Hey fellas...
I am the guy who just about laid out 45k to a bozo with a salvaged car. I am being smarter this time hopefully and I have talked the Mercedes dealer down to 49k for a 2003 E55 with 22k. It is in absolutely perfect condition. it has every option except nav. It is certified which means a lot to me. I am also getting a really low finance rate for the small portion I will be financing. Is this a good deal? Somebody get on here and tell me I can get a lot better deal in the next hour or so. if not, i will be the proud new owner of an immaculate E55.
Seriously if you think there are better deals, let me know. I do not mind paying a little bit more.

I think it's quite a good deal already as it's loaded and CPO.

If I were you, as the last attempt, I'd try to push for one more year on warranty (+2 years instead of typical +1 year) or some other goodies (new tires, etc.).

Good luck... don't forget to post pics otherwise we'll call you a troll also j/k

heh.. ok

Sounds like a good deal to me.

NOW GO FIND A BMW M5/M6 TO RACE !!!

j/k. Good luck with the purchase.

Sonofa...
The guy sold 10 minutes after I talked to him...
The search goes on.

Guess it just wasn't meant to be...you'll find a better deal

Where are you located? I think I could tell you where I could find '05 CPO 30-something K w/ nav, active seat, lighting package, parktronic for mid-50's. Mileage a little high but all in all, it should give you longer warranty coverage than '03 you mentioned above.

Wyoming.. I can travel to get it though..

Couple of tips for buying a use MB.

Always look on the dash display screens to see when the next service is due and what type. A service can run $200 - 300 or more easily. You wouldn't want to buy a car needing service in 1000 miles and not use that as a negotiating point. regular intervals are 10K

Always demand to see a VMI (Vehicle Master Inquiry) report. This is a report generated by the dealer that has the car's configuration (options, etc) and all service/warranty work performed by any MB dealer. If you are buying from a dealer, it should take a service advisor 5 seconds to generate one. Go meet with the SA and get one. If buying private, the owner will need to supply the VIN and ask for one. I would suggest going to the dealer with the seller.

Get a CarFax (duh) but also call your insurance agent and ask them about the car. The insurance dealers share claim info and will know if a claim has been filed on the car even if it doesn't show up on CarFax.

Thanks for the info VelvetFog. I will definitely appreciate any help I can get. The local Mercedes dealer is looking at a few at the Manheim auction for me.(If you call 400 miles away local) He tells me they are primarily off-lease cars and all of the info I will get when I see what I am bidding on. I don't necessarily mind this way of buying cars, but it would be nice to get a one-owner trade instead. The cars on ebay just scare me.

OK... PM me your email address. $6-7K for 2 years newer, 1-2 years longer warranty & little negotiation is definitely worth it even with slightly fewer options, IMO.

As for auctioned (Manheim) cars, be very careful. Dealers usually use auctions as their last resort. It's a strong indication that they cannot sell the car for some reason. I'm not saying that's the only reason... but one of the top reasons. So yes, you may find jewels there

ebay's hit and miss, but i've bought two and sold two on there and i've been happy each time, as have been my buyers!

if it means anything to you, out here (socal) a month or so ago dealers weren't giving more than $50k for the e55 wagon (2005!!!) and little more if anything for 2005 e55 sedans. therefore, you've got room to canoodle with the stealers, especially given the glacial rate of flow of pre-owned cars off of lots lately.

then again, it may be a somewhat different market for pre-owned amg's, since they're so much more expensive to buy new.

happy hunting!

49k was dirt...

Cars are at dealer auctions for a reason, usually bad. If a dealer thought they could resale it on their lot for a profit, they would before taking it to auction. The problem with the auctions is you don't have the time to properly inspect and check out the car background.

Also buying a CPO has some advantages. I bought my CLK as a CPO. It had new tires and battery, fresh Service A and an extra year warranty. The warranty came in handy when the typical CLK problems cropped up - MAF and blower motor regulator, both fixed under the CPO warranty after the factory warranty ran out. Try looking on MBUSA.com for used vehicles to get a better idea of what dealers are asking.

