To Buy or Not To Buy??
01-14-2019, 07:54 AM
#1
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2018 Honda Accord
To Buy or Not To Buy??
Would you buy? How much would you pay? Safe investment with these issues/items on the upcoming to do list?
2006 E55
95k miles
bone stock
Per the PPI:
7 1/2 - 8 out of 10 body
7 1/2 - 8 out of 10 interior
locks, windows, all electronics work, keyless go works
mechanically sound
Pano dead
Needs now:
2 tires
Need in next year or so:
front brakes
main rear seal
valve cover seal
Obvious MB needs down the road:
air matic
mounts
Basically it was a DD for its entire life. So all mods and upcoming 100k+ miles maintenance will be mine. Most can be done by me (+ my son and my 'wrench' friend).
Pay 10K? 11K? Thoughts?
Thanks in advance for any input. I wanna sleep at night if I pull the trigger.
2006 E55
95k miles
bone stock
Per the PPI:
7 1/2 - 8 out of 10 body
7 1/2 - 8 out of 10 interior
locks, windows, all electronics work, keyless go works
mechanically sound
Pano dead
Needs now:
2 tires
Need in next year or so:
front brakes
main rear seal
valve cover seal
Obvious MB needs down the road:
air matic
mounts
Basically it was a DD for its entire life. So all mods and upcoming 100k+ miles maintenance will be mine. Most can be done by me (+ my son and my 'wrench' friend).
Pay 10K? 11K? Thoughts?
Thanks in advance for any input. I wanna sleep at night if I pull the trigger.
01-14-2019, 09:42 AM
#2
Member
I would say offer as low as you feel comfortable with, citing the brakes and main seal especially as reasons for your offer, and go from there. Fairly certain the trans has to be pulled to do rear main seal. Does the seller have any service records? Airmatic ever been replaced? Would be nice for you to know, 100k seems to be a common failure mileage on the stock components (mine had two struts replaced at 106k per service records) and it’s right up on that mileage. Many have gone much further than that on stock airmatic though, so it’s hit or miss. If you can get the car for under 12-13 I would consider that a good deal.
Last edited by N_Rob; 01-14-2019 at 09:46 AM.
01-14-2019, 09:56 AM
#3
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2018 Honda Accord
I would say offer as low as you feel comfortable with, citing the brakes and main seal especially as reasons for your offer, and go from there. Fairly certain the trans has to be pulled to do rear main seal. Does the seller have any service records? Airmatic ever been replaced? Would be nice for you to know, 100k seems to be a common failure mileage on the stock components (mine had two struts replaced at 106k per service records) and it’s right up on that mileage. Many have gone much further than that on stock airmatic though, so it’s hit or miss. If you can get the car for under 12-13 I would consider that a good deal.
I'm thinking Air matic, mounts, seals, brakes all need to be done in next 1-2 years. I'd save up for those and hopefully do some myself (w/help). So could save a bit on labor.
01-14-2019, 11:10 AM
#4
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'99 and '05 E55 AMG
On my car, it was 90K to 100K miles where rebuilds of sub-sytems were required. List is below...
Verify fuel pumps and filter changed at 60,000 miles. Mine weren't. Those two items are close to $1000 just for the parts.
Ditto for the belts, pulleys, and tensioners; mine were original. ~$450 assuming you rebuild the supercharger idler pulley rather than replacing it. If you replace it, add another $300 to the previous number.
Plugs and wires at 100K miles. Use Bosch; do not cheap out on these. ~$260
Airmatic Arnott replacement all the way around (but be aware the Arnotts do not control rebound/compression as the OEM ones do)...~$1900 to $2000
Bushings, control arms, thrust arms, tie rod ends, ball joints. ~$950
Tires. ~$800
Above assumes you perform all labor yourself and have the tools to do so. FWIW, I've invested over $1500 in tools just to work on my two Mercedes.
Also, your brakes may/may not need replacing. I replaced pads and rotors at 140,000 miles and still had life left on the pads.
