r0nd3L

First of all, sorry for newb questions I just wanted to post this quickly before leaving for school...

My dad is looking for a car and I accidentally came up on this one:

1999 E55 AMG with 85K miles for $15,900. I think the price is really good for something that cost $70K new. The mileage scares me a bit, but as far as I know there MBs were stout, unless somebody can prove me wrong.

What kind of maintenance do these require? Is there a list of what needs to be done and at what mileage somewhere? Is it worth taking the car to nearby MB dealer to have it checkout out?

Finally, the exterior looks really clean, but still have to take another look as we saw it yesterday at 11PM, heh.

What do you guys think?

ob1kenobi

if it's a california car since it was bought new then you can breath a little
easy because it hasn't seen snow or salt. If not then it's another story.

Good price though, just not too sure about the mileage.

Look around some more and be patient. Lots of '00 and '01 out there
that are for sale with low mileage.

From my personal experience, I waited for 3 months looking around.
Even went out of state to test drive a few that got my interest.
In the end I found one in my area with lots more option than the ones
I test drove.

good luck on the search.

r0nd3L

Well, I'll look at the car today and drive it. If it looks clean and drives nice, that's all I care about. I'm sure it'll need new suspension, so I was thinking of Bilstein dampers and maybe some slight drop. I haven't even looked at those cars before and the only reason I'm interested in this one is because of the price.

The car is located in Chicago right now, but I'm not sure where it was owned. I checked underbody yesterday and it had zero rust. Everything looked clean.

knechtea

Have the car inspected by a dealer just to be sure. They may be overly cautious with their recommendations, but you'll be thankful if there are any surprises. I think high mileage is ok with well documented maintenance, however I would agree that newer models will be better especially with the 2000 refresh on the interior and exterior.

Check under the rubber molding around the doors, they tend to rust out.

Good luck! Just bought one myself 02 E55 with 37,500 miles. Paid $23,500 to private party for reference. It needed new control arm bushings, rear brakes, valve covers were leaking so replaced gaskets and changed spark plugs. All the work was $2000 at an independent shop.

r0nd3L

Thanks a lot for the help. If the car looks clean and drives smooth, I'll proceed to get it inspected. If the car is crap, I'll just drop it.

I wish my dad would look at newer ones, but they're too much money. He just doesn't want to spend that much right now.

xlr8tin

85K miles is nothing. I've got 105K and it she still runs strong!!

r0nd3L

Nice to hear.

We actually bought a 2001 with same mileage, 85K two days ago. Was only $1,000 more than the 1999 and was at a Benz dealer which is always a plus. I also like 2001+ way more due to updated tailights, HIDs, nicer interior, etc.

As far as the condition goes, it's amazingly clean. According to Carfax, it was a corporate lease before.

My dad and mom love the car so I'm glad they found something nice at last. I also love the power. Uncontrolled RWD slides ftw lol.

xlr8tin

Yea, mine was a corporate lease at one time as well.

loubapache

Hey, r0nd3L: Which dealer did you buy from? Did you have a good experience?

r0nd3L

I bought it from Mercedes-Benz of Westmont (http://www.mercedesbenzofwestmont.com/).

I liked how professional they are compared to other dealers. There was 1 Malfunction on the screen and we did written agreement that they'll fix it. They tried to look it up at the time of sale, but nothing popped out, so I'll be coming later. They are not really negotiable, so we didn't even bother and price was more than fair. Most of the cars on their lot are really clean. We looked at 2001 Audi Allroad few weeks ago and it was immaculate, but good thing we skipped it and now got this

loubapache

Thanks.

I am from Michigan but am familiar with that area (Westmont, Oak Brook, Downers Grove). That dealer always has more realistic pricing.

They have an 02 E55 on the lot but wanted $28k.

r0nd3L

Yea, they still have that 2002, but I have no idea why it's $12,000 more. Granted it has 20,000 miles, but that still doesn't justify the price.

Anyway, here are some shots I took of the car in the garage. Sorry, too lazy to go elsewhere for decent shots...

loubapache

Congratulations, r0nd3L. Great looking car.

r0nd3L

Thanks.

I have a question guys. Where can I find whole maintenance schedule? Also, what things need to be done at 85K miles besides fluids? How about serpentine belt, spark plugs (are there really 16???), etc?

There is some whining noise which sounds kind of like supercharger and the engine vibrates little bit when idling. There is also 1 Malfunction light on the dash, but dealer promised to take care of it.

xlr8tin

Wow, hope it's nothing too serious.

Yup, it's 16 alright.

r0nd3L

Well, I found out the dealer did a lot of work before selling the car. Motor and tranny oil were both changed, tires, brakes, etc and the whole car looked over. However, I'll be bringing it for whining and vibrations and we'll see what they say...