Any thoughts about purchasing an '02 E55 w/ 146k miles? It appears to be in very good shape. Interior is very clean and all HVAC work well but AC needs to be recharged. Mechanically pretty good but think it may need brakes in 10k
miles. Can get it for around $8k. The previous owner knew my mechanic who worked on the car. It's been in a front ender and was repaired with no frame damage. Let me know what you guys think.......Thanks

 

AC that needs a "recharge" might mean an expensive leak, not just a slow, it's 8 years old leak. If it really just needs a recharge, they probably would have bought a $10 recharge kit from Walmart already.

Brakes cost $1k or more. That's a big one.

I would get an estimate from your mechanic (or a disinterested third party mechanic) for the AC repair and brake job. I would also say the car is worth $8k with the issues fixed (maybe a little less if it has an accident CarFax), so ask him to either fix for that price or negotiate down based on the inspection/estimate from the mechanic.

Edmunds says it's worth about $10k fixed, $8k as is. So, maybe not a bad deal. But make sure what you save up front you put in the bank so you can pay for some repairs down the road.

 

My mechanic acquired the car due to a mechanic's lien he had to file against the previous owner. The previous owner also had an unpaid balance from a bank so the car has sat almost 8 months without being run. This may be the reason for the ac needing recharging. Just more background on the car. As for repairs, I am quite aware of the cost of maintaining 55 as we have an SL and M5 and it's not cheap! Fun but not cheap.

 

Well, if you aren't willing to spend a couple thousand more for one that is in better shape, then go for it...

 

I would see what the mechanic can do to fix it up. He wants to sell, you pay parts, he does the labor, you buy, everyone's happy. Otherwise, I would be worried about a mechanic selling a car that is broken. Not how it normally works.

 

I never said that I wouldn't or couldn't. We already have enough cars but if I come accross a great deal, I'll pull the trigger and change up the stable mix. Just playing with toys at this point.

 

He's an ex MB mechanic (there are a lot of em around) and has been taking care of our cars for 5+ years. I trust him and he gives me a break on the repairs and maintainance he performs. Great idea though. He's willing to perform all necessary repairs to make the car right (brakes not included because the 55 doesn't need it yet) before I take posession. The main issue that concerns me are the high miles which may be the deal breaker. Need to ponder this a lot more.

 

If he'll fix the issues, go for it. Miles aren't a big problem on this car. The drivetrain is stout. It's the little stuff that can add up. If the little stuff is fixed, and it runs hard and good, go for it.

 

I've been waiting about 6 months for him to clear up and obtain clear title. It's just been sitting in his shop with a dead battery until today when he installed a new one. The car started right up but we just let it run to warm up since it hadn't been run in so long. Everything went well except the ac. All windows, switches, and electrical appeared to be working well. Then when I turned the car off, I saw the mileage. I thought it only had around 100k miles. Oh well, we'll see what happens.

 

mine was at 140k when this deer a few days ago ended my E55s life. It was doing great, although I had spent about 20,000$ in the past year in half in maintenance alone.

 

Tranny is probably on its last legs, at 150k they can start to give (in many cases much sooner). keep that in mind....

 

What? what in the hell did you spend 20k on ?

 

I still say go for it. Get him to fix it...and get it. If I had $8K I probably would think about it too.

There is a C36 on this forum for $5K...I'd think about that. He's close to you too.

 

Does that mean rebuild tranny time???

 

Most likely yes.

 

Thanks for all the responses. I've decided to pass on the 55. A few too many miles which makes me a little uncomfortable. Miles and info about the tranny don't sit well with me. So, the hunt for toys continues.

 

[QUOTE=AMS Performance;3707569]Most likely yes.[/QUOTE

what is the going rate for re-build tranny's nowadays?

Armani

 

[QUOTE=armaniE55;3707686]A standard rebuild is typically around $1500-2000, but a performance rebuild can go up to $2500 (varies from shop to shop). I've seen standard rebuilds as low as $1000 for mercedes so it all depends on what you want to do. You can upgrade the stock 722.6 internals do the newer 55Kompressor spec (stronger internal components that can be directly swapped into the older transmissions).

It is much better to go this route then to do the tranny solenoids which can cause premature wear. You can improve the speed the tranny shifts simply by doing a conventional performance rebuild. Also, you can alter the torque converter if you want (although honestly it isn't recommended on our cars, the stock one is fine you can just make it stronger).

hope that helps.