I'm currently looking at this one. Seems like a great price for an 05 with 18K miles. Carfax one owner and clean.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...eadExists=true

I missed out on a 27K 04 for 49K on ebay. It also was a 1 owner FL car off-lease. I was the high bidder but the seller cancelled the auction to sell it. I was kicking myself for not calling the seller directly which the person who bought it did.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=270106943407

Not a great price, IMO. The car is bare to the bone... no bix, no parktronic, no distronic, no vent seats, no keyless go, no rear sunshade. I doubt it has dynamic seat & electric trunk closer.

The car you bid at eBay was only slightly more loaded (+ bi-xenon & rear sunshade).

Both don't appear to be CPO.

For $57K, I think you could get a loaded '05 and possibly a CPO. Just be patient.

As for eBay, did you meet the reserve price? If so, you could file a complaint to eBay. The seller should be obligated to sell it to highest bidder. Even though a seller can still cancel listings before 24 hours, it should not be ethical to do, IMO.

Good luck on the search!

Zoink is right. For reference, I bought an '05 (from a board member here), fully loaded, and 16k miles for not a lot more than that. I over paid a little compared to market, but it was the right color and great options and cpo transfered from the last owner. It was worth it.

You should be able to easily find an '05 for about $59K with full options and CPO with decent mileage.

And this comes from the mouth of ex-M5 owner... At least one M5 owner finally realized that E55 is worth the premium... j/k of course

haha Good point.

Thanks guys for the advice.

I found three more.

This 04 is $55K with 18K miles non certified but still under fact warranty:
http://www.luxurymotors.com/inventor...S-BENZ+E55+AMG

The other two are MB certified 05's under 10K miles $69k and $66K from MB dealers. I want to offer between 55K and 57K for either.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...e=&cardist=963

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...=&cardist=1537


I really like the first one but have not heard about luxurymotors before, they say their prices are fixed and are the largest auto retailer onthe net. I want to offer 49K for it.


All three have clean one owner carfax records.

Any Advice on whether I could possibly get the first one for $49K or whether the other two 05's I could get for under $57K. I am really bad at haggling.


Thanks in advance.

Search the forum... I think some members here don't have good experience w/ Luxury Motors....

1st one: '04, Not certified, no vent seat, no electric sunshade but parktronic

2nd one: '05, certified, vent seat, parktronic, not sure about electric sunshade

3rd one: '05, lowest miles, vent seat but no parktronic, no keyless go

So all in all, I'd prefer 2nd one as it's 05 (improved steering rack), most loaded among 3 and certified (2-3 additional years of warranty). IMO, if you get it below $60K, that's already good.

1st one is OK if you could get at $49K (if they don't budge, no brainer, I'd go w/ 2nd one). But the warranty should last < 1 year... and you could expect to shell another $3-4K for extended warranty that will not be as good as mfg. warranty.

So, taking this into consideration (assuming you could get the 1st one for $49K and 2nd one for $60K), you would pay around $7-8K more for newer (better steering rack), lower mileage, more loaded, better warranty.

Is it worth it? It's your call. For me, it is.

Thanks Zoink I knew you would give me some good advice. I would love to buy either 2 or 3 since they are 05's and Black which is the color I am looking for. But for the interior wood trim I prefer the lighter wood like #1.

I will keep looking if the 2 certified ones don't cut me a deal.

Can you tell me what the color Black Opal is on the below car, it kinda looks Navy Blue? I only thought the E55's come in Black and Obs. Black.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...eadExists=true

Black opal will show dark blue/purple color under the sun.

W211 E55 has a lot more color choices than W210 E55 (at least for US). One more "black" that I could think of is black "mocha". Just like mine... which turns to dark rich metallic brown under the sun.