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I bought a super low mileage ‘12 about six weeks ago and couldn’t be happier. It has the twin-turbo 4.6 liter V8 that delivers incredibly smooth power and has a perfect sound. Good luck with the search!
I bought a super low mileage ‘12 about six weeks ago and couldn’t be happier. It has the twin-turbo 4.6 liter V8 that delivers incredibly smooth power and has a perfect sound. Good luck with the search!
Congrats!!!!!!
It's tough looking for one model year (2011). I just have to be patient and find the right car. I really like the NA 5.5 liter and never wanted more power when I had my CLK550.
My first choice when looking is to buy from a MB dealership. Looking for a strong CarFax with dealer services at the right intervals. I'm good with buying from other sources as long as there are maintenance records. I will get a PPI as well if not buying at a MB dealer. My cousin is a certified MB tech and works at an MB dealer 2 miles from my house.
Good luck. I once flew to Palm Beach Florida to pick up a Mercedes. Car went into limp mode during the test drive. It had 10,000 miles on it. Ended up flying back without the car.
Good luck. I once flew to Palm Beach Florida to pick up a Mercedes. Car went into limp mode during the test drive. It had 10,000 miles on it. Ended up flying back without the car.
I've done a few fly n drives and never had a problem. I'm buying this from Mercedes-Benz of Pompano Beach. Great dealer service history and Carfax. They ran it through their shop and performed a service, replaced front rotors and pads, and both front swaybar links. My nephew is running the VIN through the Mercedes dealer system today. Flying to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday to pick it up.
Congrats!!! Great looking Cab....Never seen that color combo !
Thanks! I haven't seen it before either. It's called Stannite Gray. The dealer told me it was only available on the Launch Edition which was an $1800 option. Not sure of all the items except for the 6 double spoke AMG wheels.
I've already ordered BumperPlugs.com to remove the front license holder.
I haven't had any time to enjoy the car as I got home last Saturday and then flew out to California on Sunday. Finally back home.
I experienced on issue on the way home. When passing someone on the highway, the ESC Inoperable message came on and they pedal was sluggish. I pulled over and stopped then started the car and it was fine for the rest of the trip. Mercedes of Pompano where I bought it said to take it to my MB dealer and they'd pay for the repair. I have an appointment on Tuesday to get it fixed. My cousin will perform the repair so he'll get a chance to check things over as well.
The car is at the RBM of Atlanta today getting the ESC issue fixed. They're replacing the accelerator pedal.
Other issues I found:
- Multicontour seat functions don't work but I knew that before I bought it.
- Comand Controller knob rotation doesn't work. I ordered a metal replacement shaft and will install it this weekend.
- Keyless Go start button sometimes will turn on the accessory position 1 instead of starting the car. I remember these Keyless Go issues from my CLK days and was glad I didn't have it. I'll look back to see how to fix it. I find if I hold the button a second longer, it always works the first time.
Overall, I'm very happy with my fly-n-drive experience. There is nothing about the car that would have kept me from buying it if it had been at my local dealership. Mercedes of Pompano is an Auto Nation dealership and have a no haggle policy. The care was about $1k over KBB fair market which in check as all of the E550's I looked at were more that I paid.
I found an insurance card of the previous owner in the owner's manual. It belonged to two DC attorneys that must have a house in Ft. Lauderdale. Damn nice car to have sitting around for when you go to your other house in FL.
“ESC Inoperable message came on and they pedal was sluggish“ - same happened with my ‘11 E550. Turned out to be a faulty accelerator pedal. Easy fix - two bolts and a single multi-plug.
Good luck. I once flew to Palm Beach Florida to pick up a Mercedes. Car went into limp mode during the test drive. It had 10,000 miles on it. Ended up flying back without the car.
Had a similar issue before on a car. Flew there and car I found out had a issue but the dealer was fantastic and fixed it right there. Car also had a warranty.
Had a similar issue before on a car. Flew there and car I found out had a issue but the dealer was fantastic and fixed it right there. Car also had a warranty.
I think it was 2017. I test drove 2 c300. Both errored out when I tried the Adaptive cruise. They both had about 10,000 miles. I thought “maybe I shouldn’t buy this car. I think they have improved it now.
The car is at the RBM of Atlanta today getting the ESC issue fixed. They're replacing the accelerator pedal.