Go into ownership of a W211 E55 with eyes wide open. Knowing what I know now, I would offer $9000 for the car you describe. If the owner has dropped several thousand dollars into the above maintenance then I would be willing to offer more. Check the tires' wear patterns; if "chunked" or "torn" on both inside and outside of the tread, you're going to need ball joints and/or bushings.
Verify fuel pumps and filter changed at 60,000 miles. Mine weren't. Those two items are close to $1000 just for the parts.
Ditto for the belts, pulleys, and tensioners; mine were original. ~$450 assuming you rebuild the supercharger idler pulley rather than replacing it. If you replace it, add another $300 to the previous number.
Plugs and wires at 100K miles. Use Bosch; do not cheap out on these. ~$260
Airmatic Arnott replacement all the way around (but be aware the Arnotts do not control rebound/compression as the OEM ones do)...~$1900 to $2000
Bushings, control arms, thrust arms, tie rod ends, ball joints. ~$950
Tires. ~$800
Above assumes you perform all labor yourself and have the tools to do so. FWIW, I've invested over $1500 in tools just to work on my two Mercedes.
Also, your brakes may/may not need replacing. I replaced pads and rotors at 140,000 miles and still had life left on the pads.
Go into ownership of a W211 E55 with eyes wide open. Knowing what I know now, I would offer $9000 for the car you describe. If the owner has dropped several thousand dollars into the above maintenance then I would be willing to offer more. Check the tires' wear patterns; if "chunked" or "torn" on both inside and outside of the tread, you're going to need ball joints and/or bushings.
Last edited by bbirdwell; 01-14-2019 at 11:16 AM.
01-14-2019, 01:00 PM
#5
Super Member
My airmatic is still original at 144k, car was a daily as well, so while you should plan for it I'll be a happy voice and say it could still be a few years!
But yeah, it will undoubtedly need maintenance up to speed. These cars have pretty bulletproof drivetrains so I wouldn't lose sleep over things popping up, especially if you wrench yourself. That's where I'm at. A month or two ago a header cracked wide open but I knew what it was immediately, a couple used manifolds and new motor mounts I was out $200 and a few hours of my time (where as that would have been $1k+ at the dealer....). They are surprisingly easy to work on, much better than my M5 before.
But yeah, it will undoubtedly need maintenance up to speed. These cars have pretty bulletproof drivetrains so I wouldn't lose sleep over things popping up, especially if you wrench yourself. That's where I'm at. A month or two ago a header cracked wide open but I knew what it was immediately, a couple used manifolds and new motor mounts I was out $200 and a few hours of my time (where as that would have been $1k+ at the dealer....). They are surprisingly easy to work on, much better than my M5 before.
01-14-2019, 02:06 PM
#6
Couple of items that needed attention at 100k
My 2006 E55 needed the following at 100k:
Motor mounts
Airmatic struts (fronts only)
New plugs, coils
Ball joints
For reference, I bought my E55 (loaded save pano roof) with 97k miles for $13,500 and probably overpaid bc it didn't come with service records and I learned that a PPI can't catch everything!
Motor mounts
Airmatic struts (fronts only)
New plugs, coils
Ball joints
For reference, I bought my E55 (loaded save pano roof) with 97k miles for $13,500 and probably overpaid bc it didn't come with service records and I learned that a PPI can't catch everything!
Last edited by tettes; 01-14-2019 at 02:25 PM.
01-14-2019, 11:38 PM
#7
Super Member
Buy it if you got the time and money to work on it and make it go faster. I bought my 06 in 2010 bone stock as a DD, just done the necessary upkeep (SCP bearing, air suspension, arms, bushing, ball joints, SBC, A/C compressor, pulleys...) then I started modifying my car with 171k miles recently and it's running strong still. Not that difficult to fix or work on it yourself, I learned a lot from reading old threads and asking other members for advices on "the how to". Let us know what you've decided!
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