When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
HELP!!! - Should I buy a 2004 e500 4MATIC Wagon? (dream car alert)
I am looking at a 2004 e500 4MATIC wagon with 82000 miles for $9500...
This is a dream car for me - a luxury Wagon, with 300 hp and a V8... I can't say no and that is why I need your help.
Price is really good, car drives/looks fantastic, dealer is willing to give me a solid deal on my old car (2004 volvo s60), and the two previous owners kept the car mint. Am I insane for wanting this car? Will my girlfriend murder me once one of these suspension components gives way? Good / Bad Idea? Please Help!!!
Important Note: I am not afraid to do my own maintenance, and I have a great independent foreign car repair shop where I live that will let me bring in my on parts.
2004 E500 4Matic Wagon with all the bells and whistles.
What is SBC count (if equipped) and how old are suspension air bags?
Those 2 components when in need of replacement next year will cost more than quoted purchase price.
The vin is VIN: WDBUH83J94X118041. The dealership said the SDC was replaced in recall. I think the suspension is original...
UPDATE: The dealership is blowing me up today about purchasing the car. I am trying to get it for $8000 (plus a $1500 trade for my car) with a warranty included. Depending on the warranty is this a far deal? What kind of warranty should I be looking for?
P.S. - thank you for your help and quick responses!
There was no recall on SBC replacement- only extended warranty. Get the dates on paper.
I still would do good PPI and read the activation on replaced SBC.
Calculate airbags replacement in the purchase cost. 13 years old can go anytime.
Actually they are past due.
See if the seat heat and PSE work with dynamic seats.
What is the condition of CV joints boots?
Lastly, when compression test is hard to do on modern engines - 0-60 acceleration test can tell a lot about engine shape.
This sounds like nicely equipped wagon, but at this age lot of things should be replaced.
What is SBC count (if equipped) and how old are suspension air bags?
Those 2 components when in need of replacement next year will cost more than quoted purchase price.
How would the dealer know the SBC count??
To say the SBC unit will fail within the year is a slight exaggeration. And will not cost more than the purchase price to replace if it does you are being screwed.
It takes about 100 seconds with SD to access SBC count.
I would not call the high maintenance on this car as being screw
You marry high-class women, you calculate high cost of dining out.
Getting screw will be different thing.
So in my negotiation I think I can get them down to somewhere in the $7200-$7500 range (plus a $1500 trade in on my current car, and this is down from $8000) for a nice all in total of $8700 - 9000 before T,T&L - this will be financed at a 3.2% interest rate. KBB is in the $10-11k range.
- I will ask about the CV Joints for leaks and/or tears - suspension felt good when I drove it (a little wiggle at low speed on a large pot-hole which I chalked up to old bushings - which they will look into replacing).
- I don't know if I full understand what the SBC count is, but the dealer said "the Recall has been taken care of already." Maybe he misunderstood but he is saying that it has been replaced.
- 0-60 pull was still very solid low 7s without pushing to hard. Could probably pull mid-high 6 in perfect weather conditions on a clean road.
-Seat heat and PSE worked fine, along with the ac/heat in car - it was babied by its previous owner.
So what else should I be on the lookout for? I think the price is pretty spot on but what should I be questioning the dealership on to lower the cost? Really appreciate the advice and help.
Knowing the life -dealer will not likely agree to low price, but they give BS about SBC what question their honesty (surprise, surprise..)
As I said - takes 100 seconds to come with SBC count and the age of the pump. You can read more about on the forum, but the program gives it +- 500,000 pushes, so having real count will give you prediction how long you will have before high bill becomes due. Don't buy the car without printout showing those numbers -they are MB dealers not shade tree dealers.
Instead fighting uphill battle about additional $200 discount, I would press them hard for extended warranty and make sure it will cover suspension replacement.
This is at a Buick Dealership and they are not willing to do an extended warranty on a '04 Merc. But they did take it to the Mercedes Dealership across the street and everything checked out.
Also the dealer has agreed to go less than $8000 (plus the trade) if I can get it today. I am going to offer $7k and see if they can play ball (realistically I'd love to get $500 off that)
This is at a Buick Dealership and they are not willing to do an extended warranty on a '04 Merc. But they did take it to the Mercedes Dealership across the street and everything checked out.