Other issues I found:
- Multicontour seat functions don't work but I knew that before I bought it.
- Comand Controller knob rotation doesn't work. I ordered a metal replacement shaft and will install it this weekend.
- Keyless Go start button sometimes will turn on the accessory position 1 instead of starting the car. I remember these Keyless Go issues from my CLK days and was glad I didn't have it. I'll look back to see how to fix it. I find if I hold the button a second longer, it always works the first time.
Overall, I'm very happy with my fly-n-drive experience. There is nothing about the car that would have kept me from buying it if it had been at my local dealership. Mercedes of Pompano is an Auto Nation dealership and have a no haggle policy. The care was about $1k over KBB fair market which in check as all of the E550's I looked at were more that I paid.
I found an insurance card of the previous owner in the owner's manual. It belonged to two DC attorneys that must have a house in Ft. Lauderdale. Damn nice car to have sitting around for when you go to your other house in FL.
Awesome !!! I actually drove my 285K 2000 CLK430 from Huntsville, AL. to the Atlanta area to look @ 4 cars. 1 Ford Mustang GT California Special and 3 E550 coupes. The Mustang sold that morning before I arrived. The 3 E550's were all at independent dealers. All were low mileage and showed clean CarFax reports. The one I was really interested in was a 2011 with 58K miles. It was gorgeous in the pics.....It was Pearl Beige with Saddle Brown interior. It was the 1st one I stopped to look at. As soon as I saw it, I was pissed. From 20 feet I could tell it had been wrecked and the rear clip had been re-sprayed. The sales manager actually argued with me, so I opened the trunk and showed him the seam sealer ooze and walked out. 10 mins after I left he called and offered me the car $10K less than what they were asking.
The 2nd one was a 2012 and was nice, but when I started it multiple warning notifications popped up, so I walked. They also called me within 10 minutes saying they would discount the car and fix everything. I told them to give me a call back when they got the car back with everything repaired.
The last E550 I stopped and looked at was a "New Arrival More Info Soon" ad on AutoTrader. I almost didn't stop as it was getting late and I had a 3+ hour drive home, but I did. I walked the lot looking for the car and didn't see it. A salesman came out and asked me if I needed help. I told him the car I was looking for and he said they had just got the car in Saturday and it was in their service dept. getting prep'd. I asked to see it and he said he thought another salesperson had already bought it. He went inside to ask and I walked around back and into the service area to find it. As I was looking at it a service tech approached me and I started asking him about the car. He said they had it up on the rack and couldn't find anything wrong and all it was waiting for was detail. It was a 2013 Black on Black E550 with 36K miles. He pulled the owners manual and an envelope with all the service records from RBM and let me read them. The "B" service was just completed less than a month prior. He again said the car needed nothing but a detail.
I walked back up to the sales floor and right to the sales managers office. The salesman was outside looking for me. I asked the sales manager if the car was for sale and he said yes. I said ok....lets go for a ride!
I drove the car to RBM of Atlanta and pulled up in the service area. I gave a service advisor an invoice and asked to see all the service records if possible. She handed me off to the advisor that had handled all the services for the vehicle. Great guy.....he showed me the entire history of the car and told me about the previous owner. Gave me a print out and also told me the previous owned had ordered a spare key that had arrived. He went and got the key and went out to the car and made sure it worked. He handed the key to me and said he wondered why she never picked it up. He spent about 20 mins going over the car and explaining stuff about the options etc. and said if I needed anything else he'd be happy to help.
Sales manager and I drove back and 30 mins later the E550 was mine. I negotiated a couple grand off their asking which was fair. I told them I would fly back down to ATL in a couple weeks to pick-up my CLK430. They said they'd pick me up @ the airport etc. and to just let them know. They weren't interested in anything other than wholesaling my CLK since it was a 2000 and had tons of miles. I told them I'd take it back to Alabama and private sell it.
A week later I got a call from the service manager where I bought the car telling me there was a tech @ RBM that was really interested in my CLK and if he could contact me. He called me that night and we discussed the CLK and I was honest and told him there was a slight transmission whine between 1-2-3rd gears and the drivers side front wheel was bent/repaired, but wasn't true, He wanted to drive it, so I FedEx'd him a key to RBM. A couple days later he called me back and made me an offer. I countered for a grand more and stuck the signed title and spare keys in a FedEx envelope and wished him well. Both RBM and Select Luxury were a pleasure to deal with. Good luck with your 2011 Cab!!! They are awesome cars!!!!
