked in insurance, I know there’s some gems that find their way to the salvage yard/Copart/IAA that are totally repairable. There are also some horror stories when buying solely off of photos, but nevertheless I love these threads!

@GON has dispelled some of the fears about salvage vehicles, even water damaged ones. But I like his due diligence in vetting out the cars as much as possible with the available information.

 

[GON]

A few notes going through the Carfax:

Vehicle was reported stolen 08MAR2023
Vehicle recovered 16MAR2023- eight days later

Vehicle had many other services like brake fluid flushes, even had a coolant flush at 85k miles (I am speculating mileage is 100k-110k)

Big flag in the Carfax- MB dealership on 31OCT22 did a maintenance inspection, which included a battery/ charging system inspection. Yesterday I find a 100 AMP fuse blown.......hmmmmmm

 

[Fla]

Located at least one issue. The 100 AMP fuse to the rear SAM was blown. The rear SAM controls almost everything in this car outside of the engine bay.

It was quite a job to get to the fuse. The battery has to be pulled which is located under the passenger front seat. To get at the battery, the passenger front seat must be all the way forward, which it was not. And nothing working, so I tried to pull the front seat, but did not have success- this is a real big design flaw, as one can't get to the battery and pre-fuse compartment if the front passenger seat is not functioning.

I checked the incoming voltage at the rear SAM, and it was zero. I placed 12v on the rear SAM, and was able to move the seat. forward. Nothing else worked, but what I needed to work did. I moved the seat forward and pulled the battery. This is the hardest battery I can recall trying to remove. I saw no signs of anyone trying to get under the passenger seat prior to me.

Measured resistance across the power distribution fuses, and the rear SAM fuse was blown which is what Mercedes call a "fuse strip". Hopefully Mercedes has these fuses in stock.

Of note, the car is super clean. No rigging of any nature, everything OEM everywhere. The CARXFAX showed this car had extensive and continual preventative maintenance at the MB dealership. One example, two transmission fluid exchanges were performed under 100k miles.

Either this car has something really wrong, and it is a insurance fraud case, or someone stole a really nice car. Hope to have better understanding tomorrow after the fuse is replaced.

I can't get a trailer to where I live, so I have to work on the car about seven miles away from home until I can drive it home. Very inefficient not having tools close by.

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As clean and undamaged as that car appears to be my guess is that the original owner took good care of it but that it was stolen and taken for a joy ride and the thieves left the crack pipes and underwear in it. Later the car was recovered but the original owner wouldn't take it back. And somewhere along the line a couple of main fuses were blown, probably by the thieves trying to do something such as steal some parts from the car. But when the car was recovered with the blown fuses somebody decided that it was too difficult to repair (most likely they were clueless about fixing that sophisticated of a car) so they sent it to the auction. If I'm right, I think GON will only have to do some minor repair (mostly replacing fuses) and clean the car up and he'll have a VERY nice car for someone to drive. Hopefully there's no hidden major damage such as a damaged transmission.

Good luck GON and keep us posted!

 

[Fla]

A few notes going through the Carfax:

Vehicle was reported stolen 08MAR2023
Vehicle recovered 16MAR2023- eight days later

Vehicle had many other services like brake fluid flushes, even had a coolant flush at 85k miles (I am speculating mileage is 100k-110k)

Big flag in the Carfax- MB dealership on 31OCT22 did a maintenance inspection, which included a battery/ charging system inspection. Yesterday I find a 100 AMP fuse blown.......hmmmmmm

Was the battery inspection THE LAST time that it was at the Stealership? And is that a normal inspection? It's starting to sound like someone had a car with a difficult to solve electrical problem but then the car was suddenly "stolen".

IMO most electrical problems are not difficult for anyone that understands electricity to solve. Blown fuses are usually caused by an improperly routed main wire that shorts out against a metal panel or a hot exhaust pipe. A 100+ Amp short should not be hard to find!

 

[GON]

Was the battery inspection THE LAST time that it was at the Stealership? And is that a normal inspection? It's starting to sound like someone had a car with a difficult to solve electrical problem but then the car was suddenly "stolen".

IMO most electrical problems are not difficult for anyone that understands electricity to solve. Blown fuses are usually caused by an improperly routed main wire that shorts out against a metal panel or a hot exhaust pipe. A 100+ Amp short should not be hard to find!

Battery inspection 31OCT2022. Reported stolen 8MAR2023. Car was reported stolen about 130 days after the car was at the MB dealership for inspection, which included a battery/ charging inspection.

 

[drtyler]

@GON has dispelled some of the fears about salvage vehicles, even water damaged ones. But I like his due diligence in vetting out the cars as much as possible with the available information.

This is true. But his posts have also shown me that there is much value in buying a new car, or at least a one-owner used car that you know the history.

I can see now how easy it is for anyone to buy junk, clean it up and clear the codes, and sell to someone on the used market.

 

[GON]

This is true. But his posts have also shown me that there is much value in buying a new car, or at least a one-owner used car that you know the history.

I can see now how easy it is for anyone to buy junk, clean it up and clear the codes, and sell to someone on the used market.

