flyguy442

Hey everyone, I am recently 18 and in the market for a car. I was gifted an old corolla from a family friend which got me through my working/school years so far, but I am interested in upgrading vehicles. There is a used C55 AMG in my area right now that I am VERY interested in. I am only concerned with the mileage. I have done a lot of research on these very forums about issues with these cars when they reach high mileage, but most of those threads are from the early 2000s when "high mileage" meant anywhere above 50k miles. Anyways, the car has 141k miles on it and the owner is asking 7500. From what I can tell, the powertrain itself is very reliable, but I am concerned with just how reliable that really is. I do need reliable transportation and it would be my only vehicle. I am willing to take a risk on a vehicle like this as opposed to buying a newer, lower mileage economy car. I just want to gauge how large that risk is and get opinions from those more experienced than myself with these cars. If you are interested, here is the link to the car.

kaixdiego

If the body is straight and history/maintenance is clean and up to date, I'd say it's worth it. 141k isn't high mileage for the m113 and 722.6 and that is typical pricing you are going to find them at, they are getting very hard to find. I bought mine with around 130k about 4 years ago for $6000 and am now approaching 160k. Before I manual swapped it recently, the only thing that ever gave me issues was the conductor plate in the trans, but if you are a diy'er, most problems that come up will be relatively inexpensive/comparable to fix. Especially with Sites like FCPEuro, ECS, Rockauto, Amazon, Ebay etc. My C55 is a car I plan to keep forever, I loved the drivetrain so much that I bought an ML55 as our family truck and am always on the lookout for other m113 AMG's around.
I have used it as my daily driver for the majority of the time I've owned it, at one point for a 90mi daily commute. You can expect around 20mpg's highway and of course lower if you are flooring it everywhere, mixed driving around 15-17mpg. Take into consideration insurance for yourself and keeping a little money aside for maintenance or solving issues if they occur.
Anyway hope that helps some, and don't feel bad if it's not the one or the right time, there are always more cars out there, something I was impatient with at your age haha. You can check out my YouTube channel if you want to see more info on the C55, Good Luck!

flyguy442

thanks so much man, really appreciate the advice.

insame1

Please don't do this to yourself. Why this is one of the most reliable AMGs ever built it is still an AMG and not cheap to repair. If you can keep the Corolla then you might have a fighting chance. I have been in the MB game for a long time now and only my passion to constantly be working on and paying for these cars has kept me in it. If i could give 18 yo me advice it would be. Keep the cheap 4 banger. work hard. get a good job then start buying project cars. below is just one of my money pits and it was totaled by a careless drive. i only got 7k back from the insurance.

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk55-amg...ml#post7948243

flyguy442

So you think the cost of repairs and the time it will take will outweigh the benefits? I am going to look at it tomorrow. Maybe I will just drive it and leave

insame1

I love these cars and they can be great but I am a firm believer that it is not a great dd. I will be 70% of the time but a second car is almost mandatory if i you have to go to work everyday. Also while for a luxury car the replacement parts aren't to bad but they are still going to be 3-4 times as much as a honda, toyoata, or domestic. If you have to take it to a shop becuse you dont have the place/skills to d othe work yourself it becomes not worth it very fast.

cbird805

i bought a 2005 C55, with almost 200k. I paid $5400 cash. Not perfect, but in really good shape. I took it to my mechanic, and he recommended a belt/pulley change, transmission service, brakes, and replacing the spark plugs. He did the belts and transmission, I did the brakes and spark plugs. Spent about $1500. No complaints. Best advice I can give you is to have a mechanic look the car over before you buy it. the only repair that I had to do is the sound system- no sound output. I ended up replacing the HU with one of Ebay for about $400, and added bluetooth Iphone connectivity by taking out the cd changer. Posted how-to on this forum.