S211 E55K Estate on AT

[rockits]

There’ll be another one along shortly

I can’t see the sense in committing to buy an older, more complex vehicle over the phone based on description and photos. You need to see it and drive it first. ( I tried to buy a 2007 SL500 a few years back and their quality was all over the place.)

All kinds of hazards lurk that aren’t just a matter of a few hundred quids adjustment to the suggested price.

As for potential buyers, there’s no end of private and trade “buyers” out there who cancel on the morning, or don’t show, or who turn up and then lowball 20% off in the belief that people will just roll over to get the car off their driveway. (This last group being traders). A sale is never done until the money’s agreed and paid.

Somewhere, someone’s just bought a new car or taken delivery of a company EV, and needs to now sell their much loved E55 ….

Thanks. Yes, it is a variable process sometimes and I have bought a one way train ticket various times only to find the car not as described on arrival. Then bought a return train ticket back. Maybe I'm not so badly off on this occasion.

I agree there can be a huge difference in a good example and lesser example of these types of cars. Sometimes it can be down a slight difference in levels of expectation or opinion so not always a right or wrong. We are just different sometimes. You just hope that you come across it as expected but it doesn't always work out.

 

[rockits]

Nothing strange about using Ubers or trains to look at cars as such, but just thought it strange you thought that he ought to have known that you’d be getting the train there and bought a ticket several days in advance.

I’ve had people come and see cars, leave a deposit then come and collect a few days later. That’s fine, car is sold pending the balance.

A phone call from a stranger, however nice they might seem, doesn’t justify a hold on a sale. Fair enough if you’d agreed to go that afternoon or something but not a few days later with no deposit or anything.

Yup, agreed on all of this. I guess things change quickly these days.

I had only agreed and arranged on Saturday to go to the car on Monday so only 48 hours really. I like to be fairly organised have a planned itinerary with a plan of what I am doing in advanced as not a seat of the pants kind of person. When you have to change trains a few times and get the connections/timings all worked out it isn't so easy to do at the last minute or do on an ad hoc basis. I suppose you can but always feels a little more stressful and open to issues to me. Also mainly means I arrive when expected and planned so as not to inconvenience other people if I can help it.

Maybe I should worry less and introduce a little more risk or skate by the seat of my pants a little more.

 

[maggot]

Yup, agreed on all of this. I guess things change quickly these days.

I had only agreed and arranged on Saturday to go to the car on Monday so only 48 hours really. I like to be fairly organised have a planned itinerary with a plan of what I am doing in advanced as not a seat of the pants kind of person. When you have to change trains a few times and get the connections/timings all worked out it isn't so easy to do at the last minute or do on an ad hoc basis. I suppose you can but always feels a little more stressful and open to issues to me. Also mainly means I arrive when expected and planned so as not to inconvenience other people if I can help it.

Maybe I should worry less and introduce a little more risk or skate by the seat of my pants a little more.

Needs some money spent and I'm not sure you would get it for 10k, but looks like a prospect... Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

So had a chat on the phone with the seller on this one on Friday late afternoon. Explained I didn't want to waste his or my time if we weren't in the right ballpark numbers wise. We both agreed we were in the right ball park so all good. Was aiming to get across this weekend but my BiL couldn't give me a lift over and trains over the weekend were less frequent so would have been a much longer journey. Agreed on Saturday morning that I'd get across late Monday PM circa 5:30-6pm when the seller was back from work. Deal provisionally done short of the final exact sale price being agreed as it was hard to offer a hard final amount as I hadn't seen or driven the car but we had a figure in mind we were both happy with so good enough to make the fairly long journey.

I can fully understand why the vendor believed that he was under no obligation to sell the car to you only. There was no deposit, and not even agreed sale price.

You had agreed that you would view the car after work on Monday, and agree that the type of offer you might make would be the type of offer he might accept if you turned up.

That’s pretty loose - no agreed price, no deposit, no deal - and especially loose when compared to someone standing there ready to do the deal at an agreed price.

Whilst the time and cost of planning your travel was wasted, it’s no more than had you chosen to visit the car and make your offer based upon viewing the car.

I’m not criticising you nor the vendor, what you have described is what many people do when buying cars - me included - but it’s not a done deal.

Good luck with the search, the right car is out there somewhere

 

[DavidL]

Needs some money spent and I'm not sure you would get it for 10k, but looks like a prospect... Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Just seen that one. Looks ok, quite expensive. Well specced and not silver or black.
Few niggles, new mirror, parking sensors are always a pita. The boot cover not lifting could just be a case of poking around where the magnet makes contact on the runner on the passenger side. A few good presses of the trim quite often gets them aligned and working again. I found a german write up for taking it all apart, it isn't hard, I posted it on here somewhere. You may well already know this!
No experinec of the keyless mechanism but I gather the handles aren't cheap. Minor issue really but annoying. Things need to work.
For 100k example, what £12?
I think for the other one, I may well have sold the car to the person in front of me but I'd have paid for your train fare too.