That is always my concern with buying a non-salvage used car, someone is trading in their problem, that is not apparent during the trade in process and future sale.

A salvage vehicle may actually offer some protection from that. I vehicle that is possibly "happily owned" and well taken care of, becomes a victim an event. Unless I know the prior owner- a salvage vehicle may be less risk than a one owner used car trade in purchased from a dealer.

Of note, almost all cars I am inspecting that had a prior accident, be it minimal to moderate- had poor quality body work repair. Not if just a coincidence, but I am not so confident in work being performed by body shops on the behalf of an insurance company. Please note, this may not be a holistic statement, but just a funky observation.

Even noted in the pictures, this 2015 MB had a poorly repaired quarter panel, as reported by the Progressive insurance inspector:

2015 MERCEDES-BENZ M-CLASS ML 350 for Auction - IAA

2015 MERCEDES-BENZ M-CLASS ML 350 for auction at Seattle (WA) branch location. Current Bid: $3,325 - - Mileage: 1 mi (Inoperable Digital Dash) - Color: BLACK - Transmission: Automatic - Stock: 35592193

www.iaai.com

 

[PimTac]

This is true. But his posts have also shown me that there is much value in buying a new car, or at least a one-owner used car that you know the history.

I can see now how easy it is for anyone to buy junk, clean it up and clear the codes, and sell to someone on the used market.

This is the main reason that the majority of stolen cars are not taken back by their owners. You have no idea what has transpired inside or how it was driven while it was not in your possession.

Would prudent parents put their kids inside a car that knowingly had fentanyl or other drugs used inside? It’s a huge problem.

 

[dishdude]

This is the main reason that the majority of stolen cars are not taken back by their owners. You have no idea what has transpired inside or how it was driven while it was not in your possession.

Would prudent parents put their kids inside a car that knowingly had fentanyl or other drugs used inside? It’s a huge problem.

If my car was stolen I wouldn't want it back. I laugh when the dealer tries to sell Lojack or similar tracking devices.

 

[GON]

Had to order the fuse from Mercedes, so used a alternative 100 Mp fuse to see what happened.

The 100 amp fuse didn't blow, so went to work on the rear sam/ fuse area. Found a 7.5 Mp blown. Replaced the 7.5 and it blow with strength immediately. The fuse that blew was for the central gateway module, which controls the dash and like items.

Pulled the connectors off the central gateway, and replaced the fuse again, fuse didn't blow. Likely the central gateway.

 

[GON]

This is the main reason that the majority of stolen cars are not taken back by their owners. You have no idea what has transpired inside or how it was driven while it was not in your possession.

Would prudent parents put their kids inside a car that knowingly had fentanyl or other drugs used inside? It’s a huge problem.

I will sterilize the car with great attention to detail. For all the work I am doing, I am the one likely exposed.

I suspect next to cars, hotels are the next place to get drug residue contamination. I have stayed in over 115 different hotels so far this year. This is the reality of life today.

 

[dishdude]

I will sterilize the car with great attention to detail. For all the work I am doing, I am the one likely exposed.

I suspect next to cars, hotels are the next place to get drug residue contamination. I have stayed in over 115 different hotels so far this year. This is the reality of life today.

Just watch for needles and you'll be fine.

 

[LDB]

I can't figure out why they have a surface to air missile in the car or who in their right mind thought that battery engineering was a good idea. But I'm enjoying following the adventure.

 

[mrsilv04]

I'm betting that I'm not the only one who would love to be able to watch YouTube videos, of the master working his magic on these vehicles...

 

[GON]

I'm betting that I'm not the only one who would love to be able to watch YouTube videos, of the master working his magic on these vehicles...

Mr s, thanks, but I am amateur hour at best.

Replaced the gateway, now gained the stereo, nav, etc. But nothing else. The fuse for the gateway is not blowing. Could be low voltage, gateway programmong, don't know yet.

The OEM DVD player in the front dash has Elmo DVD. The mystery continues.

 

[panthermike]

I'm betting that I'm not the only one who would love to be able to watch YouTube videos, of the master working his magic on these vehicles...

Agreed, love these threads!

 

[GON]

The car is seven miles from my house, in a excess parking for a hotel. Not the greatest location to work on a project like this, but as mentioned prior, I can't get the trailer into my residence. And I also need to get the car off the trailer. Took the battery home last night, and went put it on a charger. This morning, the battery was full. Decided to put in in place and see if anything changed overnight, while I wait for the OEM 100 amp fuse to arrive at the MB dealer later today.

Connected the battery, and still dash was dead. Only thing working is the rear tailgate motor and the radio- everything else is completely dead. Decided to check the rear SAM fuses again, and to
my surprise, the central gateway fuse was blown again, even with the new gateway install. This suggested to me the likeliness of a shorted wire.

Did some looking, and found about a half dozen cut wires, not to far from the Rear SAM. I have no idea why this is, from sabotage to neglect from a inspector- very much welcome any thoughts/ comments on how these wires are cut.

Later today I will be repairing these wires. And looking for more wires that have issues. This might lead to an explanation of why the 100 AMP rear SAM pre-fuse was blown.

Sure wish I was doing this repair at home, rather than in a parking lot........