w204_racing

C2 Turbo

How are you going to make them responsible ...are they going to give you in writing that there's nothing wrong with the car ? Seeing how low they have come down, I would try to get them below $10,000 and I am sure they probably would... Just tell them you are walking aay from it....Lets see what they say..

Bahnstormer

So those ugly things are speakers.
Was trying to figure out what the hell those were.
Yeah, you can buy used replacement panels pretty cheap from eBay or even new ones from the dealer.

w204_racing

w204_racing

tw2

Hate to tell you but no dealer is going to sell a car at a loss unless they know there is something major wrong with it or they made a mistake on the trade. Either you are not getting as good a deal as you think ie they traded it for a lot less or they want it off the lot in a hurry probably because it looks thoroughly used and selling it to a teenager is their best bet. No one is going to make a loss to avoid a negative review, the doors don't stay open long with that approach. So their shop is inspecting it for you... why don't you get an independent pre purchase check at Mercedes, are you not concerned with a bit of bias? Liable? I don't know the American legal system but sure if you can prove they knew about it and you want to go to court over a small amount of money, and you want to pay to go to court, sure good luck with that. Most people know nothing about cars, they truly wouldn't know if there was anything wrong with it unless the wheels fell off or it didn't start.

w204_racing

w204_racing

GM_Lover

$15k for an 03, even with keyless go and only 72k miles, seems high to me unless the car has a stack of maintenance records and/or is a rare color. Good maintenance records and receipts are worth their weight of the car on these cars. $12.7k seems more inline with what I'd expect to pay and not so much a killer deal. I guess it depends on where you live though. Regardless, like was already stated, these cars aren't cheap to maintain properly if it's going to be your daily driver. I "overpaid" for my 05 due to its condition and records, and I still wound up having to spend over $1k on parts and fluids for small fixes and maintenance the first couple of weeks. In comparison, a 2nd gen CTS-V costs twice as much to buy as a comparable E55, but it's a lot cheaper to maintain (and mod) than our old Mercs.

As far as being too old, there's no doubt the E55 looks old. Your C300 definitely looks newer, and people who don't know MBs could be fooled into thinking you're driving a new car. No one is going to think that about a W211. Even my old lady neighbor who knows nothing about cars knew it was an older Mercedes the first time she saw it. So if that kind of stuff is important to you, the W211 probably isn't for you.

w204_racing

Bahnstormer

Congrats and post up some pics when you get a chance.

drothgeb

Sigh.... the kids at your HIGH SCHOOL are telling you that your 2008 Mercedes is too old, which is what makes you concerned about buying this 2003 E55?

Do not buy the E55 please. You will kill yourself or even worse some one else.

tw2

I thought you didn't care what others though of your car.
I hope it works out for you. What did the glycol test come back as?

w204_racing

C2 Turbo

You ^ could do better job washing/cleaning the car though ?

w204_racing

cfmistry

Great looking car!! Doesn't looks like it needs much, other than those new dash panels!

w204_racing

Bahnstormer

A new grille is a must.
The big star looks pretty strange on these vehicles.

w204_racing

Strigoi

That's shady as **** and I wouldn't buy a car from any dealer that told me that. I will 100% never take a dealer's word that there's nothing wrong with a car. Dealers are full of **** and will say anything to sell a car.

I'm hoping you ended up getting a great deal on this as it sucks to see anyone get burned on a car deal. I have my doubts though. Either they got that car for super cheap or you're going to get an expensive lesson on car buying.

w204_racing

Strigoi

Did your dad put the car on a lift to inspect it and what was used to scan for codes? Was it a Star/Dax/Xntry setup?

I'm not discounting your father's abilities as a mechanic, but you seem to trust him way too much.

tw2

I hope he got a transmission readout using STAR since you can get all the lockup clutch values- basically tells you whether you are likely to need a rebuild soon. And I presume no glycol test in the end? Replace the radiator and hope for the best. If you want to see if it is already done, remove the top metal black piece that connects above the radiator between the headlights. Three bolts each side and 3 in the middle and you can see the sticker brand on the top of the rad. Most valeo's were replaced with Behr I believe.

w204_racing