I just purchased a 1999 E55 with ONLY 15,000 miles. It was really owned by a little old lady. The car feels like it runs well.

I checked with the local dealer and they ran the VIN and printed me all sevice that they had in their system for the car. Just a few warranty issues up until 2003.

I asked the service manager what he would suggest I have done as far as preventive maitanence and he printed up the Service B list and told me to expect to spend $2000. My usual (trusted) mechanic says change the oil filter, fuel filter and air filter and drive it.

What do you guys think?

 

In 11 years, the car was driven a total of 15,000 miles by a little old lady. This raises questions. When did these miles occur, were they evenly distributed throughout the years, or has the car basically been sitting a lot recently?

If the car has been sitting, I would definitely have the tires and brakes inspected. Did you have a PPI done prior to purchasing the car? Hopefully this would have revealed that information.

FYI: Service B is basically just an oil change, new air filters (your car has 2), new cabin filter. All things your car likely needs if it has been sitting or even just because you don't know the last time it's been done.

 

You are the second person to mention tires. They look 75% new and I hate to waste $$ on new ones. Maybe I will have a tire store look at them.

 

The issue with tires is they get flat spots in the rubber if they sit for too long in the same position. You'll hear it on the highway as a womp womp womp noise. If they're out of round, you'll want to replace them. Also, the rubber can just plain rot over time. If the tires are new or the car was driven at least once a week, they may still be ok. Otherwise you may need to replace them, even if they have tread left.

All of the fluids are suspect, but may be ok. Brake fluid may have water in it. Coolant may be contaminated. Tranny fluid might be worth changing just in case, since a new transmission is expensive. Engine oil you'll definitely want to change if it's more than a year old. If you do it yourself, or your mechanic is reasonably priced, I would have him check the fluids and then decide what to change. Otherwise, change the engine oil and then drive it and see if you notice any brake or cooling issues.

Drop some fuel conditioner in the gas tank to remove any water. Run the tank down really low to get the old fuel out (fuel goes bad in only a few months). Do this before you change the fuel filter, preferably, so you're not putting crappy wet fuel into a new filter.

Then take the car and run it hard. If it runs fast, it's probably in good shape.

 

Replace ALL the fluids & etc: Oil, Coolant, Power steering, Brake, Freon, Diff oil, Tranny oil. Its all bad. Cars that aren't driven can be just as expensive if not MORE expensive to maintain because cars that sit often can run into issues. Hopefully wheel bearings & etc will be fine as well, but sometimes they can go bad if they sit for a years at a time.

Once you replace that, you may have to start replacing some gaskets, gaskets that sit also tend to go bad b/c they dry out. It would be a good idea to do a full flush.

Also, clean the entire fuel system, do a full injector cleaning service and then run a couple of cans of seafoam in the gas tank to really clean out all the gunk. Once you have done all that, run the car hard for 50 miles after everything has broken in and then you should be good.

$2000 is a realistic budget to do all that and it isn't a bad idea to get everything done all at once. Don't be cheap in this case... it will cost you down the road. The good news is, once you do all that you will literally have a new car.

 

with 15K miles on the car, listen to your mechanic. Drive the beast and enjoy. Oh and don't forget the reset the computer.

MB dealer will rape you!!!!

 

NO, listen to the members who know as seen in their comments above, just because a car has low miles , there " COULD ' be few things to watch out for . Most of which can be handled by the owner himself, if you choose to that is .
Service B doest NOT cost $2000, anyways I wouldnt take this one to the dealer , and just drop it off....they tend to be Lazy and do ONLY the obvious and charge you premium. Take it to your trusted mechanic , tell him all the comments you see above ( these are all smart comments ) , Rubber ( including all rubber lines ) Gaskets and ALL fluids and filters, run the AC and listen carefully for any hissing sound inside the cabin, recharge if needed.. then enjoy...

 

Thanks for all the input - I will start knocking things off the list. The car is amazing!

 

Need Pictures

 

Air filters, Oil (RP) and oil filter changed last night. Very simple - thanks to all of the DIY instructions on this forum.
Next week, I will be tackling the cabin filters, spark plugs and installing Magnecor wires.
My mechanic will be doing the fuel filter, brake fluid & cooilng system. I will have him inspect the belts, mounts, hoses, etc.
Local import tranny shop will be doing the transmission and differential. I am probably going to go with the Mercedes fluid for these.
I will burn off a little more of these tires and put a fresh set of Michelins on in Feb.

