RPB

Hi Guys,

Looking at a very clean 2002 E55 w/71k. Has records and maintained! No accidents.

What is a good offer, I will also have to pay $950 for shipping and he understands that. He was about to trade it and get really low balled, so what to offer???

Thx!

desired_speeds

$9k

RPB

Are you serious? I believe they were offering him upper 13's to lower 14's for a trade. Trust me I would love to pay $9k but lets be realistic.

Does this price sound right?

CharlyE500

$9K is low balling man...... its 02 74K miles with record. I know Carmax pay good if someone want a quick sale. Personally I think its worth $11K. Good luck.

RPB

The black book value for trade in is about $12.5k for clean car.

Peter_02AMG

It worth what you want to pay for it.

RPB

[QUOTE=Peter_02AMG;5195584]It worth what you want to pay for it.[/

Agreed.

CharlyE500

Yes very true. I regret did not pick up your W210 !

ruBENZ

It is definitely worth what you are willing to pay for it. I would begin at $12K and limit myself to $14K if she were in excellent condition. Good luck.

masonh66

they probably did offer him 13-14 as a trade in.it's worth that with those miles.personally i would try and gather up a little more dough and get an '03 for the massive increase in power and speed..you should be able to pick up an '03 for another $4-5000 with similar miles.

black book may be $12.5,but Kelly puts it closer to $15,000,and they are usually pretty close to MMR,which is the benchmark.i can't access my MMR right now for some reason,or i would look it up for you,but even if could there probably aren't a lot of E55's on the report anyway.

those are both wholesale prices we are talking about also,there is no reason for him to sell to you at wholesale.and if he got offered $14,000 as a trade then you need to offer more,b/c he will save the tax money on a trade which in my state would be over $1000.


don't know if you just want that particular car or don't want to spend more that $15k or what,but i owned an '02 and now i own an '07 E63(comparable to an E55).the difference is worth way more than $4-5,000.it is monumental.if you can swing it,do it,finance the rest or borrow it whatever.you'll be glad you did.

CharlyE500

07 E63 is very different car compare to W211 E55 and W210 E55.
IMO well kept low mileage W210 E55 worth $12K+ you will find few much cheaper but the condition won't be the same. For $2k different buy a better one with lower mileage. 03 E55 is about $18K today but its the first year of W211 not recommend. 03 has much more issues and more expensive to fix. Plus, 2002 is the last year of W210 which is the most reliable. If you feel comfortable with $11k to $12k go for it.

billbillw

I would not feel ripped off if you paid somewhere between $13-$14k for that car. It was a $72k car just 10 years ago. It is still a very nice car if kept up. I paid somewhere around $13 for mine last year and it was a similar age/mileage (2001/78k), 1 owner, all records, no accidents. I have no regrets. Car has been perfect for the last year...except for some minor issues with the multi-contour seat bladders.

masonh66

i was speaking performance wise,they are very similar in stock form.

just saying it's worth another $4-5,000 imo.if scared of the '03 then get an '04 for another $500-1,000.

the price difference between and '03 and an '04 with 75,000 miles is negligible.myself,i wouldn't sweat the '04.i could live with an '03 all day long.it's not like the '03 is a lemon and the '04 is perfect.

CharlyE500

There is more different than you know between 03 and 04. 03 has more much more issues than 04 and I can tell you the issues are not small if not fixed. The valeo radiator can cause transmission fail. Do you know or want to replace tranny ??? 03 doesn't come with Eurocommand so no Navi. If you add up, there is a big different. I rather pay $2K extra to get 04 for peace of mind. People has choices when comes to purchase and there are plenty of good condition E55 04 good price. Plus, 03 or 04 are still in $18K+ range and OP was talking about $12K range so $6 different is about the 50% of the cost he might pay for W210.

RPB

Thanks for the great responses! To be honest I would not typically touch an MB after '96, this particular model did use a lot of the older parts left over from the genuine Merc's and I owned an '01 before that was very reliable. The newer ones are...no I will contain myself.

Chrysler.

allenjdmb

You think that the 210 has better parts content and build quality than the 211(which has it's own issues....)? Only the very last of the 210's ( and I guess this qualifies) are really worth having, so proceed with caution...
Just my .02, but since you asked, low teens seems like a bunch for any 210 e55. The other Guys are right, anything is worth only what someone will pay for it. Just make sure that you proceed with caution, these cars are not without issues ( I have owned 3), and check for rust!

BlownV8

Not sure where you are getting your data point but I would think it is flawed. The 2002 has more electronics and more to break than the '99 E55. I would say the '99 will probably be the most reliable. In general, with Mercedes, you would usually be correct given improvements but the improvements other than the looks with the 210 E55 were not to the benefit of reliability.

Electrical gremlins were listed as complaints on the 2002.
http://www.edmunds.com/mercedes-benz...ml?sub=e55-amg

The '99 has a perfect score.
http://www.edmunds.com/mercedes-benz...r-reviews.html

I know this is hardly scientific but it fits everything I've read about the 210 E55.

RPB

Earlier you get the more reliable, lets be honest and yes I agree. The W210 was good overall and it did have some issues with the aforementioned by a previous poster. Many of the newer models are aesthetically pleasing but that's it in my opinion. I do not mean to offend anyone, just my 2 cents. Daimler-Benz.

