Meeyatch1

As the title states, I have stumbled across a 2003 E55, black / black, with only 30k miles that has been sitting at a local dealership for over 2 years inside their showroom. The car was bought back from the original owner at 7,500 miles because of suspension related issues, then sold to a second owner who drove it to approximately 30,000 miles with the only notable issues from 7,500 miles - 30,000 miles being a motor mount replacement, a catalytic converter replacement, and some A/C related issue. Other than that, just normal stuff it looks like.

We are replacing my wife's car and have it narrowed down to a couple of E55s, this being one of them. My only concern is that the buyback may kill the value should I decide to sell it in a year or two. The car has the Active / Dynamic seats, heated / cooled seats, and the height / stiffness adjustable suspension as its only real options. I was in at the dealership Friday and came within a hair of walking out of there with the car because they dropped their price so much.

So what would you think this would be worth, and how do you think the buyback history should impact the purchase price, or re-sale?

Thank you. I appreciate your input.

AZIPOD

Hello fellow NSXer!

Are you sure those are the only things that were wrong with the car? There could be a lot more that both your dealership and you may not know about.

Prior to purchasing my E55, I had a BMW which I loved but it had problems left and right. In the end, BMW took it back as a lemon. I had a copy of their paperwork and they only branded it a lemon because of repeated problems with the "TCU." I can tell you that it wasn't just the TCU, it was A LOT more.

After that was all done and good, I ran into someone online that had access to all the BMW history records. I gave him the VIN and he pulled up all the service data including the lemon data.

Sure enough, it only listed TCU as the problem. As the former owner of that car, I assure you that the TCU was just one problem, there was an entire laundry list.

My point is, pass on the car unless they will throw in a warranty. Even then, make sure the warranty is Genuine Mercedes and is going to offer you lemon-law buyback rights if the car still has repeated problems (Any 3rd party warranty will not).

Wryfox

Agree with AZI. There is way more than what is being said. I bought my '04 and the carfax said only a couple minor "outside services" and looked clean. I got the service history from my new friend at MB (friends because we have met so much over the past year...35 total days in the shop and counting) and it was pages long, and doesn't tell the whole story by any stretch.

That being said I love the car despite its faults, and I got it for $15k under book. That allowed me to pay for an ext 3k bumper to bumper for $1800, which has paid back several times over in past year.

So, If you can live with the fact there are things you don't know that you should, and that you MUST obtain a full extended warranty (if the car can qualify), then fine...you know what you're getting into and the $$ are where they should be for that risk. As a car for your wife you might think a bit harder as she will be the one experiencing further issues on a car you bought her.

tscales

You don't mention price, but there are so many nice E55s available for a steal, I'd run away from this one. Widen your search -- buying and driving home is fun!

prodigymb

stay away

CWW

I would never buy a Lemon Lawed car.

It's obviously been a total disaster for the previous owner, so why do you think it's going to be any different for you? And even if you get a warranty, you still may as well just buy a C300 because that's what you'll be driving most of the time (loaner car) while it is in the shop constantly.

Too many nice cars on the market right now to settle for a lemon buyback. And I don't believe that all that was ever wrong with it was some undescribed and minor-sounding "suspension issue", a motor mount, and a cat. That's BS. Nobody would ever lemon a car over that. I think someone is not giving you the whole story.

teddybruckshot

look the other way!!!

Meeyatch1

Thanks for the feedback so far guys, I appreciate it. I think the only reason I even still have the car in the running is because it is a 30k mile car that I can get for around $25k - $26k. The VMI and the other printed out service history for the car are where I found the documented history for the car. I guess being a trusting person by nature, I did not think about the fact that there were probably several other issues that may have contributed to the buyback. Back when I was in school I just remember that the Acura dealer that I worked for had their factory rep buy back a couple of cars from people that were really good customers for issues like the one that was described, where there genuinely was just one part of the car that kept screwing up.

Is there a number where you all think it would be worth the gamble, or is this just a case where no number is the right number? Thanks again. I appreciate all of your comments and assistance.

Meeyatch1

Hey there!! Another NSXer. Awesome.

I too come from BMW and Porsche as my German car history, and still have an M3 and 740iL in the garage, so I know how German cars can be a pain (how the Germans got a reputation for engineering, but make cars with such random issues, I will never know). My first M3 was a nightmare, and spent so much time in the shop that I drove every single car in their loaner fleet. Seriously.

How has your E55 been holding up? Once we find one it will be used quite a bit for trips to Canada and back, so I need it to be dependable.

Meeyatch1

I have a nationwide search criteria. Seriously. There is a running joke in my family that I never buy Indiana cars. My last (2) M3s were both from Texas and I drove them home. My current NSX was from Illinois, and driven home. My S2000 was from Illinois, and driven home. I even bought a Land Rover Defender 90 from Florida, and drove it home. So I am not afraid of the drive, I just need to find the right car.

I apologize for not mentioning price. The price is around $25k - $26k, and for that the only cars are higher mileage (75k +), as opposed to this one with only 30k miles. I am okay with spending more money, but figured this was worth consideration simply because of the much, much, lower mileage.

Benz-O-Rama

I have more than a little experience with a W211 buyback car. As some know and some don't my 2004 E500 was a buyback **GASP**!

I bought it in 2005 with 29K miles on it. It was a buy back for "transmission concerns". I was very very skeptical about purchasing it, but like you, was enticed by the price. I did my research and realized that this was the first year for the 7G tranny and was giving everyone shift quality problems. I made a leap of faith and pulled the trigger.

When the car was shipped to me, I noticed that it had a slightly rough 2-1 downshift, which was right in line with what every one on the forums were reporting. 1 month after I purchased it, MBUSA came out with the software update and valve body replacement procedure to cure this.

I now sit at 88,000 miles without any other major problems. I've gotten all of the various tranny updates that came out and it's always been fine.

So, there are definitely buyback gems out there, and it appears that I got one of them. You'll definitely be hurt at resale time, but you're getting it much cheaper, so that's a moot point. And for the price you're paying, you might as well keep it until it dies.

All of that said, I wouldn't buy it. Not because of it's history, but for the simple fact that there are sooooooooooo many E55's for sale right now at crazy prices.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

BENZITCH

Get the previous owners name and do some talking to him. Find out y he got rid of it, since he bought it knowing it was a buy back.

HOME WORK!

Wryfox

'03 for 26k is a bit steep these days...for a lemon its flat out of whack. 20k-22k with ext warranty is what I would work to.

Meeyatch1

I would love nothing more in this case to be able to speak with the previous owner, but I have no way to get their name, much less their contact information. If there is another way to find it (outside of the dealership), please let me know.

AZIPOD

Do you know someone at the DMV? Or someone at a MB dealership with access to service records?

If you are very serious, you can always hire a PI and give him the VIN. The PI will have access to various databases where he can retrieve the info for you.

rluvsbenz

How does one know these cars are buy back? Did your dealer disclose this condition?

Forrest Gump 9

If the dealer can make it a CPO car then yes, but without CPO, it's not worth it. Plus, this being your wife car, you might want to really put some thought on it. Good luck. You'll be happy with a right E55. I still smile like an idiot everytime I drive mine.