Thoughts on this car (W211 E55 AMG)?

[TDE1]

Hi & welcome.

The wheels on mine are standard too, and not diamond cut, so no worries there. Good news about discs, tyres and pads too. They are a tad noisy at idle when started from cold, just takes a little getting used to.

Keep us posted & good luck

 

[rm163603]

These engines do make some strange noises and the start up sound you described sounds pretty much par for the course.

SBC pump is unlikely to have been replaced there are cars out there on >140,000 on there original pump and as for the Rad having the original is no bad thing at least you know it has not had a TC contamination fix in the past. Check the build date Rads were changed 09/03 build onwards.

All the bolts and pulleys can show corrosion most clean up pretty easily including the crank pulley, I normally just run an abrasive pad around them.

I have the same issue on the drivers seat, I have a theory but it just that. First the leather is very soft and not particularly hard wearing so sliding across can cause excess wear. As for my theory, well it has something to do with the average waistline of the owners when new

The sketchy history would be my concern.

Thanks.... the point about the rad is a good one. I hadn't considered it from that angle.

Whats the realistic cost of swapping the rad out as a precaution? Do you have to break the A/C lines to swap the radiator over?

Valid points also regarding the leather . As you say it is very soft.

Along the same lines as the demographic of owners, people who buy a new 60k car probably don't think of what the seats will look like in 9 years time after they have got rid of it.

They just get in and out the easiest way which means flopping in.

The seller did say he had a printout of the electronic service record which would cover it up to 38K.

The rest is covered by two invoices albeit they are from a garage a previous owner ran. I suppose it depends on the integrity of that garage (and the seller) and also whether all of the items that would have been done by the dealer were done.

The seller was telling me that he used to own an Ultima and that the E55 was owned by the guy who built the race LS3 motor he had in it.

Is a non full MB history that big of a deal? I guess it doesn't help if you have rust issues or whatever.....

Thanks again....

 

[John]

When I first heard mine started, I thought something sounded boogered.

I'd not had a supercharged car before (only turbo) and the whine is from that (hence they are sometimes referred to as whiners). Should go when warm which yours did. Then you hear it when you press the loud pedal enough.

I've seen a fair few scuffed ones also - I agree with Paul's theory...

You can certainly verify the history with the MB garage that did the stamp, assuming that was the case, by contacting them. I did this with mine.

I wouldn't rush. jimmyca69 didn't and found a good one in the end.

 

[John]

Along the same lines as the demographic of owners, people who buy a new 60k car probably don't think of what the seats will look like in 9 years time after they have got rid of it.

These were £74k on the road!

I got mine inspected by a good inde. This threw up a few issues which we agreed a plan to resolve as part of the deal.

I would recommend doing the same - some bloke telling you they did the service doesn't mean a great deal without the invoice saying what was done - so you have to work with how the car is now and perhaps budget for a precaution-service as part of the deal or afterwards.

I got my ATF changed even though it was fine in hindsight.

 

[rm163603]

When I first heard mine started, I thought something sounded boogered.

I'd not had a supercharged car before (only turbo) and the whine is from that (hence they are sometimes referred to as whiners). Should go when warm which yours did. Then you hear it when you press the loud pedal enough.

I've seen a fair few scuffed ones also - I agree with Paul's theory...

You can certainly verify the history with the MB garage that did the stamp, assuming that was the case, by contacting them. I did this with mine.

I wouldn't rush. jimmyca69 didn't and found a good one in the end.

I was pleased in a way that the car wasn't perfect because to buy the first one I saw would make me uneasy!

It's definitely a good spec and I'm sure someone will buy it, I will be interested to see if it gets sold soon....

 

[Deleted member 37751]

It's not so much the lack of Mercedes history, it's the sketchy sounding records since 38k.

The seller is asking quite strong money for an early-ish E55, if £11k is your budget then I would be looking at 54-55 plates; these are a LOT less likely to develop the common faults of the Valeo radiator, electrical gremlins and rust.

There was a changing of the fitting of wiring looms etc from robot to human around late '03 early '04 and the way to tell is the speaker grille on top of the dash; if they are slatted then it was done by robot and if it is mesh it was done by human.