 

very clean... it appears the front bumper has been changed though (which explains the missing fogs).

 

it has fogs

 

First, use the manual and with your VIN# call MB Roadside Assistance and update the owner info on the car. Beats going thru that short phone update process on the road on some rainy night.

Check to see if you have the radio card/code in the manual pack, if you don't Roadside "might" give it to you when you update on the phone, or get it from the Customer Service rep in person at your local dealer the next time you are in to chat.

Plugs and wires are a waste, and no need to start messing with the coil packs unless you have too. The MB set are good wires (regardless of what anyone says).

On the tranny and rear end fluids - on the tranny ONLY go with MB fluid. The standard procedure is a pan drop and filter replacement, which gets about 40% of the fluid. Do NOT use any commercial tranny flusher (bad tickie). There is a DIY for a tranny flush threw the cooler line that will replace 100% of the old fluid. The fluid type (MB only) is real tricky if you go off spec, and proper filling and fluid level check at correct temp is critical.

Sorry you went for RP 1st time out. I hope you used 040W which si the recommended spec. The small oil galleys in the motor require the 0 part for start up pump up. It would have been better to have gone thru a Auto Rx cycle first with dino oil (do a google) but no harm done.

Oil filter should be "fleece" type for extended oil change interval, some don't know the difference and order cheaper paper filters online or at a local auto parts store, which long term are not good.

Air filters should be Mann, some auto parts stores carry replacement air filters that fit fine but are lower quality.

Aircon vacuum and refill should be under $100 which any competent air con shop can do.

Your battery will be on the way out sometime down the road.The cost for the MB replacement battery, done by Roadside Assistance with free resets of everything, do vary by area. In my area at $140 is the same price of the battery itself at the delaer parts department. There are exact fit replacements available from Interstate and others, some swear by the cheaper others

 

DO YOU HAVE A LINK FOR THE "DIY for a tranny flush threw the cooler line that will replace 100% of the old fluid"?

 

You cannot replace 100% of the old fluid, you can replace whats in the tranny oil pan but thats about it, which is roughly only half. If you are going to do it right you have to do a full flush at the dealership, they have a special machine that does it automatically.

 

You're probably safer doing a drain rather than trying to flush it all out. While a drain doesn't get as much fluid out, it's safer because it doesn't agitate or pressurize anything.

 

The OP's car is a '99. I thought '99s had the torque converter drain plug that allows nearly all the trans fluid to be drained out.

Fred

 

its still hard to get 100% of the fluid out, you may get like 80% out or more, but unless you take it to the delaership and have them use the special pressurized machine to do it, you probably won't be able to get all the old fluid out.

Make sure you take the pan out and clean it, there will be lots of small debris & particles in it if your tranny is starting to wear so keep this in mind as something to look out for.

 

Did I miss something? Was there an issue with shift hesitation or slipping? I understand wanting to update all fluids so that you know their relative condition but don't understand why the concern over pressurizing the system to remove fluid (saintz?) or why he might find debris and wear particles in a tranny with only 15k on it. Unless of course the little old lady had a lead foot and the fluid is been burnt... Just curious... I don't even know whether these trannys are band or clutch type...assumed clutch but hey we know where assumptions lead

While the dealer will provide warranty work history as required, it is unlikely, that they will tell you much if anything about any maintenance or repair work done. Not sure what state you are in but in California, dealers refuse to incur the liability issues that can arise from these disclosures. The fact that RO's include name, address, phone number and other private data create a liability morass.

I would follow saintz advice and get the tires replaced if they are the originals which is quite likely on a 15k car driven by a "little old lady". Four new tires are probably cheaper than one replacement AMG monoblock wheel.

Sounds like you may have found yourself a real gem of an E55 but there are some very valid concerns over the age/condition of fluids and tires as well as whomever brought up how those miles were put on the car. It has been known for years that small car brokers have stored cars sometimes for 10 years and longer in order to then sell them as "low mileage" examples since values are often calculated with a general assumption that the miles were equally distributed over the life of the car. Just my .02

All the best