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A few weeks ago I saw an eBay ad for an E55 AMG that had been in a front end accident. The starting price was $3000. The car was fine front the front wheels back. The accident had damaged the engine quite a bit though and broken the front windscreen and deployed the air bags. The car is a statutory right off here and cannot legally be fixed and registered even if the damage wasn't that bad.
I went to inspect it. The guy who was selling it is a great guy, really friendly and polite and genuine. I purchased the whole car from his for $4000.
I wrecked the car, all by myself, in ONE day down to the bare chassis. Literally. I mean there isn't even a bolt left on the scrap metal, or a hinge or anything that can be unbolted.
Now I have all the stuff, from the inside and out of the car. I'm trying to sell it and make some good money. I was gonna do a project and throw it into a W211 but the E55 isn't that expensive anymore, even here and I don't have the time. Plus I'll never be able to sell it as an E55 anyway and I'm frankly bored of and over the W211, too much love/hate for me.
What do you guys think, is this a good deal? (It's more like $3000 if you convert AUD to USD)
What I have:
Brakes, front and rear calipers and near new discs.
Differential
e55 gearbox
e55 supercharger (pretty sure it's fine but have to test)
e55 engine (broken head cover and right head, crank wont turn over, likely seized)
e55 exhaust with resonator delete, left primary cat is dented from the accident
e55 amg oem wheels, finish is not great but can be painted
trunk trim and carpeting
Entire rear cross member
Front and Rear airmatic shocks
FACELIFTED wing mirrors
FACELIFTED taillights
FACELIFTED trunk
Doors, all 4 immaculate
Two Tone Merlot interior, front and rear as well as door cards
center vent, center console, gearshift lever and surround, wood trim
COMAND NTG1, cd changer and trunk navigation system
E55 AMG instrument cluster (already sold it for $700)
alcantara b pillars, a pillars, c pillars, roof
full carpets
sunroof frame, glass and motor
ECU, TCU, key, ignition, immobiliser, ESP and other electronics
rear amg bumper and side skirts(not sure if OEM but 90% it should be)
rear bumper support beam
assortment of switches
side airbags
and alot more little stuff and some i cant remember
If you can sit on parts for 6 months - 2 years I'm sure you'll double or triple your investment. Don't forget the labor and yes even though it's "free" because you did it yourself should still be considered as part of the investment.
I think they're Designo, not 100% sure. Some say the merlot two tone is Designo, some say it was just a rare factory option. There's also a blue 2 tone but I think that's ugly. The merlot is nice though. The pics don't do it justice. It's darker in real life.
Originally Posted by SL55_Forever
If you can sit on parts for 6 months - 2 years I'm sure you'll double or triple your investment. Don't forget the labor and yes even though it's "free" because you did it yourself should still be considered as part of the investment.
Not really, these parts are RARE here. There is literally no other E55 wrecking in the COUNTRY If you want to get the brakes at the wreckers they usually charge 3-4k here no joke. A supercharger is about 4k. Gearbox is about 4k. I sold the cluster for $700 so that should give you an idea of how much demand there is for these parts here and how little there are and how EXPENSIVE they are.
My problem right now is eBay. The ****tards suspended my sellers account because of "suspicious activity" which was me advertising these parts. I'm getting that sorted now but without eBay ads they won't be sold in 1000 years LOL. God I hate selling on eBay. At least it's free though. Making an ad is free and there is no sale commission because people just call and pick up.
I think 20k is fairly realistic if all the big parts sell. They're taking alot of space right now though.
By the way it literally took me a day to dismantle. I was shocked how fast a car can be stripped. It took around 11 hours and I had to pull the engine which was a little "stuck" by myself which was not fun....and very heavy. I guess it helped that I've dismantled a W211 interior before and know how to do it properly now. I didn't break and damage a single interior piece. Alot of people say the roof is the hardest but the roof is the EASIEST.
I was shocked at how HEAVY everything is. The brakes, disc and calipers are EXTREMELY heavy. How on earth does the engine spin them The hood which is supposed to be light aluminum is very heavy and so is the trunk. The sunroof, JESUS CHRIST!!!! The sunroof is a boat anchor. The frame and the glass are like 70 pounds!!
Seats are unusual....the colored stitching and the deep red color looks as if it was custom. Also the door cars seem brighter than merlot.
Gorgeous set up. I think you got a great deal.
Seats are unusual....the colored stitching and the deep red color looks as if it was custom. Also the door cars seem brighter than merlot.
Gorgeous set up. I think you got a great deal.
Correct, those seats for sale are custom or re-upholstered.
You can tell due to these facts:
1. Leather panel lines are crooked
2. AMG logo is possibly crooked.
3. Texture of center leather is not typical Mercedes-Benz Nubuck. Australia-based E55s did get Nubuck leather.
4. The perforations in the colored portion of the leather are round in this example. They're supposed to be square in shape, larger in size, and have greater distance between one another.
5. Airbag warning label appears to be a soft cloth tag, this method to show the airbag's presence was not used by Mercedes-Benz in any market during the years the E55 was produced.
Correct, those seats for sale are custom or re-upholstered.
You can tell due to these facts:
1. Leather panel lines are crooked
2. AMG logo is possibly crooked.
3. Texture of center leather is not typical Mercedes-Benz Nubuck. Australia-based E55s did get Nubuck leather.
4. The perforations in the colored portion of the leather are round in this example. They're supposed to be square in shape, larger in size, and have greater distance between one another.
5. Airbag warning label appears to be a soft cloth tag, this method to show the airbag's presence was not used by Mercedes-Benz in any market during the years the E55 was produced.
Maybe you're right. They are ALOT darker in real life though. My silly camera keeps making things look lighter I need to adjust the settings. AMG logo is not crooked though. Neither are the leather panels really but the one to the left does seem closer than the one to the right in the picture but I went and looked and it doesn't seem like that. Maybe it's an angle thing. I'll take different pictures later with a different camera and I'll also measure the panels and their position.
You may be right though, maybe someone got them custom made. You're right about the perforation, it's round.
03-18-2015, 11:03 AM
If you want to get the brakes at the wreckers they usually charge 3-4k here no joke. A supercharger is about 4k. Gearbox is about 4k. I sold the cluster for $700 so that should give you an idea of how much demand there is for these parts here and how little there are and how EXPENSIVE they are.
