I want to buy an e55. I have a budget of about 10k. I understand this will get me a high mileage example. I've found a few for sale and wondering why I continue to see the same cars in that price range, sitting around for sale for what seems like months. Are people really that scared of high mileage e55's?

 

I'm certainly not scared of high mileage E55s. Both of my E55s are high mileage. Just make sure you take a good look at the car and make sure its been maintained to at least some extent. Also, expect some things to go wrong since you're buying a used car. I honestly think the W210 E55s are one of the most reliable AMGs you could buy, and the best part is, they are inexpensive. I'm almost at 139k mi and two things have broken on my in the last 20k+ miles of ownership. A rear wheel bearing (which was already bad when I bought it) and a blower motor regulator (a $90 replacement)

 

As long as it's been maintained I wouldn't worry about getting one with higher mileage. I bought mine with no records and it did kind of bite me in the ***. Getting it caught up on maintenance got kind of expensive.

 

see thats part of my budget 2k for maintance items right off the bat

 

Make sure the front brakes are good then. It'll run you around $600 in parts just for rotors/pads. The rest of the maintenance stuff isn't that expensive, but it adds up quick. If you take your car to a shop to have work done, $2k won't get you very far.

 

I bought my E55 on Oct.10 2010 with 125,xxx. The car passed my good friends pre inspection. Hes a certified MBZ tech, Everythings been replaced he told me as we got a view of the undercarige. I was thrilled driving around town like a mad man, accelerating through every freeway onramp and every streetlight. The hard acceleration on take off caused me to break my left Motor mt. Couple weeks later water pump gave out. Thats the only major service car has had. I drive a lot more easy now knowing the power is there when I need it. The best car owned

 

What is a high mileage car? Mine has about 90k on it. Thats what i considder a "low mileage" '99. Almost impossible to find a car with less than that here... There is a '02 w210 for sale at 25k$ which has 50k on it sold as a "collector". Most cars have 120-150k miles on them when sold here. They tend to be driven, not collected in a garage like the porches and ferraris. Atleast the euro ones.

 

I found one with 160k on it and he was asking 9.5k. I offered him 8 cash and I would pick it up and he got pissed at me for low balling so....It's ok because I found one with all the same options at 105k miles for the same price, with in driving distance. So I guess it ended up being a good thing

 

I bought mine almost 1 year ago. Black on black looks and smell like new. It had 84K miles and now only 88K. Not problem at all since my ownership. Here are few items I did:
- Oil change and air filter changed $160
- New battery $130
- New Hankook Ev12 $800 (245/40/18, 275/35/18) 1k miles ago.
- New brake and rotors $500 (they are not cheap !!! )

Total spent $1600 so far......

The previous owner gave me 6 years ownership record...... engine/tranny mounts replaced, valve cover 78k miles, tranny service 65K miles.......... the guy even kept his gas receipt ! That's why I drove 400 miles round trip to pick up the car from San Diego. When i first saw it....... wow.... same condition as my 06. You will be surprised a well maintain car compare to not well one. I drive my W210 50 miles a month now so always parked in the garage. Try to drive more W211 but still 100 miles per month or less........ live too close to work which is bad

 

If you can find $9500 lower mileage, you better do carfax and take to a shop for PPI. And if for $8k for 105k miles, you are low balling. You pay what you get.

 

No I offered the 160,000 mile car 8 grand. Not the one with 105,000. I was just saying that they where both asking basically the same price(9.5-9.9). One had 160k and the other 105k. Both have two tone, command, heated/ventilated seats, rear shade, multi-contour seats. Both 2002s

 

Good luck ! post some pix when you buy it.

 

I usually look for higher miler cars to get a better price. I have a formula that I use to determine how high a mileage is acceptable. I take 200,000 miles as the max that I would want to own the car, beyond which mileage I realize that it will be worth very little, and the likelihood of a major repair (heads, trans, axle, etc) begins to grow at an exponential rate.

So, 200,000 miles. Then I figure about how many miles I anticipate driving a year, in my case, about 8,000. We take the wife's car on trips. Mine is for work and my use.

So if I get a car with 130,000 miles, I figure I can expect reasonable reliability for about 8-9 years (8 x 8,000 miles = 64,000 miles. 130,000 plus 64,000 - 194,000 miles).

Notice I do not consider the age of the car.

As a matter of finding cars that will potentially be more reliable, I look for the following:

1. Fewer past owners
2. Length of time/mileage the first owner had it (more is better)
3. Apparent location of the first owner (wealthier areas tend to result in better maintenance.
4. If you find yourself looking for cars with over 150,000 miles, they really should go for a lot less money. I would say, for example, a W210 E55 with 175,000 miles, shouldn't go for more than $6K no matter what. Just too many miles for a seller to argue against.

