Scott in H-town

Comments appreciated...

http://www.momentumvolvo.net/used-ca...oryId=18336766


Options: bixenon, heated seats, NAV & HK stereo, dynamic seats, pano roof, alcantara rood (normal with pano?), brand new tires


My concerns
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No ventilated seats (are these good on this car? they sucked on my M5)

the color isn't my favorite, but with tinted windows it would look better... also silver is low maint which is good for a daily that I don't have time to wash a lot.

No SAT radio, but I can hook that up and use it from the COMMAND right? (so not really counting this)

Alignment way off which they say is from shipping, and I'm going with that opinion, but just makes me worry some.

little higher mileage than I wanted, but I'm getting a comprehensive extended warranty that seems as good or better than the cert program. (2 years left on original factory). The extended is 4 years 75,000 miles which is better b/c the cpo is only 1 year after the factory warranty vs. this being 2 years and I'm not as worried about mileage.


comments appreciated! I have the car on hold for $58K ish and they're doing ok on a trade.

t-bone

I can't comment too much on pricing since I haven't check what is out there, but I'll comment on your options.

All the E55's came with gray alcantara headliner regardless of pano or no pano roof.

I have these in my car and they keep my butt and back from sweating. The ventilated seats draw air in and blows it out the back of the seat. Therefore, you won't really feel air blowing. It's a nice option, but not a deal killer.

This can be added later. It's probably best that the car doesn't have it already that way you can install the antenna more discretely instead of having a huge black blob on the trunk.

jangy

I love my ventilated seats, but I sweat.

zoink

From what I could see... the car misses parktronic and keyless go... possibly rear sunshade and eletric trunk closer.

The price is not bad... but approach w/ cautious...

This car was first sold at a dealer's auction in PA then brought to a dealer at MA in 11/06. The MA dealer seemed to wait for 3-4 months and it seems they couldn't sell it.... so they once again sold it at auction on 2/28 for .... (PM me if you want to know the exact amount but for sure they will make a hefty profit for the price you mentioned above).

I would approach w/ cautious for a car that went to auction... let alone 2 auctions in a row.

zoink

BTW, the info I offered above requires a little compensation

Please let me know the company & the price of extended warranty you mentioned above.

Can Drive 55

2 auctions and bad alignment. It's off from shipping? Give me a break. How does sitting on a truck affect the alignment? My guess is that the car has been in a wreck and it has some front end damage that has not yet been properly repaired. There are too many good ones around to knowingly take a bad or questionable one. To me, all the other issues/questions are irrelevant.

Scott in H-town

Thanks guys. The rear sunshade is the only thing it doesn't have that I'd like, but I'm going to ask for a tint as part of the deal which will help off-set the lack of the sunshade. I don't care about the trunk closer really.
The keyless go is nice, I've had on several cars prior, but it's not a huge deal for me either.

The auctions makes me wonder... but there's no history I can tell for wrecks, etc. I wonder why it would go through multiple auctions? It's a basic color and decent options... maybe they were asking too much?


I'll get the extended warranty info on here asap... if you PM me the price they paid.

SANDOVAL

That price seems to be a pretty good. Silver is a common color yes, but it is common because it looks so damn hot! Tint and a dark deep dish wheel and you are in business. I love the pano roof on Silver.

You will love this car Scott.

Scott in H-town

Good point, but I've had bad alignments from trucks before. They tie down using the tires and wheels. I've even had brand-new cars with this problem.

Is there a way to guarantee no wreck? The carfax is clean, but I know that doesn't mean too much.

jamie140

Hey buddy! Before you pull the trigger, you might want to talk to vadim - he's not too far from you.

I've read some of your posts. If you want to LOL after punching a car, try a stage 4. Bleek here was kind enough to race me with the M6 and let me drive his car for a couple passes!

Good luck! Jamie

zoink

PM sent

I'd suggest go there and test drive the car.... if you like it and don't find any problems, give them an offer $1K above the price I told you they got it for.

zoink

Yeah... talk to Vadim... he's a very nice guy (he kind of helped me w/ my purchase from another dealer ). I think he has black '05 w/ higher mileage & no pano but CPO.... asking for around $61-62K. I'm sure he has some room to work w/ you...

