tlambert

kiluminati616

true, that shipping isn't too much more than i'd pay to fly in and drive home. may have to consider that option soon

I know that the powertrain is basically bullet proof so the mods themselves aren't what scare me...it's the fact that the car was likely driven hard

i can't imagine ever needing more power out of this thing, and the only mod i'd do is lower the car slightly

i must be getting old

cetialpha5

You're not that old if you still think a lowered car is cool.

StarvingArtist

That one is modded well, and properly. Those are expensive upgrades and much of it is expensive maintenance that you will likely deal with on a different car. Well cared for like that is worth, and costs almost as much as the asking price.

Strigoi

Just wait, you'll get bored with the power.

My E63 doesn't even feel fast to me any more. A couple of weekends ago a friend was over that has a Volvo 240 2 door that he put an LT1/T56 setup into. It was one of the fastest cars he's been in, which isn't saying much. I took him for a ride in the E63 and did a few pulls and he was blown away by it. He was so excited that he had to text his wife about it right when we got back to the house. It's making probably close to twice the power that his car does. Anyway, it kind of made me realize that the car is damn fast but I'm just used to it, which is why it needs more power.

StarvingArtist

So true. I'm in the same place. Unfortunately I'm starting a big round of maintenance, and the car isn't the biggest or coolest priority for the finances. Some day.....

tw2

I posted this in another thread recently. Just an opinion on modded vs not.

Stock with good maintenance is better but I would take a modded car with an excellent service history over a stock unknown. My car also feels slow sometimes.


Of course it depends on the mods and how carefully they were thought out and installed. If it had a heat exchanger upgrade I would be checking the bumper sits right, they didn't drill millions of holes in the metal bumper bar or cut the plastic shrouds to oblivion. I would measure the clearance of any supercharger pulleys with a feeler gauge and get a scatter shield immediately. Crank pulley, walk away. Headers, I would check for flexy sections, exhaust leaks and engine mounts. Exhaust (rest of it) mods, I probably wouldn't even consider it. Meth/water injection walk away, trunk mount intercooler tank, underhood tank etc, walk away. Coilovers, again depends on how it was done. It will certainly add to the reliability of the car but you want to avoid crappy coilovers and a rubbish ride, these are never going to be sports cars, if they are slammed there may not be much height adjustment left in them, they don't build them for people wanting a normal ride height. Major stereo mods, walk away.

kiluminati616

i didn't end up going to see that repo'd car in long island. just too many questions

This car just popped up on eBay and it looks awesome. i wasn't planning to spend that much but for the low miles and rare color perhaps it's worth it. seat and center console are a bit worn and the headlights are fogging but still seems like it's been well cared for
https://www.ebay.com/itm/123383649686

and theres a wagon on BAT just 50 miles from me. i do dig wagons but not sure the premium they command is worth it to me
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...5-amg-wagon-9/

cetialpha5

That's a nice one. My E350 is also the same designo graphite. While the color is rare, it doesn't make it more valuable. It's still missing a couple options, no keyless go, no pano roof, no folding rear seat. It's nice that it has the bixenons, but they didn't do active curve illumination til about 2006 I believe.

MACEDON

Avoid don't buy

kiluminati616

i agree that no color really adds value to a car, but i certainly like it more than a run of the mill grey or black

kiluminati616

why's this? are you the one who outbid me?

tlambert

kiluminati616

Thanks!
yes - designo just has more exterior and interior colors. if you take a close look theres a slight green tint to the leather...kinda weird but i don't hate it

i'm ok with the wagon's engine work too. not sure what happened since these are widely regarded as bulletproof but the seller seems thorough.

i was getting nervous with the selection the last few weeks but there are some nice examples out there now. the maroon one in SF could be a possibility too if i can't find anything closer

cetialpha5

Designo basically means the car was custom ordered. Mine was too, but I think it was just the color, it does have more options than most which is why I bought it. Best thing about it was that it didn't cost much more than a regular car as the dealer that sold it to me didn't know too much about it as it wasn't an MB dealer, they just went by book price and didn't factor in all the options as those had no book value. That's why I said rare doesn't make it more valuable. I guess it's just as well it doesn't have keyless go. When my keyless go door handles failed, had to have the handles painted because MB carries them in about 10 colors, but not in any of the designo colors.

KAMG

My 05 (late 04 build date) has active curve illumination, must be an option for 2005 and 2006? When first shopping for an E55, I told myself options weren't too important, since I just wanted the M113k anyway. Plus the "base" E55s were already pretty loaded compared to a non AMG 211. But I'm glad I bought one with some decent options because now I actually do enjoy the pano roof, parking sensors, rear sunshade, etc. I do wish I had folding rear seats though...they'd come in handy

Strigoi

Parking sensors were one of those things I never thought I'd want or need. After having them on my E63 I love them. It's kind of a tight fit in my garage so they're super nice to have.

tlambert

tw2

Parking sensors are usually standard on AMG models in other markets. I agree, I would never have thought they were such a useful option before.

kiluminati616

@kamg - i agree that these cars are pretty nicely optioned in base form. i'd love pano roof and keyless go but there isn't any option that i absolutely have to have.

@tlambert - the green one isn't exactly my cup of tea but i'm surprised he's having such trouble selling it. i've been using autotempest in my search and for some reason that cars not showing up... even tho it falls within my criteria - weird

tlambert

Bahnstormer

There's some superstitions about green cars.

https://www.motor1.com/news/77139/ar...-cars-unlucky/

cetialpha5

I'm not superstitious, just not a fan of the color. Superstitions are just a flawed way to make sense of the world. There's basically randomness and the bell curve. People may notice one extreme or the other.