mchang

Quick intro: lifetime car guy, long time internet + car guy . Last two interesting cars: (current) E39 M5, (sold) modified 2001 Audi S4. Common passengers: wife, 5 year old son, and welcoming new son in Sept of 2012.

Looking at an '04 E55, 78k miles: brilliant silver over charcoal, bi-xenon, heated/ventilated active seats, Command nav (I think this was standard on all cars). No other options from what I can tell. Have CarFax and am having a friend that works at another MB dealership pull as many records as possible.

Carfax PDF

Listed at $24,490 at an MB dealer. No CPO, single owner, bought and serviced regularly at the same dealership. I'm looking at these cars generally, and will pass on this one if necessary.

Seeking general advice:
* price seems on par with dealers right now. I'm going to assume some flexibility there, and was hoping to get closer to $20k-$21k. Thoughts? Happy to wait a bit.
* are there good options to look for that this car doesn't have? I couldn't find a good comprehensive list of '04 option packages. I know it doesn't have pano, but that doesn't really bother me.
* I forgot to look for rear sunshade -- is that an option or standard?
* What are winter tire+wheel combos running for everyone? Yes, it'll be pressed into all-season duty.
* Any weak spots or expensive repairs that I should investigate?
* replaced: rear brake pads (6/2012), fuel pump and tank (10/2006), rear shocks (36k)
* does this fuel tank repair fix all issues?
* looks like I should really investigate air suspension bits and front brake pads and rotors at the very least.

Any other thoughts? Thanks in advance for the info, everyone.

mchang

bumping for the weekday!

[180]

1) Price is reasonable for a dealer, but you can do better.
2) Some people will disagree with this but IMO less options is better, it's less stuff that can potentially break.
3) Rear sunshade was a $400 option when new.
4) I don't know anything about winter wheels but you can't go any less than 18" on these cars because the brakes are huge.
5) Two key issues with these cars is airmatic suspension and SBC braking system.
When your airmatic suspension fails you can either convert to coilovers (about $3K) or get rebuilt air shocks for $500/ea.
The SBC pump is covered by extended 10 year/unlimited mile warranty otherwise it's a pretty expensive part.
6) Fuel pump/sender unit is known as a weak design on these cars. If it's been replaced it's better but that doesn't mean you won't have to replace it again in the future.
7) Brake pads and rotors aren't that bad if you can DIY. Just changed my rear pads&rotors, about $200 in parts and a couple hours of my time.

It's obviously not going to be as cheap to maintain and run as your typical honda/toyota but then you're also getting almost 500HP under the hood, plus you'll be able to keep up with most sports cars, and you can drive your family around in it...

tcook2727

I bought a clean, no accident stock '05 from a dealer with 67k miles for $23.5k about a year ago. For an '04 with 78k miles, I wouldn't pay more than about $20k right now.

And I agree with 180, a low option car has less stuff to break. Mine is a very low option car - only has bi-xenons and a cd-changer. Nav wasn't standard - mine doesn't have it.

mchang

tcook and 180, thanks for your responses. They are greatly appreciated. I didn't know about the SBC stuff, so I'll check into that. Quick searches now tell me about the 10yr/100k and the pulsating feeling.

I noticed some pulsating on braking from the pedal, but I thought it was more due to the torrential thunderstorms we've been experiencing these past few days in the Boston area. Rust on the rotors, which is often a problem with dealership cars that don't move around much.

If I get more serious, I'll definitely have an independent PPI, and double check the front brakes and the SBC system.

Sounds like the E55 is a very solid beast. I've only really ever owned German sedans, and driving and maintaining an E39 M5 has kept me in the "care and feeding required" mindset. No Accords here.

tcook, thanks for the pricing transparency. I don't think I'll go in for more than $20k on an offer. If they reject, oh well. I've learned to not get emotional about these things.

outrun

I have an 04. No issues. Black with black. Going to sell it here in the next month or so. Pretty stripped down for options as well. This is the for sale doc I made last night in preparation to sell this car on the Internets.

I'm selling my 2004 E55. 100% Stock. 26,000 miles. Black with black leather interior. I doubt you'd find an E55 in better shape than this one. Everything works. No issues. 469hp/516 torkes. 0-60 in 4.2 seconds. Very fast. The traction control is amazing and will keep you (pending you don't drive like an idiot) from wrapping this fine piece of German engineering around a phone pole or tree.


This car is pretty “stripped” down for an E55. Even though it's stripped down, it's still way nicer with it's limited options than most cars. Here's what it doesn't have.


Navigation BFD
Telephone BFD
Pano Roof https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...pano-roof.html
Dynamic Seats https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...t-working.html
Automatic trunk close https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...er-broken.html
Keyless go http://eee.mbworld.org/forums/w211-a...-gone-bad.html
Distronic (cruise control for lazy people)
Tire Pressure Monitoring in dash https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...cs-inside.html


Basically it does not have what typically breaks on these cars. What it does contain, most importantly is the 5.4 Supercharged V8, Harmon Kardon Surround Sound Stereo, a full size spare, and no issues.


I've had my fun with this car. Owned it since May 2011 and put on about 6000 miles. Stored it in my heated garage over the winter. No rust, no damage. It's been the fastest, nicest, coolest looking car I have owned, but I want a convertible. I want an SL55.


Here's what kicks *** on this car.


Digital Speedometer.
Power seats with power headrests and 3 memory settings.
Exterior color, interior color and interior wood color.
The leather seats.
One touch up and down on all windows and one touch moon roof.
Front and rear parking sensors. (one of my favorite features)
Surround Sound Stereo.
“Dyno mode” for those with *****. Sneaky ECU reset. https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...set-works.html
8 Piston fronts and 4 piston rears with rotors as big as dinner plates.
Manual shifting via the shifter itself or you can shift manually on the steering wheel.
Even though it's an 04, it looks way better (in my opinion) than all comparable MB's that have come after it except the C63.


If you have never owned a Mercedes before, you may not realize just how great they are until you own one yourself. I had a Lexus GS400 before this and it was a great car, but does not even come close to this car as far as amenities. You only live once. Buy it and drive it stock or throw on a Eurocharged tune and pulley on it and melt the tires to your hearts content. It's hard to drive this car and not cackle to yourself like an insane person once you drop the hammer from a dig to 130mph. Even at 130mph it keeps pulling, so I'm told....


I raced a few cars in Mexico from 60 mph to 125 mph give or take. A Masseratti Gran Turismo. A C6 Vette. A Mercedes SLR. I destroyed all of these cars except the SLR.


Serious inquiries only. No joyrides. If you want to take this to get it checked out, go right ahead. I bought it from Sears Imports and had it thoroughly checked out before I pulled the trigger and bought it.


KBB is 28,000 and change.


Comes with the manual, and 2 keys.


27,000

mchang

outrun

Love the car. I would be all over this, but wife negotiations have limited my toy budget to around $20k. This would be a stretch that would cost me too many Wife Points (tm).

If you are flexible, PM me and let's get talking. I'll keep an eye out on it.

Weee55

Its gonna be really hard to find one at a dealership for 20-21K out the door. If you're lucky enough to talk that 04 down to 20 or 21, tax and registration is still going to put you over your budget. IMO, you're better off looking for a private seller.

mchang

Weee55: agreed. The search has just started. I'm patient, and will wait for the right car. No hurry, but they are out there!