ProV1

did you pull Mercedse VMI report yet?

Snoochy

No, I didn't pull the VMI yet. Can I do this online or only through a dealer. Should I just take it to my dealer, show them why I'm concerned and have them pull it?

gamjccdad

The one shot you posted said "Kombi is dead", Kombi is a name for Wagon in German. Might be a replacement unit. Unless Kombi means something else in this case.

Timeless

Yes, only a dealer can do this.

Snoochy

1. What's VMI stand for? Vehicle Maintenance I.....?

2. Am I better off getting it from my dealer or trying to get it from another so that mine doesn't censor anything?

Snoochy

ProV1

snooch

VMI = vehicle master inquiry

get it from the dealer. or a good MB indy shop should be able to get you one also. it records all vehicle service entries done at any MB dealer with mileage indicated. hope this helps!

sack5000

This may sound stupid but take a look at the driver's seat near the door where the driver exits the car. If the car has 80 or 90 ticks on it you will see definite wear at that point. This is a steady wear point that gets worse with some heavy driver going in and out of the car. If it looks bad then someone has dicked with the miles.

Also, look for other obvious wear points that a detail can't cover up. Look really close at the paint for excessive scratches in the clear coat and look for the door dings that they have touched up. The miles on the dash tell one story but the overall condition of the car will say 70-90 thousand based on a close inspection.

If you have trouble deciding, go to a body shop and have the owner look the car over for you. They are masters a dectecting the true condition and also estimating the miles. If the car shows 53,000 they will laugh if the true wear tells a different story.

ProV1

good thought, but a fatass driver could do the same damage to the side bolster in 50k miles easily

sack5000

Right, but the damage gets progressively worse.

Blacksport350

A couple of problems with this, the way I get in and out of my cars, I could do it for 100K on not put any wear on the bolster.

I have also seen 20K mile E55s with lightly frayed stitching and scratched bolster because the owners didn't know how to get in and out. So while I agree that this is a place to look, there are too many variables.

I would put the car up on a lift and start digging through the underside. This is where you should be able to figure out if you have a higher mile car by looking at bushing wear, etc. You can also look in the engine bay to see what you find there in terms of pulley wear, parts replaced, etc.

Blk04cobra1

Snoochy, I can help you with the VMI if you'll shoot me the last 7 of your VIN via PM...I'll be able to tell you when the last recorded miles were and such (not sure if im able to give you the whole VMI, but will let you know if something jumps out).

aeckman

Wouldn't that be like searching for a needle in a haystack? This car could have easily come from anywhere in the county and have been sold either by MB Financial or an independant...???

Chances are that these issues never show up on Carfax. I would bet that situations like this are normally done before the car hits the auction. Once the mileage is on any title in the US, it will be picked up by Carfax so even the chump dealers know better!

Hey, see if you can play DVDs in that puppy! Maybe it was replaced with a Europe model!

Snoochy

I live in Central PA and the dealer said it came from this area and Carfax shows it was registered locally. There's a very good chance it was traded in there. Since we're in a tertiary market, you have to travel to find a dealer and it would explain how (maybe) the car got there, especially if it was serviced there.

In the event the previous owner traded it in on another make/model, I did a 3 month search on Manheim Auto Auction (Manheim location), since that's where it would have gone through. Nothing close came up. I actually searched that prior to buying the car, to see what it went for.

I'll check to see if the Comand System plays DVD's, but I'm 99% sure when you turn it on there is a CD Audio logo that comes up on the screen.

Also, I checked the seat near the door to see if there was any wear and I swear, it looks brand new. I used to be in the car business and even though I'm not an E55 expert, I've owned several other Benz's and am pretty picky and went over the car with a fine-tooth comb. It's very clean.

The story from the dealer was that the client worked in DC and drove to work daily...about 300 miles. The data in the Nav seemed to confirm this as well. My hope/guess is that the owner took very good care of the car and wracked up a lot of highway miles. But basic math would tell you that traveling down there round trip, even just 35 weeks per year would put some serious miles on the car. Maybe he had a fleet or took a chopper, otherwise there should be about 150,000 miles on the car.

I still need to email BlkCobra1 the vin to see what he can find and will keep everyone posted.

JDM_SXE-10

Actually, there are people around here that tell me that they will do a Mercedes-Benz for $300.