Wtb: W211 e55

[JustIgnore]

Hi.

I am currently looking for a good example of an E55, 2004 onwards.

Mileage max 80k
Ideally 2 - 3 owners
FSH

Budget is around £11.000.

Thanks

 

[rockits]

You just missed out on Graham's nice one that was for sale the last few weeks & on a classified ad on here. I think it has been sold but maybe worth a check.

 

[merc85]

I Wouldnt worry about year, More how the car has been looked after

 

[JustIgnore]

I basically put the deposit on Grahams car, but he decided to keep it. His situation changed

@merc85 In regards to the 03 models, I am just concerned about the rad / gearbox issue.
And people do mention common issues, that are mostly fixed in the 04+ models, e.g rust.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I know of an E55K that fits your bill...

 

[merc85]

I basically put the deposit on Grahams car, but he decided to keep it. His situation changed

@merc85 In regards to the 03 models, I am just concerned about the rad / gearbox issue.
And people do mention common issues, that are mostly fixed in the 04+ models, e.g rust.

No rust on my 2002, nor was there on my 2003 (53) s211, No electrical issues either, It's all down to how the cars been looked after.

Re Rad issue you'd be looking at 54 reg onwards but again It would be sensible to change the rad out anyway, All these cars are getting old imho.

Buy on condition

 

[JustIgnore]

Makes sense, I'll be looking around.
There are not too many "not abused" e55 in the market from what I can see, but well, luck is always a factor in buying an used car anyways..

I know of an E55K that fits your bill...

Let me know the details please

 

[french]

Same here , no rust or electrical problems ...pretty reliable , certainly no worse than most other cars I've had. I had a C32 before this & the stories you here would put a lot off, I found it a reliable nice car as well. I think you have to go by the "Latest" maintenance with these, mine was a 1 owner car before I had it & was on the mobilo plans up to my ownership, just make sure every thing is done on time & mostly its a reliable car. Obviously things wear out, I have had to put on a new suspension strut & Pump but as both were around 13yrs old can't really complain, ...mine feels & rides better than some cars half its age & has everything you could want...well maybe not MPG ... If your concerned about the rad( not that much to replace ) my view is if its the original it might well need replacing anyway but if its lasted this long I doubt it will fail as your thinking . Also have a through inspection, not sure where you are but pretty sure there are some competent Indies on here that would do a thorough pre-purchase inspection for you. Good luck with your search for one & as has been said don't get hung up on age etc,

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Let me know the details please

I've just messaged him with a link to this thread.

 

[merc85]

Makes sense, I'll be looking around.
There are not too many "not abused" e55 in the market from what I can see, but well, luck is always a factor in buying an used car anyways..



Let me know the details please

Yes they seem to get a hard life, You have picked a good time to buy though, Prices seem to have dropped abit from what they were.

 

[JustIgnore]

Thanks guys.
There are a lot 03 models on eb, mainly dealers with only PSH.
Plus when I see an E55 with Jinyu tyres on them, I'd rather pass lol

 

[merc85]

Been up for sale for a while, Probably drop to your budget.

Mercedes-Benz E Class 5.4 E55 AMG 4dr

 

[JustIgnore]

Been up for sale for a while, Probably drop to your budget.

Mercedes-Benz E Class 5.4 E55 AMG 4dr

I have seen this one, and had a close look, thanks. But somehow it does not feel the right one for me. I've had bad experience in the past with "backyard" trade sellers, plus seeing the MOT history of this one, every second MOT has failed and too many advisories. That rings my internal alarm bells, that the car may not been well looked after.

I am generally quite picky with any of my cars, and now I am after an E55 after all

 

[merc85]

Its good to be picky

 

[french]

Silly me, I have only just noticed that you already have a 211, have you had many issues re Rust & electrical problems with that? I think they are all mostly the same,although obviously the E55 seems to have more toys ,so yes more to go wrong.

 

[JustIgnore]

Yeah, I have a W211, but a 2007 320CDI, whereas I am after an early E55 now Not to mention the W210, where rust seem to be a feature on those, lol.
I have seen at least 1-2 ads where the arches have started bubbling, that's why I was wondering if the early models do tend to rust as they may not be sealed as well as the later ones!?

 

[John]

Plus when I see an E55 with Jinyu tyres on them, I'd rather pass lol

I understand why you would think that but if someone is planning to sell a car but it needs new tyres, it makes to buy budget ones.

I bought mine with some shyte tyres on it but the car itself was very well looked after and maintained. The MOT history backed it up too.

Obviously if there are other warning signs, fair enough!

 

[JustIgnore]

Yeah, I guess you are right.

Have seen this:

Link to PH

Does look good, have contacted the dealer about how many owners this car had.
The MOT history looks clean plus it has ventilated seats which I would prefer.

Can you guys tell from seeing if these are Vossen or some aftermarket alloys?

Sadly it's just silver as every other E55 out there at the moment :/

 

[merc85]

I've seen plenty of 54 reg cars with rusty rear arch lips, Its under the covers where it pays to look, Its the first thing i do when i get one, Take all the covers off clean and rust proof. Obviously you cant take the covers off when looking to buy.

Over 3 211's ive seen up close areas of concern are.

Front Upper inner wing ledges, Lower Front chassis rails, Rear Outer Wing lips "Dog leg" section as you have pointed out. Inner rear arches around the Upper rear shock mounts, Rear Subframe mount areas. Rear not so much forward areas.

All these areas should be rubbed down if required and painted n sealed. 1st thing you see is the spot welds bubbling.

Boot seals again can leak, This for instance is fine on my early car, But a friends 2004 car has required new ones.

Alloy corrosion/pitting is one thing i think the early cars suffer from mine has 2 very small spots lower front wing about the size of the end of a Biro Pen, I think a stone chip is probably more the cause than anything else and hasn't got any worse in my ownership.

I've not seen any Alloy reactions/corrosion on the later cars ive mentioned. I've heard of the Pan roofs on the w211's rattling too.

All three cars 2002 / 2003 / 2004 Forward upper tower ledges were worst on the 2004 model but again nothing that treated now shouldn't need attention for a very very long time.

Again you cant really tell when buying what these areas are like, Also how many peeps even take the liner's, and floor coverings out in the 1st place within there ownership.

 

[JustIgnore]

Been up for sale for a while, Probably drop to your budget.

Mercedes-Benz E Class 5.4 E55 AMG 4dr

Btw, I thought all E55 would come with a HK Sound System. The car above however does not even have a COMAND and no HK Logo on the speaker mesh!?