xxsckxx

HELLO GUYS
I M NEW HERE SO PLEASE BARE WITH ME.

HERE IN DUBAI THERE ARE A LOT OF W215'S FOR SALE JAPAN IMPORTED. THEY ARE BOUGHT IN JAPAN AT AUCTIONS AND COME WITH NO SERVICE HISTORY

THEY ARE STORED IN A FREE ZONE SO YOU CANNOT TAKE THEM TO SHOPS IN THE CITY FOR TESTING BEFORE PAYING THE CUSTOMS AND GETTING NUMBER PLATES ON

SOME OF THEM HAVE VERY LOW KM - 40-70K.. THESE ARE 9-10 YEAR OLD CARS SO I WONDER WHAT IS THE CHANCE OF THE KM BEING REAL OR NOT.
NEW THEY WERE $100K ++ NOW THEY ARE UP FOR SALE FOR $10K


I READ ON SOME SITES THAT IN JAPAN THE LARGER THE ENGINE, THE OLDER THE CAR AND THE HIGHER THE KM RESULTS IN HIGHER TAX BUT < 10K KM A YEAR SEEMS VERY LITTLE STILL.

FOR EXAMPLE THIS ONE https://www.dubicars.com/2004-merced...-500-8072.html HAS ~70K AND LOOKS LIKE NEW INSIDE. DROVE IT AND IT FELT REALLY GOOD - NO FUNNY SOUNDS, SHIFTED WELL, RAISED AND LOWERED SMOOTH. NO RUST, NO OIL LEAKING UNDERNEATH. YOU CAN'T REALLY TELL MUCH THOUGH DRIVING INSIDE THE FREEZONE (WENT 80KM/H MAX..DROVE AROUND FOR LIKE 10 MINUTES)

MY IDEA IS TO TAKE THE VIN TO A MERCEDES DEALERSHIP AND TRY TO GET THE SERVICE HISTORY. ALSO I AM THINKING ABOUT BUYING/LENDING A STAR C4 DIAGNOSE AND PUTTING IT ON THE CAR BEFORE BUYING IT

..IS IT POSSIBLE TO TELL JUST FROM THE DIAGNOSE IF THE KM HAVE BEEN FIDDLED WITH? ALSO, IF THE CAR HAS FAULTS, COULD THE SELLER SOMEHOW HIDE THEM FROM THE DIAGNOSE?

MAIN CONCERN IS THE ABC SYSTEM WHICH I KNOW FAILS OFTEN. THE PLAN IS TO FIND A CAR WITH WORKING ABC AND CHANGE ALL THE HOSES IMMEDIATELY AFTER PURCHASE (IF THE PUMP AND STRUTS ARE GOOD). IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT NEEDS LOOKING INTO?(ASIDE FROM OIL, BELTS, TYRES AND OTHER CONSUMABLES)

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD KEEP MY EYES OPEN FOR? I HAVE MY MIND SET ON THE 500 MODEL. DOES ANYONE HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH JAPAN IMPORTS?

I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY PIECE OF ADVICE, THANKS AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEE WHAT YOU THINK

calgary

Go for it....as long as the ABC is working....

tusabes

First don't type in all upper case capital letters


Second the mileage is real and low on Japan imports . They are sold due to high taxes on used cars and drives are short in Japan

Third it will do you no good wasting time on service history , abc fails due to age - not mileage . It can work perfectly now then fail next month

vmystikilv

Yup,


And after fixing the following month after that.


Do not buy this car thinking it works Ill be ok. You buy it knowing you are going to be continuously working on it. If it bothers you have $1600 American dollars laying around to do the conversion.

xxsckxx

picked up a november 2003 manufactured - (first registration 2004) japan import cl 55 amg with ~95k kms - here it is -> http://tinyurl.com/ngu6yjf


all in all great condition - took it out of the free zone and inspected at 3 shops before getting it.

needs some touches here and there:
-full servicing - suspension/gearbox/brakes/engine oils/filters/belts
-brake discs/pads front/rear need replacing
-front shocks need changing (left side sits about 3cm lower) and it also makes a sound sometimes when lowering/raising
-a temperature sensor for the inside is busted (the one inside the light switches on the roof - ac blows hot on the side vents unless set to LO manual - )


the comand unit is japan spec - limited radio band. not sure if you can reflash the firmware on it or you need to get another one.

it has bluetooth which works seamlesly - get in the car with the bluetooth turned on on the phone and it automaticly connects - is this factory or added?

is it worth getting oem parts at double or triple the price or are aftermarket ones like zimmermann/ate/trw/ good enough (for brakes especially)?

also, about the shocks - i was thinking arnott reconditioned (they come with a warranty and are 1 3rd the price of an oem shock)



any advice is welcomed
thanks

Ozimandius

Did you buy this from a showroom in Ras Al Khor or order it through them?

xxsckxx

honey motors ras al khor
so far owned for 1 year
had a couple of issues with it but nothing major..engine gearbox and abc are fine

DeepFloyd

How did you reset the monitor/ computer cluster to English? I am looking at buying one of those cars here in Canada. It's a 2002 CL 500 and has 60 K Kilometers. The ABC system might be kaputt, but I might do the regular shockabsorber conversion to avoid dealing with the ABC problems altogether.... still a bit confused and conflicted. What has your experience been so far with this vehicle?