In my case, I just missed out on my car the first time it was sold, from the original owner, in Newport Beach, CA at 124K. I looked for about six months and I found the car listed again, with 133k, by the second owner who could not afford his payments. Since I more or less knew the history of my car, I snapped it up for substantially less than what is sold for the first time. My only risk was the unknown care by the second owner, whom I suspect, over a longer term would not have treated the car too well. Given the short timeframe, I figured it was still in great shape.

So far, my car has proven to be very reliable and clean with a little pro-active maintenance. It has 144,000 miles now.

I have used this formula for my past four car purchases, each one around 120,000 miles on them, though one was a "new" car, with only 98,000 miles on it. One of the four cars needed a major repair (trans), but that was at over 200,000 miles so I did OK even on that one.

 

Good Formula! Yeah I dont know why the seller with the 160k mile car didnt take my offer. He's under the impression that it's worth much more. Then informed me that the vechile will be sent to auction if it didn't sell soon. I told him not to do it but he's was convinced. Too bad, it was a pretty car. Even had park senor. It's still listed in the classifieds on here. Silver with red/black interior. By the time I find the right car for me I will have saved more money so I guess it's a good thing I will get a lower mileage car.

 

Has he replaced the transmission and got receipts? If so, I could see some more $$ in it.

 

He didn't have any proof of any kind of maintance.

?

 

I forgot you could delete posts on here. It wasn't anything regarding your situation, hence the "nevermind" after I edited it out.

 

I wasn't aware of any transmission problems with the e55. Wasn't it borrowed from a 600?

 

I got mine with 147K on it. It now has 157K. No major problems,but I did put some money into it : tune up,replacing all fluids,filters etc. My fuel level sending unit went as well,changed AUX fans and fan clutch...some bushings...
Considering I paid 5 K for mine,I had some room to invest...
Good luck!

 

$5k sounds like good deal but after invest few thousand to repair..... I would rather pick up a cleaner one without future headache.

 

Everything I've done to it,except the fan clutch and the fuel level sending unit(even this one shouldn't bother you too much,just because you don't know how much gas you have),I've done to make sure I won't have problems in the future,but it wasn't imperative.

 

I'm eyeballing a supremely clean appearing, apparently "wealthy area'd" 2000 E55 with 130+K on it, silver, and with very specific and "comforting" descriptions on repairs, care, and maintenance on the car (all appear A++).

He listed lots of things that have been recently replaced and repaired and done to the car, so apparently it's all good to go.

It's listed in the mid $9K's, and considering I'm not a "do it yourselfer", and have another newer M-B, I'm thinking that if it's still more than I'd want to pay. I adore these cars, especially after driving one, but I'm too much of a scaredy cat to go ***** out.

I also checked out one with 210K miles, selling for $7K. It surprisingly drove great, and the body looked very good. However, it's sold at a indie dealer lot, and there are no history records. Plus, lots of "little" things aren't up to spec, thought the important/"big" things all seem good. I think that $7K for ANY car with over 200K on it is too much, though, regardless of condition.

 

If $2K is a big deal to you, I think you might want to rethink owning one of these. The transmission is the single largest, potential failure and would cost close to $3K to replace. These cars are very reliable but if you are relying on someone else to maintain it, you need to find a good independent shop. A dealer will quickly run you beyond what you can pay. Even a good inde shop may run the bill up.

That being said, the one with 130K for $9K would be the one I would go with. I might try to work the seller down to $8500 or less citing age and miles. Offer them $8K and bring cash. Tell them if it's a no, you'll have to leave and rethink it. $8K in the buyer's pocket is VERY tempting to a seller to just take what is right in front of them and move a car out.

 

Yeah, $8K sounds like what I'd pay considering risk factors. If I were to get one, I'd want one from an actual owner and extensive/specific service history.

 

130K at $9k with record is very fair price. They don't potentially go bad as far as my experience. Used to owned other W210 no major issues. If you have a good indy repair shop you should be fine.

W210 common problems ....... windows regulator, CPS, engine mounts, etc..... but those are common problems in any other cars. I recommend a Transmission service. I bought my W210 about 1 year ago 84K miles only brake/rotors and tires changes. Strong and solid. I also had a lot of record from previous owner. BTW, today i had a chance to race 2 times with BMW 545i, i walked in 2 cars distance when i hit 70mph. We stopped at red light and then again, walk him both time. However, I need to upgrade the suspension for the handling part.