 

[rm163603]

It's not so much the lack of Mercedes history, it's the sketchy sounding records since 38k.

The seller is asking quite strong money for an early-ish E55, if £11k is your budget then I would be looking at 54-55 plates; these are a LOT less likely to develop the common faults of the Valeo radiator, electrical gremlins and rust.

There was a changing of the fitting of wiring looms etc from robot to human around late '03 early '04 and the way to tell is the speaker grille on top of the dash; if they are slatted then it was done by robot and if it is mesh it was done by human.

It's definitely an early one, the grille was slatted...

I didn't think it was fair to discuss the price of the car on a public forum but I'd agree...

I suppose it's knowing what things are actually selling for.

I think we buy any car would quote around 5-6k for this for example while a dealer might retail it for 10995. It's the in between bit I'm interested in!

As you say I need to find a later car in budget. I guess if that means a few more miles then so be it...

 

[SavMan]

I would suggest some online research on the guy and the company, if they came out OK then it will also help when you try to sell it. How many people on here would even bat and eyelid on buying a car from Jay or Olly just to name two!

 

[John]

They don't sell like hot cakes, but there is demand for them.

Personally, I'd be more focussed on something like this (with a view to a good beating down on price given the mileage):

Used MERCEDES-BENZ E CLASS E55K 4DR TIP AUTO for sale - PistonHeads (Ref 991415)

Or if you have a bit more cash, this:

Used MERCEDES E55 BRABUS AMG 700bhp (Fastest in coun... for sale - PistonHeads (Ref 903341)

I'm pretty sure I've heard of these guys somewhere before...

 

[TDE1]

Or if you have a bit more cash, this:

Used MERCEDES E55 BRABUS AMG 700bhp (Fastest in coun... for sale - PistonHeads (Ref 903341)

I'm pretty sure I've heard of these guys somewhere before...

Oof!

 

[rm163603]

I would suggest some online research on the guy and the company, if they came out OK then it will also help when you try to sell it. How many people on here would even bat and eyelid on buying a car from Jay or Olly just to name two!

Great idea... As you say there are certain people who do have integrity...

 

[rm163603]

They don't sell like hot cakes, but there is demand for them.

Personally, I'd be more focussed on something like this (with a view to a good beating down on price given the mileage):

Used MERCEDES-BENZ E CLASS E55K 4DR TIP AUTO for sale - PistonHeads (Ref 991415)

Or if you have a bit more cash, this:

Used MERCEDES E55 BRABUS AMG 700bhp (Fastest in coun... for sale - PistonHeads (Ref 903341)

I'm pretty sure I've heard of these guys somewhere before...

I've seen the silver car advertised but it is a bit heavy on the price for me. Maybe I should go and have a look, it does look clean.

I see it has the later dash vent!

The brabus car is perhaps a little too extreme for my tastes but looks amazing... Mind you even that has some scuffing to the seat bolster

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I didn't think it was fair to discuss the price of the car on a public forum but I'd agree...

Don't worry about that, we are all friends here...

With these cars, service history is the biggie, I'd happily buy one with 120k miles on that had full detailed service history as opposed to a 60k example with sketchy history.

Whereabouts in the country are you, if you don't mind me asking? I'm sure if you asked nice, there maybe a forum member living near a car that you're interested in and they might have a look and save you a journey.

 

[rm163603]

Don't worry about that, we are all friends here...

With these cars, service history is the biggie, I'd happily buy one with 120k miles on that had full detailed service history as opposed to a 60k example with sketchy history.

Whereabouts in the country are you, if you don't mind me asking? I'm sure if you asked nice, there maybe a forum member living near a car that you're interested in and they might have a look and save you a journey.

That's how I feel as well. The history has to be right.

I'm currently smoking around in a 540 sport e39 that has a a fully stamped book and a wedge of invoices they barely fit in the folder. It certainly gave me some confidence when buying it...

I'm in Cirencester...

Thanks for the offer... that would be great as there are not that many of these cars for sale.

 

[John]

I've seen the silver car advertised but it is a bit heavy on the price for me. Maybe I should go and have a look, it does look clean.

