Hello all. I'm new to the board. I've been eyeing a 04 e55 for a week or two. 66k miles. I love the car. It drives very nice and seems to be in excellent condition. no service records. dealer is reputable . My question is....am I crazy to own such a beast of a car without a warranty? What are typical annual costs associated with ownership? (beyond standard wear and tear). I'm hoping those with some real life experience can chime in. thanks in advance.

 

For me that would have been costly. My first year owning the car my alternator burned up my wiring harness causing the whole harness to be replaced as well as alternator. I think that would have cost me 5-7k if I didnt have a warranty. Other than that most dealership trips have cost me 500-700 dollars depending on the issue at hand (accessory belt gone bad, bad crank position sensor, supercharger clutch etc), however because I have a warranty it didnt cost me anything. I have owned the car for 3 years, the first was very expensive, other than that she's been running great ever since.

This is a 90k+ car. If owning one was cheap, everyone would have one. If you go without a warranty I would suggest you find a good mechanic, if you dont know one personally, find one off these boards.

 

this is not a cheap car to own w/out warranty. at first it wasnt so bad, now its something every other day.

 

I have my 06 for 3 years no warranty nothing went wrong. (knock on the wood) However, 04 might be different in term of reliability.

 

I have an 06 with 55 K on it and a CNA extended warranty I paid around $3,800 for. In the past two years, that extended warranty has paid for itself three times over.

I would not own one of these without a warranty. Or, any MB for that matter.

My car is in the shop as I type this for another $800 worth of work.

 

that you're gonna find it tough to get a reputable compnay to sell you a warranty....and if you do, boy it's gonna be spendy. I think that's one reason for so many of these cars coming for sale lately...All AMG cars are not cheap to fix, but be smart and find the right guy to help you, it's not so awful.

 

i have had my 04 for almost 7 years and i have been lucky as my car is rock solid - only things i have had to fix out of warranty is pano roof, keyless go button, rear sunshade- car is a champ - best thing to do is find a tech who works on the side - that is what i have done and that alone has save me thousands - no docs at all on the car? i am freak about the docs I have everything - i am sure most owners here are **** like that esp if an enthusiast is buying the car next and wants to know what was done/not done over the course of ownership.

good luck and an early welcome if you buy it - car still puts a grin on my face daily -

 

if you drive it hard all the little things that wouldnt normally break will. thats whats happening to me. i have beating the **** out of the car and no MAJOR issues but everything is breaking now.

 

What are you using the car for should be a heavy decider on a warranty....Example, I use my E55 on weekends and may put 3-4K per year on it....Are you planning to drive yours everyday? If it were to break, can you spin the wrenches? Do you have another car?

Me personally, no warranty...I can fix almost anything & the downtime wouldn't hurt me. If your buying it do drive 15k/year and obviously it's 8 years old...it's going to break occasionally, so the question is how you would deal w/ a repair...yourself/no big deal if it's off the road for a bit OR I can't get to work & I don't spin wrenches!

FWIW...my 08' GL550 has been in the shop once in 4 years, and my wife doesn't baby it

 

Firechaser said it well.

I'm in the same situation - bought an '04 two years ago with 70k and no warranty. It's stored half the year (winter) and also not my only vehicle. I used to own a hotrod shop, so I know my way around cars. Fixing things isn't a problem for me, it's the price of the parts that'll suck your wallet dry. So far I've replaced the heater control valve, an airmatic strut, and now the kompressor belt idler pulley. All in all, I would happily pay for some repairs in exchange for the joy of driving the car - nothing is ever the same after driving an E55.

My fiance' drives an '08 E350 4-matic and that car has been flawless.

Keep in mind that you're buying a car that was $90k new... although the car has depreciated, the parts prices have not. Buying an E55 seems no different to me than buying any other used high-end car without a warranty (think Porsche, etc) - it just doesn't look like it's as expensive.

If you can fix things yourself and can pay to play, pull the trigger!