Who'e still driving 01-02 S55
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Joined: Mar 2013
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Tundra, Suburban, W220
Who'e still driving 01-02 S55
I've found a couple of nice well cared for examples of 02 S55's and thinking of purchasing. Just wondering how your cars are doing and what kind of mileage you have on them in 2018. Also, do you think the naturally aspirated cars are less problematic than the later models. Thanks, Bob
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Joined: Jan 2011
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2003 S55 (SOLD) , 2012 S550
I dont have an 02 but an 03 with high mileage (250k) which i am now selling since i got a 12 S550 last week. If you keep up the maintenance you will have little issues with the drive train. The ABC is a different story...over the 175k that i had the car i have had 3 pumps and 6 hoses replaced plus accumulators and i rebuilt each valve block. Now that i understand the ABC i probably could have had less pumps since i did not flush the fluid in the beginning. The rubber high pressure hoses will fail with age not mileage so if you just replace all the high pressure ones when you get a car you wont have any issues with them. The return hoses have less pressure in them and will most likely last longer (i have not replaced a single one). The other major issue is the PSE vacuum system. The door modules will fail with age...so will some of the hoses and the bags in the seats for the massage and dynamic seat. A royal pain to fix most of it and not cheap even if you do the work. Other then that the car has been reliable. Like i said...the drive train and the IMPORTANT pieces are pretty bullet proof.
Good luck with your quest.
Personally i would get a 03-06 just for the fun factor...
Good luck with your quest.
Personally i would get a 03-06 just for the fun factor...
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Joined: Apr 2018
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Bimmers but car less now
I just joined this forum...I did post on the newbie page ... Im considering looking at a 2001 S55 AMG with 106,xxx miles. As I wrote in my intro on the newbie page Im a lifetime bmw owner but am now ready to come to the dark side. Before I head out to check this car out will anyone talk me off the ledge? I've read on all the common ailments of this model and have an AMG specialty shop primed to do a pre-purchase inspection. I wonder why when I called that shop and told them I was considering this car the owner giggled?!? WTH? He declined to talk me off the car and said "...they're great cars so long as you know what you're getting into...". My wallet almost jumped out of my pocket and ran into a hole when he said that.
106,xxx mi doesn't seem high for an 01 and the appearance looks extra clean on pics. The car is being sold by an indy car dealer and I have the carfax, so far so good. If I get it at the right price I am budgeting approx $3k-$4k in service and proactive repairs to get ahead of things. I'm one of those freaks about his stuff.
Your chance to tell me "don't do it" starts now!
thank you!
106,xxx mi doesn't seem high for an 01 and the appearance looks extra clean on pics. The car is being sold by an indy car dealer and I have the carfax, so far so good. If I get it at the right price I am budgeting approx $3k-$4k in service and proactive repairs to get ahead of things. I'm one of those freaks about his stuff.
Your chance to tell me "don't do it" starts now!
thank you!
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,264
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'06 MB S55 AMG; '04 Audi Allroad 4.2; '05 BMW M3 Conv.; '92 MB 500E
I just joined this forum...I did post on the newbie page ... Im considering looking at a 2001 S55 AMG with 106,xxx miles. As I wrote in my intro on the newbie page Im a lifetime bmw owner but am now ready to come to the dark side. Before I head out to check this car out will anyone talk me off the ledge? I've read on all the common ailments of this model and have an AMG specialty shop primed to do a pre-purchase inspection. I wonder why when I called that shop and told them I was considering this car the owner giggled?!? WTH? He declined to talk me off the car and said "...they're great cars so long as you know what you're getting into...". My wallet almost jumped out of my pocket and ran into a hole when he said that.
106,xxx mi doesn't seem high for an 01 and the appearance looks extra clean on pics. The car is being sold by an indy car dealer and I have the carfax, so far so good. If I get it at the right price I am budgeting approx $3k-$4k in service and proactive repairs to get ahead of things. I'm one of those freaks about his stuff.
Your chance to tell me "don't do it" starts now!
thank you!
106,xxx mi doesn't seem high for an 01 and the appearance looks extra clean on pics. The car is being sold by an indy car dealer and I have the carfax, so far so good. If I get it at the right price I am budgeting approx $3k-$4k in service and proactive repairs to get ahead of things. I'm one of those freaks about his stuff.
Your chance to tell me "don't do it" starts now!
thank you!
GL
maw
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Joined: Apr 2018
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Bimmers but car less now
I can't tell you not to do it. 10X,XXX is not high miles for any Mercedes S Class. AMG just increases the fun factor. What what you see is what you get. It's an S Class Mercedes, which means it's never going to be cheap, in maintenance or experience. My problem with the pre-Kompressor models is, if I'm gonna maintain an SClass AMG, I want the 500hp to go with it. And I don't want that '90s NavAudio system. The new COMAND alone, is reason to go with 2003+, even if you don't want your V8 supercharged. Upgrading that may cost you your whole $3k budget. I'm not sure because I avoided it like the plague and went with the last year of the Kompressor models. I don't know if the older cars have ABC (probably), then you know you have that to deal with as well. Why, unless you get the extra athleticism to go with? At the right entry price (<$8k), the non-Kompressor models can make sense in that mileage range.
GL
maw
GL
maw
Well ll I went to see it and it was junk. The dealer had it parked crammed in with other cars all around it so a test drive would have been impossible.
Its was was sitting on the floor and had some rust boils on rear fender wells.
Amazing how deceptive pics can be.
Im going to see a 2012 550 4matic w twin turbo this week.
Theres s63 AMG 2008 w low miles too that I might consider.
Will ll update progress.
Thanks again!
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Joined: Feb 2007
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From: north carolina
231 2013 SL 550, S55AMG 2002, S420 1991, 300SEL 1991
Please don’t buy, the fluid based suspension is disasterous! O
Our’s stared around 30k with one side or the other just kind of dropping down on the wheels. Each time we took it in, we were told that they could not duplicate the problem, however, as soon as our warranty expired, then they told us exactly why the car was doing this and that repairs would cost approximately 3K. We paid to have it fixed twice, then found a mechanic who said the system was no good,. They then closed off the system and put regular shocks on the car for $1800 and we have never had another problem with the car. Handles just as well, if not better but I consider it a big recall. If your dash light goes black, the national highway safety administration has a safety recall on the vehicle but when you call MBUSA, YOUR CAR IS NEVER IN THE NUMBER THAT IS RECALLED, but it is listed on the recall, but they tell you to bring your car in and mechanics have tear it down to determine if yours is in the number, but if their mechanic says it isnt then you pay for the repair even though my car was included in the recall. Check behind any mercedes shop to see just how many of these S classes are sitting back on there resting on their wheels.
