Shadow5501

2005 E55 wagon w/55K miles @ MB dealer in Houston:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

From looking at the carfax, the good:
- 2 owners
- Previous MB CPO car
- Dealer serviced
- Pretty much fully optioned (Is this a plus or a minus )

The bad:
- Lots of dealer service visits, looks like it has had lots of troubles, particularly electrical
- Front end crash noted

Thoughts?

FASN8N

The dealer visits dont bother me, an **** owner staying on top of the car is good in my eyes. The electrical items did not look too out of line for one of these cars. Most of the items were checks/updates that were probably part of the normal service routine.

I don't like the wreck and lack of badges on the car either?

I see brake pads were replaced, but what about rotors? May need to budget for this?

How bad was the wreck?

With no warranty and given what I know, it is a mid to high twenties car max IMO

Shadow5501

Geez, you're even more pessimistic than me, and that's saying something. I have yet to see a wagon in the $20s. If this were a sedan it'd be a $25K sale price, give or take a grand.

Dunno about the accident; haven't called them yet. If it hangs around long enough for the price to soften up a bit I'll start talking to them. For what they are asking now, I'd rather have a clean E55 sedan and an older E or C class wagon for hauling the dogs around.

FASN8N

It all depends on the front end damage and worst case scenario it was hit pretty hard which would justify @$25kish. If it was a light tap and just needed a new bumper cover or hood/fender repaint that is just cosmetic and not as bad as a major structural issue.

Who would sell one of these cars without all the emblems in place and not expect to get some raised eye brows or low bids?

Shadow5501

Yeah, my first thought was the fenders have been replaced, and the repair shop didn't bother with the Kompressor badges. But the hatch has also been debadged, so I expect the fenders are intentional. Most markets have an option code for no badges. I rather like the stealth look myself.

Shadow5501

They're popping up all over the place lately:
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

Here's a 2006 w/34K miles. Granite grey over anthracite. Two owners - CA and NC. Looks like it was first titled in summer 2007. Oddly, at a Carmax in Ohio. $40K.

TonyC

OOOF! Carmax has no negotiations, yes?

Shadow5501

Correctamundo. But supposedly they take only top notch cars - no frame damage accidents, no lemon/buyback titles, and they supposedly put in a fair amount of reconditioning.

Anyone know the granite grey color?

Compared to the 2005 in Houston for $37K it almost looks like a better value. Of course, that depends on what the Houston dealer will actually let the 2005 go for...

Shadow5501

Looks like this car is sold, it's gone from autotrader and carmax websites. One day. There's your wagon premium.

TonyC

It wasn't me, that's for sure. Still waiting to pounce in our ancient W210 wagon...

FASN8N

White on tan 08 E63 with 7k miles for $59.9
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

Shadow5501

Kinda makes the other E63 wagon look overpriced.

ambit

2005 E55, 67K mi, designo Graphite in NY.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VERY-...-/190547335298

FASN8N

Great looking car except the interior wood color. I doubt this auction will run the full course, I bet it will be sold offline.

Shadow5501

I actually prefer the burl wood, but there's no accounting for taste.

Apparently the seller doesn't realize MB won't honor the CPO warranty after the car is sold through any dealer.

Be interesting to see what it goes for. None of the other wagons have moved (including the Carfax one - it popped back up after a day or two). This one is higher miles and has been driven exclusively in rust belt states, so I'd expect a lower end valuation.

TonyC

hehe. I wuv the burl wood as well.

Curious what Team e55 chubby estate chasers thinks this car's worth? I saw a CL55 w/ the exact paint color this weekend & rather loved it. I no longer see the Carmax wagon being sold?

Shadow5501

I wouldn't go much north of $30K on that one, maybe $31K if you really like the color.

I haven't looked for a couple of days; maybe the Carmax car got sold? It was back for perhaps a week after disappearing the first time.

FASN8N

I bet it will fetch mid thirties with all the options and color combo

TonyC

FASN8N

Pewter on black 05 E55 wagon 93k miles $28.5k
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...460227501.html

FASN8N

And what do you know auction ended early

chasem3

I bought this car about a week ago sight unseen and as soon as I came across the dealer's website. I paid full asking knowing that the car would be gone if I tried to negotiate before I could go pick it up. I went to Long Island and drove it back here to Boston without a hitch. Gotta say, Matt, the owner of the dealership was great and is a true car enthusiast with great taste.

Since then, I have been loving every minute of it. It really has been a dream of mine to own one of these and I have been looking for the right one for close to a year now. I have heard this is 1 of less than 10 Designo cars and 1 of maybe 3 in this color in the US. Can anyone confirm this?

Unfortunately, it looks like I will need to sell. If anyone is interested, PM me. I am just looking to get what I bought it for.

FASN8N

Wait, you just bought it and it is perfect but need to sell immediately? What is wrong with the car to make you want to sell it right away?

3etoiles

Absolutely nothing. First off, it is not fitting in our garage spot. Living in Boston, an indoor spot is hard to come by and there are none near where I live for less than $250 per month. We had 2 cars in there before but the Wagon wont let another car park next to it . I cant park this car outside and I wasnt planning on parking either of our other cars outside. I would rather sell the X3 and have this be my wife's daily driver but she doesnt want to give up her SUV .

Sorry to switch up usernames on you. This is chasem3. I just got logged out and dont use the other email address to which that profile was linked so I created another one for use in the longrun.

autibahn

You would think that you'd look into its length before you bought it if you knew that was such a big issue, no?