 

[rockits]

Needs some money spent and I'm not sure you would get it for 10k, but looks like a prospect... Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Thanks for that. Just taking a look now. Looks possible but as you say seems a lot of cash for a car with some niggles/issues. There was a black on a few weeks back at a dealer with low miles and seemed very good condition for £17k I think it was 60k miles and low owners.

 

[rockits]

I can fully understand why the vendor believed that he was under no obligation to sell the car to you only. There was no deposit, and not even agreed sale price.

You had agreed that you would view the car after work on Monday, and agree that the type of offer you might make would be the type of offer he might accept if you turned up.

That’s pretty loose - no agreed price, no deposit, no deal - and especially loose when compared to someone standing there ready to do the deal at an agreed price.

Whilst the time and cost of planning your travel was wasted, it’s no more than had you chosen to visit the car and make your offer based upon viewing the car.

I’m not criticising you nor the vendor, what you have described is what many people do when buying cars - me included - but it’s not a done deal.

Good luck with the search, the right car is out there somewhere

Thanks and I agree with your thoughts.

I'll clear up a couple of points. We had agreed I would buy the car at a suggested price to be confirmed on inspection. I was happy to pay that number as long as the car was as described and as we all know levels of expectation/opinions can differ so it may have been better, worse or as expected. We both expected to work out a price we were both happy with and the margins were a few hundred quid either so either party was happy with the floor and ceiling numbers discussed on the phone.

I wasn't asked for a deposit and if I was asked I would have sent one over. I probably should have been proactive and suggested this but we only spoke on the Friday night, had comms on the Sat and I was going to be there Monday afternoon.

There were no other interested parties, callers or interest at that time of that conversation short of a guy at the sellers work who showed and interest but needed to sell their car first. So the seller had really ignored and discarded this interest. After our conversation on the phone I had agreed to buy the car was just a case of seeing/driving it briefly to make sure it was there or thereabouts as described.

It is irrelevant now as is history so not much point discussing it much further really.

 

[rockits]

Just seen that one. Looks ok, quite expensive. Well specced and not silver or black.
Few niggles, new mirror, parking sensors are always a pita. The boot cover not lifting could just be a case of poking around where the magnet makes contact on the runner on the passenger side. A few good presses of the trim quite often gets them aligned and working again. I found a german write up for taking it all apart, it isn't hard, I posted it on here somewhere. You may well already know this!
No experinec of the keyless mechanism but I gather the handles aren't cheap. Minor issue really but annoying. Things need to work.
For 100k example, what £12?
I think for the other one, I may well have sold the car to the person in front of me but I'd have paid for your train fare too.

Agreed. Seems maybe a premium for not being silver but hard to gauge how much a premium if any a non-silver car is worth. I'm not that fussed what colour it is so much as a Blue would be the preferred non-silver colour. Not sure grey is much different to silver is it? Not really a colour to be too enthused by other than a nice Blue IMHO. When you are driving the car you don't see the outside so much

At that price or somewhere close to it then it doesn't allow much spending money to fix the niggles/issues before it starts getting an expensive car.

 

[rockits]

Just seen that one. Looks ok, quite expensive. Well specced and not silver or black.
Few niggles, new mirror, parking sensors are always a pita. The boot cover not lifting could just be a case of poking around where the magnet makes contact on the runner on the passenger side. A few good presses of the trim quite often gets them aligned and working again. I found a german write up for taking it all apart, it isn't hard, I posted it on here somewhere. You may well already know this!
No experinec of the keyless mechanism but I gather the handles aren't cheap. Minor issue really but annoying. Things need to work.
For 100k example, what £12?
I think for the other one, I may well have sold the car to the person in front of me but I'd have paid for your train fare too.

I have had a quick look, think and done some basic checks. I tend to agree with your rough value there at about £12k as a an idea as it is. I can't get my head to anywhere near £16k currently so might let this one go. For that kind of money I think it would need to be a car with no issues maybe with lower miles or a retail prep'd from a dealer. Not sure what the upper ceiling is on these cars but that seems to be pushing way beyond what I can justify to myself currently.

 

[rockits]

Is it just me reading into things too much or are others the same when you see two different pairs of centre caps? So silver/blue style at on the rear wheels and silver/black style on the front. Maybe it is just me but I'd want all 4 to be the same. I guess some people aren't bothered about stuff like this. I always read into that a bit more about what else are they not bothered about spending on their car?

I get it on a vanilla generic daily but an enthusiasts car you normal find people are a little bit more bothered. What is a new set of 4 matching centre caps? Maybe £60?

When I sold my XJL SuperSport I had the alloys refurb'd and new centre caps as the existing ones were a little tarnished against the nearly refurb'd wheels. Wasn't silly expensive and made the car easy to sell.