Scott in H-town

My big challenge is my trade. I have an Acura RL that I'm getting rid of and it's tough to sell these. They gave me a good offer for the RL... about 2k more than other places have...

Decisions decisions.

I may say this: name my final price w/ the warranty etc. Then put a contingency on having an inspection done to verify no accidents... also if they can't get it aligned.. no deal.
I'm guessing they won't come down on their price b/c the effectively did that in giving me more on my trade.

F10 M5

Scott trading your your lotus for the E?

Scott in H-town

Not sure about that. I definitely am getting rid of the RL for an E.

I never EVER get to drive my Lotus it seems. It's very frustrating.

I've made some dumb car moves in the past couple of years and don't want to make another...

In hindsight, I wish I would have kept my 996 TT and not got the M5. I liked the M5, but that move started all these changes... then I got out of the M5 for house moving and saving money... then I got the Elise b/c I missed the track so much, but I have yet to make it up to the track since buying it so it seems like a waste of money.

zoink

Check color consistency
Open the hood and check whether the fenders' bolts seem to have been disturbed (paint scratches all around)
Take out the spare tire and see whether there is any weld joints underneath the trunk carpet
Check whether there is any paint line at the edges (doors, hoods, trunk)
Check whether there is any over-sprayed paint on the trims & weather strips
Check whether all body parts are well aligned (gaps between two adjacent body parts are the same; surface are also leveled)
Find some irregularities... for example: The hood doesn't have any rock chips but the bumper has a lot... the headlight has a lot of rock chips but not the hood, etc.
Check whether the car drives straight

Hmmm... what else.... I think those are the areas I pay attention when buying a car.

jamie140

Well then why not sell them both and get another 996tt or 997tt?

Scott in H-town

thanks zoink.
Yeah, the alignment is off. Way off. It's more that the wheel is off-centered than it pulls.

As I said above, I may make the deal on that contigency, and I'll have the guys at Carmax check it out as if it's my car. Those guys catch a lot of stuff!

FCSmthree

I just picked up the same exact color and options except on an 04 model. I absolutely love it, I was the same exact way about the color. I wasn't high on silver at all, but when I saw the brilliant silver in person, it just popped out at me and I was sold. A very different silver than any other cars. Stepping on the pedal and hearing the rumble coming out of the exhaust makes me smile each time.

Good luck with your purchase and post initial impressions.

Scott in H-town

Thanks FCS. Yeah... I am not a silver fan, but it looks great on this car with those wheels and the pano roof as contrast.
I really think w/ tint it will look great too.

StapleGun

Right on - too many others out there to buy this one, 'issues' sound suspect to me. People that purchase these cars have enough money to have repaired on a cash basis and keep it out of a Carfax report. Two auctions in a row, stay away.

AMGfan

They are a lot of E55's out there...I would wait until you are happy with color, options, and mileage. NO sense in rushing in on a sale...just keep looking and you should get satisfaction.

2thfixr

Jamie, good to see you brotha! I thought you got swallowed up by a black hole or something. I see Scott is leading a secret life over here as well. The E55 looks real purdy, when you get it post some seat of the pants comparisons with your Turbo.

Scott in H-town

Thanks. The rub is my trade offering and no taxes. I'm getting a very good deal on the car now all things considered... much better than I thought I would.

I am now leaning towards taking the deal verbally, and when I get in town, have the car inspected for wrecks, etc. If it's clean, why not get it?

I'm starting to like the color too. Mileage is a little higher than I wanted, but not too badly... hmmm.

Tough decision.

J 2OOI

Silver is the best color for this car IMO with black 2nd and all others far behind. But, to each their own. I don't have ventilated seats and I don't miss them. You have the critical options: Bi-xenon & Nav. I like your idea on having the car inspected and if they don't get the alignment right = no deal, but really, as others have said, why is the alignment off that much anyways? Kinda makes you wonder. If they can get the alignment right, the car passes your DETAILED inspection and you are getting an extended warranty, then I wouldn't go as far as to say "STAY AWAY" just be cautious and go for it. It all depends on what else you think you can find out there. If you don't like silver, (nevermind the fact that you are crazy ) and you are worried about some of this stuff, just keep looking and get one that you don't have all these questions on, my guess is you can find one with exactly what you want within a few weeks but you may have to pay a few $thousand more, but you never know. Good luck.