Pyralid

Question: Is this e55 worth it’s price? Assuming it’s in Prime condition and ready for upgrades.

Ive been interested in a Rebuilt title E55.
ive found one for 10k that is 10/10 clean, all maintenance records,130k miles, engine refresh.

is it worth spending a couple thousand more for a clean title and high mileage, compared to a rebuilt title with a freshly built engine for a few thousand less. I’m going right to stage 3 and wanted reliability to be a factor for long term budget.

I’ve been on the market for a couple months but have found few to none for the prices I’m looking for, including markup for all post-purchase maintenance and replacements. I’m willing to travel across the country so I’ve been looking everywhere.

corvettekyle

I wouldn't buy a rebuilt title unless I was absolutely sure I'd be driving it into the ground. I just picked up my first one for 13k after looking for a couple months. Clean title no accidents sub 100k miles with coilovers, headers, pulley, tunes, IC pump, HX, stack of maintenance records, SBC and fuel pumps done under recall. I flew across the country for it so I was also looking all over, and saw a LOT of sub 10k clean title cars but they were just not the color and option combination I wanted. I found mine on facebook of all places, so maybe look there if you haven't been. It's just a pain in the *** to search multiple cities there.

Whatever you do good luck. It's my first car that's not an LS and I've still got a **** eating grin on my face every time I drive it.. it's unbelievable that you can buy a machine like this today for under 15k. Hope that you can do your own work though... and don't expect it to be an easy sale if you decide to sell

coupesedan

Doesn’t matter if it’s the cleanest most flawless car in the world, it’s still has a rebuilt title.

Pyralid

so a stock, real clean e55 sub 100k should be right about 10-11k then?

Maybe I will just have to settle for a better offer or keep searching then

jbaker1121

Buy the best one you can find, and still make sure your actual budget is at least 50% higher than the purchase price. That super clean 100k mile, 17 year old car, unless it's had a lot of the maintenance done recently once you start driving it, the leaks will pop up, the air shocks may go, your alternator may die.... I bought my 1 owner dealer maintained 138k mile E55 last august. Clean car, miles OK, maintained it's whole life, not really driven in last 3 years (guy got old). I get it, have put 10k miles on it since then, and have spent (at an indy shop) over half the purchase price on maintenance, from gaskets leaking, to alternator, to PS pump, to pullies, belts, front air strut, etc. the only mods I have are a tune and new mufflers, my other mod money went towards the "normal" maintenance.

SO, that being said, buy the nicest one, with the most maintenance records, you can find, and still be prepared to spend money on maintenance, whether at a good indy, or on parts to DIY. They are $80k+ fine tuned AMG cars, they are high maintenance, and have a high running cost. If well maintained, the motors/trans are pretty bulletproof, but unfortunately the stuff like air struts are not.

If you want more info on pricing, costs, etc shoot me a PM and I can share specifics.

I think you can find a nice one, depending on location, and expect to pay $10-12k for a clean, decent miles, decent history, etc. There are a lot of variables. Super low miles are cool but but once you start driving it more, you'll get the leaks etc. Same to be said for a normal mile one that has not been driven much recently or is due for a service.
Unless you plan to keep it forever, or build an all-out drag car, I would not bother with the rebuilt title, unless you have actual documented evidence from the "rebuild" because as these cars get cheaper, but remain expensive to replace body panels, etc, easy to total them out, re-buy, rebuild, etc.

If your total car buying budget is $10k, I would wait until it's closer to $15k. For all you know, a week after you buy it, the air strut goes, and that's $1k a corner to replace, depending on labor, etc.......

However, these cars are great! If you're a car guy who doesnt mind the maintenance, tinkering, etc. the Juice is worth the squeeze.

Also, if you plan to highly modify, buy one that has some big ticket stuff already on, like Headers. They are pricey to install unless DIY. If the car is super modified, though, you really need receipts and maintenance to back it up, or may be a ticking time bomb.

good luck

thtguy

Remember that most the time those big ticket items are a loss for the person who installed. you won't be paying as much for the mods that are installed as you will if you are having them done yourself.