iLLuZioNz

Ok well I have lurking here for weeks and have also wasted countless hours at work and not at work trying to make sure this is the sedan I wish to purchase.

I figure maybe ill let this double as an intro thread. My name is Josh and I got rid of my 2003 Heads/Cam Z06 dropped over iForged 19's staggered in late 2010 and made the mistake of buying a second GTO.

I know these are poor mans cars to you all but more and more here lately I have thought 'growing up' and going sedan will be much more practical. I have exhausted my brain battling things like 09ish M35's, Lexus GS, TL-S, ect and as a very long time car enthusiast they leave a lot to be desired. I am really looking for something to leave mostly stock (wheels, STAR, tune, exhaust, maybe) but with enough ***** to feed my inner enthusiast and arrived at the 05-06 E55.

I would prefer an 05+ for the various updates over the 04 and sorry guys not meaning to insult but with my luck i'd end up with a terrible 03, can they be warrantied that old with as good of terms? I have always gone by the moto buy the newest and best condition you can afford. These cars do seem to be a great at face value. I do plan on buying a very comprehensive 3rd party warranty for the vehicle so that there are not any surprises. I had been planning on overpaying a little at carmax and getting their CNA 3rd party warranty for piece of mind but I am thinking that maybe there are much better options out there for equally as comprehensive warranties.

This car would not be DD but would serve to commute to and from work maybe 2x a week and out on nice days with the wifey on the weekend. We do have other cars for when this one is in the shop for warranty work IM READY FOR THIS LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP.

Unless its from Carmax I plan on getting the vehicle inspected prior to purchase and thanks to all of the useful information here know some things to look out for. I figure if I buy one with <30k miles or so with a detailed service & maintenance history hopefully I will be fine. With some reserve cash and a seperate "My E55 is fed a strong diet of tires every 6 months" fund and such a warranty I wonder how/if I could go wrong.

In conclusion can anyone recommend a good 3rd party warranty? and please forgive my ignorance as I have never been big on them; can I buy a car private party and still get a good coverage warranty after the fact or pricewise would you be better off going to a dealer with a fair asking price, paying that price and soaking up the longest term warranty the throw at you (provided a reputable one Fidelity, CPO). Basically who covers these damned things anymore and who covers them well? I have noticed a lot of fluctuation in the market between various warranty companies from many people on the site.

Thanks again and I look forward to a long stay here and hopefully get to meet up with some of the local guys at some point for pics.



Josh

DVC

Welcome Josh.

Local here but don't have a warranty or any info on such. Bought an '06 not too long ago after an exhaustive search. You have the right idea, but I personally wasn't too impressed with the Carmax examples I looked at it.

Your pics are SIC! When you find your E55 we should have an ATL get together with you shooting.

JlredMB

Hey you sound like me...well sort of I am a LONG TIME Z06 Driver...love the dang Vettes...but you know what...I too "grewup" and had to have a ***** to the Wall sedan...guess what I bought after researchinhg the wisdom off this site...hehe...06 E55. I love it...so much better seats and comfort that ANY OF MY OTHER RIDES, and I have had a lot...I love this dang thruster

I also researched the crap out of a warranty, and decided against it (your decision should be your own though). For me...I decided to put the cash into a fluid change, tune, filters, belts, etc...AND because I have a good indy, and banked 4k for the emergency, that I hope will never come! Oh, i also bought some SL65 "titanium" 19 wheels too!

Based on what I have learned/heard here, the 06 is a good year to buy (last of the E55), so that is what I did; late model 06.

Pull the dang trigger...this car is a beautiful ride, that is a blast to drive with the right foot!

iLLuZioNz

Anything in particular that turned you off at the Carmax vehicles? Run ragged? And for sure I see a lot of the AMG peeps at Caffeine and Octane all the time but usually they turn their nose up at us Vette guys so I have never approached anyone for a private shoot. I am definitely down. Thanks

Nice to see another vette guy on the boards who hasnt been run-off to the hills by the village with pitchforks in hand I am finding it seems that it is harder and harder to get one of these covered. I am just worried about purchasing one without because seriously with my luck i'd end up with a lemon and just be out a bunch of cash and have to part ways. Not something I really want to do. As a die hard enthusiast, sure I would love to spend the cash on upgrades instead, but as a first time MB customer I would rather have that piece of mind (if at all possible with the various warranty companies these days) and work on paying it off quickly to remove the debt obligation. Then I can get bit by the mod bug.

I wonder if anyone in the area can recommend a good indy shop for us MB newbs? Still looking for good recommendations on 3rd parties or ext. warranties in general. Is there a certain way they structure these; like they wont cover a car X amount of years old or with more than X amount of miles, ect?

Thanks again for the warm welcome guys,
Josh

Nanky

Welcome aboard! A warranty is definitely a sensible approach if you are like me and cannot work on the car yourself. These cars are awesome to drive and can be expensive to maintain. A major repair can cost big $$$$$. I have Fidelity. They are great to work with and reputable.

