Hello my fellow AMG fans. Went and looked a 2 E55s today and I need some help from you guys to decide which car would be best. Both cars are 2000 model years and are very similar in features besides one having nav, I will break down the differences and you will see why I am conflicted here.

Car A:
133k miles Silver on all black leather with nav, current owner has had the car for the last 12 years and has records to show. This car is immaculate inside and out. Seats show no signs of wear and literally everything inside works as it should. Outside is in great shape for age and mileage, small scuff on rear bumper and front has moderate road rash from highway. 1 OEM AMG wheel was replaced and 3 others were refinished at dealer they all look new. No signs of rust anywhere on the car. Under the hood looks fairly clean, noticed a little bit of residual oil build up on the left side coil packs in the back but didnt notice any drips or anything crazy. The only thing I noticed it will need is a set of tires, they are well shot and will not pass. Other than that you would never know the mileage was 133, it drives great and pulls strong, shifts good.

Car B:
66k miles Silver on black/white 2 tone leather, current owner has had the car for about 6 years and minimal records only really done maintenance and a full OEM replacement exhaust system with cats. This car looks like it should have 100k plus miles. Slight cancer starting on the front fender near bumper and the other side has a paint chip. Minor scratches and marks around the exterior but nothing crazy, no trunk rot. Front wheels have moderate curb rash and rears are almost perfect, brand new set of Bridgestone tires all around. Under the hood looks like the low mileage car should, no signs of leaks around valve covers or anywhere for that matter, fairly clean. I noticed when shifting the car from park to drive and so forth I hear a little ****** ****** almost like a linkage or shifter bushing need replacing, the trans shifts fine and do not think its the mounts, it does not clunk the whole car its just in the shifter itself. Interior is not as well kept as the other one, driver vanity mirror is missing the cover, seats show some wear and the driver side seat bolsters are not working, all others work just not the ones that hug your midsection (not the end of the world). Rear fog lamp bulb and socket were missing and front fog lights did not come on until I turned the car off and parking lights came on, weird?


Car A is around 8k and Car B is around 8500. I am getting PPI done tomorrow so this is all just from the inspection I did on these vehicles. At this point I am torn because with a few little things, Car B can be brought up to snuff and I can have a good deal on a low mileage AMG. On the other hand Car A just needs a set of rubber and can be enjoyed for some time to come, but at a higher cost.

Any and all insight is truly helpful from you all and I greatly appreciate your opinions on what you would do with these 2 cars. Thanks!

 

While the mileage is attractive, it all depends on what you are willing to invest with Car B. If ease and getting straight to driving is your goal, Car A FTW!

 

car B might be clocked from your description?
i wouldn't touch car B as it needs more attention.
AMG ain't cheap, buy cars without documents you end up with problems!

 

Car B has a clean Carfax and the mileage matches up with the condition of the vehicle. I just spoke with the indie doing the inspection for me and they had some interesting findings.

Turns out their owner thought that Car B was the better car! He said it was all around a tighter vehicle and didn't really have anything that stuck out to him that needed attention. Of course the few cosmetic issues but that is minor and should be easily fixable, with a few dollars I could have a nice low mileage E55.

When I told him how closely the cars were priced he kinda laughed and was wondering why I was even thinking about it any further.

 

a fully documented car should always be better to buy as you'll know what was done to it in the past.
the other lowmileage didn't show much documents you say and it had all glitches from your description.

you have to take a buddy with you who knows about cars/Mercedes in general and let him inspect it for you if you are not sure about which one to buy

 

Well in case anyone was interested, I ended up purchasing the lower mileage car. 2000 E55 with 66k miles on the clock. This is my first MB and I am very excited to start getting her back to the glory she deserves.'

I used to be a technician so I know my way around cars in general and from what I saw initially I knew it was a decent car that just needed some TLC.

After talking to the indie shop that pre-inspected the car, and the price I negotiated, I could not say no as I can surely turn a profit on the car after I get it back to 100%.

Turns out the car did have a lot of maintenance records the owner did not mention, I have an entire folder of work done. As I mentioned the things included some paint imperfections, a small cancer spot on the front fender where it meets the bumper, a missing rear fog light bulb socket, curb rashed wheels, and an issue with the fog lights which I already resolved with a fuse.

I put the car through MD state inspection yesterday. It needs a new trans pan gasket, which I was planning to drain/refill the trans anyway, one of the wheels has a slight bend which does not effect the balance but needs attention, my wheel guy can handle that this week along with a refinish. A minor chip in the windshield which can be filled, and front rotors which are not cheap but not the end of the world.

Going to get parts ordered this week and complete the work before the end of the month. Already ordered some stuff for an oil change and a trans dipstick tool. Looking forward to wrenching on this beast and making it like new!

Here is what she looks like!

 

Looks beautiful! Have fun with her... this forum is insanely helpful by the way.

 

Thanks! Trust me I have been doing my fair share of reading over the past week and have already learned a lot from here and others.

 

I have an 02 w210. Just got my fourth kill in a little over a week. Why infinitis and Nissans even try is beyond me. I used to have an e60 m5 and my w210 would destroy it. Couldn't be happier with my decision

 

Not trying to star a war here, but a w210 destroying a E60 M5??? Wrong E60?? Dont get me wrong our cars are pretty fast but unless its supercharged/highly built i dont see that happening i know i can pull away from a 545i but anything higher then that i doubt it.

 

The SMG transmission requires you actually shift through the gears. By the time the m5 could catch up the w210 would be gone. Between the torque and the automatic shifting the advantage is to the w210 .

 

If the e60 was either full automatic or full manual it'd be close. It'd also be a better car. The SMG was the worse idea BMW ever had.

 

We are talkin about the same 500hp M5 right??? The one that does 12.5 at 115 in the 1/4 mile??? Im sorry i just dont see how our cars that do mid 13's can ever do that. Heck even the w211 with 469 hp has cant 'destroy' one. Let alone ours that have 350hp

 

An E39 M5 would get the business no problem, but an E60, no way. A 211 is a different story but our cars would be lucky to hold a candle.

 

Yeah the one with 500bhp. It does that time if you can ever get launch control to work. I never could. Something about turning off traction control. Then getting it to 3000 rpms then putting it in first. Plus that's when it isn't in the shop which it was every 12k miles because I liked being in m mode a lot. M mode and smg never mixed.

 

What are thoughts on keeping the star or going to flat AMG hood badge?

 

i have a silver 2001 with 170,000. I paid Max Scroogs to go through the car and it is perfect. I have a 2002 with 59,000 miles. I also paid Max Scroogs to go through the car.

the 170K car cost less to service then the 59k car.

My point is that the guy who took better car of his car is the guy I would buy from.

I do not like the two tone seats.

I would go with car a or keep looking,

good luck

 

The star looks classier IMO. True, it has been put on the bottom level C-class now, but it also reminds me of the grill and ornament on the S-class.