Looking to purchase a C55

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Apr 2, 2009 | 06:31 PM
  #1  
I'm new to the world of MBZ, and I've quickly figured out that they are a whole different animal than other makes of cars. I've tried to talk to as many people as i can in the short period of time. I went to the local dealership to talk to them and get some info as i was planning to going to Chicago to buy one in the next week, as they said they rarely get any C55's in. Well what do you know, i got a call today (2 days later), and they just recieved a 2005 C55 Blk/Blk with 31k miles. Im probably going to buy this car in the next week, and it has factory warranty remaining, but only until the 20th of this month.

I guess what im asking is for some input on anything i need to know/look for/ etc., pretty much any info on the car that i should know that most wouldnt. I can get a lower price if i choose to buy before they CPO Certify the car, which means that i wouldn't get the extra year of warranty a normally certified Mercedes would have so i need to know what to look for, and if there are expensive problems with these cars normally i may consider going ahead and getting the warranty.

I would soo appreciate any input, as i am pretty much a MBZ noob. Let me hear it all!! Thanks in advance guys!
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Apr 2, 2009 | 09:36 PM
  #2  
i would recommend getting the extended warranty, and try to negotiate a longer period for it (get another 3-4 years, etc.)... make the dealer an offer for the car and say you'll pay x amount if they throw in another 3-4 yrs full warranty, etc.

do u know what options it has? there's a good # of w203 c32/c55 owners on these forums in the chicago area, so someone may even know about that particular car.

find out how many owners it had previously, how much tread is left on the tires, carfax for accidents, condition of interior of car (smoker? pets? etc.)... and they should be able to get u a history of all past services so you can find out if it was maintained/serviced properly.

if u can provide some more info about the car, that would help alot in members' being able to offer some input about how much u should put on the table.
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Apr 3, 2009 | 08:15 AM
  #3  
I have a C32 forsale if your interested.
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Apr 3, 2009 | 10:23 AM
  #4  
C55
What are they asking for the car $? Just curious. I have a friend here in KY with a white C55 for sale with ~10k on the odo. A year ago, he was asking $28k for it but I thought that a bit much. I ended up trading my C36 for a C32 cause I liked the color, could do a trade and I liked the more exotic and tunable nature of the supercharged C32, no regrets there.

It is a local car. He is the 2nd owner and I knew the original owner too as I bought the C36 from him when he got the 55. It has been babied and garage kept and not driven all that much. As far as I know he still has it. I am betting that the price came down some. Nice car.

Irish
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Apr 3, 2009 | 01:35 PM
  #5  
They are not easy to find I have been looking for one in Socal, but there is only one close to me and it doesn't have xenon or nav :\
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Apr 3, 2009 | 03:02 PM
  #6  
Quote: What are they asking for the car $? Just curious. I have a friend here in KY with a white C55 for sale with ~10k on the odo. A year ago, he was asking $28k for it but I thought that a bit much. I ended up trading my C36 for a C32 cause I liked the color, could do a trade and I liked the more exotic and tunable nature of the supercharged C32, no regrets there.

It is a local car. He is the 2nd owner and I knew the original owner too as I bought the C36 from him when he got the 55. It has been babied and garage kept and not driven all that much. As far as I know he still has it. I am betting that the price came down some. Nice car.

Irish
I may be interested in this, pm the details please.
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Apr 3, 2009 | 07:31 PM
  #7  
Ok well i went ahead and put a deposit on the car today. It's pretty much a done deal they just couldn't have the car ready until Monday(Detail and fixing the wheels). Let me know what you all think.

It was a one owner car, owned by a local doctor here in the area. I actually was priveleged enough to see and drive the car as it was brought in, before any detail work and it was still very very clean. After they did the inspection they said that in order to certify a car it has to be considered an "A" car, and this one checked out better than an "A" car. Carfax is clean, non-smoker, bi-xenons along with every option except the navigation i think, brand new set of Pirelli P Zeros put on about 400 miles ago, non-smoker. 9/12mm left on the front brakes and 7/10mm left on the rears (i could have the F&R backwards). We looked at the VMI and all service has been done at a local MBZ dealer, looks like pretty religiously. The only problems with the car are little holes in the front bumper from a liscense plate bracket, and 3 out of the 4 wheels had some road rash, 2 were prettty substantial. Being the sly fox that i am, i got them to agree to fix/resurface the wheels, and if they cannot be fixed they will give me new ones.

They had the car listed at $26,591 non-certified and i ended up striking a deal for $24,000. There are a few weeks left on the factory warranty so i chose to go the non-certified route, as i can still add the extension if i see fit.

So what do you all think, good deal? And also, i looked at the C55 performance mod thread and saw the mods, but had trouble locating some of the products online. What mods are the most bang for your buck with this car? Im thinking of doing the res-delete monday when i pick it up, followed by possibly headers or an ECU depending on the input and opinions i get from you all. Thanks guys! Man this feels good...
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Apr 3, 2009 | 07:38 PM
  #8  
Good luck with your purchase and welcome to the AMG family !
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Apr 4, 2009 | 08:46 AM
  #9  
C55
Welkommen mein herr - der Mercedes C-Klasse 55 AMG ist ein wundabar auto

You are getting a great car. Bet you can't sleep til Monday, lol. Sounds like you found a nice car at a fair price. You can always find cars that are cheaper but when you find one that is nearly perfect in its condition, that adds to the pride of ownership, and the experience of owning an AMG.

Now mark your calendar for the Atlanta to North GA lunch run April 18th.
https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c...4-18-09-a.html

Irish
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Apr 6, 2009 | 01:15 PM
  #10  
price sounds fair - if i were u, i'd get to work soon on negotiating an extended warranty while your miles are where they're at... the more u drive it and the longer after orig warranty expired, the more the warranty premium will be.

good luck & keep us posted
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