Hi there,

I'm new to the forums and have just got my first Mercedes-Benz -a 2005 Ml 320 CDi (obviously a W164) with luxury pack & tow bar.

Previously I've owned mainly 6 cylinder Ford's like the Falcon XR6, G6E etc (I'm based in Australia). While I love the power of the more 'beefy' Ford engines like the XR6 I wanted to do some light off-road but still maintain the luxury of my G6E plus improve my fuel ecconomy...enter the ML 320 CDi.

The car has has done 165,000 kms and with a day job that sees me on the road quite a lot (mostly highway driving) doing around 800 kms per week I want this baby to last as long as can be.

Any tips, advice or suggestions? I'm new to diesel engines, new to Mercedes and haven't taken it off-road yet (although I realise without a dedicated low-range gear and other 'hardcore' 4WD basics I need to be more gentle and less brave off-road).

Oh on side note, does anyone know how much it should cost to get an iPod kit added on? I got quoted $1000 (including labor) by the dealer but that sounds rather pricey.