Which E55 should I purchase?
 

I need some advice on my purchase of an E55.

Car 1. I have a good friend's Mom who bought her 04 E55 new and has every service record from day 1 from the dealer. I has some options but not a lot. My only concern is it has 151,000 miles on the clock. Is the mileage a deal breaker? It had belts and idler pulley done a month ago. Trans service at 144k. brake flush,motor mounts, and tires at 137K. Brakes at 128K. plugs at 105K, F/R struts at 95K

Car 2. Is a 04 E55 with a 106,000 on it and it was serviced at it's original dealership up until 3 years ago. The person who owns the car says it has had the electronic suspension replaced , engine mounts, both fuel senders, headlamp ballasts/bulbs, updated intercooler pump, supercharger bearing, various pulleys and belts all with in the last 2 years.

There is a 2500 dollar difference between both cars. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks Mark

Car 2 , thing is i would by a 05 instead and maybe get a lower milleage one to get a warranty !!

I would consider option 1 first. Being a one-owner car that appears to be regularly maintained is a good find. Do you know much about the second car like who owned it before and how it was driven? Mileage is getting up there for both and I would still opt to get both fully inspected by a competent shop/dealer first. After that checks out it probably depends on exterior condition and which color and options you prefer. Good Luck.

Car 1 was just at MB for belt and idler pulley. It was fully looked over and had no issues at all. The one issue with the car is the rear A/C blows cold then gets hot. front blows ice cold. I'm sure it's a blend door or something simple. Car 1 is black opal metallic and car 2 is bright silver.

Both sound like well maintained examples, I'd go with the car that has lower miles.

If you plan on keeping the car for the rest of your life pick the color you prefer best. If you anticipate selling it or trading it in the next few years that get the lower mileage. Don't forget to check for accidents, sounds funny the silver car has both front headlights replaced.

I would pick #2 with lower mileage.

Had my friend at MB run the vin today to see what has been done as far as maintenance and it has been in to the dealer every 12 to 14K miles and not for service. electrical issue, batteries. Owner says he does all his own work. I'd feel better if there were records of it being serviced. I know the family as well as car #1 so even though it has higher miles I know all of the service has been on time and up to date since day 1. I am probably going to buy that one and I like the black opal color as silver is a dime a dozen color. Thanks for all the input!

I wouldn't do neither unless super cheap. I would only do 05-06

dchl121 what is super cheap and why an 05-06?

Unless your friend's mom is Shirley Muldowney I'd pick number one, good history trumps miles. You should expect plenty of maintence costs despite the dealer service however. Do some reading here and you will discover how complicated these cars are, and they're oldish now. So....gotta love it or you'll hate it.

Well shes not shirley Muldowney but she owned car #1 since new. LOL. Yes I will be expecting plenty of maintenance on the car. My friend has worked for MB for awhile and he has given me a lot of information on how complicated these cars are. The E55 is a car I have wanted for a long time. Iv'e loved them since I drove one for the first time. Can't wait to do some power mods to it.

Im trying to sell my 03 with 156k. Curious how much owner 1 is asking?

I agree here. If you're only going to keep it for a year or 2 it'll be easier to sell the lower mileage car. But if you will keep it pick the color you like and/or the car with the better service history.

Yes I plan on keeping the car forever. Thanks to everyone who gave the opinion on both cars. I ended up with the black opal car #1. WOW is it a beast compared to my C32 that I sold today. Now it's time for some mods.....

Black Opal is def. The best e55 scheme. But I'm biased with that color ��