There’s probably a car in your past that you wish you never let go of. Given the opportunity, you’d jump right back at it. But second chances with cars don’t always guarantee past glory. As Tyler Hoover of Hoovies Garage YouTube channel recently discovered, a vehicle from the past often comes with a lot of baggage.
5 Years ago, My rare Mercedes ML55 AMG was STOLEN! Now it’s back, but very very BROKEN
About six years ago, the YouTuber and car influencer bought a 2000 Mercedes-Benz ML 55 AMG. Shortly after the purchase, the early 2000s premium sports SUV was stolen from a detail shop as he was getting ready to sell it. News of its bizarre theft went viral on social media and even featured on the local news in Wichita, Kansas.
After a couple of days, local enforcement authorities recovered the stolen car – but not in the same condition he last saw it. The thieves plowed through a thicket with the SUV and ditched it in the middle of a tree row. Fortunately for Hoover, it only suffered minor scratches. He sold it immediately after.
To remind you. The Mercedes-Benz ML 55 was essential to the popularity of premium SUV segment. Half these high-rolling premium SUVs parked at country and golf clubs probably owe their prevalence to the 2000s Mercedes model.
Competing with V8-powered Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5, the ML 55 is the granddaddy of high-ridding nameplates such as Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 and 63 models.
It was one of the first all-wheel-drive hot rods from Mercedes. At the heart of the ML 55 was a 342 hp (347 ps) AMG-powered V8 engine.
So, what’s important to know from this? Well, Hoover bought his old ML 55 SUV back, but as the caption on the YouTube video reads – it is very broken.
He sold the premium SUV to a someone in New Orleans where it’s had a laborious career as a TV production car. It even featured in an episode of CSI New Orleans and its windows were shot out in a scene.
Six years later, it still dons the scars of its previous life on the front bumper and side skirts (damages from the theft). Also, since it was used as a camera car, holes were poked into it in different places further messing up the exterior.
His mechanic, the ‘Car Wizard,’ after inspection, unearthed a couple of issues that involved fixing the front and rear suspension. The ML 55 needed inner and outer tie rods on the front and rear suspension ($600 each) and an alignment service. It also required a new power steering pump for $550 (half of that is the price of the pump).
It’ll cost Hoover $1,750 to get his old 2000 Mercedes-Benz ML 55 AMG safe to drive. That’s half of what he bought the car for in 2016 ($3,500). They cost much more today, between $10,000 and $20,000 on auction sites like Bring-A-Trailer.
Still, the Car Wizard and Hoover agree these early Mercedes SUVs are robust and easy to maintain since they don’t come with any of that fancy air ride, sophisticated braking, or Mercedes SAM (Signal Acquisition Module) systems.
“If you find one in a nice shape, would you recommend it?” Hoover asked.” Yeah! I actually would. It’s totally doable. Someone can fix a lot of it themselves,” the Car Wizard responded.
