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I have been waiting to send this email for a while. Exactly 1 week ago I took delivery of a 2006 E55 from MBworld member Kickem. It's been a long road to find the right E55 and this one is spectacular. It's in immaculate condition and I am the 3rd owner. Kickem bought from the original owner in San Diego about 1 year ago and had the car in Eugene Oregon. 75k miles. It's Flint Gray Metallic, has keyless start/go, NAV, dynamic seats, parktronic, auto trunk closer button, ventilated seats, essentially everything I wanted.
I have been driving a 2002 CLK55 for the last 10 years and it was my first AMG. It's still an amazing car with 120K on it and I plan to keep. But this E55 is an incredible upgrade. As I said I'd been looking a while - I almost bought a 2007 E63 in April but the owner wouldn't playball on the inspection. Then I found a 30k mileage E55 and committed to buying it. I got the loan and everything and the owner sold it after someone wired him the cash. That night I was so frustrated. I check the MBworld Marketplace often and took a glance before bed and there it was. Post was barley up 24 hours. I message Kickem right away and we were on the phone 5 min later. What a great guy! I know this was the owner I wanted to get a car from. Honest, took great care of the car etc. I sent him a deposit that night and booked a flight from Chicago to Portland the next day.
I flew out on the 4th of July and met him the next morning. We took a drive and then dropped it off at MBI in Portland for the inspection. After that we hit the bank and I wrote a big check! Now the waiting game. I planned to ship the car and it took a week and a half to get picked up. The first broker couldn't get it done. I called Angels Moving Auto's and they had it booked right away. After the car was picked up it took about 4 days and showed up with no issues.
About the car/maintenance history.
I have an extensive VMI report from the dealer that the previous owner had. I also have all the maintenance records from the original owner in San Diego. He always took it the dealer and kept up with maintenance quite nicely.
Here is what I can report. Advice welcome.
Aside from brakes, oil changes, tires, alignment, filters etc - the original owner did plugs, brake fluid, fuel filter, and rear main seal (was leaking) at 33k miles.
The 2nd owner installed a new Johnson CM30 IC pump and battery.
Looking through the records I cannot find any record on transmission service being done. I will make this a priority.
The inspection revealed a couple minor things. Car will need brakes in 5-10k miles, and the rear tires are almost cooked (shocker!). Other than that some very minor leaking around valve covers. They recommend doing that in about a year and doing the plugs again at that time.
Welcome any thought or comments on the car and maintenance. I have no plans to mod it at this time.
Congrats. I have the same cars same years.
my e55 has 96k now, has had slight weep at rear main for two years. Too minor to mess with. Same for valve cover. Only slightly damp. Are all your airstruts/bags original? If so, monitor carefully. Around this age is when leaks can begin
Welcome and Very nice car! There are some great write ups here on transmission service through the oil line. Also make sure you buy a dip stick tool and make sure not to put to much or to little fluid back in the transmission they are picky about fluid levels.
Congrats. I have the same cars same years.
my e55 has 96k now, has had slight weep at rear main for two years. Too minor to mess with. Same for valve cover. Only slightly damp. Are all your airstruts/bags original? If so, monitor carefully. Around this age is when leaks can begin
Congrats and a real beauty...and say so becauseI have the exact same car, same color, and have the pano roof with 65k miles as it’s my work car and not my DD. I have changed my left front air shock but all others are stock. Valve covers, control arms, trans flush were done as well. Been playing with my exhaust and now installed C63 mufflers but see my post below on E55 muffler recommendations and don’t make the same mistake I made and do a muffler delete or if you do, keep the stock mufflers in case you or a future owner want them.
I knew there was something I forgot in this post. No I don't believe it has been and see it listed on the VMI and supported through 2021. I guess I should probably get that handled even though its not acting uo.
Congrats. I have the same cars same years.
my e55 has 96k now, has had slight weep at rear main for two years. Too minor to mess with. Same for valve cover. Only slightly damp. Are all your airstruts/bags original? If so, monitor carefully. Around this age is when leaks can begin
Wow - your AMG's are gorgeous. I wish my CLK was half as nice. Mine has been driven in Chicago (including winters) for 10 years. I am going to slowly fix it up over time.
Yes, original airbags and I know. I have mentally prepared myself for the fact that they will likely start leaking sooner than later. Thanks!
Thanks! (I see you are in Va Beach...only about 90 minutes from me here in Richmond). 19" OZ Racing wheels, staggered. Brand new Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ tires. For this area (no real potholes), ride is fine. When I've gone into DC? I most likely couldnt have this setup as my daily driver with those roads. Far too rough. My CLK is even worse up there..smaller chassis, shorter wheelbase, convertible. No way the 19's on there could survive on a daily basis
I live in Northern VA, and I have 19" on my lowered E63, and it's a daily driver. And I have no issues.
Now, DC is another issue entirely, those streets are awful. Same thing when I visit family in NJ.
Looks very nice! I'd buy that car too! Sometimes I toy with the idea of getting a second E55. Wonder why he sold it after only a year!
I'm definitely not worried about the 120K mileage. Just make sure that the plugs and transmission fluid were changed in the VMI. Otherwise do them now.
Thanks! (I see you are in Va Beach...only about 90 minutes from me here in Richmond). 19" OZ Racing wheels, staggered. Brand new Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ tires. For this area (no real potholes), ride is fine. When I've gone into DC? I most likely couldnt have this setup as my daily driver with those roads. Far too rough. My CLK is even worse up there..smaller chassis, shorter wheelbase, convertible. No way the 19's on there could survive on a daily basis
The rims look really good.
The roads down here used to be pathetic but they are a lot better now. They have done tons of re-paving and upgrading the interstates. They are also expanding the interstates up to Richmond from Newport News.
Looks very nice! I'd buy that car too! Sometimes I toy with the idea of getting a second E55. Wonder why he sold it after only a year!
I'm definitely not worried about the 120K mileage. Just make sure that the plugs and transmission fluid were changed in the VMI. Otherwise do them now.
thanks!
He sold it to start a business. The E55 has 75k miles, not 120k. My old CLK55 has the 120K and I have zero worries. These M113 engines run forever!
He sold it to start a business. The E55 has 75k miles, not 120k. My old CLK55 has the 120K and I have zero worries. These M113 engines run forever!
Oops on the mileage.
Looks like a great car. I like the color too. Wished I had a chance to take a peek at it and make an offer. I wouldn't mind to have a second E55 or C55 to stash at another location. Then again, sometimes I think I should just get a high performance Tesla and enjoy being able to charge at home.
Enjoy the car! On those rare occasions that I open my hood (to get leaves out that I can't reach), I still realize how special that engine is when I see it.
07-31-2018, 04:57 PM