I see it has the later dash vent!

The brabus car is perhaps a little too extreme for my tastes but looks amazing... Mind you even that has some scuffing to the seat bolster

Stating it is a 2005 (albeit it would be 2005MY) is a bit cheeky - it was registered 3 weeks after mine - and so is a 2004 really.

Mine is on 63K now, but at 8 years, 80,000 means 10K a year which is fine - but the car is no spring chicken.

I could be wrong (predicting the future is a little tricky) but I would imagine that car will hang around for a while - it's good but also a little strong on the price. A cheeky offer may well get you the car but it needs to be mint as I don't think you will be getting it for £10K.

 

[rm163603]

Stating it is a 2005 (albeit it would be 2005MY) is a bit cheeky - it was registered 3 weeks after mine - and so is a 2004 really.

Mine is on 63K now, but at 8 years, 80,000 means 10K a year which is fine - but the car is no spring chicken.

I could be wrong (predicting the future is a little tricky) but I would imagine that car will hang around for a while - it's good but also a little strong on the price. A cheeky offer may well get you the car but it needs to be mint as I don't think you will be getting it for £10K.

I guess they are trying to alert people to the fact that it has the updates but I agree, it's stretching it a bit!

Am I right in saying this was owned by someone known to the forum or is it just that it looks tidy in the ad?

I must say I like silver or black.

 

[Ian Donkin]

I would suggest some online research on the guy and the company, if they came out OK then it will also help when you try to sell it. How many people on here would even bat and eyelid on buying a car from Jay or Olly just to name two!

This is very sound advice - when buying privately I'm always 'buying the person' too so to speak. From the photo's it looks like the seller is not without money assuming the setting is his property and I also look for clues like what other metal they have and how they come across.

It looks a nice car to me from the photo's but that could mean jack... Our last 211 was a 'wired by robots car' and didn't have any rust or indeed other problems until someone piled into the back of it.

Duplicate service books can be an issue but the MB franchise who did the work should be able to verify any work they did; the records themselves can be confusing to read on Mercs (I've always had to study them carefully to make any sense of them), but if you have supporting paperwork in the folder the advert suggests this should be less of an issue.

Good luck with whatever you decide - I often prefer a 'good' private purchase to a dealer experience and a good self purchased warranty could give you the confidence to buy without fear of getting caught out by a big unexpected repair bill.

 

[SavMan]

I guess they are trying to alert people to the fact that it has the updates but I agree, it's stretching it a bit!

Am I right in saying this was owned by someone known to the forum or is it just that it looks tidy in the ad?

I must say I like silver or black.

The black one was owned by a member (not sure if he still own it)

 

[John]

The black one was owned by a member (not sure if he still own it)

Given the wording is very similar to Acid's silver estate, my guess is the same person wrote the ad (i.e. one is the fastest E55K, the other is the fastest Brabus K8 - which I wont be betting that isn't the case!).

I would love the black one, or at least mine to be more like it - but given what you said you'd spent on yours, it's pie in the sky for me.

 

[rm163603]

This is very sound advice - when buying privately I'm always 'buying the person' too so to speak. From the photo's it looks like the seller is not without money assuming the setting is his property and I also look for clues like what other metal they have and how they come across.

It looks a nice car to me from the photo's but that could mean jack... Our last 211 was a 'wired by robots car' and didn't have any rust or indeed other problems until someone piled into the back of it.

Duplicate service books can be an issue but the MB franchise who did the work should be able to verify any work they did; the records themselves can be confusing to read on Mercs (I've always had to study them carefully to make any sense of them), but if you have supporting paperwork in the folder the advert suggests this should be less of an issue.

Good luck with whatever you decide - I often prefer a 'good' private purchase to a dealer experience and a good self purchased warranty could give you the confidence to buy without fear of getting caught out by a big unexpected repair bill.

I'm similar, I'd almost prefer an honest private sale as the dealer cars are always over prepared and I can clean the engine bay myself!

The only other thing that worries me is the recent trans fluid change, either a prudent precaution or to temporarily solve a gearbox fluid contamination problem...

Not sure I want to find out which!