There are quite a few warranty threads on this forum that provide information on other impressive providers. Do your research. I am not sure how much coverage will be for a late model E55 yet, would be more than happy to provide you with information on where I bought mine so you can get a quote. PM me if interested.

Keep us posted. Good luck!!

chawkins2001

Welcome Josh, cant wait to get that shoot setup mang. Let me know when you are ready for a ride in the beast, anytime my brotha. I think I sent you my number on MCE

iLLuZioNz

Nanky, thanks for the info and yes I think I just need to find one that very well maintained. I have worked on all my other cars too but the MB i'd imagine is much more complicated. What do you mean you do not know how much coverage will be for a late model e55 yet? I was under the impression it was going to be hard to get a warranty bc they are an 'older' car and many warranty places have caught on to the AMG expenses. PM'ing you now

Craig thanks a million bud! Ill PM you over there so we can set the photoshoot up, im stoked. Thanks for all of you assistance on the hunt too.

Josh

FASN8N

Welcome, you had a yellow Z06 right? I remember you from the corvette boards (I had a speedway white Procharged C5Z)

iLLuZioNz

^ I sure did crazy small world how are you liking your wagon. that thing sure is sexy. What are your thoughts overall, i'd be curious to know? The vette is in louisiana somewhere now and the wheels are probably trashed lol... shame shame.

FASN8N

The E55 does not corner as well as the Z06 on coilovers, but it does just about everything else better. Fit and finish is leaps and bounds above the Z06, the wagon has tons of room, and it is nice to drive an unsuspecting sleeper that runs low to mid 12's stock (like the Z06). Mods and service are more expensive, but that is to be expected on any high end European car.

So when is the Atlanta photoshoot?

iLLuZioNz

**** whenever your ready bud. We will definitely do some group shots but I prefer to do full shoots of cars one on one. I prefer shooting near sunrise or sunset and usually you have about 2hrs worth of good light for pics and it isnt feasible to shoot more than one car in that amount of time especially if we are doing rigshots like the one I posted above.

Thanks for chiming in, that is exactly what I wanted to hear. PM your number, you too DVC.

Josh

chawkins2001

I got Josh's number Bart, he is on MCE too. Josh when shooting, are there models involved

iLLuZioNz

HA! sure thang if you have anyone in mind. The photographer never minds a model

DVC

I would never turn my nose up to your stable! I have a Porsche 944 with a GTO LS2 swap...would that be PorVette?

The Carmax E55s I looked at where wholesale cars that hadn't been cared for very well. I would still look though as I'm sure you could find a suitable candidate.

chawkins2001

I would love to get my wife to pose with my car, she is smoking hot. She is not into that kind of thing so I will have to work on her.

When were you thinking of shooting?

iLLuZioNz

HA word well i'd try and convince Ashley but we keep those on the external HD Go read the multimedia section on MCE to see what recently happened with me. Give me a few weeks and im so down, gotta scout some bomb locations. MB's belong in front of a ballin'ly large house. I know there is some money here in ATL so lets make that type of shoot happen.

I feel really dumb for posting this thread. In fact I have sent myself 4 flaming PM's requesting that I should cut off my thumb for posting a warranty thread. Atleast it was a psuedo-introduction thread as well. That counts for something right? I am so stoked you guys have no idea and to have buddied up with a good set of local dudes without even meeting any of them yet is quite different from your typical yellow bullet welcomes. I can already tell BIP is going to get me in a lot of trouble with the wifey too.

Ok so keep your eyes and ears open for an 05 with some options, pano isnt a must, keyless go do-not-want, power trunk do-not-want lighting would most def be nice and im looking for ~30-35k miles

and ill need that ride asap so I can convince my wallet to seriously start the hunt.

F1Bobby

Welcome Josh and you ain't the only one looking for an 06/E55... Good luck!

iLLuZioNz

a 944 with an LS2 huh DVC, how's the weight distribution on that thing? Poorvette lol I like it

And thats kind of what I figured with the Carmax cars. Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks as well for the warm welcomes Bobby, you better watch it; im on the hunt Going for my first ride in one tomorrow that makes over 500. Then it's time to ride in Craigs, im gonna be so dissapointed when I get my stock one haha!

pullejo

Holler at me for the ATL photoshoot boys.... New E63 front end is in paint and just waiting on a few OEM parts before it goes on...

Bring another E55 to Atlanta!

pullejo

Oh...and I could line up a bunch of models no prob. If we want to go that route. ;-) You guys would chuckle at the "dance pole" my girlfriend had me install in the basement over the holidays....

iLLuZioNz

Pullejo you must be doing something right definitely guys! I can't wait to meet you all. When I get my e55 some beers are in order.

F1Bobby

Check with Dino! He had a 2004 (as I recall) that only had 28k miles on it.

iLLuZioNz

ya ive been talking with him. Im really holding out for an 05-06 I think though.

pullejo

We're in the '06 crew here...but the '05 had some goodies I wish we did - like the lights that shine down off of the mirrors. What the crap? That was nice...why'd they get rid of that?

Hold out and you'll be happy. Took me over a year.

pullejo

Oh - and we've got two pibbles in the house as well. :-)



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