billbillw

I sold my C350 last week. It was a nice car, but I wanted more room. Been looking at W210 E55s for at least 4 months and I think I've finally found a nice one. Its a 2001, 1-owner with under 80k miles, dealer maintained and garage kept for its whole life. Its not local, so I haven't seen it in person yet, but I had a friend who is near it go and look/drive. He was very impressed and said it looked and drove like a 2-year old car, not a 10 year car. The car is at a German car shop right now for inspection. So far, everything looks good. Will probably be getting it next week as long as no snags come up. The price won't qualify as a steal, but I'm fine with that because I'm willing to pay extra for one that has been well cared for.

Will post more when things are finalized.

Mike@Vossen

A car that has an engine in good shape is worth paying a little more for. Make sure to post pictures once you get it.

billbillw

OK,
Made the deal on this car today. Should be picking it up in a few days (its a road trip
for me). I'm very happy with the deal I got. Not many 1-owner, no-accident, well maintained, E55s left out there. I basically paid Edmunds TMV for the car. This one is your basic 2001, no additional options, silver on black leather, 78k miles.

armaniE55

Looks clean! Congratulations

Do you mind telling us how much you got her for? Also do you planning on keeping her stock?

Clean!


Armani

billbillw

Got her for $13,5k. I will be keeping her stock and using it for a daily driver. I need max reliability because I will be putting 15-20k miles a year on the car and hope to get at least 5 good years out of her.

armaniE55

Good deal!

Enjoy in good health. Lots of dyi guys in here.

Edit: ouch on the typos tough typing on these droid phones auto spell is awful.

SleepersRock

Congrats on the purchase. That is a nice find. I don't think $13.5K is unreasonable for a clean car w that mileage.

Getting 5 more years with that mileage should be no issue as long as you keep up on the maintenance. Mine just ticked over 120k and I got her at 53k 4 years ago.

About to do 5k oil change, 50k tranny flush, and front wheel bearings in the next few weeks.

I still plan to drive mine until I can get a 2nd or 3rd year 5.5TT engine E63 or a well maintained 05 SL55 for around what I bought this one for. Most likely it will be the E though now that my son is 6 months old and will occasionally need to be in my car.

You should probably do al ot of maintenance on the car to get it up to full power. Plugs/wires, all fluids flushed, check MAF, etc.

ruBENZ

Great deal. And, the best color.

Strigoi

Looks good!

That's definitely not a bad price for it.

CharlyE500

Nice looking car ! the price is fair for the condition and 5 more years should be easy for this car. This car can go over 200K if well maintained.

billbillw

I'm going to check with the dealer to get full service history so I don't repeat any recent work, but I'm probably looking at plugs, wires, valve cover gaskets, brake fluid, PS fluid, engine oil/filter, fuel filter, differential fluid, and maybe trans drain/filter/fill. Might need a battery before winter as well, but I'll just have to see when I get it. The inspecting mechanic said something about a slow reacting purge valve as well. I don't know if he is talking about something in the EGR system or what. I haven't seen the full inspection report yet, so I'm not sure.

MBFLO

Welcome , congrats , god damn she looks clean .. Nice pickup

billbillw

Dang, 5 days is a long time to wait for a car! I made the deal Wednesday, but due to visiting relatives and the dealership being closed Sun, I am not picking this car up until Monday! The car is ~4.5 hours away, so its not a short trip to get it.

I am so curious and excited to see this in person and get my hands on the wheel! It will be the first time I've bought a used car without actually seeing it in person. Risky, I know. I trust my friend though and he said it was near perfect. Hopefully I can still say he is my friend after I see/drive the car in person. Less than 48 hours...

mac2001

Good find. With the 4.5 hour drive back, you first notice how miserly this car is on fuel. Highway mileage about 25mpg.

tsquare

My favorite place to drive my E55 is on the open highway on long trips. The car is very comfortable, and the sound of the motor at cruise speed 75 is a beautiful low restrained burble. But need to get around slower traffic, put your foot in it and those 400 lbs of torque just come alive, with the wine of the valve train singing and the low raspy bellows of that wonderful AMG exhaust - it doesn't get any better. The power and gearing ranges from the transmission make for a fun game of point and shoot driving - and don't be afraid to manually shift the car to make your move - this car comes alive when driven in manual mode - enjoy

MBFLO

your gonna love the ride home !!!

mfletch69

Congrats! Great car. Great buy. Drive it in good health.

billbillw

Got home yesterday in the 'new to me' E55. The condition of the car was amazing, just as expected. No unexpected flaws except the CD changer is not working and I don't think the air bladders in the seats are working properly. Other than that, the car is incredible. Very smooth ride home. Trip average was close to 25mpg even though I hit stop and go traffic in Atlanta. It was up to 25.4 for a period (before I hit ATL). Still sorting through all the service documents, so I'm not sure what work will be needed to bring it up to current. The owner did have a 3y extended warranty, so it looks there were many repairs performed under warranty throughout the years. Overall, very happy with the car. Will get some of my own photos once I have a chance to do a proper detailing.

MBFLO

gonna love this car , and if its been kept up your gonna love driving it without having to service as others have .. My cd changer when i bought it didnt work either then just tinkering with the magazine pulled it in n out couple times tried some differnt cds and it just started working on its own .. Also in your glove box you might have the AUX jack to hook up ipod or any music player only drawback is is doesnt charge .. AC seats never did anything for me never felt them think they are only to keep you from sweating
Enjoy it these are great cars

billbillw

No aux port. AFAIK, that was only with COMAND units. No vented seats either. AC is nice and cold though. On Auto, set to 75, it keeps me comfortable, even in 95+ heat. That was a big worry for me.

As far as the Changer, the cartridge was stuck. No amount of button pressing would get it to release. I took it out last night, manually ejected it. Lubed up everything with fresh white lithium grease. Put it together, pluged it back in the car. Put the CD cartridge in. Tested the eject button a few times and each time, it popped out. Went into car and it said Cartridge empty. I could hear it going through each CD. Of course, when I went back to the trunk, it would not eject again. I'll try a few more things tonight. Some Deoxit on the micro-switches, tighten the worm gear holder, etc.

If all else fails, I might send it to this guy who repairs them off Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWAX%3AIT

Anyone have any experience with that guy, or anyone else for that matter?

billbillw

Got the CD working tonight. Just went through it more completely. Used De-oxit on the micro switches, tightened the worm gear, lubed a few more spots, and cleaned the lens with isopropyl alcohol. Then I went to test it and effed up the large ribbon cable. Had to solder a jumper to re-attach the connection. In the end, it worked perfect though.

Next up, sort out some air leaks in the seat bladder system. They pump up initially when I start the car, then they leak down after a minute and don't pump back up.

Loving the car so far. So much better built than my '07 C350, and of course, way faster...

MBFLO

Thats cool you got it working .. Did you pull out out the whole changer to clean it or just from its postion in the trunk .

chawkins2001

What a beauty and nice too see any Atlantan with a w210 beast. Let the modding begin

billbillw

It was removed. To lube/clean properly, you have to have it completely out of the shell(s). Just a bare mechanism.

Like shown in this blog:
http://mikofang.blogspot.com/2010/03...er-repair.html

saintz

The changer will go out again. The best bet is to replace it with an iPod kit and not have to fuss with it again.

The tube probably came off the bladder on the seats. Two screws under the back of the seat and rear panel pops off. Reattach hoses and use zip ties to secure them so they won't come off again.