Also the dealer has agreed to go less than $8000 (plus the trade) if I can get it today. I am going to offer $7k and see if they can play ball (realistically I'd love to get $500 off that)
I can tell you as a fellow gambler, I'm basically just waiting for the SBC to fail on me. I have had no negative experiences yet but I'm told they're rare even as it's failing.
I really wish it wasn't an issue with this model, but I'm better to have known about it and had a mental check-down list for when it does. I do, however, wish I had the V8 to play with. I did get the car at too good a deal to pass up, and it came with extensive records and meticulous maintenance.
I think the price of SBC might be coming down, I think someone mentioned getting an aftermarket unit, it used to be you had to go to the dealer to get a rebuilt one. Airmatic is about $500 a corner, but some people have had luck with it lasting a while. Find out when the SBC was done, it's like a wear item, I guess if it was done a while ago, it could go again, but if it wasn't too long ago, you might be able to go for a while before anything happens.
I will take all of your advice and find out if/when the SBC was replaced. Just to be clear the part listed below is the part you are referring to, correct? If for some reason the dealership is wrong and this hasn't been replaced recently, should I have it done immediately after vehicle purchase?
What you have found is part of SBC.
When rebuild units can be bought for less than $1000 and we just did get first forum DIY on replacement - taking the job to stealer will cost you close to $3000.
Than "Recently" is pretty unspecific word. It is the count that matters.
For example my 2004 model had the pump replaced in 2008 and I have record of that, so I was having high hopes, till had the car scanned to have about 430,000 pushes already. We don't ride brakes, so that should give us over a year, but still not the job I am looking forward to.
Same with airmatic. Members who took the case to stealers, left about $4000 lighter.
Sure advanced DIY can buy cheaper bags, rebuild $500 compressor and save a ton, but that is not for everybody.
Just consider that PO dumped very nice car very cheap for a reason.
There are issues with every used car, pre-facelift W211 have the SBC issue facelift 05-08 have the harmonic balancer issue. Suspension components fail overtime and some are more complex (Airmatic, Self-Leveling) and will cost you more to repair. You are considering purchasing a 12 year $60k + (when new) used automobile for around $7k without a PPI ($120 a $150) investment? The dealer push is to get rid of the car (too old to be on a new car lot for more than 30 days) through sale or it's going to auction.
Get a PPI (negotiate on findings) make your deal and have money set aside for maintenance. Figure $2k for maintenance.
But they did take it to the Mercedes Dealership across the street and everything checked out.
See if MB dealer will review VMI (service history) with you, dealer discretion but they may agree since they performed vehicle inspection and this will confirm all recall, service campaign, warranty and repair work performed by MB.
SBC
Your model year had 3 MB SBC recalls: 2004050014 OCT04 programming, 2005070007 replacement and 2005110001 bracket & ground wiring both MAY06.
Dude, your Emotional attached! Rule number 1. Dont fall in Love with the car. PPI PPI PPI!
Believe my when i tell you, If you seen this ride you'll probably find another just as better!
SBC, and the Airmatic are a killer so I'm not going to go there. Just read the forums.
The Buick dealer is trying to move being the new month just started!! GL hope as ll goes well!
vehicle was serviced bacck in 9/15. service, brakes, spark plugs, stuff like that. new valve body installed in 2008 if i remember correctly. vehicle was taken to a dealership its entire life according to vmi. can't tell you everything because some op codes aren't coming up but if you like it, buy it.
Not without a ppi though.
oh, and expect to fork out some money for routine repairs like others have said.
oh, sbc was flashed back in 2004. So warr ex ran out in 2014. Pump may fail soon along with airmatic components. Sbc, you have to have, airmatic you don't, so buy at your own risk....
Thank you to everyone for jumping so quickly. I held off on purchasing the car for now until I can get a PPI, which if I do decide to purchase the vehicle I will use to offset some of the cost from the dealership.
Everyone has been so helpful in this forum that I want to find a different Mercedes wagon if this one doesn't work out. If anyone out there is selling an AWD Wagon, for less than $11,500 and under 90,000 miles... Please let me know.
Don't be so closed minded. I got my wag w/145k, but I got a PPI done. My indie stated for the yr of the car shes strong, looks good, and drives amazingly. It really depends on what you want. Keep yout options open
plenty of gud wags waiting for a nice home.
GL
02-29-2016, 12:57 PM
HELP!!! - Should I buy a 2004 e500 4MATIC Wagon? (dream car alert)
What to Ask? - UPDATE
*UPDATE* THANK YOU Everyone! Super Helpful.
