braizedtofu

hey

I am currently in the market to sell my 05 e500 with 97k miles for an e55 amg. I have found a few 04s and one 05 locally. Heres a few that interest me.

04 e55 $25,980 with 58k miles
04 e55 $24,900 with 63k miles
05 e55 $28,000 with 78k miles

I know the 04s have more issues than 05s. With that being said, are there any major component differences from an 03-04 to an 05-06? The reason why i ask is I am trying to figure out if the 05 is worth 3-4 grand more than an 04 with more mileage. I do a lot of commuting both city and high way and in rush hour half the time so I would be racking up the miles pretty quickly and would like a lower mileage car. I plan on driving all 3 cars hopefully this week so i can get a better sense of which one i can get the best deal on.

Random thought, is there anyway to detect a shock leak without actually putting it on a lift? My e5 has a small leak on one of the rear shocks, but it is not noticeable nor visible on the road or on the ground, respectively.

None of these cars are still under warranty but i do most of my own maintenance anyway so I dont really mind the as is, as long as the price reflects it. Let me know what you guys think
Thanks in advance. Happy monday

Barry45RPM

The systems/parts fit together the same... the part numbers are different on many items in the later cars due to all the part revisions made in the quest to have the parts work or last.

My personal experience is that the '03s were an experiment, the '04s were made of crap. Where else have you seen a particular car model get more and more dependable with each successive year. Not more added content... more dependable.

gaazmon

go with 05. better off probably. but you will actually lose a couple of features such as charcoal filter button and REST button, if i remember correctly, since 05 was also when some decontenting began.