I was aware that owners of these cars appear not to be a happy bunch according to surveys by TG and the like. However, I only recently took the trouble to start examining MLs to see if there is any obvious external evidence of the supposedly poor build quality. I was actually shocked at how badly thrown together these things appear to be. On numerous examples that I have come across, the rear bumper is lop-sided (lower on one side than the other; usually the left) and it sticks out like a sore thumb when you look at the gap between the lower part of the light unit and the bumper itself. Also, the tailgates are invariably a poor fit such that the panel gap will be a tight pinch on one side and a veritable canyon on the other. Had I seen such things on just one car, I would think it had been in a bump and not fixed correctly, but this is lots of them. What I am left wondering is: who parts with money for a car in such poor shape? Do they not examine them at the dealer before accepting the goods?
Cheers, Jim