itsjappo

Hello everyone. I have a great opportunity to buy my brother's 03 e55 amg silver with black Interior. It's stock and just reached 100k. Car was never beat on and always serviced at dealership when he had warranty (juat ran out). I gotta ask him what has been done on the car since his ownership but I do know he had the whole airbag suspension replaced a few years ago. Well he is willing to sell it to me for $10k, which I think is a steal so I'm highly considering it. What do you guys think? Thanks

berti_00

Do it.. Plus it's from your brother, you know the history

BimmerDawg

Yes, that. ^^^

Sir-Boost-a-Lot

iTrader: (1)

If you're on a budget don't buy that car. These things are awesome but not for the faint of wallet in regards to repairs.

Exotic-metal55

Do it and don`t worry about the repairs, we can all help you find creative ways to get deals on parts and repair. Does help, if you can turn a few wrenches though.

James M

You know it's history, the mileage is good, the air suspension is sorted and the price is a steal - go for it! I have an '03 and there is nothing wrong with it.

rockthemullet

Good answer

If you can wrench, it's not really that bad. There's not a ton of info out there but if you look hard enough, you can save a lot of money

Oh, and 10k with good history... you're golden

bstudey01

10K is a steal, I have an 03 with 81K miles highly modified and have had almost no issues with it at all. Again it was meticulously maintained by both previous owners with all service records. Mine is modded, but even stock I would not let it go for anywhere close to 10K, if that was all I could get I would just drive it forever. Go for it you will be very happy, find a good indy or do the work yourself to save on the maintenance costs

G_Money

Do it! That's a great deal, especially for a car you know so well.

itsjappo

I have no problem working on it as I do any normal routine maintenance all the way to engine swaps etc. He bought it in 08 with around 60k miles. It now has 115k. I thought it was just at 100k. Either way, since he got it, he always had warranty on it. I can remember him bringing the car to dealership atleast 2 or 3 times for something major. He drove it daily and never gave him issues. He wants to sell it since he just got a 911 turbo for himself. They have ml63 for their family car so he needs to sell something. Would rather keep it in family.

Anyway, my only concern was the out of warranty part but it seems parts and repair costs are not too bad now that there's a good amount of diy out there. I'm very excited. I'll talk to him more about it today and check the car and drive it. Seen it and been in it but never drove it lol.

unagi1

10k is great, just like these guys said have to find creative ways of avoiding "excessive" charges on parts and labor, whenever possible

Run-down of stuff purchase / changed by myself over past year, this on a car with 72k:

1) Keyless-GO handles
2) Pano-Roof Motor
3) ESP sensor (underneath passenger's side seat)
4) Stock cats (collapsed), swapped with Kleemann headers
5) S/C pulley bearing (soon)
6) Assorted interior parts (can't avoid some hit on these)

itsjappo

Ok I got to look at it in detail today and test drove it. Here are what I notice:

The car doesn't seem fast to me. At least on low end then it seems the have sc kick in and it's a very quiet and smooth pull with the speedo climbing up. Is that how it should be?

The auto tranny seem to be slightly jerky at times to where it's not violent but almost as quiet hesitation or stutter between shifts. Like it's confused on its shifting points.

Also sometimes at causing acceleration, there's a weird vibration hesitation. Almost like the sc is confused when to kick in or not.

The brake pedal feels heavy.

Are these things normal or what you guys think the causes are?

My bro had these replaced at dealership:

Air suspension replace in 3 corners
Pano roof
Abs system
100k inspection to see things and topped off fluids etc

And some maintenance like oil and plugs, brakes, pads, tires , belts are all new done by himself.

Ic pump still stock
Driver door lock gets twitchy at times but he has oem part in the trunk to install.
Pass rear manual shade clip is broken.
3 interior trim pcs has hairline cracked
About 6 inch scratch on driver side rear door and a small door ding at pass door.

Thanks for your input.

june82000

Likely that your IC pump is inop. Throw a scanner on it and drive around to see what the IAT temps are. Should be in the neighborhood of 25* above ambient. Bosch 010 is what I replaced mine with. $97 (1hr DIY) and a lifetime warranty from FCPeuro. Also, have him do you a favor and run by the dealership. They will print out the service history for the vin and will pull info from whatever MB service department it's been at. 10K is a family price so he's doing you right. He could get more elsewhere. If savvy with cars you should be fine. Let us know what you decide.

itsjappo

Got a link for the ic pump? I already looked into doing that first as soon as i get it. Will dealership charge to have a Vin history pull?

E55Freak

you should notice a power difference when the car hasn't been driven and is cold. see if you can drive it in the morning before its been warmed up..you should see a noticeable power difference if the IC is bad, still wouldn't hurt to replace it, but don't go flooring it. Get on it a little and you should feel the difference till it warms up and the bad pump can't keep it cool.

itsjappo

I plan on replacing it and doing other common issues/fixes as soon as I get it. Just working out the details with my broski. =) Things I plan on doing:

ic pump
sc pulley
upgrade h/e
tune

WHTEVO

I would do it.

BimmerDawg

regor60

Make sure you've selected S mode with the C/S button otherwise you're skipping first gear