Anatoly

He probably got offered 12k for trade in. Offer him 13-14k, he should take it.

allenjdmb

Of dealing with MB, I think you will find the last year of any chassis to be more reliable and have better build quality than an earlier model. Of the 3 210 55's I had, the 99 was by far the least reliable and had the poorest build quality--not to mention the body and interior refresh of the 00 up. An 01 or 02 should have most of the gremlins out...

BlownV8

JDPowers does not support that argument with the 210 E55. 2002 was the least reliable according to JDPowers. Like I said, the last year is usually the most reliable but not with the 210 due to the electronic glemlins from the added technology.

Let me add this. The biggest complaints I see on this board are with the updated interior. Look at the number of problems with the instrument cluster display on the 2000+. What about the problems with the air support in the seats. It does not sound as if the updates added any more reliability.

The issues with the '99 are shared across the 210 line. MAF failures, CPS failures, and window regulator failure were shared across all models of the 210 including the 210 E55.

MBFLO

if you really like it then grab it
mepersonally dont care if it had 50K miles on it wouldnt give over 10K for any W210 these days

allenjdmb

and I'll leave it be...but...
JD Powers (sic) knows as much about E55's as I know about flying the Space Shuttle. They may have lots of data, but I venture to say you can acquire more and more useful knowledge from half a dozen E55 owners than you can from them. No offense, it sounds like you trust them, but...

I can only say that you are the first person I've met that would say a 99 E55 is the one you want. Most any MB wrench that was working around these cars, as well as any car geek, would disagree. As a matter of fact, I bought my first one, a 99, from a guy that had a 500E, bought a 99 E55 to replace it, and traded me that 99 to buy another 500E that I had. He was so dissappointed in the 55 he just wanted out. (I didn't know any better, so..).

As far as the items that you mentioned, yes, window regulators, MAF sensors, and ECU's (as well as other things) are not indigenous to the 99. They are however, less common on the later ones. I don't think anyone has much difficulty repairing the air bladders in the seats (if one really wants to pursue it), and the instrument cluster repair exists all the way back to the 96 W210. It's no worse in the 2000 up models, and you do get much more info. Also, the proper repair (which is NOT buying a new cluster from the factory) is an easy, less than $200 repair from many reputable vendors, with a twice as long warranty as the MB one at $1200 for a new cluster.

In any event, if you've got a 99 that you love, all good. Between the body refresh (the 99 looks so plain), the 722 touchshift tranny, better steering wheel (and a leather airbag) with radio controls, a different radio than the guaranteed broken volume control 99 style, and the info in the instrument cluster. And I suppose we'll just agree to disagree on the build quality...but that's all good.
Sorry for the long response. Hope the original poster gets his car. For the $$, the 210 E55 is fun, and a real AMG.

tsquare

+1

Any well maintained E55 under 65,000 miles is well worth $15,000 easy. These cars are built to go 200,000 miles plus, the motor, transmission and drivetrain are built as strong and dependable as any car on the road today. The AMG V8 motor is as good as it gets for V8 motors. There is no other motor like the AMG V8, the torque, horsepower, smoothness, drivability and sound is amazing (tell me another V8 motor that has all these qualities). All you need to do is perform scheduled oil changes and you can drive these motors as hard as you like.

What other car can you buy for that amount of money that will be as fast, comfortable, safe, reliable and easy to maintain. Tell me one car - there are none - I looked at Porsches, BMW's, Corvette's etc. They are all either more expensive to buy, less comfortable to drive, more expensive to maintain, less reliable and not as safe.

I also would recommend the 2000 or later E55. The upgrades in the car from a design, convenience and safety stand point are superior, I have not seen a reliability difference between the 1999 and 2002.

As far as the W210 vs the newer W211 you are talking two completely different cars. The W211 was loaded with wonderful, but expensive to maintain technology and the gas tank leaking issue is a major red flag for me personally (I do not want to smell gas when I am driving). The W211's have reliability issues, so for a few thousand more you can get a beater W211, but it is a gamble at best on what your maintence costs will be over the next 10,000 miles.
(so make certain you have an extended warranty)

I would recommend that what ever car you buy, get one that was well maintained, even if it costs a few thousand more - you will save money and headaches over time and be able to enjoy your car much more.

allenjdmb

you guys may not know what a hit these cars have taken in price in the last little while. Just so you'll know, MMR for an average car is now $6100, with the most expensive car sold in the USA at a Manheim auction brining $10k (72k miles). CAVEAT--no one has to tell me that cars at the auction are not the same as many of the babied ones you see here--I agree. But while everyone would like to think theirs is far superior to all the others, most still need something. It's just normal--the newest car we are talking about here is 10 years old.
Agree with the above guy about the 211 E55. It is much more car, with much more modern tech, but yes, that does cost to fix. Unfortunately, the marketplace has adjusted for that, and I think you can buy a really nice E55 for $18-22K. Beaters are less, puffs are way more (but not the $30k that some guys think they are worth). The drop in the prices on 211's puts downward pressure on the 210's, thus....kind of like the same process with 129 and 230 SL's, and the even worse pressure on 230's as new ones continue to go nowhere.
Just info to consider. Hope that helps.