Last edited by TEAsE550; 10-28-2021 at 09:48 AM.
Reason: spelling
@TEAsE550 , beautiful coupe! it's great when things come together like that. This is my third Mercedes and I've always dealt with RBM and they are a great dealership. The place has been there since the early 60's.
My cousin who is a tech there has the car in his shop. They replaced the pedal which wasn't covered under the Auto Nation (Mercedes of Pompano is an AN dealer) warranty but MBP is sending me a check for that. The only other things my cousin found was a bad brake switch causing the Keyless Go issue and a bad thermostat (historical code and the test failed on the thermostat). That is covered under the AN 90day/4k mi warranty so they will deal with them on the repair. Since I'm having it fixed outside of the warranty network, there is a $200 deductible on the $690 repair. The dealer in FL is also covering the deductible. Overall the car hasn't had a problem I could fix myself and my cousin said "you found a good one", so I should have many miles without worry. He said most of the cars they get in with major problems from people that just bought them used are from independent dealers. But there are several high end pre-owned luxury dealers in Atlanta that have great reputations. Service history and maintenance records are very important.
I started out looking for a 10 or 11 coupe, but my wife, who always tells me I buy cars she doesn't like to drive, asked me to look for a convertible. She didn't like her GLE350 but loves the E550, weird.
@TEAsE550 , beautiful coupe! it's great when things come together like that. This is my third Mercedes and I've always dealt with RBM and they are a great dealership. The place has been there since the early 60's.
My cousin who is a tech there has the car in his shop. They replaced the pedal which wasn't covered under the Auto Nation (Mercedes of Pompano is an AN dealer) warranty but MBP is sending me a check for that. The only other things my cousin found was a bad brake switch causing the Keyless Go issue and a bad thermostat (historical code and the test failed on the thermostat). That is covered under the AN 90day/4k mi warranty so they will deal with them on the repair. Since I'm having it fixed outside of the warranty network, there is a $200 deductible on the $690 repair. The dealer in FL is also covering the deductible. Overall the car hasn't had a problem I could fix myself and my cousin said "you found a good one", so I should have many miles without worry. He said most of the cars they get in with major problems from people that just bought them used are from independent dealers. But there are several high end pre-owned luxury dealers in Atlanta that have great reputations. Service history and maintenance records are very important.
I started out looking for a 10 or 11 coupe, but my wife, who always tells me I buy cars she doesn't like to drive, asked me to look for a convertible. She didn't like her GLE350 but loves the E550, weird.
I WISH my wife didn't like her 1999 C280 and told me to find her a cab. I have brought home multiple newer Benzs and she won't give up her C280. I bought it and my old CLK430 at the MB USA auction in Riverside CA. in 2001. 20 years and 250K miles later....I guess she's right as usual. Have fun with the new 550...They are amazing cars for the money! I looked at newer ones and couldn't get past the gear selector being on the steering column. Happy Wife...Happy Life !!!
Last edited by TEAsE550; 10-29-2021 at 12:34 PM.
Reason: add
I WISH my wife didn't like her 1999 C280 and told me to find her a cab. I have brought home multiple newer Benzs and she won't give up her C280. I bought it and my old CLK430 at the MB USA auction in Riverside CA. in 2001. 20 years and 250K miles later....I guess she's right as usual. Have fun with the new 550...They are amazing cars for the money! I looked at newer ones and couldn't get past the gear selector being on the steering column. Happy Wife...Happy Life !!!
Amen!
The gear selector on the column was a killer for me as well. It reminded me of my wife's GLE too much. I ruled out 2012 E550's on my cousin's advise that they saw several problems with the new engine. He said they got better each year and the 15 and 16 were the best ones. I was looking at some 13's since the shifter was on the floor where it should be LOL.
My friend is going to look at a 2011 E550 cab today while he and his wife are down in Florida for four months. Blue with blue top and I think saddle interior. Around 50K miles on it. I didn’t know much about them , so started to look up some things and found this thread. Great looking car! NA V8 . Cool.
10-06-2021, 02:43 PM
