Hey ,

Iam looking to buy one of these , its the best choice from all the Benz considering power and price for usedo ne right ?

 

Get ready to spend booku bucks on maintenance and regular service. Its not cheap to maintain.

 

It's the bang for your buck out there. If you plan on putting a lot of miles on it maintenance will cost you like max said. Their isn't 30 dollar oil changes and 20 buck brake pad changes in the driveway.

 

The ones that are still being responsibly owned are a good value. Most of the new owners purchase because they think it's a great way to get into a nice, quick car for cheap. Unfortunately, this often comes with neglect. I expect most E55s to be a purchasing nightmare in the next year or two... I've already watched it happen.

 

^^^^^^^ this,
Except I disagree on the next year or two, many are already buying cars that have been abused and realize only after they start modding. I have seen that in the last year

 

look for one who is an enthusiast like off this forum where I got mine and was super clean with ALL maint done for me, or look for one owned by a older gentlemen

 

These cars are meant to be driven and maintained. Garage queens seem to give new owners lots of maintenance issues when bought

 

I use mine as my daily and i'll say it hasn't let me down so for reliability it's awesome. As long as you do your maintenance. My typical commute is 45 miles one way so it's a great all around car.

 

Mine was well maintained and well documented. It was also modified...it was also a pain in the *** for the first year. Endless glitches and dollar bills flying out the window

best bang for you buck? best way to bang your wallet empty on the counter.

Buy it and find out

 

Only a problem if you can not repair your car by your self. I bought mine slightly under book and "fixed" stuff for the hell of it BEFORE there was a problem. I right away reseached all the main problems and than fixed them all. Trans conductor plate and connector,crank sensor and brake light sensor,coil over kit for no more worry's,did the rear subframe bushings and installed new over size bolts with steel plates on top, dual custom intercoolers and any other mods that my STAR would do.Also bought a spare SBC for the future and rebuilt the trans for the heel of it...Im a builder by trade so was nothing for me. Looped the fuel rail,pulled factory filter out and installed an inline set up with a fuel pressure gauge.So now I "kinda" drive worry free knowing the major problems have been taken care of and can beat it every day....I hope. I did this stuff with the cost being "part" of the purchase price so to speak.

 

Yupp

 

thank you for the advice ,
I can do alot of mechanics by my self , i have many good tools to do so and have done engine rebuild and more on my own car before .
this isthe car iam considering visiting and maybe buy it .
http://www.leboncoin.fr/voitures/880072015.htm?ca=20_s

but the thing the owner told me when he tried to get an oil change for the gearbox ,is that Benz dealer and some other no brand garage told him they wont change oil because it will leak .... and that it doesnt need oil change .

Should i next this one ?

 

They won't change the box oil cause it will leak?

Heck even in Australia where they try and get away with not servicing this stuff they do it and it is a full flush too.

Short of it, no it won't leak if they do it. That's some gross misinformation.

 

i called the seller today he was scared because i learned more in one evening of reading Mbworld than him having the car for 2 years


iam waiting for him to show me some oil change service , and then iam going to check the car for real

 

Compression test no matter how many service documents anyone has.

 

ok i have what needed to do that , do you have the value in mind for average compression ?
Also am i able to do it when i will check the car ? are the spark plug easy to reach ?

Should i request compression test to the seller instead , not sure .

 

You should be able to do it, just like any other car, the back plugs will be the hardest. Depending on the gauges it varies but nothing be below 150, more importantly you want every cylinder to be within 5-8% of each other, being conservative here. I think Mercedes says 12% of each other

 

ok thanks , and the air intake is not difficult to remove i guess ?
I remove all plug , and check one cylinder at a time .it would be a good time for plug change .

 

Stock intake comes off easily, also will give you a chance to see what the plugs look like and if he still has the stock ones in there

 

This has been one of the easier cars I have had to work on mechanically. Unfortunately, a number of items really need the MB Star diagnostic System like brakes and suspension - there are workarounds but I am not sure I would feel confident about the workarounds and the possible consequences.

Apart from fuel pump, S/C pump, suspension and transmission leak from the plug area which are common issues the only thing I am dreading that is going to be $$ is the SBC. Try to get info on that if you can from the dealer to see if that has been switched out before. I acquired another W211 (pre facelift) and that is one of the items I insisted be checked before I bought the car because it is a major safety item that is $$$. I still love driving my E55

 

Ok what i understand is that it would be good that the SBC got changed if it have over 10 years ?

 

also do you know this color phantom blue ? its a very dark blue , iam not sure that the right name .

The car iam looking to buy is from Germany .