mk3supraholic

So I posted my S2000 on craigslist to test some waters. I'm just kinda over the 2 Seater manual transmission. So I said I would consider trades. Iv been hit up with many offers ranging from trucks to motorcycles. I would never have even thought about buying one of these cars mostly because it never occurred to me.

But honestly its almost perfect for me.
I prefer a car that stands out a bit and is not a dime a dozen.
4 doors
luxury
sporty

so eventually someone offered up their 2004 e55 amg with 109k on it he says he has a 3" binder stacked full of maintenance records although he is the 3rd owner.

I do all my own work on my cars, I have never owned a German car but i have done simple oil changes on MB many of times from my previous work at a jiffylube.

When it comes to Japanese and american cars i can do anything. I have replaced the clutch in my car, in my garage, with just 2 jacks and 4 jack stands. it was a pain but i did it just fine. I have also rebuilt the head. What i am getting at is that I would be taking on most service myself unless it was something completely out of my hands.

growing up my dad had a 94 e series and he had that thing for well over 200k miles and I remember turning 15 and hoping he would give it to me but it finally blew the engine that summer

I have been googling around and a lot of posts of people with 130k ish miles seem to still be going strong. but am i getting myself into to big of a headache? is there stuff i should be looking out for when looking at it to trade?

need4spd

I have one with 120k and really no major issues, I prefer a car with miles and maitnance records than a car with lower miles and no records. Also look at the overall state of the car, if it's in good shape than somebody took care of it and it's a major thing with these cars. Do a search on here I guess 03 and 04 had a problem with radiator, all of them have a problem with gas tanks and SBC units (abs pump). If you worked on cars before, I don't think you'll have a problem, all of the issues I had so far were easy fixes

Worth the wait

Ten years old with 109K equals about 11K a year, hardly high mileage.
Good records = piece of mind. You can wrench....BUY IT!

Super469

I have an '04 with 109,000 miles. I bought it last year with 96,000. So far, I have replaced the fuel sending unit and the spark plugs. I successfully did both of these at home even though I have very little experience on working with cars. These forums and YouTube have a lot of great information.

I increased my confidence in purchasing the high milage car by taking it to the dealership for a pre-purchase inspection (PPI). They pointed out a few things to be addressed, but no deal breakers. Their (mostly) clean bill of health was helpful. Also, for a nine year old car, it had no dings or scratches and the interior was nearly perfect. That indicated it was well taken car of, even though I am the fourth owner.

turbo97se

Check through the history of the vehicle to see if there have bas been work done on the usual stuff for E55
1. Fuel sender/pumps
2. Airmatic suspension
3. Transmission seal recall
4. IC pump - not expensive but good to see how well the vehicle was maintained.
5. Engine/trans mounts - again not expensive but indicates if the car was well maintained

Search around on the forums for other things too .. these I think would be big ticket items and indication of how well the car was maintained.

I do nearly all my own work on my cars too. I have worked on Japanese (Nissan, Honda, Toyota/Lexus) and German (BMW,VW/Audi/Mercedes). While the car is complex, it is one of the easiest cars I have worked on so far. I haven't done emginework on this yet but other stuff is generally pretty straightforward. The only think I hate about Mercedes is their plastic ALWAYS breaks. Germans suck at moulding plastic … awesome cars but horrible plastic! Plastic tabs will break (almost guaranteed).

I used to big a big BMW person, but this car changed my view of Mercedes. I still like BMWs a lot but for luxury approaching Supercar performance, can't beat these.

Just drive it … as long as the IC problem has been fixed, I think you'll like it a lot

mk3supraholic

I assume IC is for Intercooler?

My biggest worry when it comes to German cars is always electrical. I have had friends with Audi's with less milage that have been a nightmare of electrical issues. As goes my girlfriends old jetta that we recently ditched.

there doesnt seem to be very many posts about electrical issues so that seems promising.

edit: Is there a way to check to see if all the moniters are up and running to make sure the ecu wasn't reset or a code wasnt cleared recently? does it have a standard obd2 plug or is it special?

ktwosteve2

My ownership of a 2005 E55 evolved in the same manner as yours may, after owning a number of 2 door sports cars and a long love affair with the 5 series(I owned just about every iteration made, finishing with an E39 M5). I came to the realization that it was time for the perfect blend of luxury, good looks and dominant straight line acceleration. You don't buy an E55 to carve the canyons, I bought it to make long highway drives in comfort and with the security of knowing it is one of the fastest 4 door sedans made.
It is now going on 5 years of ownership with nothing more than typical maintence expenses. I have started a gradual modding program and between the wealth of information available from this website and the solid aftermarket products now available the ownership of this car has been very enjoyable. I realize that at anytime a expensive repair may be needed but after 5 years I think I am ahead of the curve. I do not regret the purchase and every time I get on my favorite section of four lane highway this car pays me back with the awesome perfection of AMG engineering.

C3Duece

While I don't have a E55 I do own a C32. I can attest to opting for a higher mileage car with work history instead of a lower mile car with not much done to it. I purchased my 32 with less than 50K on it but with mostly original parts. Even though the car's only got 50K on it now the parts are 13yrs old which means they're starting to go bad (control arms, bushings, mounts). Adding lowering springs only added insult to injury by blowing out my 13yr old oem struts.

That being said once this stuff is replaced it'll ride like new. I do very little work myself (plugs/belts/plugs/oil) but have a friend who saves me roughly 50% on labor on big jobs and parts can be had online for 50% of what they cost from MB.

Typically these cars are pretty free from electrical gremlins and the common ones are all documented here with workarounds. It does have a standard obd2 plug on it but other than taking it to an Illinois vehicle emissions station I don't know of any way to determine if the codes have been recently cleared.

I wouldn't hesitate to take the trade if you do the reg maint yourself. You're gonna love the E55K.

black06c230

131k on mine and have only replaced the rear air susp and alternator. $600 for the rear and installed myself. Alt was $400 plus install.

mk3supraholic

Yes as much as i love the handling. I feel i have out grown it. I have a 99 lexus gs400 that is pretty sporty as well and i love it but its coming up to 200k i don't drive it much and my sister is moving down from new york and needs a car so ill be handing the keys to her. I feel like this car would be a similar experience although more powerful and better equipped

FASN8N

You never out grow handling, you will still miss it from time to time (I came from a SCed Z06 on coil overs…..)

The good thing is that you will still enjoy owing and driving a car like the E55 because it does just about everything pretty well.

ktwosteve2

After owning the E55 for a couple of years I have to confess that I was still thrilled by precise handling and powerful acceleration out of the corners so I rolled the clock back, way back, and went back to some two wheeled action. I cut my teeth on bikes, all kinds of bikes growing up. Now bikes that I could only dream of are more affordable and that's where I am getting my itch scratched. When I feel the need to satisfy my desire to make a run through the twisty's I jump on one of my 2 wheeled toys and put that itch to rest. It's amazing how nice the e55 feels after a couple of hours on two wheels.