sok454

Took my Audi in to our local indy shop that also sells used imports etc. Was talking w the owners (friends of ours) and he's like oh guess did he call you about the E55 we just bought... no... '03 E55 2 owner last guy had for 12 years big stack of maint. records, 92k miles on it. Fuel unit repaired. Still has to go through the shop for a check up and will get new tires. Gonna be asking 12,900 for it. Asked about airmatic, he said hadn't been done. What else should I be cautious about?

I took it for a spin and damn does it get up... of course compared to a Audi A4 2.0 what doesn't.

Thanks everyone!

maximus16v

I believe the 04 and older had the potentially bad radiators that could leak into the transmission causing glycol contamination. I would check that the rad has been replaced.

sok454

Thank you man! One reason I love this site.

tw2

SBC. Other than that just a general pre purchase inspection.

precisionmike

2003 and some very early 2004 had the radiator issue.

E55desire

when saying "...very early 2004", approximately when did the issue get fixed? I'm in the market for an E55 and I would like to educate myself a little more. thanks.

drothgeb

Gotta check the radiators. Lots of info about it around the forums though, do a little searching:

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sok454

There was a post about all the things to look at that I found beneficial. I'll try to post the link to it when I get a chance.

sok454

Here you go. Lot of great stuff in there!

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...ml#post7169029

E55desire

Thanks for the info. I'm learning more and more about these cars each and every day.

jumph4x

Can I harass y'all to ask where the stamps/labels for this are located?

jumph4x

Bump, pleaaaaaase.

bbirdwell

The radiators were also on the W203.

Valeo radiator (bad) had the upper top of the radiator crimped on using tabs bent over the plastic.
Behr radiator (good) has the upper top of the radiator crimped on using an indented crimp that has a "wavy" appearance.
See this post. Good is top photo. Bad is bottom photo. You want to key in on how the plastic top is crimped onto the metal portion of the radiator.
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w203...ml#post4288654

jumph4x

Thank you thank you thank you.