 

[badgx]

Not sure if this is of any interest? I haven't check the MOT history or anything, posting as just seen on ebay.

2002 Mercedes E55 AMG 5.5 Supercharged V8 550BHP W211 E63 C63 ULEZ | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2002 Mercedes E55 AMG 5.5 Supercharged V8 550BHP W211 E63 C63 ULEZ at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[E55BOF]

550 bhp my ar5e. "Only modifications are the C63 back boxes, resonator delete and genuine AMG wheels.." Who knew just those would add 75 bhp; needn't have bothered with MSL, then...

 

[Will]

Is it just me reading into things too much or are others the same when you see two different pairs of centre caps? So silver/blue style at on the rear wheels and silver/black style on the front. Maybe it is just me but I'd want all 4 to be the same. I guess some people aren't bothered about stuff like this. I always read into that a bit more about what else are they not bothered about spending on their car?

I get it on a vanilla generic daily but an enthusiasts car you normal find people are a little bit more bothered. What is a new set of 4 matching centre caps? Maybe £60?

When I sold my XJL SuperSport I had the alloys refurb'd and new centre caps as the existing ones were a little tarnished against the nearly refurb'd wheels. Wasn't silly expensive and made the car easy to sell.

If I’m honest Dean I think you might be overthinking/overanalysing the whole E55K buying process. You have owned one in the past and I think part of this issue is getting to grips with current market conditions/prices too.

In a nutshell they’ve gone up in price and they’re getting older so condition is starting to get worse!

If you spend too long worrying about centre caps and prices and what ceiling prices should be etc then you will never justify a purchase.

They’re nearly twenty year old cars now with 100k+ miles in most cases. Man maths doesn’t really apply, you buy one with your heart because you want one. If you spend £5k on it and sell it a year later for the same sort of money then it’s still not bad value for money but again, you’ll never justify one in terms of it being cheap to buy or cheap to run etc.

Wait for the right car by all means but when it comes along just buy it and worry about resale value or centre caps later on!

 

[Skd884]

 

[rockits]

If I’m honest Dean I think you might be overthinking/overanalysing the whole E55K buying process. You have owned one in the past and I think part of this issue is getting to grips with current market conditions/prices too.

In a nutshell they’ve gone up in price and they’re getting older so condition is starting to get worse!

If you spend too long worrying about centre caps and prices and what ceiling prices should be etc then you will never justify a purchase.

They’re nearly twenty year old cars now with 100k+ miles in most cases. Man maths doesn’t really apply, you buy one with your heart because you want one. If you spend £5k on it and sell it a year later for the same sort of money then it’s still not bad value for money but again, you’ll never justify one in terms of it being cheap to buy or cheap to run etc.

Wait for the right car by all means but when it comes along just buy it and worry about resale value or centre caps later on!

Agreed totally. Done. Found, bought and safely tucked up at home

 

[rockits]

If I’m honest Dean I think you might be overthinking/overanalysing the whole E55K buying process. You have owned one in the past and I think part of this issue is getting to grips with current market conditions/prices too.

In a nutshell they’ve gone up in price and they’re getting older so condition is starting to get worse!

If you spend too long worrying about centre caps and prices and what ceiling prices should be etc then you will never justify a purchase.

They’re nearly twenty year old cars now with 100k+ miles in most cases. Man maths doesn’t really apply, you buy one with your heart because you want one. If you spend £5k on it and sell it a year later for the same sort of money then it’s still not bad value for money but again, you’ll never justify one in terms of it being cheap to buy or cheap to run etc.

Wait for the right car by all means but when it comes along just buy it and worry about resale value or centre caps later on!

I do really appreciate your honesty as well and always prefer it that way. Don't sugar coat it and be honest. Nobody can ever argue with that

 

[Will]

Agreed totally. Done. Found, bought and safely tucked up at home

We need pics and details!

 

[rockits]

We need pics and details!

Couple of quick ones

 

[Will]

Shall we have a whip round for some new centre caps?

Only kidding!

I like the colour, looks smart

Discs look healthy on the front.

How does it drive?

 

[rockits]

Shall we have a whip round for some new centre caps?

Only kidding!

I like the colour, looks smart

Discs look healthy on the front.

How does it drive?

LOL. Funnily enough I have 2 centre caps left from the previous alloys on the E43

Yes, the colour is really good in the flesh as I have never seen one with my own eyes up close. Plenty of silver and blue flake in the paint so it looks even better in person IMHO.

Discs and pads were changed on the front earlier this year and rear pads.

You know what it drives really really well. Best I have driven by a long shot. Very happy. I don't need another car until I peg it now!

Has a few bits and bobs that I will chip away at over time but a really really great starting point. Maybe the one I lost out on the other week was for this reason.

Has the cup holder upgrade and the Bluetooth adapter so that is all very useful.