Bully Medic

I traded my E55 last month, due to several issues that were going on with it. It sold at auction, and is now at Suburban Auto in Miami:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Benz-E-Class-E55-AMG-2005-MERCEDES-BENZ-E55-AMG-SUPERCHARGED-469-HP-NAV-PANO-KEYLESS-GO-/201036214908?forcerrptr=true&hash=item2eceb1327c&item=201036214908&pt=US_Cars_Trucks
Dealer is not truthful, as they state tires are brand new. These tires have over 12K miles on them...I bought them! They are not new.... check the tread on the inside of the rear tires...they have about 5k left...and these aren;t cheap!! That makes me not trust them.

Issues on the car: oil leak @ engine, pano roof motor needs replaced, passenger and driver dynamic seat inoperable, NO side/lumbar etc adjustment on passenger side, intermittent fuel tank issues, goes thru belts every 3K miles, exterior trunk release inoperable, engine missing when cold, rear diff grinds when accelerating on tight turns, transmission has gone into limp mode 3 times in 8 months, rear air suspension bottoms out after 2-3 days sitting, cooled seats are useless. Also needs new pads/rotors all around within 3k miles. Car has been raced....ALOT.

That being said. I had aa warranty on the car...$0 deductible. After so many services (not always at an MB dealer like claimed), I worried about the durability/longevity of her....so I traded her. The dealer who bought her took her to auction because: "We would have spent 1/2 of what we bought it for, in service at MB...there were a lot of issues with the car".

Knowing my trade in amount, and what it is listed for....I know the dealer hasn't done maintenance on it. The last quote to my warranty company to fix all covered items was $5-7K.

kustom2k1

It is not or is now at Suburban Auto in Miami? Thats a great color.

Bully Medic

According to Ebay it is at suburban auto Miami. I traded it in Austin, Tx and it was sent to auction,=because the dealer couldn;t make a profit if they put the $ into the services needed. Exterior...she is near perfect. Washed and waxed every weekend, and garage kept.

EDIT: I see what you meant...misspelling in original post. Fixed it. Car is NOW (not...not) at Suburban.

mercedes4ever

Caveat Emptor..."let the buyer beware."

Rallyboy383

Damn! This makes me very leary of purchasing one of these cars. Did you try to fix any of those issues?

Bully Medic

Yes, but the closes MB dealer is 50 miles away. By the time I got there, diff and were warmed up...so I got "could not replicate". With the suspension, I left it there for 1 week and got "could not replicate".....found out it was being driven daily. MB would not replace only the motor...had to replace whole assembly (warranty only covered motor). Belts replaced several times, and all pulleys checked out fine...belts still start to squeal after couple thousand miles (embarrassing in cold weather). Changed plugs, diff, and tranny fluid as recommended by dealer.....to no avail. Fuel smell came and went...always got better after a dealer visit....but they never found a leak.

The biggest killer was that the A/C and heat was not reliable. Every couple of days, it would only blow cold air...regardless of setting. Again, every time I took it it (even to the local mechanic)...""could not replicate". The only thing I never checked out was the trunk leak....because I always forgot about it unless I had to get in the trunk after a rain (rarely).

I spent $5K on a warranty, and got my moneys worth. I decided I need a car I can put on the road from Tx to Oh 4 times a year, and know I won;t have issues.

GregMB

Sounds like you are learning, grasshopper!

Decoding the ownership history, service history, etc will give you clues to the puzzle.... Huge gaps in the service history without any receipts are a dead giveaway, and IMHO once an E55 ends up at a typical "used car lot" you can be sure that it's not a clean, well-maintained example. Good cars don't end up in places like that..... Abused and neglected cars do.

Keep in mind, a car that is "100% stock" could have been heavily modified it's whole life, only to have the go-fast stuff removed just before it was put up for sale.... Don't trust anyone, verify everything yourself.

One final thing, and again this is my own opinion.... But the more a car is passed from owner to owner, the more it is likely to have been "messed up" along the way by the owner or shops that didn't really know what they are doing. Electrical splices, misrouted hoses, incorrectly torqued bolts, etc. An independent PPI can hopefully identify obvious screw ups, but often times you need to "read between the lines" by studying the service history and talking with the owner.... If things seem shady, it's probably best to walk away from the deal.

-G

sunil517

Sales said the car is a 9.5...no outstanding issues... lol...
Someone in the area should make a deal. If the car is not what they claim then ???? see what they say..

E55Dimon

Poor buyer. Thats a great price on a beautiful E until they get F'kd!
Unbelievable.

moosejaw

Its miami why would anybody be surprised.
No wonder tourists get f*cked when they come down here.

3BNick

My 55 came from Miami to Houston. Seller told me over the phone it was in "excellent condition, every thing works, no warning lights, no noises"....


My car came to me with a check engine light on, bad oil pump causing lots of valve train noise, pano roof motor was shot, one tire was slick and shredding, MOST cables in the trunk were hacked up causing no nav or clock function, rear speaker wiring was dicked with....This was sold through manheim as an "as-is" sale. That should have been my first clue. The seller refused to return calls/emails/texts after the car left his hands.

I fixed it all my self and the most expensive thing I needed was a $300 oil pump. It's been flawless since so I guess I'm lucky.

turbo97se

It's a good looking car. I like the colour actually and it is well equipped. Someone should be able to report this to Ebay or something.

Lesson here is don't buy a car sight unseen.

moosejaw

Color is black opal
Its looks very cool under warehouse lights or under city street lights
In daytime its kind of ho-hum. At least its not desert silver

Ken311

Did you discover the diagnosis for the engine missing when cold problem? I have that exact issue...goes away when warm and would love to know the cause. It's been frustrating the hell out of me

E55Freak

yes, the main thing with some of these cars are people are dumping them due to issues as described. The amount it would take to fix is better spent buying a newer car/trade or they can't afford it. As long as you get a PPI done by a reputable shop you should be ok. As people mentioned to you in your other thread be prepared to pay for maintenance/repairs if you don't want to work on it yourself.