Hey guys, I've been lurking around here for some time and this is my first post.

I'm currently looking at several 05/06 C55's with around 30k miles. What questions should I be asking? What has gone wrong (if anything) on these cars? What should have been replaced? Should the car have new brake pads at this point, or does that mean they were used excessively? Is it normal for a car with 30k miles to have rusted wheel bolts? Throw in anything else you can think of regarding your C55 experience.

Thanks

 

When I was shopping for mine, I found numerous ones w/ the rusted wheel bolts, which seemed to be a direct corrilation to its environment, ie northern cars or seaside locations. I wouldn't let it deter you from purchasing it, however I'd do a thorough inspection of the underside to make sure it's not a car that's been driven in a bunch of snow, therefore being salt saturated which will cause rust eventually.

As for the brake pads, I doubt they'd need replacing at 30k miles unless the previous owner was extremely hard on them. However, these cars have magnificent braking systems on them, and are designed to be driven aggressively, therefore I wouldn't worry a whole lot about that either. Just keep in mind if it needs rotors too, that'll set you back a few bucks. Pads are relatively inexpensive, and readily available.

If you really want to verify signs of abuse --- look up in the rear wheel wells and see if there is tire debris stuck to the inside, hence from a lot of tire frying.

Overall, the C55 is likely going to have some signs of "spirited" driving. Why would someone buy a sport sedan w/ a large V8 just to drive back and forth to the office? These cars are extremely well built, and the 5.4 AMG engine is a proven durable powerplant over a long period of time. I would simply recommend test driving them and running through the gears aggressively. If you don't feel/hear anything strange, then the odds are you'll be fine w/ the car. Listen for rattles and feel for vibrations that might indicate it's been flogged.

Keep in mind you'll still have 20k miles remaining on the factory warranty, or approximately a year left. I would however recommend purchasing the extended warranty if you can. It would only take one major repair to justify the cost. They're truly great cars, and I assure you you'll enjoy it!

 

new brake pads at the front are the norm at 30K on any benz , not just AMG's
My old C230 and SLK required new brakes around this time as well

 

I recently purchased a '06 C55 with less than 6K miles on it from the Boston area--and the bolts were rusted. I've heard that this is a common problem. I'd be interested to hear from some of the guys in warm arid climes to see if their bolts get the same rusting.

 

my car was from dallas and it had rusted bolts.

 

Mine has rusted bolts. Almost nothing to be done about that in the east. Will need to buy the chrome bolt covers or simply remove clean and paint the heads.

 

Thanks for the tips everyone. This rusted bolt issue seems to be fairly widespread. I'm surprised MB didn't coat them with something to prevent that.

 

Mines weren't (20K on the clock when I sold it close to a year ago) But it was never driven in the rain... so the only time they saw (softened ) water was during car wash.

Both my W210 E55 and C55 (same engine) never gave me any mechanical problems whatsoever.... I personally am not worried to have C55 w/o warranty... as long as you know how it was maintained before.

As for brake pads, that's normal.... good luck!

 

Some rusted lug bolts when I bought mine with 36k. Originally Virginia bought and driven. Funny thing is my dad's 1985 190D, bought and driven (350k+ miles) in Germany, Virginia, St Louis, and no rusted lug bolts. Rocker panels a different story.

 

How could these rust when the car sits in the garage?